Islander15 1,061 Posted February 8, 2020 Who wants to watch Wallinger rather than Flint? This decision is a shame for Newcastle fans and those of clubs that the Gems will travel to. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigred 187 Posted February 8, 2020 1 hour ago, Islander15 said: Who wants to watch Wallinger rather than Flint? This decision is a shame for Newcastle fans and those of clubs that the Gems will travel to. Big shame about Leon but at least there’s Speedway to watch at Newcastle ay .wally did ok when he guested for the diamonds last year . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
szkocjasid 2,846 Posted February 8, 2020 1 hour ago, Islander15 said: Who wants to watch Wallinger rather than Flint? This decision is a shame for Newcastle fans and those of clubs that the Gems will travel to. 12 hours ago, Dickie Head said: Taken from British Speedway website: The club have also confirmed David Wallinger has joined their National Trophy line-up, as initial plans to include Leon Flint are not possible under the regulations. Wallinger joins Josh Embleton and Archie Freeman as announced starters for the Gems. And this from the Diamonds website: Firstly, Newcastle Speedway are very disappointed that Leon Flint will not be able to line up for them in the National Trophy this season after a decision by the BSPA means that the youngster couldn’t line up for Newcastle in that competition and also ride for another club in the National League itself. Any thoughts? Stupid decision by BSPA, as it's surely hard to sign 7 riders willing to race in NT only & not want the extra meetings NL will give! As long as a rider (Flint) doesn't ride for a club in the NT (Armadale) what's the issue? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
szkocjasid 2,846 Posted February 8, 2020 1 hour ago, Islander15 said: Who wants to watch Wallinger rather than Flint? This decision is a shame for Newcastle fans and those of clubs that the Gems will travel to. Shouldn't hurt home attendances as all matches will be double headers, will also save the promotion money as Wallinger won't score what Flint would (no offence David), not good news for the Gems opponents who will now have to pay for a large home win with a now very weak team unlikely to have the stands packed! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phillipsr 2,046 Posted February 9, 2020 7 hours ago, szkocjasid said: Wallinger is 3.87, the Gems are more than 5 points under the limit now! Which is a ridiculous situation caused by the BSPA.. I was critical of Clegg being able to ride NL but thank god he is or the Newcastle team would be worst than the Scunny team from a few years ago which was criticised for damaging other peoples businesses 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagpuss 10,686 Posted February 9, 2020 Presumably the rules were changed in response to the Cradley team of a few seasons back? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sings4Speedway 3,223 Posted February 10, 2020 Im not against the rules to not allow an all starts team but surely Newcastle should have been informed before making any signings? The NT side will be good for riders trying to put themselves in 'the shop window' but by the same reckoning if they were offered a 'full' NL team place elsewhere they could no longer rider for the Gems? Either way rushing Wally in as a replacement (no offence to Leon he's not even close) is a crazy decision and removed any minor chances of seeing this side not get crushed all year. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wee Eck 698 Posted February 10, 2020 Can someone explain the value of those teams just riding in the NT please? The stepping stone between the NJL and SDL/MDL is surely the NDL so why insert another step, especially if it’s going to be filled with riders beyond the first stages of “development”? It can’t be to do with making money for the promotion as I’d hope that Newcastle’s admission price is the same whether or not there is a double header. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris116 754 Posted February 10, 2020 21 minutes ago, Wee Eck said: Can someone explain the value of those teams just riding in the NT please? The stepping stone between the NJL and SDL/MDL is surely the NDL so why insert another step, especially if it’s going to be filled with riders beyond the first stages of “development”? It can’t be to do with making money for the promotion as I’d hope that Newcastle’s admission price is the same whether or not there is a double header. The problem is that Newcastle do not have enough dates to run a full National League programme but want to have a team racing at that standard to help progress the careers of junior riders. They need a few riders who are experienced at NDL level to help the newer riders. The progression as I see it is NJL, then SDL/MDL and then NDL, Championship and Premiership. The National Trophy was being run this season for the stand alone teams who need more competitive meetings than the NDL can offer and Newcastle are adding extra meetings for those teams which helps the stand alone teams and Newcastle. A win win situation as I see it. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tsunami 10,219 Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) On 2/10/2020 at 7:30 PM, Wee Eck said: Can someone explain the value of those teams just riding in the NT please? The stepping stone between the NJL and SDL/MDL is surely the NDL so why insert another step, especially if it’s going to be filled with riders beyond the first stages of “development”? It can’t be to do with making money for the promotion as I’d hope that Newcastle’s admission price is the same whether or not there is a double header. Newcastle, like a lot of other tracks, can't afford or not have enough riders to complete a complete season in the NL. I was looking last year at the possibilities of a NL team based on Newcastle/Redcar with shared home meetings, but the only NL track near to us was Belle Vue, which is 140 miles across the country. With the possibility of closure of Newcastle suddenly, we were resurrected by Rob Grant, but Edinburgh have now decided to enter the NL this year and they now have the Northern riders who wanted to ride NL. Rob obviously wanted an outlet for what riders we have, and a small venture in the NT seems like the perfect opportunity to test the NL water. Remember he has had a massive job on to get the Diamonds/Gems/Sapphires set up and running from the available riders, plus some new riders to the UK. As well as Wallinger, the NT will give both assets Josh Embleton and Joe Adcock a chance to show their skills having not been picked up in the declared NL teams. Newcastle will be back in the NJL this season with the Sapphires to defend the league title the Gems won last year The double headers will start earlier on the Sunday afternoon and the admission will be £3 extra. To think you can give the fans two meetings, and not charge extra, shows you don't really have a grip on the finances of running a business. Edited February 11, 2020 by Tsunami 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wee Eck 698 Posted February 10, 2020 Thank you for your responses which, other than the unnecessary kick about finances (which I’ll return to in a moment) are appreciated. It seems that the NT has been abused in the past with the essence of creating opportunities for up and coming riders being overlooked in exchange for a win at all costs mentality. Because of this, it’s my view that there should be severe restrictions on which riders can be included in an NT only team, perhaps something like under 18s or first season after NJL/MDL/SDL only. It should also be a ride for expenses league for any non-NDL team. Whilst applauding the efforts of Newcastle in entering an NT team, using Leon Flint would have been an expensive error (and that’s no slur on Leon who I expect to get rides in all three “professional” leagues this year) It’s one of the bees in my bonnet that Speedway is the only Motorsport that pays novices to learn their trade. It cannot be a coincidence that it’s also a Motorsport that is loss making. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
00000 1,279 Posted February 11, 2020 Any chance the title of this thread can be changed to just Newcastle Gems. They're in the NT - no more applying about it 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pete cc 322 Posted February 11, 2020 28 minutes ago, Richard Weston said: Any chance the title of this thread can be changed to just Newcastle Gems. They're in the NT - no more applying about it Start one ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teaboy279 1,038 Posted February 11, 2020 2 hours ago, Richard Weston said: Any chance the title of this thread can be changed to just Newcastle Gems. They're in the NT - no more applying about it Done 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elmo 274 Posted February 12, 2020 What happens if one of the team gets offered a place in a NDL side during the season, say as an injury replacement before the NT is completed. How would that be different to the Flint situation? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites