heathen52

Birmingham fans dont like to see a struggling team, and stay away rather than turn up to watch, I hope the rumours are unfounded but its been a struggle for them since Covid and the vandalism hasnt helped. They would have been better off dropping back down into the NL but that wasnt possible with the way the NL had been dictated to with regard points limits of 35 which was much to low for stand alone teams, but thats what the BSPL in there wisdom wanted.

Jan Simensen, think if he had stayed at Cradley would have gone further in British Speedway.

For Speedway to be potentially losing fans like you two guys should be telling Speedway its in crisis, if it doesnt then the those at the top table need to take off there rose tinted spectacles and quickly get into the real world before its to late thats if already isnt, we need every Track/Promoter/Rider/Fan and right now the BSPL/SCB leadership are not encouraging anyone Promoters/Riders/Fans alike to stay/come into the Sport, except for the favoured few. If it carries on in the way that it is then i dread to think what the Sport in the UK will look like in a few years time. We need to rebuild from the bottom up, not from the Top down because very soon there wont be a Top in the UK, actually there is no longer a top in the UK its second rate, can it survive when it becomes third rate led by Scunthorpe ?, never mind there will always be Amateur meetings we can go to . Its such a pity that some current Promoters with leadership skills are to busy trying to keep there Teams afloat to be able to give more time to helping the Sport move forwards, because with the present crowd in charge Speedway is almost at the point of no return.

Have a look here. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g499564-c8-zfp2-Ulverston_Lake_District_Cumbria_England.html anything for a fellow Heathen .

For years now most teams have been living beyond there means and the Senior Teams have been surving mainly due to TV money, now Covid has brought up the inevitable Crow coming home to roost so to speak, the BSPL have for years avoided taking decisions that would help the Sport survive and maybe prosper, any household or business simply cannot go on year on year making losses and ignore the simple maths lesson of paying out more than what is coming in, how is it possible to employ foreign riders cheaper then british riders ?, answers on a postcard please. I dont know the answer but one thing is for sure things cannot carry on as they are, if it means going back to basics with Teams made up of british riders then thats the way we have to go short term loss for the long term gain, no Premier League just 2 Leagues with the NL being the second tier, and no stupid payments to riders.

I wouldnt know about the step outside bit, but he does (or companies he owns) own Henlow Greyhound Stadium and when thats sold for Housing Development that should give him enough ££££££,s to purchase Oxford or some other Sports Stadia, the operative word being Sports Stadia not somewhere thats rife for Development as they cost a good deal more £££££,s.

Not being wise after the event, Most Teams agreed to start the season without knowing what attendance limits there local councils would impose on them, the main issue being they have to put out a fixture list, Clubs/Teams found it difficult if not impossible to sell season tickets due to the Covid situation, now we find that the opening up is more than likely going to be put back which will probably put the completion of the season into doubt, or at the very least force some clubs to curtail the season. Some fans are still in denial about Covid but stop and think, the Pandemic has already cost this country billions upon billions of lost revenue, billions of pounds paid out in furlough payments and other schemes, all of which will we will be paying for over many years ahead, yes maybe things could have been done differently but the fact remains Covid is still with us and will be for the forseeable future, until the World gets a grip on this pandemic the uncertainty will remain and the future of our Sport needs strong leadership with difficult decisions needing to be made, but one thing is for sure Clubs/Teams cannot carry on sustaining losses week in week out..

Is it a coincidence that both the Teams one temporarily suspending the season Birmingham, and the other Wolves saying sustaining heavy losses, had major issues on there opening nights, has this impacted on attendances since ?.

Tom Bacon has announced on twitter has announced his retirement from speedway, Good luck for the future Tom.

How can anyone justify allowing 17/18,000 at the Cricket today which equates to roughly 70% of capacity, yet only allow a tiny fraction to attend other Sports.

Im sorry to see the comments of "Being close to saying its enough" what will the BSPL gain from another Club closing? albeit that they are no longer members of the dictators Club, only today CVS has said they may have to consider closing due to outside decisions, yet here we have a Track wanting to continue yet the BSPL continue to put obstacles in there way Rob Godfrey in his position as Chairman of the BSPL should be encouraging the IOW to stage Speedway, never mind they can continue staging amateur meetings up at Scunthorpe because there may soon not be enough Speedway Teams to stage meaningful League meetings against, is that what Godfrey & Co really want ?.

Todays Test match at Edgbaston the crowd allowed is 17,000 and there are 17,000 there, the capacity is 25,000 so why the difference ?, I dont see many masks and for sure there is no Social Distancing.

Liking the BSPL bellenders , however the facts are Scunny can apparently put on this kind of meeting under whatever guise they choose, but the same courtesy is not being extended to the IOW which is threatening the existance of Speedway under any form on the Island, this stinks of dictatorship and has no place on the island of Britain, may i suggest Godfrey moves to Russia or China where his form of Chairmanship is more in line with there way of life. In my humble opinion it should be Barry Bishop leading the BSPL (impossible now they are not members) as he can learn a number of BSPL promoters a thing or three about what Promotion stands for and i dont mean being promoted from Labourer to Foreman. I really hope that the IOW can survive this blatant pressure being put on riders by persons known and unknown, after all its for the good of the Sport that Speedway on the Island survives under whatever guise its able to. Its just a great pity that there is not a sugar daddy out there that could sponsor meetings with enough money for the riders to be able to stick two fingers up to the bullies of British Speedway.

I understand that a by the name of Scunthorpe Stags rode against Crayford Kestrels very recently, at Scunny.

Yes and it seems (Ghost Teams not allowed) dont apply when they ride at Scunthorpe, one rule for everyone else but another rule for him...

Firstly may i say i am not surprised by this at all, so the BSPL are happy to allow amateur riders to ride over on the IOW Speedway thats them appearing to be the good guys, but then at the same time they decide to define NL level riders as professional riders thereby denying the IOW access to these riders, and denying these young amateur riders the opportunity to get riding experience, so yet again the BSPL are wearing two hats. Lets be honest guys they the BSPL are doing exactly what was done in 1963, they are crapping themselves just in case the IOW make a success of there venture, hence the alleged threats to riders that they may be fined or even banned even if they set foot in the Stadium, In my opinion the BSPL would rather see a Track close than succeed outside of the confines of the BSPL.

Cradley Stadium, I was never aware of a Pugh family member riding Speedway (maybe a horse), as for the Stadium itself the Pughs only held a minor share of the Stadium it was the Bridgewaters that were the major owners of Dudley Wood Stadium, being Stadium owners they can take a minimal rent with all the hassle of complying with H&S etc etc, or they can take a lump sum and retire to sun drenched beaches without a care in the world its really not a choice especially with property prices continuing to go through the roof, I can say persons with an interest in seeing the return of Cradley Heathens were the under bidders in a property/land sale within the last 12 months.

I very much think the exodus may be the other way with Brits going to Australia, probably Australia, and New Zealand, are more British than Britain these days.

It makes one wonder what security is in place for the whole site not just the Speedway, gone are the days where alarms are sufficient, these people that do these things are aware its rare to see the boys in blue so they have more or less a free hand to do as they wish without with little or no chance of being caught.

Are we talking about Kent/Sittinbourne ? If so i have been informed today that the Stadium has been sold by Roger Cearns to ARC racing, see link. https://www.arenaracingcompany.co.uk/media-centre/news/greyhounds/arc-agrees-to-acquire-cearnsport-ltd

No, we are just frustrated that there is not much we as fans can do to stop its decline..

Which the current Chairman has stated he is against.

Firstly good luck to the IOW Speedway with whatever it is they going to put on, I wish nothing but the best for the promotion Team of Barry Bishop and Martin Wildman who have been by far and away the leading promotion in British Speedway when it comes to making Spectators welcome and putting on a first class show when it came to Speedway events at Smallbrook, when the promotion made it known that they had decided to withdraw from the BSPL i personally was very disapointed because though i live a fair way from the IOW it was somewhere that i had planned to visit once again, however having read the latest press release from the promotion at IOW speedway it again will give me the opportunity/excuse if i needed one which i dont, to come over again. With regards the BSPL and the NL co-ordinator not contacting the IOW promotion it shows complete disrespect to Barry, Martin and fans of speedway on the IOW, and whatever may become of this it will be of the BSPL,s own doing, I have to say the NL co-ordinator and the Chairman of the BSPL do not come out of this very well from what i have read or heard, and the latest information on use of tyres only goes to show, that those at the top table do not understand the meaning of common sense but frequently come out with nonsense instead, and as such does not fill me with any faith that the BSPL can find a sustainable future for our Speedway in the UK.