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And that's something so many of the Promoters won't even have considered.. Mikkel Bech, (no disrespect intended as it could be any one of hundreds of riders), will not inspire too many 'ex fans' to the tracks, nor resonate with anyone who doesn't attend Speedway but have a vague recollection of the sport.. Get the on track (and off track), entertainment sorted out and you will have a far greater chance of growing your custom, regardless of who the competitors are...

It will be fine... We put the clocks back an hour yesterday,..

Honestly Newcastle flattered to deceive yet again; pulled things back and all square by heat 12 building up to the grand finale only to be let down in heats 13 and 15 and not for the first time, what a damp squib in the end and dare I say; it looked like the Redcar riders seemed to want it more; and well done to the Redcar team a great effort; also the Redcar Promotion and Fans who thoroughly deserved their victory in the end and Newcastle got exactly what they deserved "Zip" because if you cant get a race advantage in either 13 or 15 at home you don't deserve to get anything in my book.It certainly shouldn't be two 1-5's to the opposition (or am I expecting to much?) So the Redcar faithful can bask in the warmth and glory of their Cup victory over the cold winter nights looking forward to the 2020 season. Special mention for Sarj who potentially got the same as Baby Bjerre would have scored so no loss there and it was definitely more than I expected him to score to be totally honest, in fact after the first heat where he followed Worrall home someone said he had borrowed and engine off Cookie and I had to ask was it not Cookie on the bike? The one poor decision IMHO was the exclusion of Barker in Heat 7 for running into the back of Phillips, the ref from his lofty position said Phillips had locked up slightly and Barker had run into the back of him however from where I was standing at the tapes it looked to me (and to everyone else standing around that area) that Phillips was in the process of falling off before Barker run into the back of him, so I am pleased in one way that this incident wasn't a crucial factor in the outcome of the meeting and in the end had no bearing on the final result Good Crowd; Good Craic; a nice cold dark night racing under lights; just how it should be and nice to see the Workington contingent over getting their Speedway fix and there was some exciting racing; but the end product for us Jawdee's just wasn't there in the end. To be fair it was what we expected but to drag everything back by heat 12 only to see it all fall apart in 13 and 15 is just an extra kick in the nuts; the anticipation and optimism coming into heat 13 thinking "bloody hell we might just do this" to have the rug well and truly pulled from under you; well disappointing springs to mind amongst other words (unprintable unfortunately) but never mind onward and upward there is always next year to be disappointed all over again So again well done to Redcar long may the success last Regards THJ

Is this the same Rough Park that around 3 years ago Redcar fans vowed NEVER to return to because of the state of the track? ... Quite a few hypocrites went back on their word when a 12 point lead opened up after the first leg !!

Sorry, but my vote for rider of the night was Max Clegg by a country mile. He rode far above the standard he is currently at, and inflicted the only defeat of the night on Erik Riss. FROM THE BACK! Gating tart he ain't.

That was a good meeting to end the season, the best team overall won and, well done Redcar. Wright's ht 13 was worthy of winning it itself, although a think it was Jordan Stewart's contribution that made the real difference. A think Newcastle got the flow of decisions, Barker's decision was brave and I thought was right, Wright's decision was very harsh, not saying the ref was wrong, but the decision wasn't right, (all 4 back at least). I would like to praise Sarj for his efforts, put in some decent rides and no tape touching, but his failure to clear the track was very dubious. Don't think the Diamonds were given much chance of overturning the deficit but managed to level the tie at one point, only to be let down by the lack of our top end fire power.

As a consolation Redcar are offering Newcastle fans a free tea or coffee. We'll even supply the Cup!

Obviously very pleased as a Redcar fan with the win but the Diamonds put up an excellent fight and it got too close for comfort at the end. The big guns pulled it out when needed but the contribution of Jordan Stewart was critical. To score 9 points on a track he’s struggled massively on before was a massive boost and his Heat 14 win was vital. Pleased for the promotion after the difficult few seasons we’ve had. Glad I watch my regular speedway at Redcar.

The good thing about doing it on paper is,,, if you don't get it right you can always make aeroplanes

Lol the others are midgets

if you had put your glasses on, you might notice I have already been on before you. Through illness I wan't there last night, but my family were, and I followed it on the Updates. Well done to Redcar, who have improved the side as they has gone on, something we haven't. Maybe a lesson there. Great to hear there was such a massive crowd las night, and along with a big crowd comes a great atmosphere. Very please to hear that Redcar fans turned up, because whilst we always give Redcar their top gates , Redcar historically don't at Brough. Enjoy your success as quite frankly they have deserved success this year through the efforts of good management, and riders who were prepared to ride. Didn't look that good early in the season, but astute management got then to what they have achieved in the Playoffs and now the KO cup. Congrats to all. Not surprised about George's revelations, but for the sake of Newcastle Speedway, I hope he stays on in a senior role and that others ae prepared to listen to his advice. Roy stepping down from his 'Ramblings' in the programme I can live with, but it does mean there is going to be a new feel about not year. Where does that leave Dalbers ? I hope this is all for the better.

Just my personal opinion. Both tracks are what they are.

In your original post you did not mention 'owners', you clearly implied that Coventry's closure was the responsibility of the promoters (one of whom was me) and that wasn't the case. If you intend to continue with your negative tirades, I suggest you get your facts right in future.

Well done Redcar! Really pleased I decided to attend last night for what turned out to be an enthralling night of speedway. It was a throwback to the close encounters we have had with Redcar/Middlesbrough years ago when large crowds turned out to watch the likes of Eric Boothroyd, Dave Younghusband etc racing against our lads for the bragging rights. it was always going to be a tall order to recover the deficit with Redcars top 3 strength but by heat 12 it did look as if we were in with a shout. Full marks to Riss and Wright who held their nerve and there was no way they were going to let the cup come to Newcastle. Credit also to Woolley for his battling point in Heat 2 and also to Jordan Stewart who bounced back from a dire performance on his last visit. Last night was a reminder of the potential which speedway still has in pulling in decent size crowds. In some ways the 2 postponements may have helped because their several mentions from Jeff Brown on local BBC news and also the anticipation building up. Plus also there must have been a number of neutrals there last night from Berwick/Workington etc. Have to say I don’t understand the negative comments on here about Roy Clarke. He took over the role I recall when Andrew Daley took some time out. He gives 120% and is Newcastle through and through but always gives total respect to the opposition and their fans. I hope both he and the Diamonds are back next year with George still on board!

shame clubs can't think about sorting track surfaces etc with tv money instead of wages, better racing will keep people happy

That is really good news

And that’s why it will do him good, within reason anybody with a quick motor can ride a big track on the stop, you learn skill and throttle control on a small track which can help on the bigger tracks as well

It was a good team on paper,but the Heat Leaders let you down ,especially Bjerre and Jorgensen.

On paper Martin did a sterling job.In reality the big boys wernt good enough..

given the paucity of fixtures couldn't every club run a 2nd team? Perhaps using 6 and 7 too

Strong rumours in the pits last night that the ' Gedfather ' is taking up the reigns with his best friend Martin and they have bought Gentleman George out. George has been a stalwart at Newcastle but maybe a new leader can inject some enthusiasm in the place as there appeared to be more Redcar fans than home fans last night, but then success always brings a crowd. If George's time is up then he gave it his all, put his time and money in and should be greatly thanked for his services. Newcastle for the National League? Got to be asked as they will already have Phillips, Embleton, Ben Rathbone and possibly Archie Freeman to consider for team places.

To say we were getting a touch nervous after heat 12 is an understatement! We were confident that heats 13 and 15 would see us through given, as you mentioned, Charles and Erik, are top drawer riders and rode those heats to almost perfection , Riss hitting the front and Charles team riding behind him, albeit he did it the hard way in heat 13! For me, the biggest plus on the night was Jordan Stewart. To come back to a track were he got a duck egg last time and pick up 9 points was a massive bonus for him and the team.

Jealous last night It was more a compliment of how great Ulrich was gating last night... Charles and Erik were by far and away the best riders on the night and I take absolutely nothing away from them, top quality from both of them... Been a big fan of Erik for a while now and Charles is always entertaining to watch... Would have loved to have been at the British Final to watch him

Got the Wright/Ostergaard incident right... Wright clearly wiped Ostergaard out going into the first bend because he was jealous of how well he was gating all night... However the Phillips/Barker incident was a bit dodgy... Danny locked up, and Barker couldn't do much other than hit Danny... Awkward looking fall in the end, but at the end of the day, not Danny fault... In no conceivable universe should Danny Phillips be expected to race against Ben Barker and Jordan Stewart... It's just wrong... He probably panicked when he looked behind and saw who he was in front of... It was embarrassing watching the races that had the likes of Erik Riss and Max Clegg in and Tom Woolley and Danny Phillips wobbling around at the back... Nearly a lap behind... To add: Not to mention the referee let Jordan Stewart ride in his white helmet colour all night Never seen that before... And there's no way you can tell me that it was yellow... Because it just wasn't

It is still there and is used every weekend for speedway and flat track and sometimes in the week as well. Track is good now.

Bellers has been quiet since Tsunami spoke up

its a cracking stadium but the straights have always been slightly too long for the bends - conversely i believe STMP is the opposite with straights being slightly too short. I think racing at BP would be greatly improved by shortening the straights - I believe Wolves did this donkeys years ago and Swindon of course have just done it, in both cases the racing improved.

Can we stir it with the wooden spoons you have accumulated?

It is NOT Rough Park it is Brough Park why act this childish way when you have Newcastle fans including myself who have congratulated you on the silverware?

Would love to see Jacob Bukhave in, but i'm a bit biased Good rider and Loyal

he couldn`t get a Newcastle one Willie Dishington was wearing it

Would that mean Danny and Ulrich the first two signings Dave?

Tractors only worth 1K.. Leaks oil over the track

To be honest, if he was to come back I would expect it to be for track time and an opportunity to rebuild confidence rather than purely money. That seems a bit harsh. He's far from his best of a few years ago but he's still better than a lot of what raced in the league here this year...and he doesn't just do it all from the gate!

He certainly livened up a few second half’s at Berwick, they were more exciting than the main meeting at times.

Either they just show Kent away or they record it, cut out the rubbish and have a decent programme.

I have heard they are...………..providing circumstances are right. Its nonsense to suggest that 'most' speedway meetings take more than 2 hours (or that it will take 2 hours to get to heat 8). The overwhelming majority that I have been to take less than that, so there's no reason why they can't run with the same start time and curfew. There will be a lot more urgency about proceedings than there are at some places, and that's no bad thing. They certainly have the stadium for top flight speedway.

Sheffield has 50000 students that partly change year on year. Potential numbers to attend from there if promoted favourably- free pint with admission?

Not a bad post but to suggest that Charles Wright would ever be jealous of Ostergaard is probably the daftest statement of the year!

MIDLAND & SOUTHERN DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE 2019 TEAM MAT WON DRAWN LOST FOR AGAINST TOTAL Birmingham 12 10 0 2 246 170 20 Exeter 12 8 1 3 204 167 17 Isle of Wight 12 8 0 4 230 185 16 Reading 12 7 0 5 219 188 14 Carmarthen 12 6 0 6 211 203 12 Milton Keynes 12 1 1 10 151 266 3 Weymouth 12 0 2 10 149 231 2 N.B. Exeter v Weymouth was never staged, with 1-point being awarded to each club. SCORING SYSTEM: Win - 2 Points Draw - 1 Point Loss - 0 Points 2019.doc

I did ask how you where in the Newcastle forum a few weeks back and never got a reply as I had said I had not seen you posting for a while.Anyway Good Luck with your recovery and keep smiling.

Well, that'll save me a job, Gem lol. I'm sure I would have remembered someone from Sheffield who was a speedway fan! Unless your Mum was watching repeats on Challenge or the other ITV channels. There was a woman on once who said it was the 2nd most popular spectator sport after football - I admire her bigging it up, but sadly it ceased to be that long before The Chase was invented.

Hope he gets a few outings.

If so, why did Bjerre and Jorgensen stay? For whatever reason their performances were poor from the start.

Expected better from worrell and ht 2 danny phillips was awful to watch him trying to pass wolley

Poor old whistle gang

He’s had one poor season, I’d hardly call that going stale. Struggled in every league compared to 2018, it can happen in speedway. He may even have ridden himself out of it but for his two massive crashes. I don’t think a move to Kent would do him any harm but riding at Lynn every week can only be good for his gating while it remains to be so hard to pass there. Also worth remembering that last year was his breakthrough season and he rode for Lynn then so it can’t have been too bad for him.

Most have 4, 5 or 6 pre signed contracts lined up with offers in to riders and one team that I know has all 7 riders sorted and it will boil down to minor issues like will the championship follow the premiership and only allow 1 x 8 point rider in each team; not that I think they will; or what will they do with the 2,5% reduction for British Riders as it may go up to 5% and it could be allowed for all British riders regardless or it might just be for Brits who have rode in the NDL and the reduction will last the first 3 years of them moving up into the championship. Any rule changes and the like will be debated and they will also be getting the details on the new TV deal which will all be up for debate at the AGM in November so it appears that promotions do what they want with regards to team building pre AGM and then argue their corner at the AGM for the relevant build points and we will have to wait and see what happens with that one. Someone will set a thread up shortly with regard to the AGM and watch it go; some ideas put up are spot on and others well lets say are not so palatable; but it is all part of the fun as everyone has an opinion and its usually the promoters opinions that hold sway (usually always) So promotions know now what they want (or would like) they just need to get it ratified from the rest of the other promotions at the AGM and I would suggest that it is at this juncture when the fun starts. Also if any teams moving up or down the leagues will be allowed to do so like Sheffield moving up a league although not officially sanction yet; they will have their new position ratified at this meeting confirming their status as a premiership team. But for all intents and purposes its a done deal Regards THJ

A bit late to the party but wanted to add some observations to my first visit to Blunsdon for a while due to moving from the area and work commitments. I make no apology for the self indulgent post either! Thursday was my first ever experience of the Robins winning a trophy on home soil. It was tremendous. I saw a group of grown men dancing together, plastic cups of lager spilling as they danced their Dad dances in a circle. The atmosphere was terrific. Chanting at speedway? Never have I heard that before. Jeff Beck’s Hi ho Silver Lining was belted out several times. Another group of young lads (teenagers this time) all singing together, laughing and smiling) Before the meeting began, dark clouds circled overhead, looking menacing and threatening. Worryingly , one massive cloud began to empty its cargo. At the time, I was stood inside having a cheeky beer. I watched as the home straight crowd staring anxiously at the sky. Fortunately, the clouds passed over and although the track looked wet, it certainly looked raceable. I watched the first 3 heats from the grass bank entering turn 3: I must admit, I felt nervous as Ipswich edged ahead. Even after The Iversen exclusion. They looked sharp from the starts, and Chris Harris ( for the first two laps in heat 3) looked hungry and committed. But then I witnessed an absolute steam roller of a side. Jensen was aggressive and fast Musielak, smooth and slick. Doyle was as expected. He’s a terrific leader and a real winner. Batchelor ( who I have criticised many times, mainly for when he opens his mouth) really does look high class these days. His pass of Doyle in heat 13, ( yes it was a pass too rather than any kind of team riding between the two) was superb. Ipswich were simply annihilated. Jake Allen gave a gutsy performance, but tired after Hawkins threw him into as many early races as he could in an attempt to contain the rampant Robins. This was the best Swindon team I have ever seen. And, in my opinion would beat any of the other 3 championship winning teams. There seemed genuine affection for the team from the packed crowd, and a pleasing team spirit. I liked the blend of orange/tangerine, ( I’ve never seen so many reflective orange highway maintenance jackets worn by supporters!!) Finally, I’ve supported the Robins from the days of Martin Ashby, Killer, Bouchard and Jan Andersson. I would have given anything for one of the mid seventies Robins teams to win the league, or even win an away match! I followed them everywhere on the coach, only to see them get a hammering at places like Cradley, Halifax and Wimbledon. The Blunsdon track in those days was excellent. Always passing, always good racing. These days, I like the shorter version. Huge compliment to the track staff who have worked wonders with it. In order to get a quick get away to travel back to my home in Cornwall, I left straight after heat 15. As I reached my car in the car park, I heard another rendition of Hi ho silver lining (Hi ho Swindon Robins!,) I sat in the drivers seat and caught a glimpse of my face in the mirror.......I was absolutely beaming!!! As I reached the M4, it was pouring with rain.. But the sun was shining on another triumphant season for a super speedway team.

Sadly it does itself few favours this sport does it? A whole seasons work from the riders.. And a whole seasons support from the fans.. All treated with complete disregard and disrespect, just to deliver a deadline.. A deadline that could, and should, be moved to much earlier in the year given how many weeks no Speedway takes place, which would then provide plenty of reserved nights for rain offs/fixture clashes etc.. Thus giving the showpiece events (and the riders) the platform they deserve.. When those who run the sport treat their showpiece events so poorly, then why really should the fans bother? Rinse and repeat again next season too no doubt..