Time to slaughter Britain's Sacred Cow?

[Deleted]

or the hanging around the pits with a clipboard waiting for an autograph bit either!! ;D ;D ;D

Wkdddddddddddddddd!!!

[Deleted]

I see bazaar3 decided to stop making a twat of himself and actually gave in and posted a half decent post for once. Methinks it won't last somehow.

[admin]

And still it goes on and on.
Poor old Middlo gets paid peanuts, so they say. And what do you get if you pay peanuts? All I can say is that I hope Middlo's never shipwrecked off the coast of Hartlepool.

[jimblanchard]

Listening to Chris Harris on the radio last week he made it quite plan that the GP's for most riders are as good as not viable in terms of what they get in prize money for even winning (the German round being the exception of course) a GP in relation to the costs that they incur. He also said that after he won at Cardiff people were assuming he was now a 'millionaire' but again, he said he was most likely out of pocket on the weekend.

Their desire to be world champion and be in the series over comes everything else. Most of them say that since starting in the sport their driving ambition is to be 'world champion'. So I guess many posters like Sube and Kevin are right in that these orgainisers of the GP's are exploiting the riders and seemingly giving knack all back to the sport it appears.

My point is what level of prize money of financial incentives are there for the riders to do well in the WTC? Middlo does not seem to be remunerated as to the status of a Manager of an International team representing this county.

OK, it could be argued that the lads picked to ride in the WTC are doing it for the glory or riding for their country but they still have bills to pay and expenses to meet. My point is and I feel I have not put it over too well - is if the money is just as poor for the riders as it is the manager maybe they are just not motivated sufficiently to perform and maybe crash or wreck a few engines.

Reading between the lines I get the impression that its all bit 'back of a fag packet' type thing to be honest. Sorry if that comment seem unfair but that's how it strikes me on this issue.

[Deleted]

jimblanchard I think you are probably right in it being 'fag packet' stuff. Most motorcycling sport in this country is firmly rooted to it's amateur beginings, it has failed to keep up with other nations imo.
As for Middlo, if & if he is only being paid peanuts & he is then forced to hawk his arse around to get sponsors for himself, then he has no pride in his own worth.
It looked pretty tacky to me to see him as Team GB (urgh) manager in his shirt bedecked with sponsors logo's. It looked liked he was wearing the type of tacky replica merchandise you get off the market. Not very professional imo.
fog.

[admin]

jimblanchard said:

Listening to Chris Harris on the radio last week he made it quite plan that the GP's for most riders are as good as not viable in terms of what they get in prize money for even winning (the German round being the exception of course) a GP in relation to the costs that they incur. He also said that after he won at Cardiff people were assuming he was now a 'millionaire' but again, he said he was most likely out of pocket on the weekend.

Their desire to be world champion and be in the series over comes everything else. Most of them say that since starting in the sport their driving ambition is to be 'world champion'. So I guess many posters like Sube and Kevin are right in that these orgainisers of the GP's are exploiting the riders and seemingly giving knack all back to the sport it appears.

Interesting points you make, young fellow, especially in light of recent suggestions that IMG want to tie the top riders to the GPs and perhaps seek to restrict their participation in events outside the IMG stable (SGP and SWC).
Where's the money going to come from for that? It sounds like a recipe for financial disaster for IMG. Nicki P, we are told, is seeking circa £400,000 from potential employers in Poland next year and probably a not dissimilar amount from Britain and Sweden. Let's say he's looking to earn circa £750,000 from various sources.
He's world champion and thus should earn a premium, so let's say the "average" GPer would be looking to earn £500,000 in 2008, which I don't think is an unreasonable amount. That amounts to £7.5 million for the permanent fifteen.
Can the GPs really support that sort of outlay to the riders on a yearly basis?
John Postlethwaite found out the real cost of employing the likes of Greg Hancock when he took over at Reading.
The GPs are essentially subsidised by the various leagues.

[Deleted]

The thing that confuses me on this is Terry Russells statement that they "threw money at the SWC".Being serious,just where was this money thrown if Middlo gets next to nothing and the riders couldn't even afford to get their bikes tuned properly?
I can only assume he was meaning in getting the meeting at Coventry

[Deleted]

maccattack said:

The thing that confuses me on this is Terry Russells statement that they "threw money at the SWC".Being serious,just where was this money thrown if Middlo gets next to nothing and the riders couldn't even afford to get their bikes tuned properly?
I can only assume he was meaning in getting the meeting at Coventry

No, I think it was a reference to him and his crew indulging in the VIP lounge at Leszno that weekend.

He was actually quoted as saying the BSPA had made no arrangements for any 'celebrations' even if Team GB had been victorious.

[Deleted]

shootingstar said:

I see bazaar3 decided to stop making a twat of himself

Trust me, it won't last long!!!

[Deleted]

admin said:

jimblanchard said:

Listening to Chris Harris on the radio last week he made it quite plan that the GP's for most riders are as good as not viable in terms of what they get in prize money for even winning (the German round being the exception of course) a GP in relation to the costs that they incur. He also said that after he won at Cardiff people were assuming he was now a 'millionaire' but again, he said he was most likely out of pocket on the weekend.

Their desire to be world champion and be in the series over comes everything else. Most of them say that since starting in the sport their driving ambition is to be 'world champion'. So I guess many posters like Sube and Kevin are right in that these orgainisers of the GP's are exploiting the riders and seemingly giving knack all back to the sport it appears.

Interesting points you make, young fellow, especially in light of recent suggestions that IMG want to tie the top riders to the GPs and perhaps seek to restrict their participation in events outside the IMG stable (SGP and SWC).
Where's the money going to come from for that? It sounds like a recipe for financial disaster for IMG. Nicki P, we are told, is seeking circa £400,000 from potential employers in Poland next year and probably a not dissimilar amount from Britain and Sweden. Let's say he's looking to earn circa £750,000 from various sources.
He's world champion and thus should earn a premium, so let's say the "average" GPer would be looking to earn £500,000 in 2008, which I don't think is an unreasonable amount. That amounts to £7.5 million for the permanent fifteen.
Can the GPs really support that sort of outlay to the riders on a yearly basis?
John Postlethwaite found out the real cost of employing the likes of Greg Hancock when he took over at Reading.
The GPs are essentially subsidised by the various leagues.

It was alluded to on the interview that the average GP rider would need to be compensated around £250,000 per year, just to cover their EL earnings.

It ain't gonna happen is it?

[donsking]

But isn't it also true that all the GP riders that have gone into print on the subject reckon they couldn't survive on what they earn from GPs?

If they're averaging £250K, I'm sure I could afford to buy a couple of bikes and run them for a few weekends each year on that!

[Deleted]

donsking said:

But isn't it also true that all the GP riders that have gone into print on the subject reckon they couldn't survive on what they earn from GPs?

If they're averaging £250K, I'm sure I could afford to buy a couple of bikes and run them for a few weekends each year on that!

At first I thought you'd missed the point, and then I corrected my post.

The £250k is earnings from Britain.

[donsking]

kevh said:

donsking said:

But isn't it also true that all the GP riders that have gone into print on the subject reckon they couldn't survive on what they earn from GPs?

If they're averaging £250K, I'm sure I could afford to buy a couple of bikes and run them for a few weekends each year on that!

At first I thought you'd missed the point, and then I corrected my post.

The £250k is earnings from Britain.

Ah, all is clear!

That's a lot of money isn't it, perhaps that's where the EL is going wrong?

I know I said it here once before, but there can't be much left in the pot to put back into the sport once you've paid a GP rider.

On the other hand, without the GP riders would it truely be an 'Elite' league?

[Deleted]

It's a chicken and egg situation, you're right donsking.

And as you say, it is a lot a money.....OK, they have expenses to come out of that, but even so, a tidy sum.

If you add to that the earnings from Poland and Sweden then it's really a no brainer what they'd do if they had to choose between GP or domestic racing in my view.

[Deleted]

And Neil shares his thoughts in the media:

Todays echo. 22nd November 2007

NEIL Middleditch feels ex-Pirates star Gary Havelock is the "ideal candidate" to replace him as Great Britain team manager.

But Middlo, who has stressed he is "happy to carry on" as national team boss in 2008, isn't looking to step aside for Havvy just yet.

Instead, the current GB manager believes Havelock would be perfect to take over the job when he has retired from racing.

It's a role Havelock, who has been helping Scott Nicholls in a managerial capacity in the Grand Prix, would probably take to like a duck to water.

The 38-year-old, who shone for Pirates from 1998 to 2002, is still a Premier League star with Redcar.

So he would fit the bill if and when Middleditch finally calls it a day.

Middleditch said: "Havvy would be a good successor, although he would have the same problems as me with regard to the strength of Britain's team in the future.

"I know he can't do the job now because he is riding. But he is one of our last world champions and I feel the riders would have a good relationship with him.

"If Havvy decides he wants to come on board, it would be great to have him as an assistant manager.

"He knows how to ride a bike, he is a good motivator and is very mechanically minded.

"But I don't think he will have the time to do the main job until he finishes racing. Then he could give it his best shot.

"Knowing Havvy, he wouldn't want to do it until he could give 100 per cent to the job, anyway.

"Havvy is a total professional and that's the only way he would want to go about things.

"He would be an ideal candidate to take over as GB boss one day."


YOU could be forgiven for thinking that the debate over foreigners in British sport was solely confined to football.

But that doesn't wash with Team GB and Castle Cover Pirates boss Neil Middleditch.

So much so that Middleditch believes Great Britain has "lost its way in world speedway" because of the "influx of foreigners" riding in the Elite League.

The national team manager almost quit the post last year after expressing public doubts over whether Britain had enough young talent coming through to compete successfully at the top level in future.

But he decided to stay in the part time post 12 months ago and has just confirmed he is "happy to carry on" in 2008.

Straight-talking Middleditch, who succeeded Dave Jessup as boss in 2001, has stressed he is fully aware the national team is in the doldrums, though.

He also believes there is no quick fix, even if British speedway bosses were to give him the push at their annual meeting later this month and bring in a new man to lead their World Cup challenge next season.

Middleditch said: "I keep saying it. The main problem with Great Britain now is the lack of ambition with the youngsters.

"We have the likes of Lewis Bridger, Tai Woffinden, if he decides to ride under the British banner, and a few others coming through, but they are still a couple of years away at the moment.

"Basically, I'm still racing with the same guys I started out with in 2001 like Scott Nicholls, Lee Richardson and Mark Loram - if he is able to come back from his injury - but they are still the best, along with Chris Harris.

"It's funny, I heard Steven Gerrard, the England footballer, saying on the radio about how many foreigners there are in the Premier League and how it effects the national team and I thought that is exactly the same situation British speedway is in.' "You only have to look at how many Brits are in the Elite League top 20 averages.

"Twenty years ago 70 per cent were Brits. Now there are maybe only three, or four.

"The influx of foreigners has stopped our young riders coming up. We are bringing in Swedes, Poles and Danes, and our own youngsters haven't got a look in.

"That's why I feel we have lost our way a bit in world speedway."

Asked whether British speedway could change the situation by just banning foreigners from our top flight forthwith, Middleditch replied: "The floodgates have opened. I'm afraid it's too late.

"We can't just say now you can't have foreigners in the league'. It's too late because the league would not function.

"What do we do to get British speedway great again? I wish I knew because that is the million-dollar question.

"One of the answers is that we have to encourage our young riders to come up to the Elite League and stick it out until they are successful in it. But I see why a lot of them don't.

"You do your apprenticeship, get into the Premier League, and you're on good money.

"Then you go up into the Elite League to try it, lose money, stick it out for a while and drop back down into the Premier again because you are better off.

"But as a country we have to look at the bigger picture. Our league has to be set up to encourage our kids to come up.

"I realise we are not a world force at this time. And until we find a solution that will remain the same.

"It is all about ambition, ambition, ambition. There are British riders who have ridden in the Premier League for years.

"They have one or two years in the Elite and go back down. So until we change that way of thinking, we are going to continue to have the same problem."

What I can't understand with Middlo, he obviously feels quite strongly about the lack of up and coming Brits, but at no time does he encourage his wealthy promotion to give him Brits to manage in his day job, only Aussies, etc. Perhaps he could get them to start in his own club by bringing on some of these young lads, who obviously ONLY want to ride for Poole (don't they )