OGT Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Clueless or penniless? The latter is nearer the mark than the former. I actually feel for Phillips, he has bought into a sport that it seems few people in the city are interested in supporting. Enthusiastic team management and a plethora of sponsorship deals can only paper over the cracks for so long. Fans are the life blood of any club and if you can't get enough through the turnstiles then you're in trouble. The chickens will eventually come home to roost. I really hope that Brum can turn the corner with this team, but I fear it will take a miracle for that to happen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishRoundabout Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 How can anyone feel sorry for Phillips? He put this side together along with Dury. As soon as it was announced the World & it's wife said it was an absolute abysmal team. I believe Birmingham only held it together last season because of Phil Morris's enthusiasm for the sport. As harsh as it sounds, the Birmingham management only have themselves to blame. Clueless is the only word to describe the way they're running the club. The only people to feel sorry for are the fans I reckon they held it together predominantly because they had Smolinski banging in double figure scores from reserve until mid-summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moorski Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 A dismal result that will only drive away more supporters, The team was put together on a tight budget which folk understand, however they will not pay good money to watch a weak product which sadly Birmingham are. Losing is one thing but not competing is another, I sincerely hope things change but unless it does very quickly the future is bleak for the Club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellevueace Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 sad to see a city that went so long without speedway struggling for crowds, even a losing team is better than no team at all, the question is does birmingham as a city really want speedway? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orion Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Sad day for brum ...and like many I don't think with this small fan base they will see the season out with this side . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerry1875 Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 (edited) sad to see a city that went so long without speedway struggling for crowds, even a losing team is better than no team at all, the question is does birmingham as a city really want speedway? A losing team will only drive the fanbase away even further though, I do have to say though that i have often asked the question about Speedway in Brum on numerous occasions, but its just not the speedway in Birmingham that is affected by dwindling crowds, Birmingham City and Aston Villa have both suffered losses in fan base, Warwickshire Cricket Club another , i would just like to say one thing about Birmingham in general and its not having a dig at anyone in particular but Birmingham is very multicultural and when you walk through our city centre it is now very hard to even hear an english conversation, its either Polish, Hindi, Romanian and god knows what other languages are spoken in our wonderful city, i just dont think that sport is high on the agenda of this city anymore, least we not forget also that when Birmingham closed in the 80s and re-opened in 2007 there was a lost generation in speedway support, maybe without internet, social media the younger generations would have seen speedway as a cheaper version than the ridiculous high priced football, i cant honestly say that Birmingham will see the season through or not, hopefully NOT the latter, but i do fear beyond this season, but when a team crumbles as badly as tonight at home, it wont help the situation Edited April 2, 2014 by gerry1875 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yikes Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Disappointing meeting. Hope the Brummies warm up soon before the season gets too far gone. Lakeside won most from the gate and then extended the lead, some nice team riding too. Not the best team that Drury has come up with over a winter. On to the next one when the Bees are in town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LagutaRacingFan Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 (edited) Birmingham should sign Sundstrom. He's better than anyone in their side and he's looking for a UK ride. Also.. Why did they get rid of Smolinski? I saw him in the Pairs and he was as quick as Holder and Ward with his straight line cutback speed. Edited April 2, 2014 by Hougaard Racing Fans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arson fire Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Birmingham should sign Sundstrom. He's better than anyone in their side. There's a reason he rides in the Swedish Elite League. aye... He's French?? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bostonian Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Birmingham should sign Sundstrom. He's better than anyone in their side and he's looking for a UK ride. Also.. Why did they get rid of Smolinski? I saw him in the Pairs and he was as quick as Holder and Ward with his straight line cutback speed. Smolinski is only racing in Germany and Denmark so he can concentrate on the GP's. Gone a different way to all the other GP boys but will see if it pays off or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerry1875 Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Not being disrespectful to Smolinski, but i do believe he will be seriously outclassed in the GP series, if he makes anywhere near the top 8 then i,m afraid Speedway is going downhill, because there is no way he is up to that class Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiheke1 Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 Not being disrespectful to Smolinski, but i do believe he will be seriously outclassed in the GP series, if he makes anywhere near the top 8 then i,m afraid Speedway is going downhill, because there is no way he is up to that class Of course everone said that about tai last year. If smolinski majes top 8 it will be because he deserves it and has improved to world class. I think he will finish 15th though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g13webb Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 How can anyone feel sorry for Phillips? He put this side together along with Dury. As soon as it was announced the World & it's wife said it was an absolute abysmal team. I believe Birmingham only held it together last season because of Phil Morris's enthusiasm for the sport. As harsh as it sounds, the Birmingham management only have themselves to blame. Clueless is the only word to describe the way they're running the club. The only people to feel sorry for are the fans That's a bit harsh! so easy to be judgemental when on the outside. It has been so obvious the financial implication has dictated the team selection and for that reason, one has to feel for the Brummie team and fans. Not everyone can be winners, and Birmingham are no alone, in that they will not win the league. Their fans will appreciate that, but the pill that is harder to swallow, is when there is no effort from the team. when that happens you have to question your own indulgence. I sincerely hope Birmingham survive these trouble times... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semion Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 I think any Genuine Speedway fan should feel for the Brummies. Havent we all ( Poole fans excluded of course) been there ? I remember at Lynn In Waggys last season there. Use to turn up in blind hope for just an odd win at Saddlebow. It really was a poor team, and all the fans knew it from the start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GiveusaB Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 A very sad and dejected Brummies fan.....Lakeside look solid ! Or did we make them look better than they really are? BECH and ELLIS were the highlights for my hard earned £15..... I wont be making the trip to watch the return fixture....cant justify wasting all that money to watch this rubbish ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E I Addio Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 That's a bit harsh! so easy to be judgemental when on the outside. It has been so obvious the financial implication has dictated the team selection and for that reason, one has to feel for the Brummie team and fans. Not everyone can be winners, and Birmingham are no alone, in that they will not win the league. Their fans will appreciate that, but the pill that is harder to swallow, is when there is no effort from the team. when that happens you have to question your own indulgence. I sincerely hope Birmingham survive these trouble times... The highlighted part is really the nub of it. When riders on a 6 or 7 point average score 2 on their home track questions have to be asked. If King and Kennett had simply scored in line with their averages the result would have been much closer, the match would have been more exciting and there would be something to build on. Kennett in particular scored a paid max for Rye House on Saturday so he does have some ability when he gets his head round it. When you consider that Richard Lawson, who is a roughly similar sort of PL/EL double upper to Kennett, scored more than twice as much Kennett and King together it is obvious that the Brum side really have to take a long look at themselves. They might not exactly be the hot favourites to win the league but they are falling well short of their potential. When Coventry paid £29,000 for Eddie a few years ago he really seemed to to have the potential to step up to a decent heatleader standard, but since then he has stagnated . I doubt if anyone would even want to buy him now. What has gone wrong? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semion Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 Maybe Cov were buying Potential that sadly has never been realised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeyin Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 Sad to see Birmingham go through such a difficult time, we were there last season ( Glasgow ) managed only 5 points during the whole season. It was pitiful to watch and support dwindled, so much so, we were hours away from closing altogether, but thankfully we have survived and have speedway to look forward to for another season, our mistake last year was not changing the team soon enough after so many defeats, IMO I think Birmingham should be looking at strengthening the team sooner rather than later... I would hate to see them lost to the sport altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semion Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 If the team has been produced on a budget, where is the extra cash going to come from to change the team, Plus who is out there who is desperate to ride in the UK and will make a big Difference to the Brummies team ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agrotron Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 Karol Baron ^ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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