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Birmingham Future In Doubt ? Alan Phillips Has Had Enough!


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The quicker GB goes to 1 league and regroup getting rid of all the money grabbing Big Names using the EL for practice and pocket money the better. One Big league with evenly matched teams and watching the same 7 riders each week might just tempt fans back.I would like to know what some of the big names are taking out the sport money wise in GB.

I know the league format has been debated to death but if you want 1 big league then its going to be 1 big Premier League, current Premier clubs are not under any circumstance going to meet the Elite half way in strengths when amalgamating into 1 league. As the best riders in the Premier are Cook,Grajczonek and Lawson,that is your ballpark standard for your new league number 1. So under the banner of money grabbing big hitters goes Harris,Doyle,Nicholls,Schlein, etc all good servants to British speedway. Next is the cost don't expect it to be £10 like some have advocated more likely it will be in line with what the Elite/Premier currently charge,we saw it this year in the Elite, 2 heats of national league speedway inserted with the price staying the same.
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Surely NOBODY can blame Alan Phillips? He has put his money where his mouth is 100%

Who's blaming Phillips? When i last looked nobody. Its the greedy buggers who are not prepared to compromise on the rent are the ones to blame..

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I know the league format has been debated to death but if you want 1 big league then its going to be 1 big Premier League, current Premier clubs are not under any circumstance going to meet the Elite half way in strengths when amalgamating into 1 league. As the best riders in the Premier are Cook,Grajczonek and Lawson,that is your ballpark standard for your new league number 1. So under the banner of money grabbing big hitters goes Harris,Doyle,Nicholls,Schlein, etc all good servants to British speedway. Next is the cost don't expect it to be £10 like some have advocated more likely it will be in line with what the Elite/Premier currently charge,we saw it this year in the Elite, 2 heats of national league speedway inserted with the price staying the same.

 

 

Under no circumstance could that class as a `credible` league with only PL standard riders.

 

Id prefer the EL stay alone. And a definite no no to one big league.

 

A league without Tai, Harris, Scottie and any other top rider that wants to ride here has no credibility on the World stage at all.

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In respect of the post which raised the subject of the planning condition that the speedway facilities all be removed if racing ceased, this applied only if the original 3-year temporary planning consent was not replaced by full planning permission at the end of that 3 year term.

 

In fact, the temporary consent was extended to a fourth year, and then full planning permission was granted, so this condition no longer exists.

 

As far as I am aware, if speedway does finish at Perry Barr, and a new promotion came in in say, three or four years time, there would be no requirement to apply for a planning consent as the existing one has no time limit attached to it. All that would be need would be to show evidence that the stadium had been used for speedway racing without causing serious problems to local residents - which has been the case.

 

Whether this would still apply if there was another 20 year gap would probably be different since there would inevitably have been major changes to housing etc in the intervening period and of course, because planning matters would have changed.

 

Joe Thurley was not required to apply of a planning consent when he installed the speedway at the old Ladbroke Stadium on the other side of the Walsall Road in 1971 - all he had to do was show evidence that the stadium had been used for speedway before - even though it had been 40 years previously, but that wouldn't washwith the Council these days.

 

Still, this is all beside the point. This latest news is devastating for Birmingham supporters like myself, but we are all grateful for the kind comments and good wishes that have been extended from supporters of other clubs. The situation looks bleak for us at the moment but what else can we do but keep our fingers crossed and hope against hope that someone will come in and save us.

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Under no circumstance could that class as a `credible` league with only PL standard riders.

 

Id prefer the EL stay alone. And a definite no no to one big league.

 

A league without Tai, Harris, Scottie and any other top rider that wants to ride here has no credibility on the World stage at all.

 

in that case stay alone and watch poole, kings lynn wolves and belle vue in a 4 team league

 

Tai Harris Scottie could stay if they'd ride for affordable money

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in that case stay alone and watch poole, kings lynn wolves and belle vue in a 4 team league

 

Tai Harris Scottie could stay if they'd ride for affordable money

 

 

There will be enough teams for a meaningful EL, thanks.

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I for one am not blaming Alan Phillips, he has tried his best, and one cant blame anyone for that. However what i will say, is he seems to have held on for to long, so that after due dilligence even Tony Mole wont come to the rescue.

 

I feel for Brian Buck he must be in pieces with whats happening, I just hope against hope the venue isnt lost, because as Arthur Cross has said, the Speedway rental income is only peanuts for the GRA, and it wont bother them if they have it or not.. Oxford all over again..

 

I doubt 1 big League would work, but a League with North & South with the winners meeting in a play off could work, however The pay structure would have to be whats affordable, no more living beyond ones means, if the crowds are only 1000 average at £13 per head, then the wages have to reflect that, and any SKY monies has to be distributed evenly, and seen as a bonus, not as a subsidy. If Teams dont want to go with that, then there is the NL.

 

The future of Speedway in the Uk is at a crossroads and its up to the BSPA to come up with the answers before its to late, if it isnt already.

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Its the greedy buggers who are not prepared to compromise on the rent are the ones to blame..

You think this is still all about rent? It's gone way, way beyond that, I'm afraid.

 

 

 

There will be enough teams for a meaningful EL, thanks.

Of course. Just over a hundred years ago, Harland & Wolff faithfully promised The White Star Line that the Titanic wouldn't sink. Look at what happened there...

Edited by Leicester Hunter
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Of course. Just over a hundred years ago, Harland & Wolff faithfully promised The White Star Line that the Titanic wouldn't sink. Look at what happened there...

 

 

Back in the land of the living............. people keep saying year after year there wont be an EL , think Harland and Wolff predicted that too.

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Back in the land of the living............. people keep saying year after year there wont be an EL , think Harland and Wolff predicted that too.

There will always be an Elite League, or a Division One. A league a little bit higher standard than the one below it.

Just depends what name you want to give it and whether or not it's fitting.

Edited by OGT
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If as expected The Brummies fold again it will be the last time you will see this sport in Birmingham IMHO, It is very sad to see Clubs folding and not a good sign for Speedway in the UK.

 

As for the blame, well the people responsible know who they are I just hope they are proud of themselves going down in history, some folk have no scruples do they!

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There will be enough teams for a meaningful EL, thanks.

Poole, Wolves, King's Lynn and Lakeside - clearly sturdy enough for the current level of the Elite League both in terms of their finances and stadium availability.

 

But after that ... what's your minimum number of clubs for a "meaningful EL" ? !!

 

Birmingham are in dire straits, Coventry don't have a stadium from 2017 onwards and Eastbourne whinge nearly every autumn about struggling to afford staying in the EL but just about manage to do so.

 

Belle Vue could join the "sturdy" group if the National Speedway Stadium proves successful but that remains a big "if" and won't be fully known for a few years yet ... as long as they're still reliant on using the GRA's version of Kirky Lane, they're battling to make ends meet.

 

Swindon are reliant on the new version of the Abbey Stadium working out for them (both in terms of their new track settling in and avoiding noise-hassle from loads of new residential neighbours).

 

And as for Leicester, how can anyone describe them as sturdy while David Hemsley remains in such dominant charge ? !!

 

Ipswich and Peterborough have already taken some of the most sensible decisions in British speedway's recent history by realizing the Premier League's their more realistic level and there appears little enthusiasm anywhere else in the PL to move up, not even from somewhere like Sheffield who'd immediately be among the top EL stadiums if they chose to move up.

 

The Sky contract that ran out at the end of 2013 clearly stated it would be invalid if the EL dropped below a minimum of 8 clubs ... I don't know if the current Sky contract says likewise but I think it's fair to expect that's again the case.

 

This current Sky contract runs to the end of the 2018 season ... so perhaps "stevebrum" (or anyone else) could suggest who'll be in that 2018 Elite League to satisfy that tv-contract.

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