Aceslider

I hope those words don't come back to haunt us on Sunday and Monday for that matter. Sissis scored 12+2 from 5 rides last night at Glasgow and scored 5 I recall on his last visit to Brough riding for Sheffield. There could be more twists yet before Sunday with Glasgow riding at Edinburgh this evening and Steve guesting for the Monarchs. Really do hope there are no more injuries before the end of the season.

Despite the late cry offs with Lambert, Garrity and Kennett, I was really looking forward to this meeting. Pleasant day in weather terms and an excellent line up of riders competing for the trophy. Sorry to say it was definitely one of the worst meetings I have been to for a very very long time. To say the racing was processional is a complete understatement and it appeared to me that some of the riders were completely losing interest after 2 to 3 laps. I have never seen 4th place riders tootling around at the back so often as was evident from this meeting - almost appearing to be making a statement. Some did not even bother to complete 4 laps, retiring back to the pits before they reached the finishing line. Certainly won't be back for this event ever again at Sheffield! The new National Stadium at Belle Vue is the obvious choice to hold such meetings where there are numerous racing lines and whilst there will always be a small element of home track advantage, Belle Vue at least offers the opportunity to riders who are prepared to "give it a go" as well as the other spectator benefits with it being a new stadium with modern facilities.

Boxall on decent equipment could be influential on the outcome of this meeting. Hope the weather doesn't scupper things (rain forecast at varying times of the day) and well done to those who have supported Plymouth in making this meeting possible. Speedway community at its very best

Think it possibly is. Must have been Rob who got the "doing" on Monday night (see Berwick v Somerset thread)

As a visiting Diamonds fan, I have to say how very enjoyable the Somerset match was. Some excellent racing with riders from both teams getting their back wheels right up against the fence on a very fast racing line. Very impressed with Liam Carr and I hope he can maintain progress to become a star of the future. Very sorry to hear of the demise of the Bandits, and if the way yesterday evening's meeting was run (great example of how to run a meeting properly) is typical of Berwick then I would think the future of Berwick speedway will be safe. The pre match parade started 10 minutes before the 7.30 racing start, the heats progressed smoothly and the tractor work in between heats was very professional. A great advert for speedway. I was less enthusiastic about the very provocative comments of the announcer following the distraction in heat 11 caused by one idiot in the crowd. His comments in my view were tantamount to Inciting retribution.Clearly this type of reaction has no place in a professional sport (any sport for that matter) no matter how much frustration there may be. This was uncalled for and the matter should have been dealt with by the stadium's own security staff. Pity because he appears to be a well informed announcer despite his slight faux pas with Josh G on the introductions which he quickly apologised for. But hey ho, excellent meeting and will certainly be back in 2017.

Another Dan Bewley would be just fine!

Well if the Lasse Bjerre of last season turns up, and David Bellego can perform like he did yesterday at Glasgow (12 from 6), I reckon it could be a close meeting. Skidmore never goes well round Newcastle and both Redcar reserves are capable of beating our reserves and second strings. Looking forward to it

Extract from Diamonds website fixture list 5 minutes ago - Thu 14 Redcar Bears v Newcastle Diamonds A 7:30pm League Cup Anyone's guess Would be helpful if both official websites could agree on a joint statement to clarify this

Whilst I fully agree in principle, promoters do not have the deepest pockets as we know in this sport (e.g. Plymouth) and I would hate to see speedway fold in either Redcar or Newcastle, or indeed and team for that matter. I wonder whether the riders would get paid for Thursday's uncompleted fixture at Redcar? Certainly the spectators will get full credit for their admission tickets so that potentially blows a gap in the finances right at the start of the season even though inclement weather was completely outside control of the promoters I would be happy to cede bragging rights to Redcar on TTT if it was the difference between financial stability or financial deficit for either club. League and League Cup fixtures are a different matter and these are non negotiable in terms of fulfillment until cut off dates at end of season. Just my own view but life without speedway up here would be very hard to take

Couldn't agree more markyb! Total lack of respect shown for a wonderful ambassador of British speedway. The front page of the meeting programme reflects everything this meeting was supposed to be about, a fact which was clearly forgotten when the opening speeches were made. Without articulating the frustration of a wasted journey from Newcastle and a waste of money into boot, it was this undignified failure by the promoters to show a modicum of class in recognising the achievements and commitment of one of our finest riders ever which frankly really p****d me off. I sincerely hope BV and indeed British speedway recover from this whole calamity.

Guaranteed speedway at Redcar till 2106 - well done Havvy. That's what you call commitment :lol:

Congratulations to both teams for keeping the interest of neutral supporters going well into October. Just sorry Summers got injured in first leg as he would certainly have helped to make it closer and give the Tigers a better chance. Having said that, Edinburgh have been the team to beat all season so well done the Monarchs but also well done Glasgow for returning as a team to be reckoned with. Diamonds 5 year plan will keep both of our Scottish neighbours on their toes so roll on 2016

Excellent post. As a paying customer, I take my hat off to the whole promotion including all those who provide their time voluntarily to prepare the track, look after the air fence, organise raffles, key draws, run the track shop, keep the weekly programme full of interest, maintain the website and online ticket purchases, promote the sport etc etc part of the behind the scenes team who make it possible for a poorly followed sport to be enjoyed by a small but dedicated fan base. Last night's news was fantastic and made even better by the appearance of Lewis Kerr just to round off things perfectly!

This is crazy! I wonder how many Aussie/Kiwi stars would have suffered over the years with these daft rules in place. I speculate whether the likes of Ivan Mauger/David Barge/Mark Thorpe would ever have been able to thrill speedway crowds over here? Newcastle (tongue in cheek) promote our Minister of Speedway, Nick Brown who is the elected representative for the ward where the speedway stadium is located. He is a regular attender at Brough Park and its just a pity no-one has brought this stupid situation (not just Proctor but the other guys as well) to his attention for some lobbying at Westminster. perhaps he might be able to have words in the right ears. Hope Sheffield don't suffer because you have made a cracking start to the season and I hope Ty gets himself sorted out ok

Scots takeover Newcastle thread and election results not even announced yet

I would like to know who referees the referees. Last night's official was just plain shocking. Don't know what he was on but it certainly affected his eyesight and his judgement. The sport could do without official's like this who frustrate not only the crowd, but the riders as well. Its not too difficult to question the integrity of referees when you see such blatant examples of poor decisions and all in favour of one side (in this case the away side). Perhaps the team managers have an opportunity to feed back to BSPA - I certainly hope so. Its very disappointing to see the promotion on the receiving end of such negative posts from some supporters complaining about the duration of the meeting and laying the blame at the promotion's door. Whilst I have to agree that two and a half hours is far too long for a 15 heat meeting, there certainly were a number of contributory factors none of which were within the control of the promotion. Sometimes I don't think we appreciate what we have at Brough Park when you see the medical back up we have ( 2 ambulances + 2 doctors + paramedic support), dedicated track staff, not to mention the encouragement which is given to all young aspiring riders. It cannot be easy financially either when numbers appear to be down and the season has started with 2 rainoffs in close proximity. Rather than looking for reasons not to come back, it would be so encouraging to hear more from supporters who do appreciate George, his family, and the whole promotion team who give up their time voluntarily to keep the show on the road as well as providing the financial investment which has sustained the sport at Brough Park for so many years now.

Happy days

Agreed. I would hate to think that promoters are having to look at financial figures so early in the season after 2 consecutive rainoffs. At the risk of being controversial, I would rather forego an extra pint and pay a supplement on next paid admission to ensure we don't do a Birmingham halfway through the season

Brightening up, but still raining. Fingers crossed should stop by 2.00pm ish

Forecast looking right so far - please not another rainoff !

Think you could be right ! Been raining here in North Geordieland since 12.00pm Prayer mats coming out

Nah - co's he can't manage the tight bens

Claus Nedermark?

Nailed on cert for the Diamonds - I hope Nailed on cert for the Diamonds - I hope

Great news about Andre. Shuddered when I saw that incident last night and full marks to Sky for no replay.