Wolverhampton Speedway legend Sam Ermolenko steps down as Birmingham boss

Wolverhampton Speedway legend Sam Ermolenko has stepped down from his role as Birmingham boss by mutual consent – with assistant Chris Adams appointed the club’s new team manager.

Ermolenko, the 1993 World Champion and nicknamed Sudden Sam, spent just one season at the helm of the Perry Barr outfit.

Replacement Adams continues the link to Wolves for the Brummies as he is the son of former Monmore boss Peter Adams, Brummies’ chief executive Nigel Tolley thanked American Ermolenko for his efforts.

“Sam came on board when we moved into the Premiership last winter and his experience within the sport was a main reason for that,” Tolley said.

“Results didn’t go to plan for the majority of the season but Sam did his best as team manager. 

“He’s got some other ventures going on away from speedway at the moment that are going to require more of his time next year so after a few conversations, we’ve mutually agreed that he will step down from his position with immediate effect, however he will remain in the background in a consultancy role.

"Chris spent the 2024 season working alongside Sam as his assistant and he fitted into the club very well. He’s someone who’s been involved with speedway for a long, long time with his dad’s managerial roles over the years and we feel he’s a ready made replacement to step up as our new team manager."

Meanwhile, Chris Adams himself is relishing taking over the Brummies and hopes to bring more fortune the club’s way.

“It’s in my nature to be doing this,” Adams said. 

“I’ve been in and around speedway all my life in one way or another.

“I’ve travelled up and down the country going to meeting after meeting with my dad and I’ve naturally picked things up from him.

“From the team side of things, it’s important to remember that every single rider has their own individuality; they all react in different ways and they all respond differently.

“It’s about taking each rider’s attributes and bringing them all together to try and deliver what the club wants.

“I want to try and deliver an environment where everyone gets on, where everyone is pulling in the same direction and where everyone helps one another because as we’ve seen before, when that’s not the case, that’s when things get messy. 

“I don’t think much will be different really apart from it will be just me making the decisions.

“If I think we should use a reserve here, if I think we should bring in another rider there, I can just do it now, I don’t need to have a discussion about it with anybody first.

“Hopefully it will be a much stronger team than was out on track last year, that’s the plan anyway, but we just need to wait for things to fall into place before we can say too much more on that front.”