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Thank God That's Over - Thoughts Of The 2013 Season


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just sums it up really - 2nd leg of E/L final up against the most vital England football match in 2 years!!!

Muppets!

 

Surely they could have got 10 races in tonight? Can't have been any worse than Belle Vue on Sept 9? And unless you know what they were working with then how can you call them muppets. They didn't plan to run against the football as their first option.

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Surely they could have got 10 races in tonight? Can't have been any worse than Belle Vue on Sept 9? And unless you know what they were working with then how can you call them muppets. They didn't plan to run against the football as their first option.

They Should have been working with waterproof covers - fact...

Ooohh it takes such a long time to erect them and then take them down again.... Really! FFS :blink:.

I have been a speedway follower for 39 years now and even I have got the total pip with this rubbishe!!

Not on SKY next year - I couldn't give a fig! ;)

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how can you expect sky to sign , as we dont even know what product to give them?

 

its rumored that Leicester and Ipswich want to come up, but then what about Birmingham? can they even survive the season?

we cant even run 2 home 2 away with ten teams, so if there are any more i assume its only going to be 1 home 1 away?

or will eastbourne & kings lynn drop down?

what will the team limit be it has been suggested it could go as low as 38

can any team afford a GP rider on that low average?

it has been suggested that there will be pay bands? but that will just allow rich clubs to add extra rider "sponsorship"

we have a rule book that is so full of holes, which are only sometimes found.

we have a management team who clearly favor certain teams and not others.

a rights company who siphon off much needed cash for the sport

a gp series which causes a massive shut down when the sun shines

 

but hey you crack on and think sky will sign a multi million pound contract on the back of that?

 

two packet of crisps and a bag of nuts maybe but a contract nah

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They Should have been working with waterproof covers - fact...

Ooohh it takes such a long time to erect them and then take them down again.... Really! FFS :blink:.

I have been a speedway follower for 39 years now and even I have got the total pip with this rubbishe!!

Not on SKY next year - I couldn't give a fig! ;)

 

Funnily enough didn't Pearson say last year there was company in place ready to supply track covers like it was a problem solver? So how are we back here again?

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Funnily enough didn't Pearson say last year there was company in place ready to supply track covers like it was a problem solver? So how are we back here again?

putting that bull$hit aside for a minute ...

 

Do you remember that track drier outer that Ronnie Russel produced a few years back and demo'd on SKY? Looked like a tin ice cream trolley with flames coming out of the bottom to dry out a wet track! ;)

 

Although it was shown on SKY in June I had to check my watch to check it wasn't April Fools day.. :D

 

what a bunch of inept jokers! :lol:

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putting that bull$hit aside for a minute ...

 

Do you remember that track drier outer that Ronnie Russel produced a few years back and demo'd on SKY? Looked like a tin ice cream trolley with flames coming out of the bottom to dry out a wet track! ;)

 

Although it was shown on SKY in June I had to check my watch to check it wasn't April Fools day.. :D

 

what a bunch of inept jokers! :lol:

 

Unfortunately missed that which is a shame as I like a bit of comedy - sounds like a Trotters Independent Trading product, displayed next to Alfie Flowers broken lawnmower engines :D

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Wanted to wait till our season was over before doing this, so here goes......

 

 

Positives

  • Tai Woffinden becoming World Champion, never would have imagined prior to the season starting
  • Brummies topping the table after 28 matches and reaching the grand final, same as above, so proud of all the riders and mangament this year
  • The response there was when Alan Philips made about poor crowd levels in July(?), thought the crowds were improved from then on and good responses for the promotion meetings
  • Winning at Wolves in the first match and in the playoffs was great, it was one fixture I was dying to see us win since our move up :D
  • Both home and away matches with Peterborough, two of the best meetings I have seen this year. Esp battle's between Harris and Bjerre at the showground. :wink:
  • Martin Smolinski getting into the GP's and having a great year for us putting 2pts on his average
  • Just watching Jason Doyle, been superb this year.
  • The Brummies getting a civic reception with the council. :approve:

Negatives

  • The terrible injuries Ricky Ashworth suffered, my heart goes out to him and his family
  • Too many crashes in the sport
  • Belle Vue/Poole shambles, both the 'burst water pipe' one and the other shambles. Didnt do the sport any favours, was shocking
  • The Kozza Smith affair with Kings Lynn and Peterborough, handled very poorly by the SCB.
  • Crowds at Brum early in the season
  • Money woes at Brummies
  • Too much neagtivity in the local press regarding the Brummies at times, thought it was a distraction for the success the side was having on track
  • Banning of our centre green presenter Chris Simpson for the Grand Final and whole website affair
  • Team GB's none showing at the Speedway World Cup.
  • Stupid stop/start nature of the El fixture list!!!!
  • Grand Final- say no more!!!!

Edited by Brummie Kev
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The elite league on sky comes across no better than a cycle speedway meeting. So please let's not kid ourselves the gps on tv look great the elite league looks dire. A blue tarpaulin with car tyres covers the dog track at the man utd of speedway poole well that looks really great on tv dosent it A no not really. All my opinion .

 

Thats a bit unfair, blue tarpaulins and tyres covering the dog track...? What else they supposed to use........? That system is used at most dog/speedway stadia in the uk... like cricket, adjacent wickets have hessian mats pinned over them, old sponsor logos painted on the outfield are mown out and painted out in not a very grass-like green paint, bit of rain and theres sawdust mounds at each end.. Football pitches that share with rugby have lines over lines and lines badly painted out, looks awful sometimes.... Surely theres bigger issues to get right in speedway first????!!!!

 

 

putting that bull$hit aside for a minute ...

 

Do you remember that track drier outer that Ronnie Russel produced a few years back and demo'd on SKY? Looked like a tin ice cream trolley with flames coming out of the bottom to dry out a wet track! ;)

 

Although it was shown on SKY in June I had to check my watch to check it wasn't April Fools day.. :D

 

what a bunch of inept jokers! :lol:

 

Theres a thread ref track covers.... woth a look.

I have seen a track drier working and with a bit of modifying would probably work ok..... but, its still needs a 3/4 hour rain-free window to run meeting inc a little track work before the racing could start.........

Edited by Never to old
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Thats a bit unfair, blue tarpaulins and tyres covering the dog track...? What else they supposed to use........? That system is used at most dog/speedway stadia in the uk... like cricket, adjacent wickets have hessian mats pinned over them, old sponsor logos painted on the outfield are mown out and painted out in not a very grass-like green paint, bit of rain and theres sawdust mounds at each end.. Football pitches that share with rugby have lines over lines and lines badly painted out, looks awful sometimes.... Surely theres bigger issues to get right in speedway first????!!!!

 

 

 

Theres a thread ref track covers.... woth a look.

I have seen a track drier working and with a bit of modifying would probably work ok..... but, its still needs a 3/4 hour rain-free window to run meeting inc a little track work before the racing could start.........

Is that three quarters of an hour or three to four hours??

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I stopped going to speedway a long time ago and thought as i have far too much time on my hands nowadays that i would check up on line and see how the sport I used to love is going, for those interested my team was Wimbledon long since folded, reading the posts on this excellent forum i have to ask what has happened to the sport i used to love.

The league is almost impossible to understand, illegal teams? Play offs for the league title, really?- can only be to get more money for sky sports and does nothing for the creditability of the sport.

If the BSPA want to return the sport to its best years 70`s in my opinion they need to look at how things were run then and copy.

The way things are now i regret to say I see a sport with no creditability and no future.

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If the BSPA want to return the sport to its best years 70`s in my opinion they need to look at how things were run then and copy.

The way things are now i regret to say I see a sport with no creditability and no future.

Things were still run with dodgy deals and decisions in the 70`s. Plus in the 70`s riders didn't ride all over Europe and there was plenty of riders to go around unlike today.

The sport has shed supporters from the 80`s onwards when its credibility has been open to question so dodgy decisions aren't a modern day problem.

 

Plus also in the 70`s we didn't have the internet and multi channel TV to tempt people away from the sport.

 

It is easy to take a golden period and say just copy that, but in my opinion it would be near impossible to replicate the golden years.

Edited by stevebrum
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Thanks for the comment Stevebrum, and I have to agree with you prehaps memories are best left as memories things are never as good if you try and re-create them. But reading other posts on here somethings got to change. Since I made my first post I have read on here that Sky are not going for a new contract so with that money gone are we going to have more clubs struggle? Speedway in this country definitely needs reinvent itself somehow.

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things going to change, its not a level playing field and hasnt been for some time, there was a feeling amongst promoters that teams had a good year then next year wasnt so good mainly down to having to lose top riders due too the points limit , that doesnt seem the case now , anyone that says money doesnt count for much is deluded , the richest club reaching the final for 4 yrs in a row ! i some promoters would probably turn a blind eye if there club was still making a healthy profit but its not the case now and teams need success to bring the crouds in ,,,,

a limit to foreigners is a must , sweden , poland implement it why not here , 3 foreigner limit per team , bring on the brits ,id also ban R/R make a team field 7 riders , go back to the old tac sub , have 2 reserve races ,

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Thanks for the comment Stevebrum, and I have to agree with you prehaps memories are best left as memories things are never as good if you try and re-create them. But reading other posts on here somethings got to change. Since I made my first post I have read on here that Sky are not going for a new contract so with that money gone are we going to have more clubs struggle? Speedway in this country definitely needs reinvent itself somehow.

 

 

I think we all basically are in agreement that our proud top flight is in a sorry state and certainly needs saving.

Not sure if SKY have actually said no to a new contract yet, although that does appear to be the general consensus that many feel they wont - id personally rather wait till i hear it for definite or confirmed one way or another.

 

Speedway managed before SKY came on board and will manage again no doubt.

 

However if that money had been INVESTED in our sport (youth, promoting within) then some of those clubs reliant on that money wont have such a big cloth to cut from!

Edited by stevebrum
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  • 2 weeks later...

Reading many posts on here, I am amazed at the importance that some posters put onto the appearance of star riders. I am of the belief that the biggest problem our Elite League faces is the cost of employing these top riders. Until they can bring those costs down to an affordable level, I see no point in the sport digging itself into an even bigger hole then it is now.

To me the most important people in this sport are the promoters. Without them we have no sport. It is the promoters who take the gamble and put their money on the line, to provide us with our entertainment. They’re no magicians, most of them are honest people trying to make it work.

Compared to them, the riders are of little importance. They just turn up on the day, ride for their own enjoyment as well as ours, and get well paid for the privilege.

There are lots of posters on here saying they will only go to watch the Darcy Wards, Woffy and the other big names. But the sport is more important than star names. Simple calculations based on an attendance of 1000 people per meeting, promoters cannot afford spending £2-3000 on a star rider, just to watch him ride for 5 mins. . It’s about time the supporter and the star riders realised this.

People will say Sponsorship makes the money up, but that’s not sustainable if the crowd numbers are not there. Clubs need to be viable, just to survive.

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ok, I take your point about promoters taking the financial risk...fair enough, but why can't they listen to the fans in preference to sustaining their egos by pandering to top riders who in the main have no loyalty to anyone but themselves ? why do a significant percntage of fans feel that the NL and PL are better products..(and certainly less prone to ridicule)...surely that's food for thought isn't it?...

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Reading many posts on here, I am amazed at the importance that some posters put onto the appearance of star riders. I am of the belief that the biggest problem our Elite League faces is the cost of employing these top riders. Until they can bring those costs down to an affordable level, I see no point in the sport digging itself into an even bigger hole then it is now.

To me the most important people in this sport are the promoters. Without them we have no sport. It is the promoters who take the gamble and put their money on the line, to provide us with our entertainment. They’re no magicians, most of them are honest people trying to make it work.

Compared to them, the riders are of little importance. They just turn up on the day, ride for their own enjoyment as well as ours, and get well paid for the privilege.

There are lots of posters on here saying they will only go to watch the Darcy Wards, Woffy and the other big names. But the sport is more important than star names. Simple calculations based on an attendance of 1000 people per meeting, promoters cannot afford spending £2-3000 on a star rider, just to watch him ride for 5 mins. . It’s about time the supporter and the star riders realised this.

People will say Sponsorship makes the money up, but that’s not sustainable if the crowd numbers are not there. Clubs need to be viable, just to survive.

Great post and it's a shame there aren't more fans with the same opinion. Personally I couldn't care less if there are no 'star' names. What is more important is to get a more level playing field with riders of similar ability in each race, not to have a star rider go off into the distance. I'm also sure that years ago the reserves races were just that - numbers 6 and 7 - not how it is now with a mixture. Unfortunately as I don't have programmes now I can't check the exact positions but I know it's one reserve and one from the main team. Why not just the reserves?

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Reading many posts on here, I am amazed at the importance that some posters put onto the appearance of star riders. I am of the belief that the biggest problem our Elite League faces is the cost of employing these top riders. Until they can bring those costs down to an affordable level, I see no point in the sport digging itself into an even bigger hole then it is now.

To me the most important people in this sport are the promoters. Without them we have no sport. It is the promoters who take the gamble and put their money on the line, to provide us with our entertainment. They’re no magicians, most of them are honest people trying to make it work.

Compared to them, the riders are of little importance. They just turn up on the day, ride for their own enjoyment as well as ours, and get well paid for the privilege.

There are lots of posters on here saying they will only go to watch the Darcy Wards, Woffy and the other big names. But the sport is more important than star names. Simple calculations based on an attendance of 1000 people per meeting, promoters cannot afford spending £2-3000 on a star rider, just to watch him ride for 5 mins. . It’s about time the supporter and the star riders realised this.

People will say Sponsorship makes the money up, but that’s not sustainable if the crowd numbers are not there. Clubs need to be viable, just to survive.

Great post. Spot on.

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