greyhoundp

Seems Speedway is on its knees in many places, The BSPA really have to do something drastic or revolutionary, cant keep re packaging the same old product, as for Peterborough Tuesday race nights is not a favourable racenight in my opinion, where possible it has to be weekend racing of some form, People have more money in their pockets then, and its also easier to travel for away fans.

Thanks, thats saved me a journey..

I take it their is a meeting at mildenhall today.

I for one am not blaming Alan Phillips, he has tried his best, and one cant blame anyone for that. However what i will say, is he seems to have held on for to long, so that after due dilligence even Tony Mole wont come to the rescue. I feel for Brian Buck he must be in pieces with whats happening, I just hope against hope the venue isnt lost, because as Arthur Cross has said, the Speedway rental income is only peanuts for the GRA, and it wont bother them if they have it or not.. Oxford all over again.. I doubt 1 big League would work, but a League with North & South with the winners meeting in a play off could work, however The pay structure would have to be whats affordable, no more living beyond ones means, if the crowds are only 1000 average at £13 per head, then the wages have to reflect that, and any SKY monies has to be distributed evenly, and seen as a bonus, not as a subsidy. If Teams dont want to go with that, then there is the NL. The future of Speedway in the Uk is at a crossroads and its up to the BSPA to come up with the answers before its to late, if it isnt already.

Im thinking this is more than likely a Lockout by the GRA due to the alleged unpaid rent monies. I really wish Phillips had not let it get to this stage, there is every possibility now, that we have seen the last of Speedway at Perry Barr.. obviously Phillips struggled on hoping for a miracle for as long as he could, he obviously bluffed and blustered his way along until last week, but there comes a time when debts become due, and Birmingham Speedway reached that point last week. I only hope something can be rescued as far as the landlords the GRA are concerned, otherwise this could be terminal for Speedway in the 2nd city.

ADMISSION DETAILS General admission details for the Heathens. 2014 ADMISSION PRICES (Pay at the turnstile) Adults - £11.00 Concessions - £8.00 Children (aged 15 and under) - £2.00 Children (aged under 5) - FREE Programmes - £2.50 All admission enquries to: info@cradleyheathens.co

Lets take a quick look at this, Succesful Speedway Teams in London ? None, Succesful Teams in Birmingham ? None, Succesful Teams in Manchester ?, None... Competition for the leisure pound, firstly all those areas have multiple football teams, though that is primarily a winter Sport, but they have lots of other attractions to compete with speedway,and on the whole big ethnic populations, and without being racist but how many foreigners do we see at Speedway ?. Well supported Teams; Kings Lynn, Cradley Heath, Poole, Somerset...None of them have Large well supported Football Teams, and so far as i am aware, no other well supported local Sport, other attractions well i guess the local Darts, Pool or Skittles or even Bingo night might be considered.. Plus we have the way of life itself has changed, many more people eat out, buy a takeaway rather than cook at home, working patterns have changed, rather than the old 8 till 5, its usually the dreaded continental shift pattern in manufacturing now, and that will effect EVERY Speedway team. Then we have the pandering to SKY with changing race nights, if you arent sure you can see every meeting, will you buy a season ticket ?. Lots of these will affect Birmingham Speedway, and not in a positive way.. the only way to get youngsters in (those still at school) will be to admit them free with a paying adult.. buy thats for the long haul.. As for the GRA owners Risk Capital (Galliard Homes), they are not interested in Speedway far from it, they would much prefer to build houses on Perry Barr, its a good job we have that lease with Birmingham City Council. So all in all not a lot of positives for Birmingham Speedway Im afraid.

Haha, more to do with the first time this was attempted to be ridden, treated with contempt by Coventry management, once bitten twice shy and all that. Big Red you pay my fuel costs from Bournemouth to Coventry and back, then maybe i will take a chance on the weather..

The main point im trying to make is Most of us support a Team not Speedway. During the years Cradley didnt have a Team i think i went to 4 meetings, 2 at Birmingham, and 2 at Wolves. Now i live down here in Bournemouth, am i inclined to go and watch Poole ? The answer is No. The Sport is down on its knees, and being supported by people who have followed Speedway Teams for many years, Once these people are no longer around what will be left ? I doubt i will be around in 20 years, but i also fear for Speedways future over that time scale. Ask me as a long time Speedway fan does Speedway have a long term future in the Uk ?. 3 years ago i would have answered maybe. Now i will answer in my opinion NO. For a variety of reasons, Cost including VFM, the way the Sports run, Team make ups, nothing to attract youngsters, so when the current generation passes by, whats left. Im 62 now, its debatable who will last longest, Speedway in this country or me, thats how bad things have become.

Yes, but by saying what you said, dont you think thats one of the reasons people stay away, another will be, if there is the slightest doubt about the weather tonight, there will only be a handful of visiting fans that will travel over, this due entirely to what happened on the first attempt to ride the meeting.

I really do have to question Phillips motives in announcing this,on the day The Brummies are away to one of the strongest Teams in the Sport, Its not as if he is unaware of the situation. He could have announced it after the last meeting, he could have announced it tomorrow, or is that he just doesnt have the cash to even pay them tonight ?. I think Phillips cant escape criticism himself, well done to him for putting lots of his own money in, however he has been extremely naive in many instances, culminating in him having a PL Team in the EL for 2015, he lost Morris a decent Team manager, He lost Mcloughlin by all accounts a good commercial guy, then he lost Drury, not everyones cup of tea, but he knows the ropes. This was always going to end in tears, i think most people saw this except Phillips himself. Lets all hope,something can be salvaged from the wreckage of the current inevitable situation. Tony Mole is the obvious saviour, but will he take it on again ? i think he will, but the question remains whoever comes forward, is Birmingham viable as a Speedway city ? in my opinion it has to be doubteful for the long term, There is an alternative with another ex promoter, who obviously knows the pitfalls at Perry Barr, but that would mean losing the Brummie name, and do either set of supporters really want that anyway, i have some doubts.

Dudley may not move up, but Im pretty sure in fact 95% sure Cradley will move up in 2015, to many hints been given out now, by various people.

Because the referees allow it to happen, its become the norm, no meeting should really take more than an hour to run, if run properly.

Agree with those points, plus No Ht 15, end this drawing out meetings,they need to be moved along quicker, and have something like an American style 2nd half of 5/6 races with all riders facing each other. Then have a proper Interval between the the two meetings, run properly they would still end about the same time as now.

Sad as i am by this Im not surprised by it, Phillips has struggled, and played the blame game, it seems its everyones fault except his, he should never have run Elite this year, but i guess the TV money was guaranteed income. They have stumbled through the season from one problem to another, losing vastly experienced people along the way. Its to be hoped The Stadium rents are up to date, because if the GRA throw them out, I can see a similar situation to the Oxford issues, Only one man here who can save them, and we all know who this is, come back Tony. Good luck to the few die hard supporters The Brummies have, its just a pity the rest of the City wont support Speedway.. There is a large enough Polish contingent in Birmingham, a few reliable Polish riders might have helped, gain there support.

Waco, over the last few meetings the first bend has looked better and better, never more so than last Monday, so well done. The problem from my viewpoint is how little raking gets done on the fourth bend. That's fine if it doesn't need it, but if that means there's spare resource it should be channelled to where the known problems are. Are there fewer rakers this year, and what are the perks, just out of interest? Nice bit of selective editing there gustix , Kent Whistle Gang and Waco were discussing Track Staff/Rakers, you my dear friend mentioned 150, so i replied to that. Hope you like MY selective editing, lol.

Has to be Matt Williamson.

Wow, now thats what i call a Team of rakers, must of cost a fortune keeping that many supplied.

I just hope The Scunny kids enjoy the atmosphere, take in the experience and above all stay safe, and remember Monmore isnt a throttle open and blast round, its more of a thinkers Track, just be a little careful how wide you come out of turn 2. Im sure after everything thats been said the supporters will appreciate the young lads efforts.

Mmmmm, Ht leaders 12 programmed rides 4 Wins from Kent, 8 wins from Stoke, The reserves scores; 4 points by Kent reserves, 8 points by Stoke reserves, Plus Baseby shows his potential. This Kent side is nowhere near challenging for any sort of Honours, when they meet any of the half decent sides they will struggle to win, even at home, They just are NOT good enough all round, maybe Im being outspoken on this, but in every department tonight it looks like they were out scored, and remember just under 1 week ago Stoke were Ommered by 60 points. I say this with NO great pleasure because Kent have a lovely set up, great potential, and fans that are hungry for success, can the present managerial set up give them that?, well with recent signings i have my doubts. Well done Stoke for an all round Team effort, Kent i think Iv said it all.

Gonna be a tight one, possibly even to close to call, but possibly Stoke may have the edge, bcuz they have 3 Heat leaders, but its down at reserve where this could be won, Im gonna say Stoke by 4..

And Kyle has far more experience than any of them except Josh Auty, I dont really know how Newman, Garrity, came to be on the draft anyway, neither were NL riders last season. Newman, Garrity, Birks for me if one is on the Draft they should all be on, and vice versa. Fast Track riders are reserves for British GP, that confirms what i have said, about JG, but well done JG, and a special well done to Lewis Kerr, this kid has come on in leaps and bounds over the past season and a half, and he has every right to be on the Draft list.

Because in this instance every rider in the Leicester Team has his own team that he rides for, in the majority of cases 2 x Teams,. Luke Harris does NOT have a Team place, so who needs it most Luke who doesnt have a ride, or another rider where Leicester is his 3rd Team ? Maybe we should have a 4th League then they can have a 4th team spot, and Luke can watch them.. Generally i disagree with replacing BRITISH riders, however this is OUR development League, Leicester dont have their own Team as such, but borrow other Teams riders, so perfectly reasonable to give a 15 year old boy a ride who doesnt currently have a team place.

Jason G has loads of ability, i dont think he is up his own arse, Im pretty sure he just gets frustrated more so with himself, but he does need to control that temper, he could ruin what is a promising career. Also a few years ago the people he had round him in the pits didnt help ( i well remember after a meeting at Monmore he came round with a young guy on the back of his bike, this young guy was giving the home fans 2 fingers) someone needs to get hold of Jason and straighten him out.

Hmmm, thought maybe the Cubs could have included Luke Harris recently dropped by Kent Kings, if The Lion Cubs want a future in the NL, then surely it would be better to offer these rides to Kids without a Team ?.