Fortythirtyeight

Isn’t it more a case of the ‘ premiership ‘ teams moving down ? as the standard is no different .

As it’s just a group of individuals running a sport from a rented office with no real assets to speak of, then I would say very ,very little.

Let’s pick some of the bones out of your argument. Redcar struggled for a decent crowd because of Havelock, his demeanour towards the fans and his budget for the team reducing the product to a bottom of the league regulars. A new promoter came in, used the same budget but with a complete different mindset in producing excitement around the place and doubled the crowd and more. The new management trio have continued on with that trend and made it even more successful. Do you not think Redcar pay rent to the council for the STMP? Everything inside the stadium belongs to the club , it was just a rubbish tip when the track was constructed and, unlike Brough Park, not a structure was standing so Redcar have built from scratch. Access to revenue streams….yes they have, through their own efforts. They only took over complete catering in 2020 . Sponsors….all clubs are responsible for generating their own so that’s down to the club to source. Watered down product …promoters choice, just like the clubs management structure, Redcar have a team that works, how many staff did Grant get rid off/ bring in to help ? His choice. Redcar were in the doldrums, but turned it around with positive, enthusiastic management from 2017 onwards using exactly the same budget that Havelock had. They have shown it can be done. Newcastle , take away the non disclosed debts they inherited, which should have been identified, have no different challenges to any other club this COVID affected year but I do understand Grant walking away from the stress of running a speedway club as even the Redcar management , who are all volunteers, are finding it very stressful in these challenging times.

I repeat…… Because of how he ran it and the budget team he put out, look how it’s been turned around , the lesson was learned on that occasion.

Because of how he ran it and the budget team he put out, look how it’s been turned around , the lesson was learned on that occasion.

This was written when the begging bowl that is ‘ Go Fund Me ‘ was first put out , and before the third ‘ line manager ‘ was released, it makes interesting reading, even though it was written tongue-in-cheek by the author. Does this sound like a good businessman? Buy a business , based in someone else’s rented property , that has struggled for years and probably has not made a profit for quite some time. Don’t do a thorough check of the ‘books’ and sack your main staff members who have good knowledge of how the business has been kept afloat all this time including the main man who is highly respected within his very specialised field. Then, decide to double your potential outgoings by doubling your main staff wage bill whilst only expecting the same financial income as the previous few years even though the country is an a financial crisis and add it to that the fact that you have watered down your main product to such an extent that your ‘ customers’ are telling you they won’t be visiting your establishment as you no longer provide value for money. To add further to that issue, INCREASE the price of your ‘ product ‘ to the point where most of your repeat customers cannot afford to purchase it on a regular basis. Then, bring in inexperienced staff to run the production line, sack two ‘ line managers ‘ in a row before they even entered the premises and then put out an appeal for cash from the very people who you wish to spend their hard earned pensions within your business as you also threaten to close the doors due to lack of support. I ask you ‘ Dragons ‘ , do you want to invest ??? Whilst its sad to lose any track , and not all of this catastrophe can be fully blamed on Mr. Grant, why would any businessman in their right mind put money into speedway in the current climate ?

Only 3 in the 500 class ? Where are they all ?

Top match on a racers track although a little dryer than usual ( day match with a stiff breeze ). Bandits lost it on the last bend giving the Bears an escape route but you can’t put any blame on Flint for giving it everything. Andersen was always going to score big from reserve on his former track but NBJ was disappointing. Bears can’t gate at all with only MPT getting to 1st corner in front all match. Good old McGregor got Sarjeant again when it was Jenkins who moved first. New signings will take time to settle and they haven’t really got it ! Going to be a tough end of season for the Bears with Leicester still to come at home and Poole away but they should still be in the mix at the end.

Why would the BSPL buy a track on the south coast when all of the BSPL have their own tracks and there’s nothing in the kitty anyway?

They didn’t own most of the riders anyway.

Yes ,…..we both know that and why he’s ‘ missing ‘.

An experienced promoter always has one handy, usually a foreign one , badly photocopied . When was the last time you were able to get a sick note at 24 hours notice?, it simply doesn’t happen in the UK as you self certificate ( in other words don’t get a sick note ) for 7 days. The rule was (is it still ?) a rider who went ‘sick’ , non speedway related, was then barred for 9 days so that they couldn’t pick and chose which match to miss, just another speedway anomaly.

£10 admission to watch the youth at Leicester and others on the forum think it should be that to watch a main match, something of an imbalance there.

Godfrey abusing his position by giving himself the R/R facility for a rider who was absent , not ill , not even in the country , and it won’t be the last time by the sounds of it. Palin would have sealed the win for theScorpions had he not been injured. McDonald was the surprise package , unlucky to be excluded ( could have gone the other way ) and the clash with Wright removing his chain.

If you can’t make a profit on a play-off meeting you probably shouldn’t be running anyway.

I await your detailed list, shall we put a cut off on it if riders who have been at the same club for 4 seasons or more ?

Not really, the less prestigious finals such as this, and the U-21’s are usually given to clubs who express an interest in staging them as they are not likely to make the hosting club a substantial profit. Totally different scenario for the bigger meetings where there is potential for a larger crowd.

Whilst I agree with your content , you have to bare in mind modern society’s change in attitudes. In yesteryear, when riders stayed at clubs for quite a while, they got a following, a fan club and a bit of loyalty all round . That’s not the modern way. Mediocre teams get mediocre crowds, poor teams get poor crowds. You should remember the Havelock senior days at Redcar , poor team , poor crowd, club only kept afloat by generous pensioners. Whilst it may look like ‘ win at all costs ‘ it’s more, be seen to try to be successful or go under !

Think you need to check what’s going on before you make idiotic posts.

But complete opposites with their knowledge of how to team manage.

So not a ‘shield’ match at all then ?

Hyde Road - Belle Vue ( old school speedway ) NSS - Belle Vue ( for racing but not the atmosphere ) Redcar ( amazing what they produce there on a budget ) Scunthorpe ( always produces great racing but it isn’t the safest track in the world with Armco barriers and girders everywhere ) Torun ( ( the Carlsberg of stadiums ) ( worthy of a mention- Somerset, Edinburgh - Powderhall, Peterborough, Bydgoszcz on a good day )

Well Barker’s night certainly ended with a ‘ thump ‘.

No 250cc riders involved ? You sure this was a ‘ Shield ‘ match not just a challenge match?

“One club claimed “…..so nothing ‘ official ‘ at all.