Brummie Kev

Adam Skornicki signs for Birmingham, confirmed on BBC WM this morning.

They have indeed come down at Birmingham next year!!

I'm with redandyellow on this, for certain every Brummies fan would love us to be challenging for the title, building an attractive side to hopefully go one step further and win the El. However the reality is this club cant afford to, last season we built a good side and despite a great start to the season, where were the crowds?. They were shocking, remember the Belle Vue home match and it was them sort of crowds that led Alan Phillips to put the warning of the club folding in the local press. Whilst there was a reaction from the fans, it was clear as day that we were over extending ourselves, as we were paying too much in wages then what we were getting back in numbers through the gates. I dont want a repeat of it, its fantastic to see your club at the top of the league and to finish top in the regular season. However It shouldnt be at a price and the price was the club almost closed down mid season. Also riders not getting payed on time was also mentioned and look what Phil Morris said when he left. So the club has to operate within its means this upcoming season. I agree with what David says about there being no support if we get tonked every week, if we have a side like say Mildenhall had in the last year they were in the PL then it will be a disaster. That Im hoping wont happen, whilst the aim very much is to build a cheaper side it should be a side that can at least hold its own. In the riders we have, in Danny and Ben we have two riders that have been with club from the start and go very well at Perry Barr. Kennett is a rider I'm dubious on as Ive seen some poor at Perry Barr in recent seasons but you never know and he was good in 2011. The last 2 riders will be crucial and if both have records of good meetings at Perry Barr then we will have a side that will hold its own at home at least against most sides. The last thing we want is a team that is spanked every week in front of its own fans. The number 1 aim this year should be the club being in a much better state off track as last season it left a sour taste which shouldnt have been the case with such a great side and some many good results, we dont want that again. Happy New Year Everyone!!

Great News to hear that Sheffield has new owners, its a great venue and a fantastic race track that in my opinion should one day be in the Elite League.

Couldnt agree more about Skornicki, would be very happy if we signed him. The last rider would be more tricky, best is Dennis Andersson but get the feeling hes a rider we probably cant afford given the budget we are working under. I think Nico needs to go out on loan in the Premier League next year, Graham Drury has missed a trick by not allowing him to do PL and EL next year which I feel would be a benefit to him. I'm uneasy about him riding full time brummies when he hardly rides in Europe, lack of meetings was his problem last year. Lahti would be a decent option, good second string, might stick half a point on that average.

Would have loved Kenni at the Brummies but the correct decision from judge. Im sure it wouldnt be long before he gets a phone call when a rider is injured/replaced once the season starts

It seems he wont be back whilst Alan is the owner, which is a shame as every Brummies fan I'm sure would love him back. Really hope he doesnt end up at Coventry.

To be fair, the first time I have heard about this was reading your post . Think there should be something on the main site.

Theres not much else left , it seems we have missed out on quite few riders, Drury said as much in the local press . Would have loved Peter Ljung at the Brummies, well gutted he signed for Leicester. Also we cant sign any more D/U riders which rules out the likes of Wolbert. Wouldnt mind seeing Ulamek back at the Brummies, hes one rider yet to be fixed up. I agree, the club in my opinion needs to address the asset base. I know the club has lost a lot of money the past two seasons which probably forced us to go back on the Barker deal and I get that we arnt in the postion to spend 20k on a rider. However surely we should be looking to the future and signing some of the talented young NL youngsters, because we would be in a prime postion in future EL drafts by having a protected asset. Also if they fulfil their talent then we have the option of selling them on for a good sum of money if we want. Whats the use of 30/40 year olds on our asset base, many which have retired?

Dryml Brothers are my guess.

I put it on the BSPA AGM thread in the General section last week, your highest averaged rider doesnt have to ride at 1 but your top 3 must ride 1, 3 or 5. Also you have the guest option if ANY of your top 5 are out. Drury said it at last weeks Brummies talk in.

I wish Eddie all the best at the Brummies, hope he does well but I think its a very disapointing signing. I dont see any improvement on that average as I think hes a 6.5 man at best imo, hes had two years where hes stagnated and it remains to be seen whether doubling up will be a benefit to him. He had a good 2011 before the silencer issue and he rode well at Perry Barr twice but Ive seen some awful showings in 2012 and 2013, will see whether Drury gets the best out of him. We NEED another heatleader to fill one of the last 2 spots for us to be competitive next year but its hard to see who we are going to sign. Sundstrom I would have but isnt he riding in the Allsvenskan league next year which is Thursday nights in Sweden, dont know if he will be riding in England. So maybe two 5 pters and a top 3 of King, Barker and Kennett, would be disapointed with that.

Of course hes good enough but it seems the promotors disagree. I feel the introduction of the EL draft hasn't helped him , less places for already proven EL riders.

Auty not riding in the Elite League according to what he put on twitter, a real shame as I think he can still do job at the Brummies, more so than Nico imo.

I had the same thing about a week back, have had it in my bookmarks for years and link always worked. Went to click on it and it showed a page saying it didnt exist and had some porn links on the page, I know the address I had wasnt speedwaygb.co, cant rememember whether it was .com or .co.uk but as I say it always worked until then. Strange

I disagree, as much as I love Nico I dont see him improving on that average starting in the main body. It seems that its full time Brummies or full time Premier League for him next year, I dont understand why if Graham wanted to include him its not with him riding in the PL too. Last season I think what hindered Nico was the fact he wasnt riding enough meetings in Europe just the Brummies really, he needed more meetings! If theres no recoginised number 1 at Brum next year then rest of the top 5 must have potential of increasing their averages to compensate and imo Nico wont be strong enough.

Every year it seems the BSPA miss out key changes in the statement that come out of the AGM, it seems 2013 is no different. Dont know whether this applies to PL aswell as EL: 1. Highest averaged rider doesnt have to ride in the number 1 postion, but top 3 have to ride 1, 3 or 5. 2. If any of your top 5 are missing then you have the option of a guest. This was apparently said at the Brummies talk in last night.

Great news about BB,Just saw your post on the Brummies forum, great to read they are REDUCING the admission price to £15 adult next year!!!

Ben Barker back at Brum

Taken from Twitter Mikkel Michelsen ‏@MichelsenRacing 21m Just a few days and everything is sorted for 2014. Who will it be, that's the question❓

No he isnt, hes said in a blog posted on his site this morning ( which is in German) that he wont be competing in the British or Polish leagues next season. Its be an absolute pleasure to have watched Smoli riding for my club the past two seasons, his been a great rider for us and had an awesome 2013 season. Wish him all the best in the SGP next year and hope to see him back in the red and yellow sometime in the future.

I reckon Danny King will be number 1, just dont see who is left to ride for us in that position that: 1. hasnt signed for another club (expect Bjerre to go to Kings Lynn)2. we can afford. Not keen on Kennett, dont see any improvement on that average.

Perhaps it may be screened on the Speedwaytv.tv website like the Polish Playoffs were, would be such a shame to lose Swedish Speedway from our screens.

You mean this: http://speedwayupdates.proboards.com/thread/4095/kings-lynn-birmingham-pt-30pm I loved Lee Smart back then in 2007/2008/2009 when he rode for us, in his late teens and was pretty decent PL reserve/second string. If only thsi EL draft was around for him back then, may have kicked on more. Its a shame hes fallen away quite a bit, he'll never make a major breakthrough but I think he's more than capable of improving on the last few terrible seasons. If he does he wont be the worst rider from this draft.

Wish it was Robert Lambert lol but welcome to simon and Paul Starke to the Brummies.