StevePark

That's one way of looking at it. Another way is, making the massive step up to PL, he had to spend a large amount on equipment and, possibly, can't afford to ride soley in the NL.

http://www.newcastlediamonds.co/clubinfo.asp

Chewbacca is a Diamonds fan! I presume he was wondering how we have managed not to win our last 2 home matches and (perhaps) struggled a bit to beat Scunthorpe the match before those. But, well done the Diamonds on yet another away win.

Are you completely mad? OK, to suggest having Royno at Scunthorpe, but to want to ditch one of the best PL riders, I think you must be off you trolley!

Jonas Raun is a Newcastle asset

In other words, the ref had a shocker for both teams. It's just that his decisions seem to have more of an adverse effect on Newcastle than it did Edinburgh. To my mind they cost Newcastle a 3 point "swing." As far as sour grapes are concerned (not you Mike, but other posts above), no, not at all (not from me anyway). Had the Diamonds gone through, I would still say the ref had a 'mare, as, as I have said, even Monarchs fans stood by me agreed. There were even Glasgow fans nearby, who also thought he made some incorrect decisions. But, as also has been pointed out, it depends where you are viewing the action from. Well done to the Monarchs in getting through and good luck for the rest of the KOC campaign.

See my edit!

Perhaps "dodgy" is the wrong word..... How about "wrong" or "bad" or "bloody awful" (that's two words!). And yes, I was there on Friday. These aren't just my opinions, but the same opinion as the Edinburgh supporters standing near us on the third bend.

More than one dodgy decision...

Thanks for the clarification

He will be guesting for the away team!

8 day rule? Or is it because it's in a different competition?

Edinburgh v Worky OR Somerset.

I'm amazed nobody has mentioned the referee! He'll be most dissapointed.

I'd say so, as they are the ones going out on track every week.

Riders are always saying they want Air/Foam fences at all tracks. I think they may be in a position to have an opinion more than most fans watching the sport.

Well done for being the first person to actually name names! I personally (my opinion, only, of course) don't think either James Sarjeant or Ben Hopwood are the answer. Charles Wright has never gone round Brough particularly well, and, on top of that, is he prepared to quit Buxton (a Sunday track, remember) to ride PL? As you say, he been banging the scores in for Buxton and maybe is earning more in the NL than he potentially would in the PL. Also, with respect, signing someone who 'could do no worse' maybe isn't the answer either. Surely we should be looking for someone who could do better?

So, to those above who want to replace Steve. Who would you replace him with?

He's scored 8 points once, 9 points twice and double figures in all his other matches! What exactly do you want? You say "changes need to be made." What changes? A re-shuffle of the team? Drop riders and replace them? If the former, who would ride where in your opinion? If you think the latter, who should be dropped and who should replace them? And PLEASE don't say "That's CL's Job," 'cos that's just a cop-out. Back up your "demands" with some substance.

After Thursdays success, the Diamonds are going for the double over the Witches. Andy Tully makes his home debut for the Diamonds, after coming through the meeting at Foxhall. Should be a home win, but never take anything for granted.

Lewis Kerr is still on a 3.00 ave at Newcastle, so God knows how it works!!

Well, that was certainly worth the journey down!! We could have had all 4 points, had the track been better earlier on, as the falls happened when we either had a 5-1 or a 3-3, which changed them to a 3-3 and a 2-4. That'll be the 6 points we were behind early on in the meeting. All Ippo fans were complimentary, which is nice. On the Stevie W discussion. What I would say is that you don't become a poor rider overnight. We know what he's capable of. Give him time and he'll get back to what he was doing before his injury last year. And, anyway, who are you going to replace him with? As far as I can see there is no-one out there. But I wouldn't be looking anyway. Perservere with him and he WILL come good.

No doubt it will be announce next week, that it'll be Ipswich v Newcastle - seeing as we meet each other this Thurs and Sunday, so we have to do it all again in the next few weeks!

An away point would make the 5 hour drive home more bearable. An away win (and all 4 points), would make the 5 hour drive seem like an hour!! It's another test for the Diamonds to see how good we really are (we've passed most others..... so far).