ouch

Yes but we didn't know about it 'till years later. Only those involved and Arthur Cross have been in from the get go.

The point I'm making was that Arthur Cross has been watching this process for seven years and not the three oops sorry four years that the rest of us have been aware of it. He must be in the know to be aware of it years before the rest of us. The fact the Aces have been working on it for seven years only became known retrospectively with only a few like Mr Cross being in the know prior to the MEN press release.

I think Authur Cross must be in the know as he had been aware of this project for seven years yet the news only entered the public domain three years ago. The Aces held an event at Gorton Monastry in August 2011 where us not already in the know were given details on the project.

Fair play to them for the press release as getting team information out if some can be a chore. Whenever anything changes no matter how small they keep us informed and that's to be commended. The Ian Thomas type spin can be a bit much for us fans in the know but similar to Kelvin and Nigel's assertions that we're watching great speedway when we know it isn't you have to remember it's also about gathering enthusiasm outside the speedway community. Well done.

More good news along this tortuously tough road. I don't know how they have the patience but fair play to them on continuing to see it through. Maybe when it's done they could set up a task force to get other tracks built. This is the biggest UK speedway development since, well since Hyde Road and being wrapped in the sports village makes it even more complicated to sort. If they can use their expertise on developing speedway stadium to some of the ex teams struggling to find new homes then it's win win for all concerned. Well done.

Be nice to see him back and fit. Don't think The Aces would track him as I can't see his average bring reduced if we wanted to use him.

How much do you reckon we pay in rent now? We currently get nothing from the bars and food outlets and can make no money from functions or other stadium uses.

Got to feel sorry for Cook for falling for Barkers usual verbal abuse. I must say I wouldn't put up with it and if I got fined £300 for standing up for myself I might lose it, especially if I'd just finish riding a bike with no breaks at 70 mph, adrenaline rush and all. The Aces connection wouldn't have helped as I've seen riders argue with the ref on Sky and smash up track property (usually the 'phone) but not been ejected from the meeting. Was he wearing his Aces kevlars by chance?

Was he thrown out whilst still on the floor? The ref needs to realise Craig is representing Edinburgh and not Belle Vue. Getting sick of this.

I've thought about that. Would there been any benefit in putting waste oil in there or is it daft in this day and age?

I got the impression Chris held a narrow lead over his opponents as they kept shouting "you're a foot in front".

True. If you get the data on ex supporters then ask them why they don't come anymore, analyse the feedback and make changes accordingly.

I don't know why in the age of smartphones and the World Wide Web speedway doesn't have an effective CRM. We seem to have no knowledge of who our fans are both nationally and at club level. Data can be amassed in many ways be it an online competition or even someone with a clip board going round the fans on race night asking if they could update their system to allow them to send offers and updates. I think I'm right in saying there is no benefit to signing up to any of the official club websites. With this information you could target promotions to achieve their desired effect. When clubs offer bring a friend promotions or reduced admission deals these are more often than not used by the current fan base but if you had peoples identities and required proof then your promotions can be a lot more tailored and elaborate. It is not however just a case of amassing data it's what is done with it and that's limited only by the imagination. Tracks could share information when trying to attract away support maybe by reduced admission. My take on that is 100 paying £10 is better than 12 paying &16. Home fans might take umbrage that the guy in front gets in cheaper but if he wants it sign up and visit their track at a reduced cost next time. Meet the riders. View from the centre green. Have a meal. Be given souvenirs. Watch from the box. The list goes on. We all know there is a massive amount of ex supporters out there and if we can lure them back and keep them coming five or ten times a year with effective electronic marketing then that would go a long way in getting us back up to where we should be.

What is it with track prep these days. It seems more and more that things are going wrong - badly and it needs to be addressed across the board. We had the Belle Vue call off last year then the Aces were met with similar surfaces at Wolves and Coventry later that year. Coventry are regularly getting slated along with Poole but there seems to be issues everywhere and of course we had the Cardiff fiasco the other week. It all seems a bit ad hoc when perhaps the time has come to sit down and collectively sort it out. Is it the material? Is it the bikes? Is it the riders? Is it the weather? Is it the track staff?

Never thought of it like that. Even a normal match can be judged the same as you can "win" nine races 4-2 and lose six 1-5 and still lose the match even with more heat wins. Then you have the GP, Loram never won a round but became World Champ. There's more to this than I first thought and its making my head hurt now so I'm just going to leave it and enjoy the Bank Holiday.

I'm not a sports fan as such so anymore information you have on this that I can throw back at the lads at work when they take the p out of my sport would help. Ta.

Not read all this so sorry if the obvious has already been stated. It's a money saving thing. Before a top liner came out giving the fans a chance to see him in action again, even if it was a mismatch of a race. The problem was he needed paying start and points money. The new rule does fudge things a bit as I think we are the only sport now where percentage wise you can amass more points than their opponents but still be on the loosing side.

I don't think it's meant to represent the takings from pie & mash with a stout to wash it down. It's more about Belle Vue ( using that here in its geographical sense) getting back to producing British youngsters. I good while ago, but still in the GP era we had Screen, Stonehewer and Smith all in the series together having qualified. All were ex Colts and the point is that not every rider coming through the system stays with the Aces like PC and Mort, but go on the successfully represent other UK teams. So in that sense it benefits the sport nationally.

I agree, we're the Belle Vue of speedway not the Man U. The greatest speedway team of the 20th century and with 80 odd years still to go the greatest of the 21st century. It's 2500 seats plus terracing. Some nice pics of the tin shed here. http://www.bellevueaces.co/newsitem.aspx?id=885 LOL That says it all to me. If a bloke who has issues with club can be tempted then we will have no problem attracting all the people with a passing intrest in the Aces. I think we will get 6000 for opening night. That will pay the £75K in one go plus a good few grand on top.

Half price admission is one of the perks when buying a season ticket or joining the 500 club, so if they are using them as an incentive then they must be running.

I can only go off the official line and not hearsay or opinion re the Dudley match. "Meeting abandoned due to curfew. Result stands." I can't remember a GP without riders hitting ruts and veering off course. It was AJ in the last one, indeed on the run up to that meeting Hancock hurt his knee in Poland when he hit a rut. Theres no point in debating this point as I will always say tracks have ruts while you think they are smooth. Re Stoke and Kings Lynn match. This was the night with about 6 or 7 falls over 30 races. I think that's quite good at this level but again we will have to disagree on that. I've been to all but 4 current UK tracks plus many that have since closed and a fair few abroad so I feel well placed to judge whether a meeting is "fair" or not. Kirky Lane can be good and bad just like any other track, indeed the last time we were on Sky it was discussed as one of the better tv matches this season. It is unfair to label a track such as Belle Vue as always producing dreadful meetings. Whilst I agree that Scunthorpe and Milldenhall are better circuits, that is not the criteria used to determine champions.

Lucky! The first running of the race before Irving caused the race stoppage we were on an 8-1. In the rerun we managed to get an er 8-1. That delay though coupled with what happened in heat 15 almost halved our advantage. That's how I worked it out.

No meeting have been abandoned due to a dangerous track. Many many tracks from the GP’s down suffer from ruts so we are not a special case. The rut in question was on the inside. Karl kissed it twice in his first race, then fully embraced it in his last. This happens. Irvine did not fall due to a rut. The meeting was fine not “bloody awful”. Not many of the Colts are assets due to the fact that this is our first year and we will look to build up from here. We have offered second half racing for years but have been unable to offer youngsters a league team with regular team racing home and away. This has seen many Aces youngsters lost to the club. A more pertinent question would be how many of the riders on show last night had regular, not the odd one or two, by regular second half rides for the Colts. The list Kyle Howarth Jason Garrity Steve Worrall Richie Worrall Adam Wrathall Lee Smethills Even operating on the back foot in terms of developing riders we have still managed to produce this year NL champion in our first year. Interestingly despite the supposed experience of the Colts team we do have a younger average age than Scunfield. The other reason many Colts have gone west is due to the current financial situation as we sort the new stadium together with its academy for British youngsters. The stadium rental cost is so high even for the Colts, we have more than likely spent more on junior speedway than you guys. Here’s hoping we can pick things up again and help UK speedway. The last time we had a decent representation in the GPs, three out of the five were ex Colts. I hope the Colts make the final, they thoroughly deserve it. Having their potential lead almost halved due to faults, though unintentional of the opposing team is hard to take. Many managers when asked say they want a 10-12 point lead and 9 would have been game on, but to loose 80% of what the lead could have been following the exclusions of members of Scunfield really sticks in my craw. In the current scheme of things with the new stadium, to win the play offs (and the seniors win the KO Cup) would mean so much more than it may normally do and help further raise the profile of Belle Vue at a time when it is most needed.

Well if I leave Owlerton next week and we aren't in the final it will be the biggest injustice in speedway - ever. If there are any Saints/Prowler fans who witnessed tonights action who think otherwise then there's something very wrong with you. Let's all hope for the right result next week,