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Post by schumi on May 30, 2007 16:30:42 GMT
Well it looks like the shit has well and truly hit the fan at Oxford with poor Aaron Lanney announcing over the radio that Colin Horton has pulled out. No doubt this will be the fault of the fans, the BSF and the public slating he’s had, and nothing at all to do with him. Sorry Rob – I said I didn’t like him and that really confirms my opinion, especially as it’s only been a few days since he promised the team would survive.
I feel really sorry for Aaron, the riders and the fans, who really have borne about as much as they can take. I sincerely hope that something can be done to keep the team going and I wish them every success for the future.
At the moment there is plenty of rumour and speculation, but I’m waiting for a press release before making further comment…
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2007 16:35:50 GMT
Bloody nora I didn't realise Horton had pulled out!
What's going to be done, how bigger hole has he left?
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Post by admin on May 30, 2007 17:00:15 GMT
I fear this is the end of Oxford speedway. It's led a hand to mouth existence for years and years, during which time it's been subject to mismanagement on an epic scale. I know great effort will be expended to try and save the club, but will it be just until the next crisis?
Edit:
Maybe I should restore the swear filters before young Peasley turns up.
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Post by schumi on May 30, 2007 17:47:58 GMT
BBC radio Oxford reports that Oxford speedway is closed with immediate effect. Seems the BSPA will only accept that in writing and are waiting for confirmation from the team.
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Post by admin on May 30, 2007 18:02:35 GMT
The BSPA could be waiting a while - Horton's not much good at writing.
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Post by schumi on May 31, 2007 9:30:48 GMT
OXFORD CHEETAHS PRESS RELEASE
Thursday 31st May 2007
This is the official press release from Oxford Speedway on the closure of the Club.
OXFORD Speedway owner Colin Horton has this afternoon taken the agonising decision to close the club down.
Colin has informed the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA) of his intention to pull the club from the Elite and Conference leagues with immediate effect.
Colin described the decision as the hardest he has ever had to make in his life, but insists it is impossible for the struggling club to continue.
He has already lost thousands since purchasing the club last year and can no longer bankroll it from his own pocket.
The riders of both the Cheetahs and Lions' teams - and all Oxford speedway staff ˆ have been made aware of the closure of the club.
Colin said: "It is with dismay that I have been forced to make the decision to pull the plug on Oxford Speedway.
"I have thought long and hard about this and it really is the toughest thing I have ever had to do.
"If I could see even the smallest glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel I would have carried on, but I can't.
"The club is losing several thousand pounds each and every week and that cannot continue.
"It has got to the stage where the club is no longer a viable business. I am not here to make money for one minute, but I do not have an endless supply of cash to keep the club going and I have to put my family first.‰
Low attendances and a general lack of interest in the area have greatly hampered Colin's ambitions to turn the fortunes of Oxford Speedway around.
Colin added: "Our crowds have been in the region of 400-500 for home meetings and we value greatly the support of every single fan to have come through the door this season.
"But the harsh reality is that we need attendances of double those figures to even stand a chance of breaking even and I just don't envisage that happening here.
"Trust me, telling riders and other staff they are out of jobs is a horrible thing to have to do, but there was no alternative. There are some wonderful people associated with the club and it has hurt me deeply to tell them of the closure.
"I have tried my heart out to make a success of Oxford Speedway but it has not happened.
This will be the only comment the club is making on the subject at the moment. From www.oxford-speedway.comHmmm, the heart bleeds....
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Post by schumi on May 31, 2007 12:01:37 GMT
Okay, Aaron Lanney has just been interviewed on Sky Sports News. He basically said they had problems putting a strong team together at the beginning of the year, and that it's become clear that the club was losing money recently.
He said they had a crowd figure of 2000 against Reading on Good Friday and said that poor form was the main factor for the fans dropping off.
He also said "things" are under way to secure some sort of future for oxford, but didn't elaborate further.
He thinks there is a BSPA meeting today to see what might happen with regards to the riders and he's waiting to hear the outcome of that.
And finally that we need to do something to get the big riders back over here, that they need to have more home grown riders, and that they have to knuckle down at the AGM and restructure the whole league.
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Post by Doug on May 31, 2007 12:23:04 GMT
Seems Mr Horton found it so hard to tell the staff that he didn't bother and got the woman in the office to do it. One thing i do find a bit strange is a post on the BSF(which seems to be down again so i can't quote it)from an Ipswich fan(Robyn something or other)saying that they knew of this news last week but was told not to say anything.Now this opens up a can of worms.Maybe it was just a rumour they heard(we have all heard one or two in our time)that turned out to be true.The thing that worries me is if they heard this,but people at Oxford had no idea.I mean Johnno was on the radio saying he thought it was a wind-up.Bryn was on the forum doing his list of tracks that he has been to.Hardly the sort of thing you do if you know a track has been closed down.Or people at Oxford knew at the same time this Ipswich fan knew and have been lying.It all seems very strange to me  |
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Post by admin on May 31, 2007 12:33:10 GMT
I believe Robyn1972 is a track photographer at Ipswich.
Edit:
I believe she posts at the Ipswich forum, from which I'm banned, of course, under the nom-de-forum "Missing Out".
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Post by Doug on May 31, 2007 13:07:04 GMT
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Post by schumi on May 31, 2007 19:28:04 GMT
To be honest, every time I read a press release or hear a statement I'm sure we're not getting the whole story. It seems to me (and this is just my opinion) that Aaron doesn't want to upset Colin by saying what he really thinks, and that Colin has released a pretty standard statement that doesn't really answer anything, more seeks to justify his actions.
As for anyone at Ipswich knowing, I seem to remember a bit of pre-season upset when it was perceived the Poole fans were party to Oxford's plans before the Oxford fans themselves.
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Post by schumi on Jun 1, 2007 7:43:38 GMT
Interview from BBC Radio Oxford with Steve Johnston and Aaron Lanney yesterday. (30.5.07)
Johnno was shocked as they’d been discussing plans for Monday and talking about the future and bringing in a higher level rider. He thanked fans for their support and said it had been as tough for the riders as it had for them
Mark Young, speedway correspondent said: “Basically last season wasn’t the best season that Oxford has ever had. A new promoter Colin Horton came in, he sacked a lot of back room staff, he started sacking riders, he assured us that speedway was safe in his hands, and then yesterday he decided to close the club.”
Aaron then came on and said the numbers of fans through the gate were dropping, although they had managed to keep most of the hardcore fan base.
He’d seen the success that Colin had at Peterborough so when he approached Aaron with regards to taking over he was quite happy to come on board because he had been assured that the club would be taken forward and would move on in the right direction.
Aaron said that after speaking to the association yesterday, he was assured that all affairs would be settled at Oxford - if the riders were owed money the bill be sorted because Colin has other interests (Peterborough), and that some plan would be put in place to reimburse season ticket holders, though at that point he was unsure what that would be.
Aaron’s aim is now to get junior speedway carried on immediately and join the premier league for next year. He said speedway isn’t sustainable at EL level.
But perhaps the more shocking thing to come out of this interview was that Colin only told Aaron of his intentions yesterday morning by a phone call.
He said he didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him, and wants to focus on rescuing the club and the future rather than the “hating Colin Horton” campaign.
Overall, Aaron sounded pretty deflated, but he didn’t say anything bad at all about Colin. The gym is also closed at Oxford stadium. Aaron confirmed the Oxford assets revert back to the BSPA, that their names have been circulated around the EL promoters, and that he hopes they all manage to get a team. He said he will do everything he can for the club, and will arrange a meeting for fans and sponsors to thrash out ideas for the future. The scoreboard and safety fence will stay at Oxford.
Eric and Lubos have confirmed that if the club can be saved they will ride for Oxford in the premier league next year.
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Post by Genghis on Jun 1, 2007 20:39:57 GMT
I fear this is the end of Oxford speedway. It's led a hand to mouth existence for years and years, during which time it's been subject to mismanagement on an epic scale. I know great effort will be expended to try and save the club, but will it be just until the next crisis? Edit: Maybe I should restore the swear filters before young Peasley turns up. Sub, The problem with the club has left. As long as one of the four offers to run the club at CL level (revealed by Pete Toogood on Planet Speedway tonight) sees fruition, then there is NO reason why Oxford Speedway cannot thrive in the future. Other clubs have turned things around (Poole were very downtrodden in 1997 and 1998, look at them now!), so can Oxford. Anyway, after two days of depression, after the better news tonight, you can't knock me out of my good mood tonight!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D All the best Rob |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2007 8:27:29 GMT
To be honest, every time I read a press release or hear a statement I'm sure we're not getting the whole story. Have you not been watching speedway long enough to have learned that by now!  |
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Post by Genghis on Jun 2, 2007 9:44:15 GMT
Having had a few days to mull it over, and with my initial rage having subsided, these are my thoughts on the aborted 2007 Elite League season.
I won't COMPLETELY condemn Colin Horton, as he clearly had already sunk a sizeable amount of money into Oxford Speedway, and he clearly experienced problems in team building for this season.
However, his whole handling of things was truly appalling - some things just amazed me, such as posting on the BSF that he didn't care if the fans came or not! I really don't know what he was thinking of when he did that. And then he wonders why the crowds are not turning up!!!
But, in particular, to hold a fans forum just FIVE days before he pulls the plug, and reassure people that Oxford Speedway will be around for a long time and not to worry - well I'm lost for words. Some, such as myself, took what he said in good faith and reproduced it on the Internet.
He basically told a whole room of supporters a pack of lies, which is competely unacceptable. Fortunately, his lies were recorded by BBC Oxford.
He should have come clean at the forum. Told the supporters he'd made some big mistakes, that Oxford was in real jeopardy and he was losing a sizeable amount of dosh each week, and if the supporters didn't get back up the stadium pronto, then that would be it.
So he may have put an awful amount of money into Oxford during his 7-month stint at the club, but at the end of the day, Colin Horton can only blame one man for his failure at Colwey... himself.
Right, that's it. From now on my posts will look forward to the potential survival of Oxford, and the fight to save the club.
All the best
Rob
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