Lakeside 2017

[liam 376]

Not exactly. It's more complicated than that. The roadworks causing the trouble seem to be finishing, but Jon said that in the 5 meetings when crowds were seriously affected by roadworks they were losing up to £8,000 per meeting, and could not sustain those losses . It costs £22,000 to run an Elite (now Premier ) League meeting but only £8000 max. to run an NL meeting so any losses would be proportionately much smaller at the lower level.

 

There seem to be other reasons swirling beneath the surface. He has doubts about the top leagues ability to survive in its present form and is being destroyed, amongst other things by riders pay demands which are getting beyond the pale. He said when Lakeside announced they were dropping to NL four riders phoned up to say they were devasted and asked if there was anything they coukd do. The four were Lewi Kerr, Richard Lawson, Kim Nilsson and Dave Watt. The rest, in Cooks words "ran for the hills" and didn't care about the fans or the club.

 

Both Jon and Kelvin want to return to the club atmosphere that speedway had 25 years ago. The riders will now be encouraged to interact with fans more, now they don't have to dash off and catch flights to their next pay day. Kelvin also said we will have to get used to a new type of Speedwáy but he is very enthusiastic about it

 

BREAKING NEWS JUST IN :

 

The Sneering Voice of (Un )Reason, who couldn't be bothered to turn up, didn't hear the full context of what was said, doesn't have the guts to confront Cook and Tatum face to face, and doesn't get hit in the pocket when the club sustains losses, gets it wrong and makes a fool of himself yet again.

 

Not funny, not clever, just stupid

Why not the Premier League then or can they not afford that league either? Iam sorry but I can't see the club getting a new stadium when they are offering National League speedway. The roadworks have finished and have been since before Christmas.

[birchfield aces 5]

As a travelling supporter ,has the decision been made as to what day/time will be first choice? What is the Second choice or reserved night?

[Daytripper 1,123]

Why not the Premier League then or can they not afford that league either? Iam sorry but I can't see the club getting a new stadium when they are offering National League speedway. The roadworks have finished and have been since before Christmas.

I presume you mean why not Championship League ?

 

Probably because there is not much difference between the cost (and admission fees ) of the two leagues, especially when you take the sky money into account.

 

One piece of good news I forgot to mention was that both main sponsors are back onboard.

As a travelling supporter ,has the decision been made as to what day/time will be first choice? What is the Second choice or reserved night?

Fixture list to be published shortly

[liam 376]

I presume you mean why not Championship League ?

 

Probably because there is not much difference between the cost (and admission fees ) of the two leagues, especially when you take the sky money into account.

 

One piece of good news I forgot to mention was that both main sponsors are back onboard.

Fixture list to be published shortly

Thanks for the update mate. If it's purely a financial decision then who am I to argue, can't expect them to be taking a big hit in the pocket every week. One last thing but are we National League for the foreseeable future then?

[waco 1,026]

The future as was hinted at last night may depend on how this season goes,,But there was considerable optimism from Jon and Kelvin ..the Premier League however was not considered to be in good health for the future...

[liam 376]

Cheers mate.

[TonyE 822]

To put it simply, Lakeside were not in a position to commit to either Premier or Championship as available meeting dates were yet to be finalised (with their landlords) at the time of the AGM. Plus the impact of GPs and international meetings was very restrictive.

 

The impression I got was that JC was not keen on the Championship anyway as it is basically a 'northern' league with only Ipswich being close! Also, if a new home was obtained, speedway at a higher level would be run and the NL side too. The new home is still work in progress. If there was one big league (split North and South), in the future, then Lakeside would almost certainly be in it.

 

There was a lot of positivity on the night and, apparently, many, many riders were keen to ride for the club.

Edited January 27, 2017 by TonyE

[gazzac 1,015]

I expect if he had a chat with the Dugards last year, they'd have probably helped give him the confidence and desire to make the 'drop' to the NL. I'm sure Eastbourne wished they had done it a few year's ago, at the moment the only place to be really, and far more fun to be there and watch the youngsters coming on than so called elite riders. Hopefully you Lakeside fans will take to it like we have at Eastie, good local derby's again as well to add to the Kent ones.

Edited January 27, 2017 by gazzac

[marko 956]

Not exactly. It's more complicated than that. The roadworks causing the trouble seem to be finishing, but Jon said that in the 5 meetings when crowds were seriously affected by roadworks they were losing up to £8,000 per meeting, and could not sustain those losses . It costs £22,000 to run an Elite (now Premier ) League meeting but only £8000 max. to run an NL meeting so any losses would be proportionately much smaller at the lower level.

 

There seem to be other reasons swirling beneath the surface. He has doubts about the top leagues ability to survive in its present form and is being destroyed, amongst other things by riders pay demands which are getting beyond the pale. He said when Lakeside announced they were dropping to NL four riders phoned up to say they were devasted and asked if there was anything they coukd do. The four were Lewi Kerr, Richard Lawson, Kim Nilsson and Dave Watt. The rest, in Cooks words "ran for the hills" and didn't care about the fans or the club.

 

Both Jon and Kelvin want to return to the club atmosphere that speedway had 25 years ago. The riders will now be encouraged to interact with fans more, now they don't have to dash off and catch flights to their next pay day. Kelvin also said we will have to get used to a new type of Speedwáy but he is very enthusiastic about it

 

BREAKING NEWS JUST IN :

 

The Sneering Voice of (Un )Reason, who couldn't be bothered to turn up, didn't hear the full context of what was said, doesn't have the guts to confront Cook and Tatum face to face, and doesn't get hit in the pocket when the club sustains losses, gets it wrong and makes a fool of himself yet again.

 

Not funny, not clever, just stupid

 

Its a bit harsh to say AJ didn't care about the fans or the club, he probably knew there was nothing he would be able to do to help apart from riding for free, the other unmentioned riders I am not surprised about though, they are journey men who have had more clubs than hot diners.

It is a shame though despite lots of riders having an interest in riding for us in 2017 we have still ended up with a 40 year old in the team, hopefully over the next 12 months the academy and school can develop some more promising teenagers who we can look to blood with a view to being the mecca of youth speedway.

[Daytripper 1,123]

Its a bit harsh to say AJ didn't care about the fans or the club, he probably knew there was nothing he would be able to do to help apart from riding for free, the other unmentioned riders I am not surprised about though, they are journey men who have had more clubs than hot diners.

It is a shame though despite lots of riders having an interest in riding for us in 2017 we have still ended up with a 40 year old in the team, hopefully over the next 12 months the academy and school can develop some more promising teenagers who we can look to blood with a view to being the mecca of youth speedway.

Yes, one of the things mentioned was that if anyone in the academy shows promise they can get straight in and sign him.

I don't know anyone who is happy about signing the particular 40 year old you mention, but the fact that many riders want to ride for us was in the context that there are a lot of riders that want to fill the remaining team place. Jon and Kelvin want to take a look at them in practice before deciding who is the best bet.

[pandy 0]

the talk about the traffic was a bit daft,everyone knows the drop into the national league was on the cards.oh and by the way work starts on the A13 soon again between orsett and Stanford.they are putting in a extra lane each way.also six months of road works on old A13 starts soon between the wennington jct and the circus tavern.and the sunday meetings with a 3pm start will be fun,that roundabout is jammed with traffic getting into lakeside.and when the meeting finishes you can join them again in trying to get out lol,

[tocha 308]

Yes, one of the things mentioned was that if anyone in the academy shows promise they can get straight in and sign him.

I don't know anyone who is happy about signing the particular 40 year old you mention, but the fact that many riders want to ride for us was in the context that there are a lot of riders that want to fill the remaining team place. Jon and Kelvin want to take a look at them in practice before deciding who is the best bet.

On the subject of David Mason I believe we have to accept as a new NL club being largely at the mercy of who is left. Many established riders would have shaken hands on new deals for 2017 by the end of last season. In fact, I think we have done well to have secured the services of Zach, albeit Lakeside asset but, nonetheless, based in Bristol. It is possible that we were targeting Shane Hazelden anyway but, once he had ruled himself out through injury, Mason or a complete beginner were the only remaining options. Despite his age I am sure he will do a decent job for us and there is nothing wrong with being 40. At a similar age Greg Hancock had just one World Championship to his name!

Edited January 28, 2017 by tocha

[liam 376]

On the subject of David Mason I believe we have to accept as a new NL club being largely at the mercy of who is left. Many established riders would have shaken hands on new deals for 2017 by the end of last season. In fact, I think we have done well to have secured the services of Zach, albeit Lakeside asset but, nonetheless, based in Bristol. It is possible that we were targeting Shane Hazelden anyway but, once he had ruled himself out through injury, Mason or a complete beginner were the only remaining options. Despite his age I am sure he will do a decent job for us and there is nothing wrong with being 40. At a similar age Greg Hancock had just one World Championship to his name!

Please don't mention Mason in the same sentence as Hancock

[E I Addio 15,845]

On the subject of David Mason I believe we have to accept as a new NL club being largely at the mercy of who is left. Many established riders would have shaken hands on new deals for 2017 by the end of last season. In fact, I think we have done well to have secured the services of Zach, albeit Lakeside asset but, nonetheless, based in Bristol. It is possible that we were targeting Shane Hazelden anyway but, once he had ruled himself out through injury, Mason or a complete beginner were the only remaining options. Despite his age I am sure he will do a decent job for us and there is nothing wrong with being 40. At a similar age Greg Hancock had just one World Championship to his name!

Nothing wrong with being 40 or older. I was delighted when Peter Karlsson signed for Lakeside, for example. The problem with David Mason is not so much his age as the fact that he comes with the reputation of being a boring rider who is content to sit back in the minor placings if he doesn't gate. I understand that it could be useful to have an experienced rider on the track, experiencing track conditions who can perhaps help the younger ones with set ups better than Kelvin, who is not on the track, is perhaps able to. I get all that , but as a spectator I like to see riders who raise your expectation and pulse rate every time they come to the tapes and I can't see Mason ever doing that. As for being 40 it's not so much his age per se more the fact that his record suggests he has reached the point where he is in decline. His record last year was that he finished third in nearly half his races and to my mind that is a second strings told , not a third heatleader. I do like the look of the first four signings.

[bruno 1,790]

why, has Mason got morals