PE7Panther

Yep, I think the crowds at the EoES have been pretty good so far this season - certainly way above the numbers they were talking about needing at the pre-season fans meeting. Some people seem to have an obsession about having a snide little pop at Panthers' attendances.

re. "at Posh": Their season finished a couple of weeks ago! FYI, "Posh" is just the nickname of PUFC, and not a generic nickname for anything & everything Peterborian. yeah, right..... that's why the place erupted when Hans & Flyin' Ryan flew past the finish line.

. . That's a good shout. Would he fit?

Good to see the "real" Richard Hall tonight and not the imposter we had to swallow last season!

yep, on the one hand it means they should be thinking about replacing him. But on the other hand, who can we bring in? And should we not stick with him a bit longer, especially being a young Brit who needs support and encouragement. I tend to lean towards the latter, if only because we're winning every meeting at the mo. But if he's getting duck-eggs next meeting and if it's close, just give Simon Lambert his 4th ride. If things change and we start losing, and IF they can find a suitable replacement, then ok dump him. Btw, the obvious thought is to bring back Roynon - but I've given up trying to work out how and if that's actually possible.... :-/ good point, that's what I was thinking.....

news already posted on here that it's on - but just to add that it's blue skies now (I'm about 3 miles from the track as the crow flies). It's been an amazing turnaround in the weather but all the signs are that it will stay clear for this evening. So yes, definitely set off. Mind you, it's bound to be chilly later at the Showground - as per!

credit where it's due; I think it's the latter

"ALL the Panthers fans" ? By the way, is it HAPAP week down your street? (Have A Pop At Panthers) And don't all - ooops! most - speedway fans play the same game of "wish we could get him in our team" whenever a guest rider bags a shedload of points?

fair enough. Pax! :-)

I'm sure you're not a person of low intelligence, and I'm also sure that your post is simply due to not having read or grasped the facts rather than pure stupidity on your part. I urge you to pay better attention so that you stop sounding like a complete numpty! Firstly, try to grasp this: Panthers certainly did check into the availability "WELL IN ADVANCE". This weekend's MCN Festival of Speedway (set for Sat & Sun) was not deemed to be a clash when the available dates were discussed pre-season. Otherwise not only would Panthers not have had a meeting fixed for Friday 15 May, the EoES/ PA wouldn't have allowed it. We've had umpteen meetings on Fridays (and Thurdays) ahead of big weekend events, and the speedway has gone ahead as planned. Sometimes we've had to use the open fields to park cars instead of the proper car park, and a different entrance, but that's not really been a problem. What happened this week is that the 'other' event raised objections very late in the day. And Panthers had no say in it. The EoES/PA were within their rights - whether we like it or not - to tell Panthers they couldn't have use of the facility this Friday after all. And that's despite the fact that they had included it previously in the list of available dates they had given to Panthers. That's another thing you seem unable to grasp. Are you seriously suggesting that Panthers should have looked at the dates the EoES/PA gave them months ago, and then they (Panthers) should have also looked at the list of other events in the EoES/PA calendar, and that Panthers should have avoided any Fridays where there is also an event on at the weekend - "just in case"? Jeezus mate, if they did that we'd be left with very few home meetings at all. As for your quasi-legal bletherings suggesting that people with hotel/train bookings should go down the litigation route, it's totally ludicrous. Speaking as a forumite with 30 years legal experience, I can assure you that the only "court of law' it would get anywhere near is in your dreams!

in reply to all the people who are having a pop at Peterborough Panthers for the postponement: It's not the club's fault. It wasn't their doing. Everybody here - management, riders, fans - would be happier if it was still on. You need to understand, as a couple of people have tried to explain in this thread, that Panthers are merely a tenant at the EoES - now called the Peterborough Arena although we still tend to refer to it as "The Showground". It's been a big problem for Panthers in recent years, ever since the ownership/management of the EoES/PA changed a few years back. Basically speedway is just a relatively minor, albeit regular, event in the EoES/PA calendar. Us fans don't know the details of the deal between the club and the EoES/PA but what we DO know is that the power lies with them and not with the club. Yes, this home meeting v Glasgow was arranged ages ago for the Friday, but at that stage the date was included in the list of dates given the OK by the EoES/PA as being available. There's also a big event this weekend, on the Sat & Sun (MCN Festival of Motorcycling) but back then it didn't create a clash with a home meeting for Panthers. Then a few days ago something changed. Apparently it's something to do with access for setting up the event with be affected by the speedway meeting, and/or they didn't want a thousand or so speedway fans wandering freely around their stuff, and/or it was deemed to be a H&S issue. So Panthers were told they could no longer have a meeting on this Friday after all, and the meeting was therefore postponed. Yes, they could AND should have thought about all this sooner. And yes, maybe they shouldn't have told Panthers that this date was available. I don't know, maybe the EoES/PA didn't bother to tell MCN that Panthers would be having a meeting on the Friday evening. A classic case of poor communication and lack of foresight? Panthers can't be blamed because if they're told the track is available they're right to use it. Heaven knows it's difficult enough to fit in the home fixtures anyway given the relatively limited number of dates they get given when the track is available. It's galling for everybody - especially Glasgow fans who have already made travel/hotel plans. And we all sympathise because nobody like to waste money! But the finger of blame cannot be pointed at Panthers. By the way, surely any speedway fan who makes plans for an away meeting well in advance knows very well that meetings can, and do, get postponed and rearranged. It happens often, and for a variety of reasons - the main one being the weather. It's not difficult to pre-book hotels where the booking policy is pay upon arrival, and you can cancel up to 24 hours before the day. If anybody has booked a hotel and pre-paid with no cancellation/refund, then frankly they have only themselves to blame. Similarly, I'm fairly sure that you can get a refund for unused train tickets - albeit less a £10 admin charge.

of course they do! But the decision-makers in that field are not really going to be influenced much by seeing ReadyPower emblazoned everywhere at televised speedway meetings. Say a firm needs a couple of JCBs, or Network Rail have tenders going out relating to some major engineering works - are the decision makers really going to think "oh I know, what about that firm I saw on the telly when I was watching a speedway meeting last week. Let's use them." ?!!!

erm, why do ReadyPower want or need tv exposure? They're not in the business of selling stuff to the tv-watching public, are they?

it leaves a nasty taste in my mouth too. What gets me is he's getting into bed with (one of) the very people who f*****d him up every season. The thought did occur to me that maybe it's all part of a 'cunning plan'.... but I don't think Frosty is all that bothered. Or bright enough - because let's face it, he got out-flanked time after time at Panthers! Btw, people who keep banging on about him 'losing' £x thousands don't have a clue about how sport sponsorship/financing works.

maybe it's the Grasmere Farms van returning - but this time with lively staff cooking & serving. The last lot needed a cattle-prod up their jacksies!

I'm happy with how things are shaping up. The main thing, of course, is that Panthers are still running. I'd prefer it if we were in the EL - ideally with Hans Anderson at No.1 - but there's no point in even thinking about that. PL is better than no Panthers! And although I still have nagging reservations about this management team and how they're going about it, they deserve our full support - and they'll certainly get mine. What I do like is the fact the team is full of riders who give you the feeling of being "our boys". They're not just a bunch of riders who are totally "new" to Pboro Panthers and who have been brought in from here, there and everywhere - like we've had in the past. And it's great to have so many Brits. Plus the TM is a long-time Panthers fan. I just hope they get somebody half-decent for the 7th spot - and please not Dilger.

nail on head! that's what I've been thinking ever since the fans meeting. I can well imagine TS pulling a face when he reads comments like these - but what does he expect when nothing is made properly clear? If you leave things as clear as mud people will always ask questions. And they're perfectly entitled to when they're being asked to contribute financially. . the best post so far!

you could simply go to your local Post Office and get a postal-order ffs act your age!

I'll make that public when everybody else does! It's not been made clear exactly how much this ReadyPower news has put into the pot. So we're still in the dark about what the situation is and how it's changed since last week. Why can't they just say something like: we needed £40,000 when we had the fans meeting, as at last week were up to £24,000 (or whatever), And now ReadyPower's sponsorship adds another £X, and we are now up to £Y. So we still need £Z if only it was "mute".......... you meant "moot" surely? p.s. it's a Panthers thread, so STFU about feckin' Newcastle (and Berwick and Sheffield et al) Oh, and ffs stop bigging yourself up.

?? what exactly is "Peterborough cash" ? p.s. We've found the Michael Knighton of the forum!

I agree. If TS & GR have put some money in, why not make it public? Nothing to hide means nothing to fear! And it would be a positive sign for those fans who are a little dubious about making any sort of financial contribution themselves. Again I agree. Like I said above: nothing to hide means nothing to fear.

good point well made.

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that this new management-team (for want of a better name) are happy for fans to be involved in Panthers as a sort of "fan-owned cooperative" when it comes to putting our collective hands in our pockets. But as for having a real say and being kept informed, that's an entirely different matter. I don't know whether TS and GR are technophobes or if they just don't realise the importance of the internet. Either way it's inexcusable not to have a decent website that's kept up-to-date. And a forum which is run and moderated fairly and responsibly. I don't buy that bollox about all clubs having to have their websites done by the same company through the BSPA. Just set one up. And if they (the BSPA) want to carry on their own cr4p Panthers site, just let them get on with it. Our fans will know where to log in.

Somebody will correct me if my memory is playing tricks, but I'm sure somebody asked about this at the meeting. And the answer from TS was a clear and definite 'no'. To be honest, TS did seem to be talking in riddles at some stages. He told us that neither RF/JM nor ReadyPower will be involved in any way next season. We also heard that RF/JM are "the owners", i.e. of everything connected with Panthers, from the airbags to the stuff in the ref's box. Somebody asked a question from the floor about that, meaning is the plan to take it all over from RF/JM? If so, how and how much will it cost, etc. The reply from TS was a vague and rather dismissive waffle about "everything is in place to run next season...". Somebody has commented in another thread that TS has a tendency to play the "I know something you don't know" game, also that he operates on the basis that fans don't need to know any more than what's absolutely necessary. In hindsight it rings little bells and it makes me feel slightly uneasy. One 'big' question is why the f*ck don't they just phone Bratters and ask him to get involved, i.e. to help?

Oh, that was Phil Wing was it.....? Yeah, WTF was that all about?! I thought he was trying a little too hard to impress. If he was hoping people would be sitting open-mouthed in wonder at his wit, insight, smartness and eloquence, he failed! To me, he came across as a clever-dick who loves to be centre-stage.