Crump99

It's been head down and hope that it goes away since Jan 28 when the club somewhat backed themselves into a corner, so hard to disagree, but here we are a few days from P&P and what should have been the season opener and the first test of the disabled debacle and it hasn't gone away. The situation can still be saved without losing too much face if they wish. Whether intentional or not, the resident mentalist did raise some interesting mischievous questions last night on the other thread.

True. I'm really looking forward to more of his healing and mobility solutions to help his friends out of their self created hole

So you're saying that the official club statement and public explanation/justification is a pile of cack. If you did know anyone then you'd now be held in the same high regard as you reckon Neil is.

I doubt that if you did know anyone that any explanation would let anyone move on. As for the PM, that is something I do know the answer to.

Indeed I have but can't make head nor tail of "I had a discussion with one of the management team from Peterborough Speedway today. I have been advised that there will be no change to the new arrangements outlined in the Club press release of 28th January" so if you could advise what detail or reasoning is missing then that would help greatly with everyone's understanding.

Excellent. Can do the same about Blue Badge parking.

Club statement and apologies to all the speedway fans - seems to be a common theme thus far in 2020. You never know, club statement and reconsideration might be about to appear!

It should be perfectly workable, and effort and communication before considering what should have been considered as the most drastic option might have helped to find an acceptable solution for all.

Don't think that there is any "therefore" about it. They have already admitted as such: "We respect the fact that the above (ie: not using the allocated parking areas; a number of our volunteer car parking staff have been verbally abused) hasn’t been caused by everyone issued with a blue badge, and we do also know and understand this decision affects everyone that will attend our race meetings that are issued with a blue badge." So those who have always parked where told and have never abused staff are indeed paying for the actions of others, that being both customers and bad decision makers who clearly do not respect and understand!

I heard of another yesterday (which equates to a paying couple) and know of another who's going to pick and choose, if they choose to attend at all.

Would be a good sponsor now that we know the team. Remember the days of looking across to the pits and marvelling at that parked up fleet of Readypower vehicles? Imagine those now being Motability vans. Of course you'd only be able to imagine it because they'd have to be parked outside. And that's not a dig at the team which is fine in today's world. It's not 2006 so as long as you don't turn up expecting that then you'll be fine. However, Panthers Legend and Panthers Icon are both currently running Panthers Supremo close on the most irritating label table.

Well as Mr Watson cited the club press release as decisive following his discussion with someone, let's look at the explanation: "Due to the death of a close colleague at a race venue towards the end of last year" - a real tradegy that I don't wish to comment on in this situation - "Peterborough Speedway runs alongside a number of events at the Showground every season, and when these events clash we have to move our disabled parking facility to a different location within the Showground on these occasions." - Jeez, it has done for years and everyone else has coped and organised without seemingly too much difficulty. How often does it actually happen? If a couple of times a season disabled parking can't be accommodated inside then so be it. If customers are told then they could choose whether or not to attend. - "We had a number of blue badge holders not using the allocated parking areas correctly" - was anyone aware that that was a problem? Was it communicated to customers in any way whatsoever? Not that I'm aware. - "A number of our volunteer car parking staff have been verbally abused" - that's unacceptable and there should be zero tolerance, but as above, was anyone aware of that being communicated as a problem? "We respect the fact that the above hasn’t been caused by everyone issued with a blue badge, and we do also know and understand this decision affects everyone that will attend our race meetings that are issued with a blue badge. (Just to agree with your last sentence Wealdstone) We have over the years made preservations for internal disabled parking but unfortunately we cannot carry this on, and we will use the official disabled parking that is used at all Showground events. Sorry for the inconvenience but we hope everyone understands the situation." I tend to agree that those problems as laid out are not enough IMHO to jump from a to z without publically trying a less damaging solution in the middle as a first attempt at dealing with those issues.

And the thinking of it's managemet team with disability issues and customer service.

I heard a rumour that they should get in touch with the other bloke if he exists, who, because of his age should really be a bit more empathetic to those being displaced by an unworthy decision.

Peterborough customers have never turned up great numbers for a trier in a losing team. They only turn up for a team getting results and this at least has the chance of doing that. It is yesterday's team but British Speedway is yesterday's sport and it being important and attracting the world's best is yesterday's news.

Dad's Army does get a lot of airtime recently. Is Johnson going to be on BBC Radio Cambs at some point now that the team is complete? I understand that they are trying to get in touch with him, or perhaps his invisible other half (in club official terms) could do it and cover both topics of interest just in case CJ is getting unfair flak for the Blue Badge debacle?

Don't think that we gave you anything. That was another management corker that the fans had no say in. Mick Bratley posted elsewhere that it had happened long before it was common knowledge that Readypower Panthers assets had morphed into Readypower Pirates assets as the club asset list dropped off our website quicker than you could say "Mick Horton's now in charge".

Well done Was it hidden within season ticket application info? It is there now but from memory (& I'm happy to be corrected) there was no 2020 admission details page when the season ticket application first came out or any mention of the parking concession removal on the season ticket application form which is where the link went direct to first off. In fact, even now, there is still no reason to click the "Disabled Parking (Inside the Showground) link because the facility hasn't changed for at least 15 years so why would it now? Usually it creates a stink if the EoES removes the concession and disabled fans wouldn't expect their club to do it. If someone with a BB drove in during 2019 and bought an early season ticket expecting the same in 2020 then they'll be in for a shock. I can't even remember how I stumbled across the BB concession removal. Just by chance when surfing the club site I think.

Which is different from the speedway which is localised and doesn't have the movement and foot traffic of a general show. I've said that in the case of a general larger events then there could be some logic in the external site but generally it would appear that event organisers have flexibility for their own arrangements and we've gone broad-brush on our identified (in public at least) issues.

I've never been to any other events in recent times that haven't been on at the same time as speedway so can't comment really on the parking offered apart from that events come in all different shapes and sizes which is probably why the EoES washed their hands of it saying that parking is the responsibility of the particuar event organisers. I didn't know that there was official BB parking at the EoES, but if things are happening just the other side of the fence in daylight or closeby then that's probably logical. What isn't logical is when the event is being held being several hundred metres away from this special parking area, generally when there is nothing else seemingly going on within the stadium, causing initial mobility problems and then also leaving an unpleasant return journey for affected customers in the dark when it's often also freezing cold, even in the summer months. If that was really a question though then it is very disappointing and lacking any disability awareness. You should have turned it around to ask why do they think successive promotions have provided the facility over many many seasons, kicked off when the EoES took the action that the club have now in 2020 and then restored the facility for their disabled customers, family and friends at the earliest opportunity?

They can send them to me instead. I'll have a discussion with them!

Which management speak is this? I agree that generally that may be the case which is why management anywhere on anything is usually held in such low esteem. Surely righting a wrong (reminds me of the Khasi of Khalabar sending, in numerical order, each of his fifty-one wives to Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond, each one of them wishing to "right the wrong") is a sign of strength and good promotion?

That may or may not be true but poking them with a stick isn't a great negotiating tactic for change when we're told " I have been advised that there will be no change to the new arrangements outlined in the Club press release of 28th January " - better to come up with a way that they can have a rethink without losing face. It isn't that difficult tbh for them to do that, then they could get much credit and show they are not as you've labelled them.

As Bob Woodward said: If you're gonna hype it, hype it with the facts. I don't mind what you did (well of course we do). I mind the way you did it. When did the procedure change anyway? When was the website graphic uploaded? Were they going to put out a club statement before their hand was forced or were they just going to let disabled supporters turn up whenever and discover the new arrangement? If there was a good argument put up (ie the Showground did it) and some mitigation for the consequences of that action then there might have been more understanding but it hasn't been communicated in public as yet. It's easy just to focus on the BB element but what we're actually talking about here is paying customers, their friends and family.

Good. You'll need to conserve your energy for planning and physical/mental effort if you choose to watch some speedway at the EoES in 2020, while it's still there beyond and under the current administration.