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Forgive me for adding fuel to the fire but the negativity from the moment I walked into the stadium until the moment I left was palpable. At times I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Clearly the Diamonds fans I spoke with, and some of them are very long-standing ones as well, have had enough. They already appear to be voting with their feet as the attendance yesterday was poor and without the Redcar fans it would have been dreadful. Someone said there was no atmosphere. There was from the Redcar fans but even they by the end were not as loud as they had been as they seemed somewhat embarrassed at how easy it was. Lest not anyone forget that they were excellent, really attacked the track and looked like a team that has been racing consistently and were on their metal. Newcastle on the other hand were completely the opposite. Very, very rusty indeed apart from Howarth and again he's racing consistently. Losing Starke before the meeting was a huge blow. It may even get bigger if the rumours about him are true. Not my rumours BTW but rumours none-the-less. The Diamonds need a decision on BWD. Either get him fit and see what he's got to offer or cut him loose. Wethers may well have a broken foot and be out for some time. The experiment of Congreve and Complin has been a disaster. One clearly is not ready for the show and whilst it's commendable that he spent so much of his own money, took the gamble to try and make it over here and can be applauded for doing so it's clear he's not good enough and the Management need to remember they are running a business. The other reserve may or may not have suffered some poor refereeing decisions but in six rides he failed to score a point on his own track and when you weigh up that against what younger, fitter, hungrier reserves did in opposition again it begs the question that will he ever be good enough? Clegg was clearly upset during the meeting and afterwards and his head just doesn't appear to be in it. Around Brough he's great, usually, but he needs more rides elsewhere if possible as he's another suffering from lack of track time. He has it within himself but his confidence and will seems lost at the moment. Don't disagree within the current crop of riders of having Wright as captain but it's hard when he hardly sets his own track alight to see how he can inspire and help anyone around him. He's another clearly struggling for form and direction and until he finds that or indeed if he finds that can not be expected to be able to help others around him. It does perhaps seem a bit harsh to say that Heat 2 was the killer yesterday but it was. The feeling in both sets of camps when that race was completed and the riders returned to the pits was insane. One team already looked beaten and the other knew their opposition was there for the taking. Have I any ideas where Newcastle can improve? No! But I'll tell you this, they do need to do so and quickly as it could be another track walk in September to remember what used to be. I do believe that Rob, Dave, Steve and those behind them are doing everything they can to change things around and are working night and day to try and change things. They are not stupid, they are realists and they can see themselves just as the fans can that things need to change. Questions are 1.) have the will to do it? 2.) have they the money to do it? and 3.) if the answers to 1 & 2 are yes, have the riders they approach have the belief that they can do it? From the outside looking in it's a mess. Leicester and Poole are the next two home meetings. Hardly a sobering thought for an administration and Club clearly out of sorts and battling against the odds. No BWD, no Starke and losing Wethers about two solid rides are all things that need to be taken into consideration. This is a side that is about to go into June and haven't had a chance, sometimes not of their own doing, to gel and become consistent. They may never get that. I could urge patience. I could implore fans not to lose faith but it's very difficult to see that happening given the current situation. The terraces are just as shorn of regular committed fans as they are of new faces coming to watch. Speedway is a sport that is a spectacular and worthy one to support but it's very difficult to do so when the team you're watching week-in, week-out are so ineffective. I also say that with the greatest respect to the guys going out there. They are trying their best but it's obvious they are not feeling it whether it's with themselves, with their machinery, with the promotion and management or just speedway life in general and that's hard to see and accept as fans. One thing I would like to say and in some ways it might be another negative from a positive was the track. Without doubt the best I've seen it in years and seemed very smooth and fast reflected in the race times given out. Perhaps then that's one problem solved and now the Promotion and Management can move on to the next? Let's hope so as when I drove away from Brough Park last night I was seriously wondering how many, including myself, can continue to turn up and watch a famous, historic part of British Speedway slowly and painfully slip away.

Great post and sums up the position perfectly for me. The crowd numbers are a concern and you have to ask yourself why they are reducing so dramatically. I have been coming to Newcastle speedway for over 40 years and have seen some shocking sides in the past but it has never had the effect on the crowd numbers that we are seeing today. One thing that is hugely concerning to me is that I have attended Redcar and Berwick over the last few weeks and the number of long time Newcastle fans in attendance has been an real eye opener, a large percentage of them who no longer attend Brough Park on a Sunday. As I have said we have seen some shocking teams over the years and these supporters have stuck with the club so why now?. I am sure they have their reasons but that is where the club need to look to start building our fan base, regular speedway fans from Newcastle who are already spending there money at other track on a regular basis. This is only my own personal view but the club needs leaders, someone to lead the direction of the club, build strategies to drive the club forward, leaders to motivate the riders on track and leaders on track to inspire some of the younger guys in our side. The club is drifting at the moment and desperately needs someone to start building a new identity for the club and bringing in people who can work together to achieve it. I am not specifically knocking Rob and I so want him to make the club a success for both the fans and himself but unless the load is spread across some new blood in every department of the club then he will continue to struggle on his own against a tide which he will struggle to turn by himself. I do believe the club can be successful under the current ownership but it needs a new fresh approach as obviously the current one is not working. Newcastle is a club divided at present and the only way that it can survive is with the promotion, staff and fans all pulling together to make it work. Newcastle speedway needs Rob Grant to survive but also the club needs the fans to make it viable. If it was me I would use this break in fixtures to open up the channels of communication with the fans, start being open about the challenges faced, the plans for moving forward and give the fans a voice in terms of their own thinking. The key to keeping this club in business is getting everyone back to pulling in the same direction, the fans can’t do that but the club has a huge opportunity to turn things round if they have the appetite for it.

This is the hoary old chestnut. The product is close racing not big names (and lets face it they're not actually big names in the 2nd div just big fish in a small pond). The secondary issue is the route from div 3 to div 2 which is presently clogged with div 1 riders.

Nothing but a (very) poor attempt at a wind up. I've no affinity to any particular club but see the same poster popping up on several threads trying to bait different fans, a bit sad really. Nobody minds a bit of banter between fans, and there's been some good wind-up merchants over the years on here, but him and the Redcar fan are just lowest denominator stuff. Antagonistic for the sake of it.

So I’m going to bite to this post even though I would normally avoid doing so given it is obviously aimed at goading Newcastle fans. So as a huge Newcastle fan and someone who had in the past worked for the club for a number of years, I have to say that Redcar at this point are a million miles away from our club, whether this is in terms of team, track, product or simply the way the clubs philology is at this present time. Even as a lifelong Newcastle fan I must say that it was men against boys today. I watch this Newcastle side and not one of them really covered themselves in glory tonight. I have to say a HUGE thank you to Kyle Howarth who has been a breath of fresh air in our side these last few weeks but the team is obviously not up to the standard we need. In terms of the owners comments about the 100% change in personnel before our next meeting then I will hold judgement. I hope the owner has the ambition to improve the side before the next meeting which is being beamed live on the BSN. I hope Robs views are based on improving a side which has so obviously been way under the level that is needed to compete, but let’s see how things improve and whether we have an ownership that is looking to drive this club forward. If we want a speedway club in Newcastle then we need a team that try’s, not a side that waves the white flag after a couple of races. This is the first time I can say I have been ashamed of the performance of a Diamonds side in all my years of watching them. This team is not strong enough but tonight was just not good enough, on a track which has been better than it had been for quite a long time. What an absolute shambles

As much as it is hard to say, you just needed to look at the away pits yesterday to see how it is entirely possible. It wasn’t long ago that Redcar were not in the best position themselves but the initial great work by Kevin Keay built on by Ben Duffil and then taken on by Jamie and Jade has transformed that club. You just need to see the atmosphere with the riders and the fans to see the clubs is completely together and it is paying off with the crowd levels at their matches both home and away. The key is how they engage their fan base and interact with them on a regular basis. The club don’t have a huge budget compared to others but they have the rider bought into their project and that means the likes of Charles, Lewi and Erik will always be likely to return. They also have been growing their future with the signing of up and coming Brits like Jason Edwards which shows the direction they are looking to take the club. As I say it’s is possible but it’s going to need a change in approach from the promotion to make it happen.

Exactly, there isn't any. Sedgman didn't want to come across to ride one league but changed his mind and was hardly desirable. Kelleher was not worthy of a return and even if he'd signed instead of Congreve it would have still been way under the limit and terrible and he wouldn't have become an asset. Which for some reason appears to be important? Admittedly, the team signed is terrible and to a budget but the fact remains that the points limit set for 11 teams was higher than the total combined averages of the riders available by some considerable margin. Hence at least three teams starting under the limit by at least a point. And that's including riders who weren't ever going to do the season. You can't dispute the simple mathematics that the sum of the points limit multiplied by the number of teams was greater than the total average of riders available. And so the wealthier/better run clubs sign the riders they want and the poorer clubs have to make do with what's left. That's fine if there are enough riders available to make a competitive side but that wasn't the case this pre-season. Hence teams having to dig up riders to be able to come to the tapes with 7 riders they can arguably call their own, even if in some instances they were never doing the full season. It now appears that Rob Grant is to attain a sponsors licence which should allow him to access new foreign riders which he wasn't able to do before. I don't think he could have obtained this any earlier? Even so any riders signed now were unlikely to sign pre-season as they'd have signed to Polish clubs. Yes Sunday is a problem but it's the only day available to Newcastle. I'm not here to defend the promotion as I've voted with my feet after hardly missing a home match since 1986. The last couple of pre-pandemic seasons were the finish for me. Simply not worth the money. Terrible racing and matches that take forever against scratch teams. The fact remains that if the CL wanted to retain the 42 points limit standard then a simple calculation based on the list of available riders averages should have determined how many teams should have been allowed in the league. But they were never going to turn down Oxford returning or expel Birmingham or Newcastle. So what was the only other option, if you wanted all teams to be competitive? That's right, reduce the points limit or at least restrict the number of 8pt riders each team could sign. Truth is why would the wealthier teams want to do that? So you end up with teams of vastly different strengths and prey that the rubbish teams can make if through the season and still be about the following season. At some point those prayers won't be answered and the number of tracks will diminish even further than the bare minimum we have now.

you choose not to address the simple mathematical reality. that's fine but the consequence of not addressing the lack of available riders is the current situation and the potential loss of more tracks. you do however improve the product by having equally competitive teams. as I pointed out in my last post if you want equally matched teams at the same level then you simply work out from the available rider pool how many equally matched teams can be in the league. This pre-season that was about 9 teams not 11. So you refuse Oxford and expel one of Birmingham or Newcastle to improve the product. That's the option. pre-season Sedgmen wasn't an option for anyone and he hardly has a heat leader average and we'll see how long his current for lasts. And some riders averages are bound to increase because there are some understrength teams so averages will increase as the same points are available. I don't know if Newcastle could have done what Birmingham have done or not. You would presume so but which new foreign riders would sign for a Sunday track pre-season? You could include bonus points in the GSA's and retain the 42 point limit but you're reducing the standard of the teams which is what you don't want? It's a simple choice really. Do you want equally matched competitive teams? In which case you have to set the rules in some fashion to make that happen. Either restrict the number of teams in the league or reduce the points limit to reflect the pool of available riders. Or you're not bothered about equally matched competitive matches and you set an arbitrary points limit knowing some teams will be under strength. I really don't care but the consequence of the former means some teams don't come to the tapes and the later means some teams may go out of business due to tracking uncompetitive teams.

Only we could make Lewi Kerr look like Bartosz Zmarzlik for the evening.

Or interview those walking out long before the meeting finishes, which you see at quite a few tracks these days. Meetings take far to long to run. Barring accidents, 90-minutes is ample time.

Quite apart from the poor team there’s one glaring issue that never gets mentioned and that’s the time it takes Newcastle speedway to run a meeting. Starting at 4pm and finishing at 6:30pm just isn’t acceptable. There were no major incidents just small delay after small delay mainly due to a lack of organisation. Why not water the track for example while the medical officer was with Wethers ! Instead we had a delay for both ! No skirting on the air fence, green light not working, tapes getting broken by the photographer. All silly little things that are down to a lack of professionalism. During the delays the entertainment is dire. Roy’s drivel bores anyone to death and he interviews a random bloke off a radio station, a fan who happened to be on the center green plus a basketball player! If you’re gonna have endless delays while people feed their faces on expensive burgers at least let’s hear from the riders or team managers. Overall it’s just a poor night out now !

Sorry but I am failing to see where your common sense finishes and your ignorance starts, you must see surely if Newcastle go that has an effect on every other team in the league to a small or greater degree. Maybe you are on a wind up, if so then you have succeeded.

Panthers were poor imo.Hans,Basso and Toft were ok,but the rest were a shambles.Wouldnt expect to see Hans score that again on a normal Lynn track.The track was fairly dusty after about a third of the meeting.And the line to be on was the outside,you hit that you dictate the race.Lynn gifted points too which made the scoreline closer than what it should have been. The track didn't seem to have any moisture in it,obviously worried about any rainfall that didn't materialise. Anyway another 3pts and hopefully a few more on Thursday would be nice.

Yes Andersen has scored tonight but there's a bigger picture here.

Shambolic. I would get rid of Nicholls, Hans and Ulrich. Bring in Bjerre, Buczkowski and one other.

For goodness sake, all you have to do is look on the speedwaygb website and ............. oh

Disposable cash is becoming more off an issue unfortunately.

One of the main issues facing the sport is that the Championship is too strong... For example. Too many Div One HL's means it is too big a jump for Div 3 riders... Which means they will have to find a way to reduce the standard, or run the same standard but with less teams... There is zero point in running a match featuring a team with three Div One Heat Leaders against a team with none, as no one "wins", (especially the brand)... The biggest challenge will be though how to reduce the level to make everyone competitive, whilst still giving Div One HL level riders plenty of rides in the Championship, whilst also charging circa twenty quid at Tier 2 level for the privilege to watch... However that is the challenge that was obviously coming from the moment the double up/down floodgates were allowed to be opened, and a challenge that has so far been steadfastly avoided to be taken up... Ironically the "lack of variety" Premiership is the one league of the top two that actually is competitive, so a reduction in teams in Div 2, (say eight?), maybe would deliver the same? With the rest forming a "decent level" 3rd Tier... Less teams per league means more riders available to cover injuries and fixture clashes without using guests from the same league, which can only be a good thing to give the currently lacking in kudos leagues some real credibility.. Personally those teams that have taken advantage of the rules by upgrading at home, and also dont bother getting in guests away from home, deserve some credit for taking the advantage given by such a ridiculous situation of such an uncompetitive league being allowed to happen, especially when it was crystal clear the season would unfold exactly as it has..

Well remember the “ Vulture” races at Old Meadowbank.It was still difficult to get Jimmy Tannock out of the Team though.!!!

The Problem with speedway is that the premier and championship leagues comprise of the same riders (44 riders out of 51) are championship riders riding in the premiership. There is no easy route for young riders to progress which means the sport will stagnate and will only survive by loosing one or two team per season. I have seen the sport decline season by season from the 1980s. The problem is the biggest gang of promoters sets the rules each season. Last year young riders were brought into the league but it had minor problems like Leon Flint staying at reserve on a seven point average. Instead of amending this to say any riders gets over 5 must go into the main body of the team for x number of matches. It was scrapped. Every season the rules change which will always be detrimental to the sport.

Quite a few meetings I attend, people start to leave as soon as the interval comes, which is usually around Heat 11. They've basically got fed up standing around watch the track being graded. I agree about junior races as a second-half attraction, if that's when you meant it to be, and am personally all for that, but history in the modern era shows that the majority of people leave the stadium once the Main Event has finished. So my point, although that's not what your commenting on, is maybe the presenters at these meetings, could ask those leaving two thirds of the way through the meeting, why they are doing so. Maybe it isn't the tractor racing, but I wouldn't mind betting it is.

Hopefully the league coordinator will post something either here or in the Star at some point , probably en mass to save drip feeding the odd result.

Isn't the German SGP also on Saturday 4th, as well as International Footie (yes I know its England!!) on mainstream TV?! Excellent fixture planning

I personally believe also that there are now numerous factors that are not helping crowd levels. 1.cost of living.people having to pull in the reigns of how they now spend their disposable income .a night out at the speedway for two now amounting to 50 pounds plus when you factor in the cost of admission,fuel,programme,food,drink,etc 2.streaming.ad far as I,m concerned,a big shot in the foot,going on cost alone and taking away actually being there.11.99 for the stream as opposed to the cost of attending. 3.team strengths.as you rightly say,doubling up,numerous guest appearances,all contribute to the mockery of the sport. 4.entertainment And Yes,I agree that you should support your club through thick and thin but if the entertainment on show is inferior,then people are going to want more bang for their buck....human nature. There are probably more factors as well,obvious ones like length taken to complete meetings,inadequate medical cover,interest levels kept up in the event of delays between heats.kids not being able to have riders as their favourite s because they've cleared off after one season or can,t be accommodated because of the averages ruling.small things I know but large ones when you think of the whole package.

While that is true one of the problems is there isn't enough riders to go around without doubling up. I sadly believe the doubling up rule diluted speedway and I can't think of any other sport that does it. Is there really any credibility in a team sport that features team mates who are also rivals? Yes I don't want to see track closing so another solution is required such as cutting team sizes to 5 or 6. Whatever the solution is British Speedway needs a major overhaul.

Zmarzlik pulls the same move 9 times outta 10 when he comes from behind, bores a whole under ppl and expect them to move, done the same kinda move on Lambert on Saturday, we need Nicki P back coz he wouldn't be afraid to shut to door on him

All very well saying that Newcy now have a sponsors licence, but applying for, and getting, a visa are two different things. Let's say they replace Congreve with Smetana. How long, given the sclerotic nature of Home Office bureaucracy, would it take to process?

The obvious thing would have been to change it to a date they were available,common sense is lacking.

basso was meant to be in 15 with tom but had severe arm pump with the rough track and was struggling to hold on for his last few laps in ht 14 they tried to massage his fore arms and wrists but they were solid and his fingers were locked danyon was confident and asked for it and had been riding well all night and there we have it

You got that right again please say panthers to win next week too.

After a somewhat slow start to the meeting, the second half was some of the best racing I've seen at Monmore for a good while. Sheffield had too many riders that were off it really

Lynn looked really solid tonight and if anything, I’d say the score flattered Peterborough a bit as they were never really in the meeting. Best I’ve seen Lewi for a while. Sharp from the gate and attacking on the rare occasion he was behind. Really good to see. Top three all done the business and Richard starting to look like the 2021 version again. Thought Richie and Jack both rode better than their scores suggest. Overall a really comfortable night and things definitely going in the right direction. For the Panthers, it’s the best I’ve seen Hans for a while. Took no prisoners with his move on Niels. Very hard riding but fair in my eyes. Ostergaard’s cards were marked once he got warned for jumping the start in his first ride. Other than wiping out Lewi, no threat at all. Nicholls gifted a point due to Worrall falling. Palm Toft and Basso always in the mix without being spectacular.

Don't think we'll line-up with the same side next week. Buster more than entitled to break the rules considering he is the saviour of the top league by owning 33% of the clubs competing in it.

Well, Plymouth have booked Bomber.....

Nowt wrong with the Waves of Wimborne, us Pirates av always ridden them smoothly

I’m afraid to say in the majority of sports poor teams generally means poor/lower crowds and speedway is no different

Your maths ain’t very good if you think those +’s are 5%

As Flat track events are run at a lot of current speedway tracks who hire out their stadium to the organisers what’s your point ? The IOW make ‘ it work ‘ on a very small scale, riders pay to ride, they get a very small paying crowd, so it works on a very small and occasional scale, it’s not a full time business. Good on them for doing it but it doesn’t baffle anybody.

I agree with your points and would add that when it comes to getting new fans into the sport there is also the challenge of actually getting them off the sofa and out the door to watch anything. The last few years have really established a habit of staying at home and adding that to your other points its an uphill struggle. I have tired to get several friends who are already into watching motorsport on TV to go to their local speedway and its always variations the same answer - CBA going out on an evening any more, rather stop home with a beer and a takeaway and watch what ever is on TV. One lives a mile from a track and wont even go once to see if him and his son would enjoy it.

The problem being that the 2 reserves from NDL (20 riders total) is taking the top 3 from each current NDL team (possibly more as there are already several double uppers creeping above CL reserve level). That will mean these riders will become full time professionals and want rewarding as such, there will still be a gulf in class between teams and potentially the sides with the best reserves who record 3 x 5-1's will swing meeting results regardless of the top 6. Im definitely all for forward thinking and radical approaches could be the way forward to a pretty desperate situation but it all needs assessing for the long term and not the current quick fix approach that is currently being utilised by the powers that be.

He must also have meant that he tried to sign the above (inc Batchelor) before the season started and Batch hadn't signed for Oxford at the time of asking?

I totally agree Tel . But she don't like it i'm afraid. However i think i can get there in time for tapes up.

Thanks Tony. Appreciate the reply. Hope the whole project comes out well for you and PC.

Sheffield by 2-4 pts.

No it isnt

You can't please some people! When a bloke top-scores against a much-fancied team you have to give him his due. Their top three might have been less than impressive, but Cook can only beat the riders that come to the tapes alongside him, and that's what he did.

Hi Gr8scot, I can confirm that both meetings from Plymouth and Poole are being Live Streamed. Here is the info and direct links for both streams. GLADIATORS TV : https://www.gladiatorslive.com : £11.99 : The stream starts at approx. 6:45pm. PIRATES TV : https://livestream.poole-speedway.com : £11.99 : The stream starts at approx. 7:15pm. And as always guys, whilst the clubs work hard to bring you the best possible streaming experience, nothing beats being in the stadium in person if you are able. Enjoy

The Lions riders dont ride the kerb but Anders insists on riding a tight line which doesn't get him anywhere.

Not sure it has been confirmed. Helmets should be a good fit obviously and maybe he didn’t want to take the risk with someone else’s that he a) couldn’t be sure it would fit well and b) didn’t know the history of the helmet. I don’t think his decision is too ridiculous tbh.

Me too. I feel lost without Lucy by my side. I have always taken a dog with me to Speedway meetings and they have never been a problem to anyone. We're not exactly at some posh all seated indoor arena but usually pretty basic grass banking or terracing so why not if they are allowed.