Viper

I’m terms of Newcastle then no there isn’t one rider never mind 5! Apparently out lack of a sponsorship visa means we are fishing in a pond that is British riders only. This is obviously a pond that has nobody within it. it’s so sad to see the club in turmoil whether that is the team scores, the team performances or even the fact that every home meeting is littered with avoidable mistakes that delays the matches for hours.

So I’m going to bite to this post even though I would normally avoid doing so given it is obviously aimed at goading Newcastle fans. So as a huge Newcastle fan and someone who had in the past worked for the club for a number of years, I have to say that Redcar at this point are a million miles away from our club, whether this is in terms of team, track, product or simply the way the clubs philology is at this present time. Even as a lifelong Newcastle fan I must say that it was men against boys today. I watch this Newcastle side and not one of them really covered themselves in glory tonight. I have to say a HUGE thank you to Kyle Howarth who has been a breath of fresh air in our side these last few weeks but the team is obviously not up to the standard we need. In terms of the owners comments about the 100% change in personnel before our next meeting then I will hold judgement. I hope the owner has the ambition to improve the side before the next meeting which is being beamed live on the BSN. I hope Robs views are based on improving a side which has so obviously been way under the level that is needed to compete, but let’s see how things improve and whether we have an ownership that is looking to drive this club forward. If we want a speedway club in Newcastle then we need a team that try’s, not a side that waves the white flag after a couple of races. This is the first time I can say I have been ashamed of the performance of a Diamonds side in all my years of watching them. This team is not strong enough but tonight was just not good enough, on a track which has been better than it had been for quite a long time. What an absolute shambles

Another source more reliable that our own club communications!. I find out more about our side from other teams social media than from our own. Real shame about Paul as he has been in some great form around Brough lately. We desperately need the other top 4 to be on form or we could struggle to cope with a very solid Redcar side:

What’s up with Paul Starke as he rode for Ipswich on Thursday?

This is a start but the club also need to sort out it’s communications strategy with the fans on a match night. Hopefully whoever takes the job is empowered to communicate with the fans wider than the press role but given the role advertised I would expect not. There is a gap in the way the club communicates with its fans through media outlets but that’s just a start, I would have been far more satisfied with a communications officer role being on offer but at least it’s a start.

As someone who is obviously close to Rob you are certainly not helping with the reputation of the club with posts like this. In any line of business where customers pay their money then they are entitled to their opinions and I am sure Rob is big enough to accept that his position will no doubt bring criticism when things go wrong. The former promotion certain had regular criticism over the years. As someone who works for the club maybe a bit of professionalism should be shown by you, especially at a time when the club needs more supporter not less. As a forum for opinions then if you don’t like people having their own then maybe best to avoid reading it!

There has been a problem with drainage for a number of years, standing water has always been a problem at Brough and access has always been a problem.

Or a good track man and some investment!

I don’t blame Rob or Dave. The work was done years ago and the track has coped fine for years. The issue is the lack of investment into the material and the fact the the base of the track has been exposed as a consequence. The work to correct the track will put additional shale down to make the base more secure, that is not the fault of the old promotion which is why I made the response in the first place.

If the dentist did some work but you decided to not look after the work then it’s likely it won’t last very long no matter if it’s a short term fix. No bad blood from me but seeing a lot of bad leadership and decision making and I just wait for the next plea that the club is struggling financially. I’m not affiliated with the old promotion but it like the government blaming the current mess in this country on COVID, it’s not the cause but a factor and an easy excuse to hide poor leadership. It’s very easy to point fingers at a promotion that brought speedway back to Newcastle and kept it afloat for 20 odd years when things start going wrong but the club has majority struggled this last couple of seasons both on and off the track when those who have held the fort for years have moved on.

Erm what a load of rubbish. The changes were made years ago and the alterations were done perfectly but the lack of investment into the track and the fact it has got more and more down to the base is not anything to do with the way it was handled at the time. If the track had more shale added and been looked after the problem wouldn’t exist, the lack of shale has exposed the base of the track and led to the present position. I am sick of the excuses pointing a finger at the old promotion, yes there was issues but the problem with the track, team and the comms are all down to the present owners.

I know our former promotion had its faults too and I know there is rumours of other issues with them that I can’t personally comment upon. However, George English would have been the first to stand on the greyhound track and explain to his paying customers what was going on and take some responsibility. The current promotion either are shying away from doing so or are of the view that there customers do not matter. Whichever way it is it will just continue to diminish the number of fans turning up week in week out. It will be interesting to see the press release whenever they finally put that out but communications in any line of business need to be timely and through the correct channels, basically straight away at the stadium with your customers present!

Moving away from the under strength side and the state of the track, which I cannot comment about as was not close enough to observe whether the pictures on social media are accurate or not, the fact that a meeting has been called off for an unfit track in good weather, at 6pm in the evening without any of the promotion offering the fans an explanation is shocking. We had last weeks anticlimax against Berwick, with so much going on in the pits at the end but no comment to the crowd from the promotion on what was actually going on. Tonight again absolute silence after the farce of a postponement in beautiful weather and still with hours of daylight left. The issue is that this promotion hides behind social media and have very poor press releases. It’s about time someone took it upon themselves to communicate with the crowd at a meeting to take responsibility for some of the issues before even more of the loyal hardcore step away. Totally embarrassing tonight and I feel for the Glasgow fans who made the trip down.

I’ve heard this said so many times since we restarted last season. We have tried Bjarne Pedersen, Kenneth Bjerre, Dan Bewley ect ect but just can’t get it over the line - Really? Does this sound familiar NUFC fans from our former owner?. It’s like Mike Ashley saying we tried to sign Ronaldo but offering a 50k transfer fee and £20 a week wages :). Making headline moves are nothing if they are not feasible to start with. The old chestnut of Poland will no doubt be raised as to why we don’t strengthen but the question still remains as to why we built a side nearly 3 points under the limit in the first place? I feel sorry for the lads, they are expected to punch above their level every meeting and that is just to get us a chance to compete never mind to have a chance of winning. This is nothing to do with the lads, they are trying their best but any speedway fan knew that we were not strong enough to compete and it’s worrying that after only one home league match we are already in this situation. I am glad we still have a team to support but that doesn’t change the fact that to keep the crowds healthy then the product needs to be good enough. Unfortunately, the team isn’t competitive, the racing is average, the presentation is awful and the overall product is not worth £18. That is reflective in the crowd numbers and it’s worries me that the public silence from the promotion does not lend itself to the fan base keeping faith. We have more named guests for this weekend so no chance of any immediate changes but let’s see what the promotions ambitions are for the club in the next week or so. I hope we see a couple of changes to make us competitive, especially at home but I am pessimistic to whether any change(s) will indeed improve the balance of the side ahead of the rest of the season.

I can’t see where the comment has stated that George won’t do well this season, only that to help him settle into UK racing that the number 7 position will give him the easier rides to help him acclimatise to British Speedway. Any rider coming into British Speedway, especially those without league racing experience, need time to adapt to the track shapes, surfaces and the effects of the great British weather. Barghy arrived in the UK at a very young age and took time to settle and Mark took a few seasons before becoming the top rider he was when his UK career ended. George will be keen to do well and hopefully he has a good debut season but keeping the pressure off him to allow him to settle into his new surroundings is a sound strategy in my eyes.

No the reassessment of Lee’s average puts him below James and means we will start the season with Lee and George at 6 and 7. I’m not totally sure of the maths in terms of the team overall points but we are certainly quite a bit down on the permitted points limit.

I believe Lee is on a reassessed average and will start the season at reserve.

I agree with the view of keeping your home fans happy to generate growth in our fan base but the risk is that one or two defeats against some of the big hitters in the league coupled with little or no points gained on the road would place a side in the bottom couple of teams in the table. Those who have stayed away over the last few years and those who we are aiming to get into the sports from a number of years ago will not be in a position to know the quality of racing on track from afar and their will to return will be determined by results and the position of the team in the league. I feel we could have potentially strengthen the side with the additional points available to us to give us a little extra strength both home and away and provide us with better odds of going through the card at home and possibly picking up the odd point or two away. As you say it depends on how you view the approach taken to grow the business but I do believe that the standard of racing put out on track by this side will be very good this season.

I think the two arguments are different here as I’m sure any Newcastle fan would prefer us to be on track than not and thankfully the additional investment in the club has allowed the club to continue. However, like in every sport fans are entitled to their own opinions about the strength of the team and that opinion shouldn’t be clouded by the off track events of last season, especially given the substantial investment that has come the clubs way during this winter which puts us in a far better footing. We can’t compete financially with the likes of Glasgow and Poole but I do think a more competitive side could be assembled within our budget. I disagree with the view that the team is a bad one and will, in my opinion do quite well around Brough Park but I do feel they will struggle to deliver many points on the road. I have no problem with any of the lads signed but the overall team strength is weaker than 90% of the other teams in the league and I can’t see the Diamonds being at the business end of the table come play off time. My own biggest disappointment is that we are way under the points limit again and could have added a little extra in terms of point scoring ability to the side to make us more competitive on the road and at home against one or two of the teams that have a side packed with riders who will win races around Brough (Poole for one). Only time will tell how this team performs but as I say everyone is entitled to their own opinions and the differences/debates are what sport is all about.

Lee was one of my all time favourites despite not racing for the Diamonds and his all action style will be great to watch next season. He’s been away for a long time but he certainly has the natural ability to make a success of his return to speedway. Best of Luck Lee.

So it’s Lee Complin!

The quote from Rob that the last man would take us very close to the points limit was actually part of the clubs press release about Bradley and George signing for next season so the team structure shouldn’t have caused an issue as the other 6 were all in place at the time. It is strange that nothing has been mentioned in subsequent club press releases about a signing or even what is happening with the last spot despite it previously been highlighted to the fans but hopefully we will find out soon. The last spot is a very interesting signing and it appears through the recent interview with George for a NZ newspaper that the club still do not have the facility to act as ‘sponsors’ for new foreign riders coming to the UK and this will only reduce the size of the rider pool we have to pick from for the all important last spot (should we not already have this in place). https://www.odt.co.nz/star-news/star-sport/young-canterbury-speedway-rider-following-ivan-mauger’s-tyre-tracks-uk Fingers crossed we have someone ready to be announced in time for Christmas.

I have no issue with any of the lads signed and I’m sure they will bring a entertaining product to the Brough Park track in 2022. However, a lot depends on the last signing and how much we have to play with for that rider. If our new young KIWI does indeed have the relevant credentials to qualify for a 2pt average then that leaves us with a good chunk of the points limit left to bring in another top line rider to support Bradley at the top of the team. But, if he is indeed saddled with a 4pt average and we have less than 6pts to play with for our last rider then again we are woefully light of top end power. I have faith in BWD to provide some good strength up top and I can certainly see Paul Starke upping his starting average but as with last season we will struggle in the big heats at the end of matches without another accomplished points scorer at this level. The team may provide some good form at Brough but I don’t see us being competitive enough away from home and we may also struggle against sides who turn up at Brough with a strong heat leader duo or trio. I will reserve judgement for now but in my view a 7pt man added to the side makes us a decent team. However, if we only have 5.98 left then the team really lacks top end power and will struggle to compete with the stronger sides in the league.

What an emotional night last night and after spending a huge part of my life involved with the club it is really hard to consider a future without the Diamonds. If last night was the final curtain on our 92 year history then it was a fitting send off and hats off to Rob for bringing it all together. The crowd was huge, extra attractions, good presentation and the team almost pulled off a stunning home performance to top it off. I have said for some time that I believe there is a place for speedway in Newcastle and for it to be a success and last night show a glimpse of the possibilities open should the club be saved. It’s been a tough season and credit to Rob and his team for getting us through to the end in one piece when we could so easily have went the way of Eastbourne. Unfortunately I totally agree John. The figure that has been placed on the club, is in my view, unrealistic for a club that has virtually no assets and has a uncertainty surrounding its home venue. That outlay to buy the club is just for starters and the package needed to get up and running is eye watering. I pray that an opportunity arises where those interested can negotiate on the price and get to a level which will entice them to give it a go at Newcastle but at this point I can not see a way in which a buy out could be undertaken, unless a hugely wealthy individual is found.

I was also present at the Redcar match in question and I certainly didn’t hear anything that was disrespectful towards Newcastle. I know that Roy has always had Newcastle close to his heart and in my view he has been a huge miss on the presentation side this season. As the owner it’s totally within Rob’s gift to make the call that he did but IMHO it is Newcastle who have lost out the most from that situation as Roy has continued to build his reputation at Redcar this season while the match night production at Newcastle this season has been rather poor. The bottom line is that whatever the situation with the former staff who are no longer there, it is Rob’s business to run how he sees fit and he has made the call based upon what he feels is best for his club. Good luck to Rob for the future and here is hoping that we see speedway back in Newcastle at some point in the longer term.