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Totally agree with you. They can’t do right for doing wrong. It’s ok for others to complain about Sunday night but when the management team apologise it’s a different kettle of fish. In future Rob and team don’t bother as your no better thought of. It’s called caring about Newcastle speedway and doing the best with what they have.

Once again he’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. If it had happened at other teams it would have been “How refreshing shows how much he cares” At Newcastle not a chance.

Poole DID sign him and he was declared in their 1-7 which BSPL approved along with all the paperwork. It was the Czech Govt that changed their Covid travel restrictions the day after that put the cat amongst the pigeons. The BSPL granted a 7-day facility which is now over but replaced with ruling referred to above.

Agree on all aspects... Playing a blame game is never a good response as a leadership team... As you say, given the team they have they are going to take a few 'beastings' so no need to give out apologies.. And as most riders get paid based on performance, I am sure it wasn't down to lack of effort. Lack of ability maybe, but any team who get beat by a superior one can testify to that... If it needed mentioning then it should have been a simple "We are all extremely disappointed but are all equally committed to turn it round".. And as you say, if you go public as a professional entity, for heaven's sake, get your message out using the correct English language, as it can come across as amateurish, and brand damaging, when you don't..

Does this mean there was no discussion with Trollope before the track was prepared? Who briefed Trollope and didn't discuss it with the riders? Frankly an apology after the event isn't needed, the Diamonds were always going to struggle this year based on the late entry in 2020 and the relative inexperience of the promotion. No need to chuck the lads under a bus there have been changes galore all season they will have felt bad enough after the weekend without further public humiliation. Oh and a spell checker for whoever is doing the website releases might help, it's beginning to look like the village fete committee are at the helm!

Much more of this and you`ll be on the naughty step.

Rider's where asked what they wanted and Graham was told to rip the inside up comeing of bends which was done but did not suit all Rider's. But you got think Graham only had a few hours to do it. But I do know in two weeks Terry and Graham will be working together so hopefully will get it sorted

Honestly What the real shame was... is this meeting wasn't bad and there was plenty of passing and some good competitive racing; there was a healthy crowd in the stadium and it was the first time this season the overflow car park had to be used so there were a lot of positives to take out of Sunday; however I couldn't get my second nose bag because of the queue at the chuck waggon which again I suppose isn't a bad thing cos one; I'm fat enough and two; it means the food was selling well although there were no chips available; come on guys "No chips" I'm starting to think this is a witch hunt against fat lads; you'll be selling salad next... however the result was just the wrong way round and its accepted that Redcar have a good team but again apart from the dust off the track it was a good days entertainment... the club have nothing to apologise for IMHO or to feel embarrassed about that's for sure... Onwards and upwards and bring on Berwick this Sunday and lets see how we get on... As a team surely we cant gate as poorly as we did against Redcar... Here's a question has the promotion set up for a change with that strongly worded statement? maybe... who knows but possibly there could be news coming... but all in all there were a lot of positives to take out of Sunday other than the final score and the dusty track... and on that point... this defeat does not technically hit the top 20 biggest defeats at Brough... (that might change when Poole come or maybe Edinburgh again... Doh) that 20 point differential has been matched 3 times in the past and sits in the joint 20th place and those others were 32 - 52 against Edinburgh 27th July 1951; a 29 - 49 against Poole 19th June 1961 and 29 - 49 against Cradley Heath on the 6th August 1984 and on the 21st of June 2012 we pumped Redcar down their place 58 - 37 so "Schmit Happens" and what goes around comes around... however saying that Middlesbrough did do us on the 19th of May 1947 with a 30 - 65 reversal for our joint top (sitting in second place by date only) heaviest ever home defeat; but even Barry Wallace can barely remember that one... As D:Ream said "Things can only get better" and they will... Honest... I think the Berwick match will be much more keenly contested and much closer... Regards THJ Data Supplied from the excellent book compiled by Joe Wake "History of Speedway at Brough Park Newcastle 1929 to 2018"

It's not just prices that have changed over the years. In researching how much they had changed in other sports, I found a Chesterfield v AFC Bournemouth program from a div 3 away game I attended in 1985 amongst my speedway programmes. There is a section giving details of their upcoming away trip to Derby County at the old Baseball ground. They say that the cheapest admission on the away terrace is an "extortionate £3", which is £9 odd in today's Monday. In describing the ground it says " The ground is situated in an unsavoury area. Some houses around the ground have been demolished in a slum clearance scheme, the others have been occupied by immigrants and the area has some of the qualities of a ghetto" In today's money that would equate to "a vibrant cosmopolitan area rich with cultural diversity"

Gates had only just opened when I took the pic. Looking good indeed

Yeah,I went yesterday for the footy

TBH your Team Manager (aka "Calamity Clown" ) lost you this match. Instead of trusting messrs Cook, Jensen, Nicol & Wells to cover Ostergaard's programmed rides, in comes a highly dubious choice of guest which spectacularly backfires! Hard to imagine Stewart Dickson would have made such a blunder in a derby match when he was at the helm

Take a bow Danyon Hume. Brilliant tonight.

Absolutely cracking meeting with passes in every heat. Super setup. Good crowd and all over and on our way before 8.30. And stand up Danny Hume. Rider of the night.

Not quite right Jason Vissing getting released had nothing to do with cutting costs... It would have been cheaper to put Kyle in heat 15 rather than James; however James had wanted to try something on his bike and his set up... and presumably practice his rolling starts (Ahem)… so again you are wide of the mark with the last comment... However you are spot on with the bit in the middle... Regards THJ

Dicks getting a bit sensitive in his old age it appears.

Careful now play nice or the thread will get pulled... and you know what happens when a thread gets pulled... Yep... your jumper unravels... Regards THJ

You still can’t help yourself regarding” forum fannies” either. CLASSIC. ps Didn't think you were on the Promotion,your Dirt Extra columns regularly critises anyone who dares to have an opinion with differs from yours on this forum.That’s your prerogative ,but I am entitled to have my opinion too.

012.3.1. Rising Star Regulations – to be inserted on page 112 Rising Star riders can only compete in 2 leagues at any one time. So can someone tell me how he was allowed to guest in the Premiership as he is in the Leicester Cubs & Lions teams in 2 different leagues ( and everyone knows you can only be in one place at a certain time)?

Perhaps if it was it the News section along with Glasgow ticket advert it would help,not everybody reads the self proclaiming utter garbage that you write in the Dirt Extra.

I don’t see the problem.. yes the track was different but should Alfie Bowtell, Dan Thompson and Ashley Morris be getting paid 34 points absolutely not! Redcar are a decent side but we should not be losing by 20 points. One or two of our riders are off the boil and thank god for Howarth and Barker otherwise it would of been a lot more. Hopefully we should see an improvement on Sunday

Don’t think apology is needed,most fans know that is a very weak Diamonds Team and Redcar are a good Team.

Met Office forecast doesn’t look too promising .....heavy rain 1500-1600 ☹️. Hope they are wrong . Kent will be up against it with a rider short and no satisfactory cover for R/R. Heeps needs to score some points and prove his fitness......

Message him and ask him. I’m sure he will tell you. Great to have people stepping forward to do the updates, we should be very grateful that people do. And very fair in his reports too.

It is all conjecture what if this happened or that happened my own personal opinion is R/R was the better option ,you have your opinion which is your prerogative.

It's dead easy to praise someone who gives you something for nothing, innit? Your new best friends. Wait a minute though. Birmingham (one amongst many) were running with "Kids for a Quid" in one guise or another since 2007. If lowering the price, or giving admission away for next to nothing was the answer, then the terraces would be awash with young people in their late teens and early 20's now, wouldn't they? I mean, how many 17-20-year-olds are at Berwick now, having been bitten by the bug in their pre-16 years and are now paying full price at the gate? How do you answer that one without sounding negative? I know that the answer to the same question at Birmingham will result in a big round number. Basically, the experiment that everyone hung their hopes on has failed. (just waiting for the "I know someone who knows someone who came in as a kid for a quid" smartarse who just wants to be contrary) Sadly in the rush to the bottom of the admission price barrel has resulted in promoters taking the eyes off the ball when it comes to quality of the product. Whilst Rugby, Darts and Cricket have reinvented themselves time and again, and now have full venues, and attract competition from TV stations for the broadcasting rights, speedway still tries to offer the same old same old 1950's product without any thought to new ways of doing things. And all for the fear of losing the 70-80 year old "regular" fan base that's kept the sport going. There will come a day however when it'll be time to crack some eggs to make an omelette...

Isn't this a case for all sports though, other than football maybe? I know going back to my own experience, I was speedway daft when I was a teenager, Then I started to go out, alcohol and girls took over. Then you settle down and lose interest in the "chase". Then you go back to what you used to enjoy. I would bet that the only sports which attract teenagers in any amounts are one which also have alcohol nearby? Football (because it is media wall to wall), T20 cricket, darts nights out (sold as a night out rather than a purely sporting attraction). So if you want to attract teenagers, maybe you need to turn speedway meetings into a stag party atmosphere?

Methanol is a bio fuel so any thoughts of using petrol instead should be binned straight away.

My first ever visit to Sittingbourne and a real pleasure all round. We arrived at 3pm, found the stadium then decided to head over to Leysdown on the isle of Sheppey to see if this little seaside resort was as bad as I remembered it last time I was there years ago. In fact it was worse! A street full of amusement arcades and candy floss. Lots of overweight to obese people scoffing the pies and pizza, kids running amok and I spent £2 in 2p’s over 30 mins on the cascade thingimy. In the end I was struggling to spend it as the 2p’s kept dropping out! We watched from the shore as a massive thunderstorm floated across Sheppey and headed towards Southend across the water, then headed back to Sittingbourne to get something to eat before entering the stadium. A nice stadium in a huge industrial estate. The council imposing an 8.30 curfew is frankly ridiculous. But the stadium can hold probably as many as Belle Vue and although it needs a tidy up and some fresh paint, deserves bigger meetings. No parade or practice laps for the riders. Straight out for heat one. Poole gated on a 5-1 in heats 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Yet at the end of heat 4 the scores were 12-12. Heat 1 and Pirztes gated. But Nichols held it tight to squeeze up the inside of the Poole boys off bend 4 to take the win. Heat 2 and Pirates gated, leading by 50 metres down the back straight. A nailed o 5-1? Nope. Wright binned it into the fence. You know what happens in a rerun? Kent gated. Hume git between the pair and was challenging Morley but clipped his back wheel, which allowed Gilles through. Heat 3 and Pirates gated but Starke kept the pressure on and got past Worrall. Ge couldn’t quite catch Neilsen. Heat 4 and Poole gate. But Heeps manages to get last Hume after the youngster messes up bend 4 lap 2. Heat 5 and Starke penalises himself at the tapes and the Pirates are away. But the ref sticks the red light on straight away! Really if a rider jumps then pulls back as the tapes go up it’s his error. In the rerun Starke gated but Schlein was having none of it and reeled him in to a great pass. Heat 6 and Kent gate, but King was determined and after blasting around Nicholls on lap two he caught and ladt Morley on the final lap. Heat 7 and Morley gates but Worrall reels him and and in lap three blasts through down the back straight. 19-23. Heat 8 and Poole gate but Thomas messes up on bend 4 allowing Gilles through, then messes up again to allow Hurry through. Danny Hume away and gone. Heat 9 and Starke gates. Pirates fill minor places but again Wright dumps it into the 4th bend fence. Race awarded. 26-28 Heat 10 and an almighty battle between Worrall and Nicholls. No quarter given and Worrall came out on top. Heat 11 and Hume comes in for Thomas. A tough first bend sees Hume battling down the back straight with heeps but the youngster will not back down, joining Schlein for an impressive 5-1. 29-37. Heat 12 and tac sub time. In comes Nicholls to partner Starke. Starke gates but the 2 pirates Worrall and Hume hold off Nicholls fir the 4 laps. 32-40 Heat 13 and Schlein gates, blocks both Kent riders Nicholls and Heeps and clears off. King messes up the first bend lap 2 and tails off. Heat 14 and a big 5-1 from Neilsen and Hume to seal the match and the 4 points for Poole. Heat 15 and King makes up for his zero 2 races earlier with a win and thrilling face off with Starke. 38-52. In the end Poole were far to strong for Kent, who battled hard but were lacking firepower through the team. Starke was excellent value, backed up by Nicholls and Morley, but after those three there was little else. But the meeting had so much going on. Thrilling races, passing in all but one heat. Really a great meeting in front of a decent crowd. Rider of the meeting? Danyon Hume. Paid 13 and best Scotty Nicholls in the process. He is going places. Home by 11.15 pm. A good day.

A great meeting at Kent, with some excellent racing. British Speedway was still alive and kicking tonight!

You happy... me happy... everybody happy... just the way it should be... Regards THJ

Near, far, wherever you are I believe that the heart does go on

Hello from the studio - track is currently being bladed at Vastervik.

Superb! 11,414 posts on here and your efforts to maintain relentless criticism of Berwick promotions (past and present) show no sign of flagging.....

Luke Crang guests at 2 for the Pirates v Scunny.

My final post on the subject- if you can`t see it you never will !!! 2 GP rounds only i know Janowski 1st Extraleague pos 1 A Laguta 2nd Extraleague pos 3 Sayfutdinov 3rd Extraleague pos 11 Lindgren 4th Extraleague pos 29 Woffinden 5th Extraleague pos 8th Zmarzlik 6th Extraleague pos 2nd Vaculik 7th Extraleague pos 4th Madsen 8th Extraleague pos 7th Your honour i rest my case

Have to agree with most whilst the frustration of the promotion is evident a public apology stating that riders have been told its not good enough doesn't smack of harmony within. The track was a little different to usual and the boys struggled a little but im confident they will all be suitably adjusted for our next home meeting would have sufficed IMO.

But why does speedway have to operate in stadiums? Internally its viewed as a sideways alternative to superbikes but externally its seen in the same light as stockcars and banger racing. So why don't / can't clubs run successfully on a lower glamorous environment? Couldn't agree more. Can't beat a cooking your dinner on the side of the track and sitting in your car watching 1000cc sidecars belt round like a bulldozer. Lets get shale racing back to basics.

You can see this by the crowd that Cardiff attracts, as a bit of Speedway purist, I go to watch the event because of its importance (World Championship round), the racing and the atmosphere. The downside (for me) is that there are a lot of people at the event that are p1ssed up on the booze, it's generally ok as I can move to seats away from these annoyances but I've never seen anybody p1ssed up at a league match. This is born out by a "discussion" I'm currently having on the Leicester thread about various issues with Speedway in general and some with Leicester in particular. There are some people that seem to think that because there is Speedway at their track that everything in the garden is rosy and that the sport doesn't really need promoting that much. The if you build it they will come style of promotion. Clubs should never be happy with their attendances unless they're playing to full houses. I'm not sure that many do dislike them, they probably don't like them when they're at the start or end of the season as fixture fillers but some of the biggest attended meetings I've been to were Individual meetings held in the height of summer on Saturday nights or Sunday afternoons. World Championship Qualifiers, Rick Miller Testimonial, Golden Hammer, Pride of the East etc. etc. These events used to carry some history and prestige... until they were stuck at the end of the season with weakened line-ups and the punters saw through this. Isn't this basically what Buxton, Somerset & Scunny were/are?

It's not a new rule. It's just never been used before. I think the argument comes from the fact Poole have signed a ghost on an assessed average of 5.00 to replace the outgoing assessed 4.00 meaning a difference in 0.5 in obtaining a guest. If the 4.00 average was used Poole would only be allowed a 3.00 replacement under this regulation.

Hey Scunny Dan there will be a few Poole fans including myself who will be making the trip up to the Eddy Wright Raceway this coming Friday. Looking forward to the meeting as Scunthorpe is a terrific race track and I have enjoyed all my previous visits.

Looks like Heeps golfing season is coming to a close then

Many aspects of the sport have simply not moved with the times, they have tinkered with the number of heats over the years but it is still four laps clutch start and that is it. Team racing is rare and most ‘teamsters’ race firstly for themselves and the income with the club a secondary factor in the equation which is why I never understand why so many dislike individual meetings apart from the GP. The admission price is seemingly determined by the riders and not the paying punter. Rarely do tracks actively promote themselves or the sport either individually or collectively (some decent advertising deals are available on a number of commercial radio stations) and most could learn a thing or two from the banger racing promoters and the IOW. Despite claims from many who run the sport, it is not family friendly night out given the cost and no need to go on about the odd summer promotion re kids admission , how many regular weekly meetings are being held at all top tier tracks this year and covid is not an excuse for not thinking outside the box and putting on a motor cycle show with various two wheeled disciplines not just the gate and go merchants. Sadly with few exceptions it is boring, living in the past, over priced and going nowhere in a hurry as no one has any vision and the balls to turn it around and make it an evening spectacular and leave behind the dead wood of 15 heat league racing. First and foremost give the punter value for money as no clubs needs to chase ratings, the sport is not big enough to think like that so play to a new audience and drag the oldies screaming into the current day but do something different before it is too late for the sport and it ends up as an amateur outing for a few enthusiasts.

It's been in place since 2020 to stop teams having to field a NL rider if their no.1 is missing

Great meeting... Great atmosphere.... Away fans going mental and riders celebrating just as mentally with them... There really is no comparison from what you have in the UK is there? Apart from Jack Holder was riding obviously,.. Its exactly the same sport, but it isn't really is it? "Proper Speedway Nige"...

Cant believe Hampel gets to ride in ht14 when he only got a point so far

I just found an old programme from 1975. The programme was 10p. On the back were details of the next week's Blue Riband individual meeting. Admission for this was 75p for the grandstand, 60p for West stand & terraces and children 50p & 42p. Prize money for the event was, winner £50 and a portable TV (value £85!! ) 2nd £30 and 3rd £20. An inflation checker calculates this at about £14 admission for an adult and 2 kids with programs!

Who would of thought that when Peterborough announced they were bringing back Ulrich Ostergaard into there team that now Panthers fans would be saying it could be a disaster hes got injured

He'd never been to Stoke then

Great to hear that the first meeting went well. Now I just hope that Wightlink/SWR play ball and reinstate the late evening boat and train services to enable me to enjoy the racing and get home afterwards. Good luck to all involved with the Warriors.