gmuncie Posted January 2, 2023 Report Share Posted January 2, 2023 Could argue the bigger mistake was in announcing 2h/2a before it was ratified Can see more reasons against it than for imo - Trying to protect the ndl - teams that lose money per meeting lose less - riders that couldn’t commit to 2h/2a leaving the championship - lower average attendance when same opposition visit multiple times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiveusaB Posted January 3, 2023 Report Share Posted January 3, 2023 One league is the only way forward from a fans perspective/variation etc....IMO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cast1rn Posted January 3, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2023 22 hours ago, gmuncie said: Could argue the bigger mistake was in announcing 2h/2a before it was ratified Can see more reasons against it than for imo - Trying to protect the ndl - teams that lose money per meeting lose less - riders that couldn’t commit to 2h/2a leaving the championship - lower average attendance when same opposition visit multiple times I’m not sure how having less meetings protect the NDL? totally agree that the reality is that clubs running at a loss need to try and maintain there losses to a minimum. again on the lower attendances, not sure if who your home team is racing apart from the number of away fans that’ll show up affects the attendance figures. What does affect attendances is 8 week bloody gaps in the season. Again I think for riders the more meetings that can be offered result in the more potential pay days, which would do the opposite and make the championship more attractive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevePark Posted January 3, 2023 Report Share Posted January 3, 2023 1 hour ago, Cast1rn said: I’m not sure how having less meetings protect the NDL? totally agree that the reality is that clubs running at a loss need to try and maintain there losses to a minimum. again on the lower attendances, not sure if who your home team is racing apart from the number of away fans that’ll show up affects the attendance figures. What does affect attendances is 8 week bloody gaps in the season. Again I think for riders the more meetings that can be offered result in the more potential pay days, which would do the opposite and make the championship more attractive. By having twice as many CL meetings it meant they couldn't fit all the NDL matches in if clubs ran two teams (without having to run Double Headers), apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beirao Posted January 3, 2023 Report Share Posted January 3, 2023 (edited) Seems the NDL tail is wagging the Championship dog! Edited January 3, 2023 by Beirao 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cast1rn Posted January 3, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2023 1 hour ago, StevePark said: By having twice as many CL meetings it meant they couldn't fit all the NDL matches in if clubs ran two teams (without having to run Double Headers), apparently. Or would it maybe be that running an NDL team (think it’s 7 in the league this year I may be wrong)would mean they would have to run 10 league matches instead of 2 where they couldn’t charge for double header tickets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmuncie Posted January 4, 2023 Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 17 hours ago, Cast1rn said: I’m not sure how having less meetings protect the NDL? totally agree that the reality is that clubs running at a loss need to try and maintain there losses to a minimum. again on the lower attendances, not sure if who your home team is racing apart from the number of away fans that’ll show up affects the attendance figures. What does affect attendances is 8 week bloody gaps in the season. Again I think for riders the more meetings that can be offered result in the more potential pay days, which would do the opposite and make the championship more attractive. To go point by point - less Champ fixtures protects ndl as allows clubs to have teams in both, nobody wants to run double headers these are proven loss makers - I won’t argue that lack of continuity in fixtures will harm attendances but having the same team multiple times does this also (unless for cup Finals / play offs etc) while your weekly diehards will go regardless the more irregular fan is less likely to go to a fixture if they know they have another opportunity to see them or vice versa wont bother the second time I’ve seen attendance figures to back this up. - for some riders more fixtures the better but for those with other commitments that’s not always the case. Erik Riss originally was going to sit out champ this year as it was to much, Josh Pickering said he considered the same. Then others like Ben Basso had originally said they would only do 1 uk league. That probably would still have been Glasgow I would guess but who knows may have been Pboro that’s potentially 3 number 1’s gone. I like you am a speedway junkie and want weekly fixtures from April till October but we perhaps have to realise there are many mitigating circumstances why this isn’t feasible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cast1rn Posted January 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 @gmuncie totally agree with the maybe lack of perspective and the fact that I’d go see speedway regardless of who was racing. I think the basso thing was always going to be Glasgow but with the potential 30 ish meetings he was only going to ride in the championship. having not been to an NDL match, hopefully in the not too distant future we may see one in Glasgow, you never know. What are the attendances like at Armadale, Berwick, Leicester Oxford etc when they run NDL meetings without the championship teams running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
szkocjasid Posted January 4, 2023 Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 On 1/1/2023 at 6:28 PM, mikebaker said: Jade Mudgway was all for the 2 home, 2 away meetings. Because Redcar don't have a NL team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
szkocjasid Posted January 4, 2023 Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 18 hours ago, Beirao said: Seems the NDL tail is wagging the Championship dog! But if the NL went down to 4 or 5 clubs, would that be feasible. If there was no NL where do the Championship riders of the future come from? Teams could end up flying more riders in from abroad / paying for more visas, making the Championship more expensive & possibly losing more clubs - so even less matches! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beirao Posted January 5, 2023 Report Share Posted January 5, 2023 16 hours ago, szkocjasid said: But if the NL went down to 4 or 5 clubs, would that be feasible. If there was no NL where do the Championship riders of the future come from? Teams could end up flying more riders in from abroad / paying for more visas, making the Championship more expensive & possibly losing more clubs - so even less matches! Take your point about the need to have an NDL, but with Armadale uncertain/unlikely- you tell me - there are only two Championship clubs tracking teams in both divisions - Berwick and Oxford. Might be wrong but Berwick seem to be ok with double headers so have the Championship fixtures been halved just to suit Oxford. Ironically most supporters predictions of the league finishing order have Berwick and Oxford misding the cut for the play offs so both clubs will have plenty of blank weeks at the end of the season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cast1rn Posted January 5, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2023 47 minutes ago, Beirao said: Take your point about the need to have an NDL, but with Armadale uncertain/unlikely- you tell me - there are only two Championship clubs tracking teams in both divisions - Berwick and Oxford. Might be wrong but Berwick seem to be ok with double headers so have the Championship fixtures been halved just to suit Oxford. Ironically most supporters predictions of the league finishing order have Berwick and Oxford misding the cut for the play offs so both clubs will have plenty of blank weeks at the end of the season! Just checking, Mildenhall Workington Leicester Belle vue Berwick Oxford Kent ?? Plymouth (are the gladiators running this season)? Armadale devils??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_martin Posted January 5, 2023 Report Share Posted January 5, 2023 On 1/3/2023 at 9:08 AM, GiveusaB said: One league is the only way forward from a fans perspective/variation etc....IMO Not enough riders for One League, as has been shown in previous posts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiveusaB Posted January 5, 2023 Report Share Posted January 5, 2023 26 minutes ago, uk_martin said: Not enough riders for One League, as has been shown in previous posts. That depends on the Heat format and Team formation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiveusaB Posted January 5, 2023 Report Share Posted January 5, 2023 18 hours ago, szkocjasid said: But if the NL went down to 4 or 5 clubs, would that be feasible. If there was no NL where do the Championship riders of the future come from? Teams could end up flying more riders in from abroad / paying for more visas, making the Championship more expensive & possibly losing more clubs - so even less matches! From second half events, like in the past.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianbuck Posted January 5, 2023 Report Share Posted January 5, 2023 Why does UK Martin seem to get so much pleasure from knocking everything that Birmingham try to do? His latest post is no more than his jaundiced personal opinions which he tries to present as established facts. No one, for example has ever suggested that James Pearson was "The next Darcy Ward" when most accept that he was just a young lad with a lot of promise. It's disappointing to read these posts from someone who worked so hard to get a planning consent for Birmingham - but if youv'e really gone sour on speedway Martin, why not find another pastime and lay off the negativity? There are good people trying to make a go of speedway in Birmingham and who don't deserve all this. 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The H Man Posted January 5, 2023 Report Share Posted January 5, 2023 On 1/1/2023 at 8:51 PM, uk_martin said: Last year, Birmingham season ticket sales were based on promises of having a team, including "the new Darcy Ward", capable of reaching the play-off's, a team with a genuine #1, and the assumption that riders contracted to the team were available to ride at least all the home fixtures that the season ticket covered. Within days, the #1was off to pastures new, with the blessing of the club, having fulfilled his task of boosting season ticket sales, another rider became injured and ended his season / career, the Darcy Ward pretender proved to be a huge disappointment and Birmingham only had partial access to the rider whose priority lay in the Danish league. Not the kind of legacy of broken promises that inspire people to invest again. Everyone is entitled to opinions but as a Director and minority shareholder in Birmingham Speedway I'd just like to clear a few things up: Not a single season ticket was sold after Adam Ellis was signed!! The season tickets holders from 2022 have remained very loyal with a renewal rate of over 85% already. I don't recall anyone from the club saying that James Pearson was the new Darcy Ward! James is an emerging talent and was recommended by Leigh Adams, Craig Watson and Phil Morris amongst others, hopefully, he will build on his first season and prove a real asset in 2023. I don't think James is a Darcy Ward pretender, he's just a 17 year old lad with decent ability looking to develop a career in the sport! As all fans know, due to the new promotion having access to the rider market later than all other Championship teams, it was extremely tough to sign heat leader standard riders. Adam Ellis' signing was always a risk with his other commitments, when it became apparent he would miss matches and risk having a ban in the UK it made sense for him to be released with Justin Sedgman being available proving a solid replacement. As for Claus Vissing, he disappointed on and off track, trying to move goal posts several times on an agreed deal! In an ideal world he wouldn't have been first choice, but as other teams found out there weren't riders queuing up to ride in the UK on a midweek evening! Broken promises? Is that Nigel Tolley saying our aspirations were to get into the play-off's? The two main shareholders Nigel and Tracey Smith worked their butts off to keep Birmingham Speedway going in 2022 and are continuing to do that alongside a band of willing volunteers so that 2023 will be more successful. Finally, this is all coming from someone who closely associated himself with the Phillips promotion at Birmingham, whose legacy was to break more promises than the current ever will! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiveusaB Posted January 6, 2023 Report Share Posted January 6, 2023 Very good post...very good points made. The only 'complaint/discretion' I would have, is the fact that the Ellis signing wasn't transparent! Bottom line though....I feel that the Birmingham promotion are a giving set-up....predictions/opinions pushed aside, I'm happy to pay £20 to support them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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