uk_martin

Don't worry on his account. He's got himself a nice contract in Poland now. I'm sure his Polish club will make sure that he's always got food on the table.

What's it got to do with the Government (other than that's who everyone wants to blame when they don't want to accept responsibility for what they've done themselves)? At the end of the day what Mastercard and Visa (both American companies) charge for their banking facilities is their business, If additional costs have been imposed on them, by people choosing to ignore "project fear" and voting for Brexit, then they'll recoup them in the charges that they make.

And it's not just this is it? Next time you want to go abroad for any reason, the charges made by credit card companies for European transactions will have increased FIVEfold. So when you book with a European airline (including Ryanair, Wizzair etc) or when you book a hotel online, or book a train fare, or even buy the SGP ticket online, YOU will be hit with these increased charges. But hey, at least we've got our country back, eh? Next time you talk to a Brexit voter, don't forget to thank them very much. Their vote is what's led to this.

It's this news or no news....take your pick. Everyone's being very economical with the information flow, especially in terms of filling the two remaining team slots. Or maybe the Masonic Order realise that it's not worth the effort as there's probably not going to be any league racing this year anyway.

Yes! Basically 179 days into the 180 statutory days of grace that the ticketing authorities have in which to process a refund, the money appeared in my bank (i.e. last December) So there. Not the quickest of refund process but all in accordance with Polish law.

MASSIVE NEWS Brummies Latest Signing http://www.birmingham-speedway.com/news.php?extend.2970

Who pays for that? The quality of the product will be diminished following the top riders decisions to ride abroad only, and the problems in getting work permits for foreign riders wanting to ride here. What value is there from Eurosport's perspective to commit tens of thousands of £££ in production time and resources to a product that's not what they signed up to broadcast and for which wasn't worth the payment of any royalties / sponsorship when it was in it's previous guise? Yeah, we'd all like some speedway on TV but there isn't a fairy godmother out there who's going to pay for it.

When is the press release covering the outcome of the meeting due to be released?

None of that answers any of the specific questions that I asked. No-one is pretending that the situation is anything other than pathetic. I'm one of the BSPZzzz's biggest critics. But the old chestnut about an independent authority isn't the answer to the problem. And deep down you know it isn't too, else you'd have the answers to some of the basic problems that I outlined to that idea. Let's not confuse "doing something" with "making the situation better".

Aldi and Lidl provide quality products at affordable prices. That's why they succeed. That's the real lesson to be learned. It has to be good value, just being cheap isn't good enough.

Made up of who? Paid how much, and by who? And who gets rid of them if they are no good? Get real. Who on earth, who's any good at anything, would want to take on the job? How much money do you think promoters are willing to pay to people who may not have a clue about the sport only to have the clueless give them the orders about how to run their show? And when they screw up, then what? When you have the answers, why not go on Dragons Den and suggest it to some real business people, and see if you can sell your idea to them and get their backing for your plan. See what their reaction will be.

The BSPZzzzz working up to the highest common denominator??? Now that would be a revolutionary step to take...

And what would have been your action plan to prevent it from happening? 1. Don't sit back 2. ...??? 3. ...??? 4. ...??? Please do fill in the gaps.

Great intentions but you can't name a street after anyone still alive. Them's the rules. And of course speedway isn't the only game in town. I'm sure dog racing fans would put up a valid case for a road to be named after a top greyhound trained at Perry Barr.

Good job we got Graham Warren Way in while we could then, innit?

I'll take your word for it that that might be the case. I know that was the case last season but I'm sure I'd read that they were talking about moving back to the Ricoh again.

And the some "top level" football clubs like Coventry City have to pay rent to Rugby Union clubs like Wasps. ...now Rugby Union - there's an interesting comparison. Compare the parkland and open fields that many rugby clubs played their matches on in the "amateur days" of the 1970's (when Speedway touted itself as the 3rd biggest spectator sport) to where they are playing today, as a benchmark of what could have been. I was well impressed by the Llanelli stadium that hosted the Wales v England match on Saturday. One sport on an upward trajectory and another sport on a downward spiral.

So far NO money has been announced for Cricket, Cycling, Sailing, Swimming, Athletics, Golf, Gymnastics, Darts, Snooker, Boxing, a myriad of other Olympic sorts, or even any of the Winter Sports, either. So what makes speedway a special case?

You forgot your Durex

Woe betide that there should be an online ticketing facility with admission upon the scanning of a barcode on a phone app....Pubs & Clubs can have these things, but not speedway. ...oh wait a minute..."not everyone has a fancy phone"...well, not that generation that still watches black & white television. And therein lies your answer.

I'm sure that there will be the usual choice of free pirated links on BSF to keep speedway free for you. And don't forget to download your free race card off BSF too. What more could you ask for? A free BSF Burger?

I'm not convinced by the choir of voices pledging to support streaming speedway. I ask myself this...a few years ago, a deal was done with Bet365 to have streaming coverage of speedway. Who signed up for it? That service never made it to a second season. People say "yeah, I'll pay". Yeah, until you quickly find a "free" pirated streaming link on BSF, like you do for the Polish and SGP meetings, and use that instead. It's in the nature of speedway fans to use a pirated link rather than an official channel, to use a downloaded race card rather than the official programme, your own smuggled in food & drink rather than what's on sale at official outlets... So, by all means give it a try, but don't hold your breath that it will be the salvation of the sport. And when it all goes wrong, and the sport runs out of money, don't forget to blame someone else for that happening too.

Good luck to Rory Schlein in Cardiff in 2021. Finally made it as an SGP rider even if it's through another country's back door. Whose flag will he be flying?

His name is Jörg Grohmann, he's German, and one of Robert Lambert's sponsors. He loves his speedway, is a big fan of Lambert, Zmarzlik and speedway in general, and follows it wherever he can. He puts his money where his mouth is. Maybe that's not to your liking? Maybe he should stay at home, put he feet up in front of the telly, listen to Pearson & Tatum, post sarcastic remarks on BSF and keep his money to himself? The sport would be so much better for it wouldn't it?

The situation isn't helped when you look at the Polish press who have a convention of giving prominence to the title sponsor, so, to use the teams above: Fogo Unia Leszno RM Solar Falubaz Zielona Góra Motor Lublin Moje Bermudy Stal Gorzów Betard Sparta Wrocław etc Most of the time, the town that a team represents isn't included in headlines, just the sponsor and the team name. All part of the learning curve.