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Showing content with the highest reputation on 06/21/2022 in all areas
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The majority of teams that been having financial issues are Championship teams. The Championship standard is too high, mainly because doubling down has got out of control and the difference between NDL and Championship is too big with NDL riders struggling to get Championship teams. The standard of Championship needs lowering, doubling down needs reducing, teams like Poole, Glasgow etc should be in Premiership.14 points
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100% to do with the league set up... The team chosen were not good enough by a country mile... Therefore "the leadership" of the sport should have not allowed it... If that was all he could put together then it should have been NDL or nothing.. Letting that team race against teams with up to 3 Div 1 HL's was a ludicrous decision and clearly doomed to fail.. As a leader you have to make very tough decisions sometimes for the greater good.. Speedway desperately needs that level of leadership...9 points
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Many a blind man foresaw this at the start of the season.. Yet those who run the sport didnt, which probably speaks volumes.. Putting uncompetitive teams in a league doesnt work for anyone, as history has been shown in many a long year.. Clubs will have paid out thousands hammering the Diamonds and will have no points to show for it.. And the Diamonds would have been no attraction when visiting meaning getting a crowd in would be a harder sell.. There should be clear leadership well before a season starts that decides whether a declared team can run within each league, and either contrive a more equal distribution of talent to make them competitive or only allow them to ride at a lower standard... With teams to be declared well in advance, not being allowed to "thrutch around" in bargain basements to put 7 riders together.. Hopefully the Diamonds can be saved and their die hard fans keep access to the sport, but you do suspect that some clubs will already be trying to cherry pick riders that they will replace their own riders with... All to get into those "Oh so important play offs"... Best wishes to anyone who comes in and takes over.... Let's hope someone does.. And this time they dont find out some serious legacy issues like Grant did...9 points
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8 points
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To be honest if Newcastle Speedway does survive it's got to be at a new venue as i think Brough Park has run its cause. Speedway isn't really welcome there the track doesn't suit the modern bikes and if we are honest we don't see alot of good racing. Although a new set up won't come cheap and it won't be easy to find the right place and get permission due to noise regulations etc.. I know certain places have been looked into. Fingers crossed there is someone else still willing to take it on and create a good race track like Redcar or Workington's new track. Here's hoping.7 points
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Feel for the fans....fair play to all those that tried their hardest to keep the club going, whether they did the so called 'right' thing/s or not, at least they had a go!7 points
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Very sad to hear the news that the Diamonds have pulled out of the league. I have always enjoyed my trips to Tyneside and particularly to Brough Park. I have now got to cancel my easyJet flight on Sunday from Bristol Airport. I was looking forward to seeing the Pirates taking on the Diamonds and catching up with Keith M and Tsunami . Always had a friendly geordie welcome at Newcastle. My thoughts and prayers are with all the loyal fans. I hope that a consortium can be found to bring this proud club with over 90 years history back on track in 2023.6 points
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I guess it all depends on what you do. Whilst you throw around your ignorant comments, many of us are more concerned about losing the club we have supported all our lives.6 points
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Yesterday was the funeral of club stalwart Chris Ellis which as expected was very well attended for a celebration of her life. Just wanted to say that Danny king and Ritchie Hawkins attending the lunch time funeral making the effort to come from Peterborough to Ipswich and then back to Peterborough for our meeting. They made me proud and deserve praise for their efforts and we really do have a very special club with fantastic staff and fans. RIP Chris xxx6 points
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6 points
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Feeling a bit uncomfortable with people slagging Grant & Co, but hey, every is entitled to their opinion. It was a poisoned chalice from the beginning taking over the club. The tax debt from previous management was the tell tale sign that things were going south for a few years previously for our beloved club. The chances of getting someone in.....I think we all know thats slim, there was hardly a rush for it last season. I hope everyone is at peace with themselves, whether you did the trackwalk and picked up some shale, got your favourite merchandise, photo with your favourite rider.....time to treasure it.6 points
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In some positive news for British Speedway, in light of what's happened over in the the north east, it looks like more brilliant progress was made at the weekend by Steve and the team... I now make that only 18 active Speedway clubs in the UK now across all 3 leagues, from a time gone by nearly 20 years ago in the early days of the Comets comeback, the old 'Premier League' had 18 actual teams in the league itself... With the rebirth of the Comets from next season (fingers crossed) hopefully we can add to that number or keep it at that number with the demise of the homeless Monarchs, good times ahead on the north west coast, literally!5 points
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5 points
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The bigger problems aside from making the sport look a total shambles is the impact on other clubs Redcar for example went there, spent a fortune on rider points and will have no corresponding home fixture to help cover this deficit. Any season ticket holder who hasn't seen Newcastle visit their track will have lost out this year. The governing body that accepted this crock pot team into the league should also be accountable for the demise. All that has been achieved is a promotor has made back some of his initial losses and scarpered leaving everyone else to pick up the pieces.5 points
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In fairness to Rob Grant, he had to deal with more critical problems in his short stewardship than most businessmen do in a lifetime. If it wasn't for the VAT bombshell which emerged fairly early doors followed shortly by the devastation and massive uncertainty which COVID caused it might have been a completely different story. Call me naive but he came in with a good heart, lots of ideas and the first team he put together looked full of promise but sadly never got the opportunity to ride. Now we've got no speedway at Brough and only beneficiaries will be Berwick and Redcar (and maybe Workington in the not too distant future) for the diehards who need their weekly speedway fix.5 points
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The league set-up didn't help, because with the points limit that was chosen they must have known there weren't enough riders to ensure a reasonable distribution. Certain teams must have pushed for the higher points limit to suit their own needs, e.g. three established heat leaders and/or new imports in preference to the Rising Star programme.4 points
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We can all talk about what went on in the first year of the takeover with the vat and Covid but that’s not the reason it has come to this, Rob should have walked away last year when he announced it but he saw the crowds and the green eyed monster got the better of him,he put together a poor team and thought it would be okay so this is down to him and his management, the comment in the statement that riders did not want to come to Newcastle was solely down to him if you believe what you hear and that riders did not want to ride for him there was a lot of good will at the end of the season with moves afoot for people to come in and run the club but that has all been lost, I just hope those people would still be prepared to get involved and try and get it resurrected for this season4 points
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Again, grant chose to put this cheap team together..if you go back and read messaged from THJ there's numerous evidence of this. Nothing to do with the league set up!!!4 points
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Yes but because of his own ineptness. Any previous promoters/promotion have played no part in this closure, just his lack of man management and inability to do the right thing at the right time. It is fair to say he is the worst promoter ever at Newcastle. Sad day given the great effort in 1997 to resurrect the sport by me, George and Peter.4 points
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I'm sorry for some of my comments on here the last couple of weeks. As you can imagine this club has been a massive part of my life, my childhood, my teenage years and now my young adult life, like I'm sure it has for many others. I am livid that it is closing and this has been coming for ages. I was so desperate to see change, but it wasn't coming and now it's gone. What a massive shame, I wish every Diamond's fan, old and new, the best of luck for the future, and who knows... Maybe we'll meet again in the future... Wish it had gone differently... A very disappointing ending to a club with such massive history4 points
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A fantastic move from Redcar to offer Newcastle fans a last chance to support their side this season on Friday. Any Newcastle fans out there please support this meeting as Redcar are taking a huge financial hit by putting on this meeting. Let’s get behind the Diamonds for one last time this season and show the club does have a long term future.3 points
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3 points
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I think you are right to worry.Sheffield have a strong top 5,and 2 reserves who should do well around our place.We have a young reserve who will be very nervous I would have thought,is this his debut in the PL,cant think if he has had a meeting for anyone else.Plus R/R for Niels is likely as you said there are no suitable guests for him. If we are to lose this one I think it will be game over, as I can't see us picking up enough points away from home. What we really need is the ref to keep an eye on Ellis with his rollers,Holder to pick up a toe infection,Musielak held at customs,Cook to forget his bikes and Mountain to be stuck on one for the night.Then I fancy our chances3 points
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NKI recalled= NKI/ Kings Lynn were (i`m assuming) told no more you know the rules - Poland + 2 NOT 3. NKI had a choice drop Denmark or Sweden or UK and this is the outcome.3 points
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Of course it has a lot to do with not having a competitive team .it stands to reason that the crowds are low due to that hence bringing less income in. People tend to blame UK speedway in general for a demise of a club but most of the time it's just a crap ran business.3 points
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Nobody likes to see a speedway club close down. I’ve seen my club go to the wall twice and it ain’t nice. It was always gonna be a struggle with the team that was put together. Just not competitive3 points
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Sadly predictable. Doesn't help anybody. The current promotion has lurched from one disaster to the next. Be it lack of due diligence prior to the purchase, regularly putting together sub-standard teams, lack of engagement with the supporter base and frequent threats of closure. When people have offered help, it would appear their offers have been ignored. So when the real crunch comes then the promotion were on their own. Sounds to me like they are cutting their losses now, so that the money in the club is not lost. They aren't going bankrupt, they are liquidating the company in essence. Which means they will get some of their money back once the liquidators have done their work. Given some of the appalling decisions made by the BSPA in the last ten years I can't really see speedway generating enough interest in this country for Newcastle Speedway to make a comeback in the near future. Given that the SGP series is popular and with Eurosport having league racing on the TV, the conditions for success are better than they have ever been, yet the controlling body still can't get the setup correct. This sorry debacle is a sad reflection on the sport in this country.3 points
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3 points
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Lots claiming Granty ruined the club but would the club have not folded without his involvement anyway?3 points
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Sad to see another team go, feels like every time there is some good news about an attempt to bring a team back we get hit with a a couple of lots of bad news. No I am not the typical speedway fan & I am asking a lot of questions about the sport, but to me its part of a rich motorsport heritage in this country and as a motorsport fan I don't want to see any part of that lost. Feel for all the loyal fans & volunteers, the riders and don't forget the youngsters in the Sapphires.3 points
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Hope the riders can get fixed up now. Starkey I'd guess be a man in demand, big stormy looks on a good average too.3 points
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No, you and Etonian bleet on about the set up, too many heat leaders in one team etc etc then jump on this as evidence to your claim. End of the day starting team was what 3/4 points below limit with a rider with an average over 8. On this occasion a cheap team was built relatively close to the points limit so why would management committee refuse them entry? Until they got a decent track were holding their own at home which really was all that was asked for. It's a sad day for the sport, one of its oldest, traditional clubs that's ran concurrently for my lifetime is potentially gone. It's no day for point scoring IMO3 points
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Out of the frying pan in to another frying pan? Are you putting yourself forward? unfortunately those in power would much rather mastermind their own demise than do anything for the greater good3 points
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Agreed. Can't really give English much credit if you believe the way it was left, but at least there was an element of reliability most seasons (and some decent sides). Grant has been about as successful as a promoter as he was as a rider. Far too pigheaded to make it work.3 points
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Feel really sorry for Bickley, surely they must have known this was on the cards when they signed him. Talk about getting kicked when you are down3 points
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2 points
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2 points
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2 points
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Wasn't that to help cover the cost of dealing with 'covid restricted numbers' (last year) allowed in the stadium?,,, plenty room for social distancing in recent times tho!2 points
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If 6 PL Clubs get the lions share of the TV money - which they do - and the rest feed off scraps of the TV money - which they do, then it's not rocket science to calculate that if the TV was equally shared that a number of the PL clubs would not be self sufficient. The real issue goes back 20 years, when the TV money was at least 10 x more than it is now and was wasted by all concerned at the time and wasn't invested long term in te Sport. People keep going on about a Darts / Snooker Hearn type revolution, that financial revolution happened all those years ago via Sky, it could and should have made Speedway a TOP 5 sport in terms of profile, it was used, abused and lost and Speedway now is struggling to be in the top 50 Sports in the UK. A participation of around 100, a dwindling and aging fan base and a set up that makes anyone used to professional sport think it's some kind of joke. The current Management Committee are as much victims of their predecessors pre 1990 as they are victims of their own inadequacies.2 points
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2 points
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Was there a white? Only saw the white for a split second at the start.2 points
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Granty was the man in charge.Bit off more than he could chew by the looks of it.IMO.2 points
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When the penny finally drops (if it ever will), that given the way they decide to run the sport, the entertainment value they provide as a collective throughout the whole season, means 1000% far more to the sport than any individual team gaining play off success ever will... When only 20000 or so watch the sport regularly each week, losing 600/700 is a big blow... And with just a modicum amount of clear leadership, strategy and planning, could be so easily avoided...2 points
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Never was the tune another one bites the dust so perfect for this sport With the current model of domestic speedway there are too many clubs running so who is next? Feel for the fans only, if the sport as a whole was run differently clubs like Newcastle could survive2 points
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Because every team had picked Bomber, given he had qualified for each of them on appearances...2 points
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despite what's said on here the bloke has obviously lost a shed load of money2 points
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I have confirmed it when I wrote the post it is not a rumour the doors have been closed until a new owner can be found to take over the reigns I apologise on behalf of the diamonds promotion and a statement will be issued in due course2 points
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Hi guys, we can confirm once you have purchased a stream, that stream is available on VOD ongoing. So any stream that you have already purchased this season you can still go back an enjoy again.2 points
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Are you so blinkered with Kings Lynn that you don`t know that Plymouth race on Tuesday`s2 points