topsoil

If that's true about Richard Hall missing that's a big blow, especially with r/r and if Edberg isn't on form. Hopefully Ryan Fisher will re-produce his form from last week and TJ will be over his injury, otherwise this could turn out to be a long night. On another note I always enjoy Glasgow coming down. There is a big group who always come into the Brewers Arms before the meeting and I've had a good crack with them.

Sounds like good promotion for the sport in the area. I've never listened before, decent coverage?

Good, close meeting, some fast racing, not a great deal of overtaking but the track got better as the meeting went on. Good advert for premier League I thought. The only disappointing aspect for me was the size of the crowd. I realise it was on TV and it is the middle of three meetings in a week. Are the crowds usually bigger? I thought things had picked up at Peterborough this season, that's why I ask. Those races between Morris, Kurtz, Ostergaard and Lawson have whetted my appetite for the Pairs.

Yip decent idea, cheap form of advertising and spreading the word to locals.

Three or four years is a lifetime for any club not just Berwick, but that's been the problem with the sport in general, too much short-term, week-to-week thinking and no planning for the future.

Glad to hear the club has signed Keiron Douglas. For me it shows the youth policy the club is running is paying off. Currently you have Liam Carr, Luke Ruddick (yes I know he isn't an asset but he's came through the system) and Stephen Farnaby in the National League. Small steps I know, but it's the natural step from NJL. Three, four years down the line who knows? Berwick and speedway in general desperately need to promote young, local riders from within. It shows the club are on the right track and those involved are doing a fine job.

Supporters got what they wanted, good to see promotion listening to supporters Reading on the updates that Kevin Doolan signed as a Berwick asset tonight, but I've also been told Keiron Douglas signed tonight. Anybody clear this up?

my memory isn't great but I'm sure that's exactly what happened the year Poland won it in Prague.

Agree that promoters over here could learn a lot from meetings like this. Okay some of the entertainment on show here wouldn' t be to everybody's taste but there are a lot of things to consider. Doesn't have to costs a lot either (which is just as well) but if it keeps fans occupied between races, all the better.

I reckon the riders themselves could play a big part in promoting the club. Whether it be school visits or the market stall idea or something in between, riders could help. Young kids seem to very impressed by the sight of riders in kevlars and a bike. After all, they will be the beneficiaries in the end. The more money the club brings in, the more likely they are to get paid on time etc. Surely it's not too much to ask for them to turn up a couple of hours earlier than normal. There was actually a good idea in the Speedway Star last week as well. A meet and greet with riders and the fans outside the turnstiles. Even if the riders take a turn, again kids could be very impressed meeting the riders.

Anybody underestimating Plymouth tomorrow night only need look at their K O Cup win over Peterborough. The latest in a line of unexpected results in the past couple of weeks.

I'm not a Newcastle fan but I read with interest the complaints above, regarding a lack of information coming out of the club. This is a downfall with a lot of speedway teams in my opinion. In this day and age it should be easier than ever to bombard fans with information, press releases and so on. I "follow" a few professional football and rugby teams on Twitter. Granted, these are bigger sports than speedway, but I think that speedway clubs could help themselves by getting the message out there to the public, by facebook, twitter, internet, e-mail, whatever.

The role of commercial manager in an ideal world would be a full time appointment, simply because I think it is vital in this day and age. The sport is very expensive and unless you have a very rich owner with money to spare, the only way it can be funded is through sponsorship. I can remember reading a few years ago that the only way Peterborough survived as long as they did in the Elite League was because of the excellent work done by their commercial manager, who managed to sell a lot of corporate nights and sponsorship. Take Berwick for example. There are big national companies with businesses in the town, McDonalds, Travelodge, Morrisons, Asda, Tesco, for example, along with some large private companies (e.g. grain merchants). A full time, experienced commercial manager may have the nouse how to work with these companies, who may not be willing to directly sponsor the club, but there could well be way to "work with" these companies. To ask a part time commercial manager to do this type of job is asking a lot. A lot of these people are doing it on a voluntary basis and should be thanked for giving up their time to carry out the role. Yes, I am aware that full time commercial managers will not come cheap, but speculate to accumulate? Or perhaps a few clubs could pull together to hire one? I honestly think this role is as vital as anybody in a club going forward.

Hopefully the promotion or somebody will see some of the suggestions on here and take them on board. One positive note is that there are plenty of ideas coming forward. Plenty of food for thought for the commercial department and promotion.

If the club aren't allowed to promote within the camps, how about catching the tourists when they are in the town centre by taking a pitch or a market stall on the high street on a Saturday morning / afternoon at the market? I've made a suggestion to the club saying as much in an e-mail. I must admit I have little or no knowledge how much the stall pitches cost or how to go about getting one (council?) but during the summer the high street is usually busy with shoppers. Get a couple of riders in kevlars over there with a couple of bikes? It might spark off a bit of interest.

I know he's not a Monarchs fan I probably phrased that wrong. What I was trying to say was that I thought it would be a Monarchs fan to bite first, I was wrong.

Thought the first dig would come from a Monarch fan. Didn't think it would take somebody long to question why Sky are covering a meeting at a "processional" track. There must be something they like.

Brilliant news that the club has been chosen for Sky again. Hopefully they will continue the recent trend of clubs which have hosted meetings and try their best to get as big a crowd as possibles there. I've said before that in an ideal world I would like to see all Sky meetings heavily discounted or even free for fans to try and pack stadiums for the cameras. Obviously this represents a big financial risk, but if you can attract a meeting sponsor(s) to meet the shortfall, then give those sponsors maximum exposure in front of the TV cameras and big crowd in return, it would do wonders for the image of the sport. Great news for the club though.

As long as he's given time to settle in. Long way from home, never seen Berwick track before, let alone ride on it. Hopefully he will get in as much after match practice as possible. Fans will probably need to show some patience, something some Berwick fans are not noted for. I like the fact that he has moved lock, stock to Berwick. Hopefully he will be able to get in contact with some local businesses for sponsorship. Always helps when you are in and around the area I think. And if he shows potential he could even be an asset for (hopefully) next season.

Not so much ran out of steam, more came up against Edinburgh who were a far better team and a place where we never go well at. Last season was almost a perfect storm for Berwick, a largely over-achieving team.

Reasoned proposals, reasoned responses, is this really the Berwick thread? :-) Good to get some background

Sounds like a bad one. Also sounds like he'll be out for a while. Here's to the recovery.

To be honest, no. None of us have the experience of being promoters, therefore none of us know the real difficulty in running a club. It's easy to come on here and have a whinge, but I would imagine the promoters have looked into a lot of possibilities. It's not an ideal situation, but unfortunately it is the state of modern speedway that so many teams rely on guests and r/r. No short term solution, plenty of long term ones. But patience is not in abundance amongst Berwick fans. You only need to see the drop in attendance levels after home defeats earlier this season.

Times are getting so desperate I would even consider a move for Jason Bunyan I can see there being a lot of restless natives on here come Saturday, as I really cannot see any new additions being made before then. Could well be guests for both Ben and Claus, looking at the accident last night. Given the financial restrictions and dearth of riders there's not much out there.

Amusing that almost universal agreement on here that a) the joker should be scrapped and the reserve should be available for next year. Chances of either happening? Really enjoyed this World Cup, for me it's speedway at it's highest level, I think the intensity and commitment levels go up a notch, even from the GPs. Just a pity about Russia (I know there were some genuine reasons for unavailability, injuries can't be helped) but I can't help thinking they would add so much to the competition with a full strength team.