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It's been very difficult on track these past few weeks, wind and sun are our biggest nightmare. The problem is , riders do not want a lot of dirt going into the bends, that makes it so they can go in hard and fast with a degree of safety. That in its self causes us a problem with watering, as you need material to hold water, also the first few races most riders are on the inside line so it gets a battering. The tractors spin the dirt back down, not to hide anything, but to try and protect the base of the track and also bring the dirt back down so there is not a big build up mid to outside. We are not the only track having problems at the moment, I have spoken to a number of track curators it's a similar story. Hope that explains a few things?

Likewise for Robert Lambert, i think they've both been impressive this year, but as others have said its just developing that final cutting edge to their style. Its a pleasure watching both Robert and Dan this year.

First of all for myself, I was one who gave Rob more slack than most, the way I seen it was that he put his hand in his pocket (twice over if things are to be totally believed) when others were not prepared to and essentially gave Newcastle the stay of execution that would have been 3 years ago or whatever it was - and to be honest for that fair play to him he was prepared to give it ago when it seemed that others would not, so to keep an argument somewhat balanced and constructive I think he needs credit for doing that. And in business / life it is always far easier to spend someone else's money than it is your own... ***HOWEVER*** (before I get my head detached before people read to the end of this post ) 1) I cannot stomach what essentially feels like totally lies now in an attempt to essentially liquidate the assets whilst under the guise of "doing it now to give Newcastle the best chance later" this is utter rubbish - as what is well documented now and proven with the sale of track equipment and such like, seems to me like he said one thing to keep the heat off him whilst doing something totally at odds with his statement in the other all underhand and devoid of transparency and integrity. 2) What boils by proverbial urine to be honest and probably leaves a bitter taste in the mouth of fans (which I suspect Rob probably does not understand) is the air fence debacle. And this cannot be sorely put onto Robs toes and the previous ownership need to bare some responsibility, however (and please correct me if I am wrong but this is / was my understanding) the air fence was afforded through a just giving page and whip round at the time the regulations came in (or this is how my memory serves me anyway) meaning all clubs had to have one to operate. That and I believe a few large singular donations from individual fans allowed the air fence or a vast majority of it to be bought. Therefore to sell it off to try and recoup monies lost just seems unethical and wrong to be honest and this is a point I will further explain further down in looking to any future we may have. But for the ownership that Rob bought from to use the gesture of the fans and such like to inevitably increase the sale price as its another asset with value to purchase that is integral to running a meeting is kind of wrong in my opinion - however seems like Rob also sees it as fair game. 3) Given the very publicised sponsorships the club received from various generous business, families and individuals - I am sure this would have been done on the understanding that essentially sponsors and people putting their money in, heat sponsors, race day programme advertisements etc etc that they were doing so expecting to get March to Septembers worth of advertisement (race day banners, pictures, website advertisement etc etc) in return for their hard earned money... Surely given the debacle they should be looking for some sort of pro-rata refund on what they did not get against what they initially put in? 4) What are the ramifications on the other co-owners / an or promoters who put money in? Do they get anything back? Surely this cannot be just Robs decision to make, they must have some course of action they could take? 5) All the actions talked about in this thread seem to me to be the actions of a person who has no intention of speedway running again at Newcastle, selling the assets to run a meeting removes any / all value, the only thing it seems he could sell would be the name? Not to hard to get around in the future I'm sure..."Newcastle Pheonix's" (for one year only as its a crap name but would be great before reverting to something more akin to the Diamonds or Diamunds ") The Future Going back to further explain point 2 and why I think it is extremely important is I think we all feel totally short changed by the various cash injections and donation fans have put into the club over the years for promoters and owners to essentially use it somewhat. However I do think we can learn an important lesson from it. Given that the club (if anything is left of it) will or will be near as dammit asset less I think now more than ever the idea of a supporters trust is vital to any possibility of speedway running again in any capacity at Newcastle. Anyone who went to the last meeting at Gosforth and listened to the excellent explanation to the complexities of running a fund and giving the club money by @TotallyHonestJohn will understand it is far to complex, and legally a nightmare to attempt / do. However I do think this shower of rubbish scenario we find ourselves in shows giving the club money and continual whip-rounds does nobody nor the supporter any favour in the long term. However I do believe that this gives us an opportunity to re-think the idea of a supporters fund where by the supporters fund can purchase such things like tractors and track equipment and effectively loan / lease these items to a club/ owner/ promoter for a basic / minimal fee. If this were the case for the air-fence for example it would give the club stability through changes of promoters and owners etc where the assets needed to run a speedway meeting essentially transcend any ownership change. Maybe @TotallyHonestJohn this would remove some of the complexities you so brilliantly talked about and explained in running a supporters club giving / purchasing stuff on the clubs behalf. I do beleive if there is any chance of someone wishing to put speedway on again in Newcastle this would make it hugely more do-able as it is going to be a from scratch start therefore it would surely make it more achievable to a new venture if such items were covered by a supporters club given that any ground up startup costs will be immense! Whilst we have no speedway this could be the time to try and set something up - £10 per month when we are not going to be spending £20-£30 per week as we have no speedway to go to. Such an amount would sharp build up and allow the purchasing of vital assets when / if a new venture were to happen. If nothing happens in the next 5 years all monies to be returned plus any interest generated. Whilst it is ambitious I do think the above issue of supporters money and gifts / cash injections / and fund raises we've had over the years are clearly not handled with the respect and integrity they should have. WE have essentially purchased assets for the club for them to be used to get a outgoing promotion an increased sale price or in this case asset liquidation when in reality there investment in the asset was minimal / non existent yet the promoters / owners are then the beneficiary of the value of the asset. Therefore I think we can think smarter in the future and in the same time provide the club with assets that stay with the club thus increasing long term stability and remove this utter debacle we now find ourselves in. Whilst I fully understand Rob will have lost a shed load of cash in this venture stripping the assets to try and recoup some of his cash / investment just seems totally short sighted and on the above points quite immoral given the statement put out by the owner, and the fact that the main asset was purchased by the fans (albeit under a different promotion and many years ago) it still feels like a sucker punch and such a nail in the coffin to any chance of speedway starting again as to buy a new one is such a large sum of money. I apologise if this is wordy it is my second attempt at typing this - I am sure the first one was better written however I managed to delete my first attempt prior to submitting and this is a hastily wrote and heavily streamlined version. Lastly whilst I am full of ideas and I would love to try and get such an offering of the ground sadly my career would not allow me to hold such a financial position and I simply do not have the time to do it either. But hopefully someone reads this and think it makes sense and could be a go-er and runs with it. Cheers

And he also said when talking about Cardiff that Tai was someone who "knows what it takes to win there"... Tai's GP victories at Cardiff? Nil..... What is Sam doing on Saturday nights..?

Don't forget about Emil. Taking away 2 of the top 3 in the World makes it a less relevant World Title this year, if you ask me.

Poole are their for the taking,especially with 7 riders against them and hopefully a strong ref. Good luck

The relevance of World Titles has always been subjective. Hans Nielsen wasn't in the 1992 final, and nobody sane believed Havelock was a better rider than him. Ole Olsen wasn't in the 1976 final but I doubt Peter Collins is bothered. Sayfutdinov finished 3rd a couple of times without ever really looking like he was going to win a title. And Laguta put together an unbelievable 'Dave Norris' type season last year when he'd struggled for top 8 previously. Zmarzlik has 5 medals in 6 GP seasons which suggests he's worthy. It could be worse, we could go back to that ridiculous system that garnered Rickardsson a couple of titles where he only had to do 4 rides off gate 1 in every GP.

Definitely knocking on the door for gb no1, hope he can get top 8 it's definitely doable the form he's in

Next Wednesday (29 June) at 6:10 p.m. on Talking Pictures Channel: Look at Life Riding it Rough. 1961. "A look at the sport of speedway racing…"

Some excellent points. Firstly regarding the air fence i was led to believe they only have a certain life span and then have to be replaced. I'm sure someone will correct me on this. Secondly it's a great idea about being supporter funded and there will be plenty of interest initially but when it comes to the crunch of people handing hard earned cash over no matter how big or small it becomes a different matter. Definitely worth giving it a go though. I know THJ looked into how Edinburgh ran theres but not sure he has any interest now. Although he did say in a recent threat how gutted he was now that we are no more longer again. It needs someone like a THJ to try and get us going again even if it's with advice.

Went to several meeting never once saw him in the pits trying to gee up the team,and at last meeting was cooking burgers total p take .

350 souls at Birmingham, the second city. If its not possible to get more people in, and double that crowd would still be pretty poor, then costs must be slashed. Its a double whammy, poor income, high outgoings. Is anyone winning in this situation?

Plus you get dizzy. It's better at larger tracks (Long Eaton 25+ years ago was my first), but I am inclined to agree.

No.

Anders Thomsen rode like a man who is desperate for a Panthers spot.

And tbf there's been passing even early on; just progressively better racing in each block of four. Have to say the racing has been very good - certainly better than any of the 80s world finals.

Well I have it on good authority that the FA are so impressed with speedway's golden heat that they plan to introduce something similar to the premier League next season. An unexpected result of this fact finding mission is they will also be introducing a guest player system as well.

They just didn't say which week!!!!!

Well I will be in attendance as will a good number going by local social media

It really is simple ,its not a full time job but a good hobby that pays ,cut the wages snd take or leave,only prople who make money are stadium owners and tuners back to basics sure would work .

Div 1: Belle Vue Ipswich Kings Lynn Peterborough Sheffield Wolverhampton Poole Leicester Glasgow Oxford Div 2: Berwick Birmingham Plymouth Scunthorpe Kent Mildenhall Redcar IOW ANY new team coming in/back 7,6,5 or 4 rider teams, what ever is needed to run without doubling up All clubs to run a 3/4 rider junior team as a 2nd half

A few tattoos and more use of the 'F' word and Dan's made it!

Woffy certainly given him plenty of support, machinery and mechanic wise... So must have been so pleased to see him blast past him and take that point off him that stopped him from qualifying for the semi ....

Seen it in speedway star and its on Plymouth v Newcastle preview he has second docs appointment 30th June. The star interview a few weeks ago said he hoped to be back by end of July.

The E Winner league is building towards a fantastic finish of the regular season(let alone the play-offs). In my view 3 teams are virtually assured of a play-off position- Bydgoszcz, Zielona Gora and Krosno with the 4th and final place very much up for grabs. As far as relegation 3 points cover 5 teams and anyone of the teams could end up in Div 2 come next season !! Edit just found out play-offs have 6 teams and are the same as the Extraleague. Remaining fixtures for each club Bydgoszcz P 10 points 18 Rybnik Away Lodz Home Gdansk Away Landshut home Zielona Gora P 10 points 18 Gdansk Away Landshut home krosno home Gniezno Away Krosno P 8 points 10 lodz Away Rybnik Home Landshut Away Gniezno home Zielona Gora Away Gdansk Home Landshut P 9 points 9 Gniezno Home Zielona Gora Away Krosno Home Rybnik Home Bydgoszcz Away Lodz P 10 points 8 Krosno Home Bydgoszcz Away Gniezno Home Rybnik Away Gniezno P 9 points 7 Landshut Away Gdansk Home Krosno Away Lodz Away Zielona Gora Home Gdansk P 9 points 7 Zielona Gora Home Gniezno Away Rybnik Away Bydgoszcz Home Krosno Away Rybnik P 9 points 6 Bydgoszcz Home Krosno Away Gdansk Home landshut Away Lodz Home