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Why does the question remain? There is no question, as Craig Cook has done nothing. It's all hypothetical. Based on hypotheses, you can ask any question you like, but it has no relevance. Time to move on.

Perhaps a deluded Workington fan heartbroken that they wouldn't be able to see Kyle riding this year conned Joe into vaping knowing that the repercussions - breaking team code of conduct, apparently abusing hotel manager and fire crew, causing hassle for those staying at the hotel, embarrassing Tigers management in front of sponsors/potential sponsors - would result in his dismissal.

Utter bollocks from the usual culprit.

So in reality he's been excluded for a vapes infringement

Exactly. The team which finished comfortably top last year with an excellent away record is unlikely to struggle at the bottom in a weaker league by changing one rider. They might but it’s highly unlikely.

Agree perhaps you can copy and paste this on the Glasgow thread as they all have ESP on there and know it was the Promotions fault .

Clears that paticular conspiracy theory up , now on to the next one .

I must admit i was looking forward to watching him as with a good run without injuries i think he was well capable of putting a bit on his average. I'm sure Newcastle will release a statement in due course.

Honestly Like the time Andrew Tully fractured his spine in press and practice and instead of changing the team before the season started waited for nearly four month for Andy to put his self right... or the various other riders who have been injured and who would have been dropped in an instant by other clubs yet over the years the Newcaslte promotions have stood loyally by their riders... even riders who have been sadly out of form and the fans have been baying for them to be cut consecutive Newcastle promotions have blindly and stubbornly backed their team selection. (Rightly or Wrongly whatever your take is on the matter) There will be more to this than meets the eye that's for sure and it may or may not come out in time as to what has gone on but it certainly isn't as contrived as Vape Gape over the border.... So yep pretty disgusting... oh the comment that is... not the actions of the promotion Regards THJ

Very Deja vu is it not? Same team as last season minus Iverson....No one gave us a hope in hell this time last year. And we finished top of the table(forget about the 2 legged final which Poole won after using every rider possible). Lets see what happens shall we?

could it be that a certain rider has dropped Newcastle in it just before the start of the season forcing the promotion into making changes they didn't envisaged doing with the season just a matter of weeks away, maybe tough on palovaara but before you start slagging the promotion off why not wait until you have heard both sides of the story before you call Newcastle disgusting.

Please enlighten us to times when the Diamonds have treated other riders like this.

I’m sure Cook it whoever else would have had the good sense to apologise the next morning and not force the club to sack them.

Just seen your earlier post & I missed the IF highlight & I won't pass judgement until both story's are out in the open which may not even happen,,, in this week's speedway star concerning the lawlor Bickley thing there are 3 different versions such as Facebook / the promotion & both riders have had a say & some of the times mentioned or what time Joe was sacked & Kyle got the call is a bit mind boggling but that's just an example to what goes on so we may never find out the true version,,, but I'm sure someone will know !!

Instead of putting negative responses on here why not wait until the facts about this decision are released from all parties concerned then if it's a decision made by the club which is poor then you're within your writes to criticize but there is always to sides to every story at the end of the day,,,. As it happens it was very touch & go that we ran last season but I can't really remember of the years I've gone that there has never been on the verge of shutting.. do you get your information off a doom & gloomer sauce I wonder

Right thicko. Point out where I said that. I'm in all night.

Still,,, texting someone to tell them their sacked/finished whatever,,, is so wrong. They should have done it by facebook or whats app, texting is so old fashioned these days. Oh, and two wrongs don't make a right, apparently.

So if a rider texts a promotion to say I'm going elsewhere as he's been offered a better deal which does happen as it did to the diamonds a few seasons ago & the rider was never mentioned which means that the promotion who have a hard enough job to assemble a team had to reschedule the team at the time & had to inform a couple of riders sorry but we've been dropped in it,,so is that WRONG

A big leap topsoil to replace who?.... now i would say Uk speedway is in the worst state ever in my lifetime..

If the rider was told that his services were no longer wanted then it is a poor show from the Newcastle Promotion. Whatever the reason for releasing a rider do it via text message is wrong.

So I guess you don't like the diamonds then

Whys it matter? texting a rider to drop him after hes forked out thousands is disgusting... whatever the circumstances

Correct.. The operating and business model they run is simply not fit for purpose.. Running any business where your employees dictate to you when you can open your doors due to their need to work for many other employers can never work.. And just to throw some salt onto that particular wound, your competitors can also decide when you can open your doors if they think your opening hours effect their own business.. Utterly crackers... No one can sort that out....

Me I grassed everyone I even grassed Craig Cook for potentially thinking about shouting Good Morning Vietnam at 3am out his room window, I could tell he was thinking about doing it earlier in the evening. I even grassed Claus to the haircut Police for having such a stupid haircut. That should just about cover the snitching for one day.

There is no doubt there is a lot to admire about the Isle of Wight club and the way it is run, growing the fan base, giving novices a first taste of riding a bike, the entertainment they provide at a meeting being a few examples, but to say Barry Bishop should be in charge of British Speedway is a big leap. For instance, how would he deal with the problem of riders giving preference to the more lucrative leagues in Poland / Sweden, how would he deal with doubling up / down, fixed nights, all problems at the top end of the sport, which fans of the sport continually complain about, which he has no experience of. My thoughts is that he would end up as powerless as everybody else in that position.

Usual defence of a disgusting action not surprised you have no shame though.. must get easier the more times you treat people like crap...

Barry Bishop might not have all the answers but his attitude is a breath of fresh air this guy has terrific man management skills.His interaction with the fans is top notch and he could do great things for British speedway.I posted once that i wanted to go the Isle of Wight at some stage this year and it was difficult for me to get a late train back to Swindon from Southampton.He got back to me straight away give me times and advice on what to do and even offered to let me watch a race from the middle of the track.I was absolutely flabbergasted on how helpful and genuine he is and i really hope the Isle of Wight go on and get stronger as a club I would love them to go in the Prem at some stage.

As has been said several times on here, we as a promotion have never deserved a reputation for this kind of treatment of riders. I would go further and say we are one in the best promotions and our ex riders are very loyal to us for the treatment we gave them both when riding for us, and after they have left. Examples are Kyle Newman, all of the Danes, Jason Lyon, Derek Sneddon, etc. So I find it hard to believe this has happened. Of course nobody on here knows the circumstances, and if we were to replace a rider, you can be sure we would have a replacement rider lined up and announced straight away to move on. The fact we haven’t suggests something has happened, and the search for a replacement rider has now just started. It’s easy to surmise or guess what has happened but until there is a formal announcement surely it is best to wait and see.

I'd presume they are waiting until they get the new rider signed and agreed by BSPA before any announcement??

Agree, each case is different , Cook has matured from years ago, all hypothetical .

I can think of one Baggy, but they sacked him

I think you're dead right. Question remains, though, would Cook have been treated the same had he behaved the same way ? We are being told that club policy would be identical regardless of who it was. That means booting out your top rider - and the top rider in the league - a few weeks before the start of the season would have led to no more hesitation or consideration than sacking a junior rider in the full knowledge that a better replacement had been banging on your door for weeks before hand. If there are those of us within the speedway world that find that hard to accept its scarcely surprising. I should say that I think Lawlor got the punishment he deserved - based upon the club's statement - and that any other clubs supporters gloating here have no place to. In the same circumstances, they'd be no different.

Is there just a little bit of jealousy in there ? I wonder how many people would sooner have Barry Bishop and Martin Widman in charge of British Speedway than Buster Chapman and Rob Godfrey ? You have it the wrong way round. Cleaning the fence - after I had paid to go in - on a wet day and getting soaked and covered in mud was due to the good will already built up in previous visits (plus the fact that I was helping someone I count as a friend). Feeling valued at Isle of Wight is due to the way that the club treats its fans - or, more accurately, its paying customers. No-one else comes close, and everyone else can learn from them. I should point out that I have been to every track in the country in the last few seasons.

Wish I could like that more than once Gregory, clever.

Listening to this interview made me think, listen to the start of the interview, and how many times he says the word I.

Or maybe even pop outside if he/they want a puff or vape

Different material, it was the good stuff in 2009...

Proctor could at least retain his 2018 average and improve on it if he can stay away from injury he had a year when he was having a lot of injuries As for Puck was it that he didn't like Grippy Tracks to the fact that it wasn't doing his shoulder any good after his operation.

Nobody knows how Kasper will do but MPT ought to be one of the best reserves in the league.

Statistically the Championship section of the BSF must have the most per head of people with ESP , after all they can all predict what would have happened had it been Cook and not Lawlor. Thing is they know the same as everyone else on here jacksh*t.

Hopefully they’ve finally got the banking perfect for the coming season, the weathers been far more favourable this off season for track works! Hopefully we get a bit of rain between now and the practise day to help it settle! i personally am looking forward to the season and optimistic we will be entertained with the team that’s been put together, and like Danny said in his piece on eadt today - teams on paper written off at the start of the season often then surprise on track! There’s some gritty characters in there not afraid to get stuck in as well experience from top to bottom! I thought Workington looked a poor side before a wheel was turned last season and they won everything!

Back on topic and I think it is crystal clear from the article and other comments over the years that what Godfrey really doesn't ever want is one big League, I have always thought he sees the Championship as a Northern League and the Premier as a Midland ( south of Belle Vue) /Southern League and probably wants an 8/8 9/9 type split and 2 home and 2 away. I'm not sure how close he and Buster are, but it looks a bit of a dictatorship at the moment The fact that it took so long apparently for Birmingham and Eastbourne to be ratified to the CL in the winter and in that 5 page article he could not mention Somerset; Birmingham or Eastbourne once again proves the point. It will be interesting to see what happens in 2019 and what the reaction to either One Big league or a North/South split is in 2020 as it seems a few Clubs already "hanging on" like Redcar / Newcastle (Nissan) and Swindon (Honda) plus others in Midlands (Wolves / Birmingham / Leicester) could be hit by sudden collapse in Car Industry and associated supply chains; and any even small loss of core support could impact on pretty much every Team, with very few exceptions.