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Birmingham Future In Doubt ? Alan Phillips Has Had Enough!


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Why does it take so long to run a EL match? In Aussie we run JNR (u16)125's, JNR (u16)250's, solos & sidecars all on the same day(club days) & night(proper speedway) with between 40/50 heats & it's usually done in within 3 to 4 hours.

 

 

Because the referees allow it to happen, its become the norm, no meeting should really take more than an hour to run, if run properly.

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Because the referees allow it to happen, its become the norm, no meeting should really take more than an hour to run, if run properly.

One hour is too quick really. 5 mins per race with a 15 min interval and the whole thing should be done and dusted in 90 mins.

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Kev, I care about all teams, and losing any would be a massive blow, but the simple fact is that Birmingham moved up and were solely reliant on the Sky money. Crowds have dropped after the initial honeymoon period, and the cloth wasn't cut accordingly. When they moved up, there was no jump in crowds to support the move, and any sensible businessman would have seen this and moved back down. I've enjoyed previous trips to Birmingham, but on the last couple of occasions, it felt like the life had been sucked out of the place. Crowds were down, the racing wasn't as good as it had been, and it very much felt like they were going through the motions. I wish it had worked out better for them, and I hope that it does work out in the end, but if they get through this period, lessons have to be learned. Not just by Birmingham, but by all clubs.

 

Fair play Vog for that response, I was wrong to suggest you were sticking the boot in when you have valid opinions on the situation.

 

I do agree totally about what you say about the Brummies. It was a massive risk to take the Brummies up in the first place, it was after the season Gary Patchett promoted here and it was a struggle for him. At first EL speedway worked buts its clear we don't get the crowds to support this level of racing, the warning signs were absolutely there for all to see last year when we almost folded but Alan just carried on.

 

Whats been a big issue this year apart having a poor side which obviously affects crowd levels, is the lack of sponsorship. The Brummies have always had good sponsorship, but this year it seemed like it dropped. There's still 3 heats that arnt sponsored which was unheard of before this season and the website is lacking. There were stories that people that have been loyal sponsors over many seasons were not even contacted before the season and the club lost out. I certainty think the departure of Joe McLaughlin was a big loss in that regard.

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really is no point anyone on here making any suggestions as to how to improve the sport in this country...

 

it has been done ad nauseum

 

the problems are all self inflicted and obvious to a blind man, therefore those who have made the mess are hardly likely to be receptive to anyone's ideas on how to fix their balls up..

 

the bspa has reaped what it has sowed by allowing, in many cases, their members outgoings to far outweigh their income, and guess what folks? it isn't sustainable!!

 

surprise!!!, hello!!!!!

 

however, if by chance anyone from the bspa is reading this thread then as a starter for ten and in no particular order...

 

all fans in the main want to see is 4 riders of reasonably commensurate ability in every race, with all the riders in the meeting belonging to the two teams on show, they also don't like having to put up with long drawn out meetings, would like some kind of '21st century off track entertainment' to help pass those many natural breaks and a much reduced admission fee from what is current...

 

not saying it's easy to achieve however I would suggest delivering these expectations, night in night out, would go along way in securing a brighter future..

 

not holding my breath obviously...

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basically you will only attract the crowds with a team that are going to challenge every season. the admission prices at Birmingham are quite high and the actual view on the bends isn't that great tbh. plus bar prices/food etc aren't the cheapest. times are hard and as somebody else said how many can actually afford 50 pound for a night out . i certainly cant.. thanks Mr Phillips you've kept Birmingham going but time for a new owner with new ideas

In defence of Alan Phillips he has made speedway at Birmingham as cheap as any in the Elite League with offers,Groupon, Amazon deals.What exactly are the new revolutionary ideas you're expecting from a new promoter ? free entry maybe ?
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£5000 loss per home meeting in 2014 could only end in tears. Word is someone new has been found and will be in place for Wednesday. Lots of debts to settle though so a very brave or loyal speedway person

it's not only the current debts they will have to settle, but also any more losses that will be incurred from the remainder of this season!
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I really do have to question Phillips motives in announcing this,on the day The Brummies are away to one of the strongest Teams in the Sport, Its not as if he is unaware of the situation.

He could have announced it after the last meeting, he could have announced it tomorrow, or is that he just doesnt have the cash to even pay them tonight ?.

 

I think Phillips cant escape criticism himself, well done to him for putting lots of his own money in, however he has been extremely naive in many instances, culminating in him having a PL Team in the EL for 2015, he lost Morris a decent Team manager, He lost Mcloughlin by all accounts a good commercial guy, then he lost Drury, not everyones cup of tea, but he knows the ropes.

This was always going to end in tears, i think most people saw this except Phillips himself. Lets all hope,something can be salvaged from the wreckage of the current inevitable situation.

 

Tony Mole is the obvious saviour, but will he take it on again ? i think he will, but the question remains whoever comes forward, is Birmingham viable as a Speedway city ? in my opinion it has to be doubteful for the long term, There is an alternative with another ex promoter, who obviously knows the pitfalls at Perry Barr, but that would mean losing the Brummie name, and do either set of supporters really want that anyway, i have some doubts.

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BIG mistake going EL....I thoroughly enjoyed my PL visits, and a friend of mine who lives locally wasnt happy that he ended up watching the same teams at Perry Barr as he did every monday at Monmore...Seems the bigger the city the less likely a centrally located club can surive.. whether it's a largely immigrant local population or Yuppies..either way they aren't interested. Much like native householders tracks are reloacting to the outskirts... Kirky Lane bucks the trend for now at least.

?? where you when they were in the PL ..they lost a shed of money in that league as well . The bottom line is no matter what league there will never be enough fans to run speedway at Perry Bar unless Cradley ride there as the home side .

 

To be fair to Brum they have tried it all .. cheap prices , they has a team that topped the table last year. also the track gives us great racing . to be honest bar the cradley plan there is nothing more that can be done

Edited by orion
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The worrying thing is Birmingham has made their speedway cheaper than anywhere else at times this year with £10 offers and yet still had poor attendance

sometimes speedway tracks just go past their sell by date and Birmingham might be one of them. In recent years we have had Newport and the Isle of Wight, who's crowds just dwindled away year after year, which lead to both tracks closing down.
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In my opinion there is no way a Speedway Club can be run with just a few hundred people turning up.

 

 

I have been at (and in) amateur meetings where 50-60 people had turned up to watch.

But i agree from the perspective of running in a competitive league i am sure the cut off point has to be nearer 800.

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I hope Birmingham sort out the problems because i have enjoyed just about every meeting i have seen via bet365 from their.

 

On another point though i can only agree with the issues of time scales, it often takes an age to run meetings, not many people actually complain about it but you only need to witness the mad scramble to get out the car park at Lakeside on a Friday night to see how many are so keen to get away, not uncommon to see people run as soon as the riders have crossed the line for heat 15, if speedway had a second half it would also help stagger the flow of people exiting stadiums as some would want to stay and watch whilst others who maybe have children would want to get away.

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Does that actually attract new supporters, or simply allow existing supporters who would have paid full price to get in at a discount?

I think it just allows supporters who would have attended anyway get in for a discount...and hacks off season ticket holders who have already paid so don't benefit from the discount...at least they are trying though..

 

I feared for Birmingham though this season as teams paying rent to the GRA start on the back foot already and the team that was put out this season was never a competitive side and was suicide for a team already suffering financially...I hope it can be sorted

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In defence of Alan Phillips he has made speedway at Birmingham as cheap as any in the Elite League with offers,Groupon, Amazon deals.What exactly are the new revolutionary ideas you're expecting from a new promoter ? free entry maybe ?

 

Offers alone are only half a fix, some shocking PR statements, lack of advertising and not much sponsorship chasing as previous seasons have done as much damage as prices and quality of racing to turn people away.

 

To be blunt, I'm not sure the Phillips regime presented enough of a welcoming and positive front to supporters and sponsors, all too often biting the hand that feeds it followed by far too many negative statements, has felt like the club has been under a permanent cloud the last 18 months with no sign of it lifting, that whole atmosphere needs to change.

Edited by david2905
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I feared for Birmingham though this season as teams paying rent to the GRA start on the back foot already and the team that was put out this season was never a competitive side and was suicide for a team already suffering financially...I hope it can be sorted

Thou Brum were not a great team how can say they have not been a competitive side ...The matches ive watched they have more than competitive in fact ive really enjoy watching them .

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Very sad to see the Brummies in this situation. Despite being given a winning team last year and a top manager, the Birmingham public don't seem to want to support Elite League Speedway. Surely the best option would be a return to the Premier League which hopefully will prove more sustainable.

 

As many others have said the sport over here needs to change and a re branding/ re marketing exercise seems long overdue.

 

If the sport is to have any long term future they need to get youngsters coming back through the turnstiles and they could make a start by making the presentation a lot more slick.

 

Very best of luck to Brummie supporters and the club in general - hope a rescue package is forthcoming soon.

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Very sad to see the Brummies in this situation. Despite being given a winning team last year and a top manager, the Birmingham public don't seem to want to support Elite League Speedway. Surely the best option would be a return to the Premier League which hopefully will prove more sustainable.

 

 

As has been said the Pl is not suntainable .. for Brum ...they have been there and try that and Lost a packet

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