uk_martin

Yes, but don't worry, there's a post in the Brummies Forum that sorts it all out This is an a matter I agree with you about completely. Mind you, others have had other opinions. It's been discussed here - http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=78353 The danger of course of the blind leading the blind is that a one-eyed-man can come along and cause havoc.

I see that one of the Brummies Facebook pages says that there is going to be a special offer "which will have Perry Barr packed to the rafters!!" Worth noting though that this has come from the Facebook page that says it's "official" but the other "official" page (which says it is the real official page) says it isn't....(ho hum). Nothing being said on the Facebook page that isn't official in the slightest or on the Brummies web site. Let's just hope that this isn't some kind of spoof, nor the time for the long suffering fan to endure more confusion and to have to keep their wits about them so as not to get suckered in to this chaos. There are 1108 people who will get to see whatever this offer is, most of whom will probably be unaware of the behind the scenes situation, and that's before they share the news out, so if this is a spoof, and people get suckered, there could be a bad outcome. Never mind eh? All confusion can be cleared up here - Can someone just clear up another bit of confusion please? Is this challenge against Cradley for the Dan McCormack Memorial Cup (or whatever it was being called) or is it for the Travel Tours Plus Challenge, which apparently does not feature a trophy? And if there isn't a trophy, can somene fetch back that traffic cone that was awarded to Birmingham when they beat Stoke in the 2008 M6 Challenge Cup Cone. Need to have something to present to the winners.

Well bully for the slack handfull of Brummies Forum users. I take it that the rest of the world including newcomers to speedway can go and swivel then? Instead of posting messages why not get on and sort the problem out?

Can someone please clear up, for the benefit of those about to get confused, what's going on with the Brummies presence on Facebook? We have this Page (all about "Sky Sports Elite League Speedway team the Birmingham Brummies") - https://www.facebook.com/BirminghamBrummies?fref=ts Then there's this "Official" Page - claiming that "The Selco Birmingham Brummies are Birmingham's Speedway Team based at the Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium and compete in the British Elite League" ...and this even more "Official" Page - - and on this one in the thread about this being the "ONLY" official page we see a contribution from the owner of the Brummies Fans Forum arguing over the "ownership" of the club - like it doesn't belong to Tony Mole, or something. What is going on? C'mon guys, sort it out. Birmingham Speedway is in the Last Chance Saloon, it doesn't need this.

Did anyone phone in to ask which way around the track do the bikes go?

Yeah, see you too. Which Brian? I think I've trippled the numbers of Brian's I know since the advent of speedway returning to Birmingham lol. And before that one goes any further, is it stuff that's better asked in private?

EUREKA! This is exactly the role model that Darcy Ward should follow. He should convert to Islam (never a drop of alcohol will pass his lips then) - change his name to something Islamic e.g. Daheer Waheed and ride in a plain black race suit. Now that would be big box office when he makes his (then to be) much awaited return...

Ahh...the lure of the bottle...time will tell. And as the subject of football was raised (and keeping in-theme with the lure of the bottle), was the World Cup any the worse off for never featuring George Best back in the late 60's and early 70's?

I think you need to re-read what I wrote and only half of which you highlighted in red...it's the money (taken on the Wednesday night) that gets taken to the bank on the Thursday...Clearer now?

Haven't a clue what to expect on track, but off track, thank gawd that some hype and publicity is being applied... https://www.facebook.com/birminghamspeedway/photos/a.933032060040934.1073741827.344109385599874/963463213664485/?type=1&theater Who wins and who loses is somewhat irrelevant. What matters will be the survival of the sport in the city which will begin next Thursday, when the money paid in at the gate is taken to the bank. One forecast I will make is that Cradley fans will outnumber Brummies fans and that their noise and boisterousness may rub some of the Brummies old-timers up the wrong way. We may even get comments about the language used ...however, that's something that will have to be tolerated. What will matter most if that a good evenings entertainment is had by all, and that people get a good enough impression from what they see, to want to go again.

are you suggesting Are you suggesting that Darcy Ward's supporters and apologists are all OLD? Surely not???

I agree with pretty much all you are saying there. I've been saying for months that a dramatic overhaul in what we have in Birmingham is needed, and that an all out effort is needed to attract in the next generation of supporters. I've said repeatedly that the Brummies need to do what it takes to get the people in their late teens and early 20's into the sport. People who pay can at the gate and who have the money still in their pockets when they get hooked on the sport so that they can keep on spending, before they get mixed up with partners, kids, mortgages etc. Like you, I come away from Perry Barr feeling like I'm one of the "New Kids On The Block" when, being in my 50's I ought to be feeling like the "Oldest Swigner In Town" when I leave the stadium. That has to be wrong. Unfortunately, at the moment, all I see is "same old same old"...with the emphasis on OLD! It's like, promoting speedway is all about "open the doors and the people will come". It's like 2007 all over again, only the crowd is now all 8 years older per person than they were in 2007. Dammit, one of the riders at P&P today was even wearing a set of Lee Smart's old kevlars. And yes you're right. I wasn't around much at the start of last year, and only came back when they signed Bartosz Zmarzlik (which lasted all of 2 meetings). In the PL days, I went home and away and for the years 2007-2012 I missed a grand total of 6 meetings in all that time, even after the Brummies went into the EL. Sadly, the EL, the petty politics, some of the personalities involved, and all the shenanigans that were encountered meant that I seriously fell out of love with British Speedway, it's organisers and those responsible for making it, at the highest level, a Poole Pirates love-in. That said you may still be confusing me with other past stalwart fans who have fallen out of love with British Speedway, as there are other previous ever-presents in who stopped attending in recent years, and pretty much for the same reasons. One or two of these who I speak to may also be making a return, others I know for a fact won't. They've been lost for good. They've found other things to do with their time and money. Now that the Brummies have dropped down out of the Poole Pirates sphere of influence and associated corruption, I'm going to give this NL venture the benefit of the doubt, and let it win me over or lose me for good on its own merits. Let's see how we go.

Got an idea...why not all the Darcy Ward supporters and apologists start an on-line petition to get him reinstated, like the one for Jeremy Clarkson? Surely Ward can get more signatures on his petition than Clarkson is doing? What could possibly go wrong?

How about more important things, like which will be the top 3 teams for adding numbers to their home attendances over the course of the season? This above all else will determine who survives and who folds. At Birmingham we've seen blockbuster teams that the fans got bored of (2010 any one?) and we've finished top of the Elite League, but crowds have dwindled. Maybe we should determine the "winners" on the promoters skills in promoting the team and not the riders skills on the track? Maybe, and this is an open question, the racing and the winning and the league positions should not be an end in themselves, but more a means to an end? Maybe Stoke will be the winners if they start the season with 200 fans and end the year with 300? That way they are sure to survive into 2016. What would Eastbourne Birmingham or Cradley need to do to compete with that?

And they'll salute him too, when they've fixed his car and sent him on his way.

The thought of Neil Middlesnitch doing a "Vlad the Insaner" Putin pose doesn't bear thinking about.

Couldn't have brought any more tears to the girls eyes, even if he had been wearing Eau de Onion.

I bet that put the wind up him if nothing else did.

More likely the answer to where Darcy got his Social Media training from...

I haven't been on this thread for a few days. Have I missed anything?

1. The team that finished the season with it's starting 7 riders 2. The team that loses no more than 1 of it's starting 7 riders to the PL 3. The team that loses no more than 2 of it's starting 7 riders to the PL In a league that is all about the taking part and not the winning, who actually cares where they finish up in the league? At this level, success brings with it the "leveler" of a riders elevation to a higher league, So whilst it's great to have a knockout team in March, by May or June there may be nothing of that team left if they all do as well as predicted. No point raising hopes that are bound to be dashed, Just be grateful that you see some good racing. (which is where Eastbourne fans will suffer thanks to that 50p shaped trick track of theirs)

That's not a constraint that prevents Sunday Newspapers from publishing investigative, insightful and informative articles, nor does it prevent them from having opinions about the "stories of the day" (week)

We are where we are now. How we got here will fade into the past.

If a prize is the reward for endeavour, then points money is the prize you get for each race. It may be called something else, but I think that the FIM will seek to make sure that Darcy does not "profit" from his time between 17-28 August. As for clubs/teams being penalised, you could argue that teams could / should have taken pre-emptive measures and suspended Darcy in the way that Man United suspended Erik Cantona, well before the FA handed out their punishment for his infamous king fu kick. Let that be a lesson to those promoters who live in a land of denial of what goes on in the real world. Let it also be a lesson to the BSPA and PZM for not taking immediate action against a rider who brought the sport into disrepute (at the very least).

And now they've chosen to pass the verdict that they have...which they are also at liberty to do. If it all sounds a bit like a punishment, then tough. That's exactly what it is.