Deano

Are you having a laugh!!!! Speedway has been lying in it's coffin for how long and Go Speed with the most forward thinking website http://www.gospeed.co.uk/properties in the history of Microsoft are coming up with something exciting!!!! Can't wait lol! Feck me I want to buy Lotus! http://www.lotuscars.com/gb/home Sheet my clean under pants.. maybe Jag! http://www.jaguar.co.uk/index.html Or a fooking landy! http://www.landrover.co.uk/index.html O' scratch me itchy scroggle box.... give me some model railways!!! http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/page/home.html or do I invest in British Speedway( see go speed link) ..... Doh! Paying special attention to the sponsorship linky! lol. so when were the leagues last sponsored other than the Elite League by Sky.

How could you get a proper decent speedway relatied advert/piccy to pop up on peoples facebook feed? Particularly people who wouldn't normally look at a motorbike related feature. We all hate them adverts, but, I have to be honest I do read some of them.....

Martin, classic car clubs, once the mantle of the old retired British gent class have managed to grab the student population. The clubs found that a classic car is very cheap to insure for 17 year olds, also with a screw driver, big mallet and spanner to hand, the cars when stopped get going again very easily. The clubs have created an avenue for students to get even cheaper insurance by being members of the relevent classic car club this also gets them cheaper spares, the clubs also supply tuition on servicing and repairs. To the point now, youngsters gather in larger numbers at old car rallies. The classic car scene is therefore looking quite healthy at the moment. So, how do we transfer this very similar story to Birmingham Speedway?

With the old system, if my chain bust in one ride or some stupid idiot fenced me and I got excluded, I was probably out of the competition until next year. As a rider I would have been well and truly pee'd off with that. Thankfully with the current GP system, as a rider, I will get another opportunity.

How on earth can you promote with those constraints? TM is only going to know the traditional methods.

To be fair though Martin, yes Birmingham need to do it, but it also needs doing on a national level. Individual promoters can't be expected to be responsible for every marketing need. Take normal francise businesses like McDonalds for example.

I find it odd how british Speedway is always the poor relative, yet pulls the biggest GP crowd.

I think they do participate Martin, just not enough. I think most of the energy goes into "getting the speedway on" and the daily running of the sport. Perhaps UK speedway clubs need a more proffessional organisational structure giving people specific roles. But, with so much work to do and so little money coming in, money is spent on riders and rent before any salaried position can be considered. You only have to look at successful companies and they remain successful while at the front of the consumers mind. Once they drop off the radar, next time you hear about them, is when they are in trouble.

So just to clear it up.. You aren't related to neither Martin Johnson, Martin Hagon or Martin Sheen?

lol... that reads scarily accurate.

Didn't we do two in one week once a Wednesday and a Sunday then did the next Wednesday? I thought if rain offs came into the equation we could race twice a week? I could have been dreaming though.....

Thank you Kipper. So not quite so radicle. £13.6's worth of cost for every £17 ticket. Potentially £100K profit over a season isn't going to go very far re-invested. It's a tough one, but I think it really needs to be done to get more investors on board and not "rich fans".

I could be wrong, but I believe the most decent run companies have a cost base of around 25% of the selling price, giving 75% clear profit before tax. This helps balance out the poor sales months with the better sales months. If speedway used the same theory it's cost need to be around the £4 to £5 bracket per ticket sale if it wants to start re-investing in itself. That I think is going to require some radical change.

I think speedway continually either struggling to break even financially or ultimately losing money is one major factor. If the BSPA sat down and worked out a profitable model for both rider and businessman, then things may change. It may attract new investment and may encourage more chancers moving into stadiums away from dumpy dog tracks.

Unfortunately until the BSPA come up with a cost model that enables riders and promoters to profit, no rule tinkering will cure speedways problems. Once business people realise there is something on their doorstep that will make money for them, people will want to ride bikes and people will want to invest in infastructure and promotion.

Take a happy tablet Stan you depressing old sod. We have our team back, they still have theirs for gods sake. As long as they don't use airhorns the council won't listen to any complaints as a previous poster has said. Ignore him matey, he's probably only on here because he's forgotten the password to his redtube account.

RIP Antonin. I remember Jnr better from his premier league days and his own struggle from injury, still a shame though.

Having watched and supported Cradley during our wilderness years and cheering on the likes of Hamill, Hancock, Nahlin, Cross, Forsgren, Scudd, Phillips, Knott, Checketts, Boyd, Meridith, Walker, Handberg etc.. it'll be quite a season watching the two side by side!

Thank you to Tony Mole and everyone else who has played a part in saving my club.

Tony Mole is more reliable wouldn't you agree? When the Phillips's lips moved what were we to believe....

Wow! And to think he had the gall to ask us fans for the fighting fund to help him run in 2015!!!!

Who was Shawcross? Was he an independent or a speedway promoter at the time?

Yeah and win Jaguar Land Rover as their team sponsor!

Spin your post on it's head. Would you mind if Leicester Speedway were 9,000 fewer than City? The point Martin was making at the highest level Rugby Union was on a par if not worse than speedway in the 70's. Why is it now streaks ahead of speedway by a country mile at most levels? I don't know the answer, but speedway is very tough to sell to my mates when I ask them to go along. They like the concept and the quick flashes of races on the tv in pubs, but they went once and got bored after heat five. I have no interest in cricket, but went once to a 20/20 league match at Worcester versus Warwickshire and it was like going to a carnival. League speedway is comparable to having tea with the vicar sometimes to be honest.

TWK, just tell the lecky board to top up the "rolling credit", apparently that gives you the right not to pay, without calling it debt. You can then tell everyone, you owe nothing and you have the money in the bank just to rub salt in the wounds. When they switch you off, just blame the meter reader or claim the meter wasn't working correctly. You could even blame the postman, call it a sham, blame the wife too (worth a try) .. just about anyone really, just not yourself.