Diamond geezer

I think real speedway supporters see tonight for what it was. A match going one way, then a situation that changed the entire tide of the meeting. Normally in any sport these things are called turning points, sadly for the sport of speedway tonight, with the exception of a very few Redcar fans who appeared to cheer the event, that turning point was a blatant attempt to knock off a rider well in control of the race. As a team who have defied all sceptics this season and really stood tall it’s a shame to end the night without a point, but the thing that makes speedway great is it’s love for proper racing, true racing, and the diamonds stood tall tonight. The only thing left to say about Redcar speedway is, congratulations....... you had 6 riders riding tonight who rode fair, but sadly it took a B.B. intervention to kickstart the team, but kickstart they did. The fact they were rejuvenated isn’t the problem, it’s the 1 rider who continues to jeopardise riders safety daily that’s the issue. Well done Ben barker!

Wow well done to the comets, fantastic team effort with plenty of effort. Four man team dominated the diamonds, and can see why they are winning meetings across the country. Now for Newcastle. Ludvig lindgren, number 1 (by not a number 1) at the start of the season. Who can’t ride anywhere away from home but regularly gets a position on strength of his home form and team spirit, only beats josh emblton and Kyle Bickley all night.. then watches Stuart fall heavily and turns back to the pits.... only for Rene Bach to walk out to meet him on way back... its not fair to single out ludvig in particular, but the excuses of him not being a number one and out of his depth are gone. I think the team are proving why each rider starts every season (with the exception of Ashley and maybe Stuart where age is playing it’s part) a unreliable middle order rider......

Roy mentioned on Sunday that if we didn’t have an announcement by close Sunday we would have one on Tuesday night re: new signing. I won’t be there tonight but look forward to seeing who it is........

Is he not polish?

I don’t think so, as he has a PL average of over 6.00 so can’t drop down. At least that’s how I understand it. Means only British premiership riders over 6.00 can drop down leaving only Robert lambert and Craig cook as possible number 1s for the diamonds... unless the rule book has further twists in it

Lindgren must have been getting this same dodgy batch for years then, as what I see this year is exactly the same as we have seen since the day he joined us. Promises so much, delivers very little, excuses always given, and never can be truelly relied on when needed.... He is who he is, an enigma, who will score an 18 point max against the odd day his confidence is high at home, will pass the odd star in a race at home and have everyone on their feet..... for that we get average performances at home being beaten off riders with half the potential and sometimes half the age, and away will always score next to nothing...... except Edinburgh and the odd Redcar. Amazingly his engines always work at Edinburgh and on those days he rides Redcar well, every year they always play up at all the other tracks.

Yes I am sure we do get loan fees, again however it doesn’t explain how that money could have been put to better use. If signing riders is more beneficial why did we never sign Steve and Richie when we had the chance, or for that matter every other rider that’s available? We could have over a hundred riders on our books and get loan fees for all if that were the case... My point is, when we claim we don’t have money, and struggling to pay anywhere near decent money for a rider at any average why use what little money to buy a rider not in our plans? also, we never said we set the team out without a number one rider, we don’t have one because we couldn’t get one. Even two weeks ago george was trying to get Eddie kennett who is a number one, weeks before that he said he had an 8pointer ready who he was talking too before the doubling down rule changes, again a number one. we have set our stall out this year to have strong reserves because of last year, even on averages berwick have stronger ones and they have a better number one. There is an argument that Redcar even have a better 6+7, as Theo pjiper especially is on a hugely artificial average and they have a number one and a number 5 stronger than our number one on the majority of tracks! Not even starting with the new Dane who in most quarters is tipped to be a top rider... I don’t want to get down on the team, I will support our lads no matter what and wish all of them well for the season ahead, any rider who gets out on track for us spectators deserves a whole lot of credit. I genuinely hope to be proved wrong, but I am not surprised we are listed as bottom of both the pundits and the fans piece in the star. I quite like being underdogs however and hope to prove a few people wrong, but to do so it will take a few people to step up. No concerns with Stuart Lewis or Ashley, ludvig needs to step up big time away from home, and here is hoping Mathew, Carl and Tero can blossom at the tail end of their careers a top club. But to leave on a sour note, even if one of the 7 has a fantastic year and puts 1.5 points on there starting average it only brings us upto the starting average most teams are currently on.......think that’s really puts things into perspective

Because I doubt a rider would pass up a season of racing in England on a Sunday when he is already riding premier on a Monday, not for a chance at Poland when all polish squads are full, and even when not most riders won’t get a ride. i suspect, like most riders we couldn’t afford him, which strikes me as a little odd for 2 reasons.. 1) our sponsors could afford to buy a riders contract who we are not using (despite the fact I am sure Danny wouldn’t cost much, I am sure whatever money was spent could have been better used to pay more for a rider who would be a #1 or would put points on his average, be it BWD or simply to pay extra to fly Eddie kennett up every week so travel wasn’t an issue) 2) we paid a tidy sum of money two seasons ago for matej kus who we only used for one season... the rules state I think that if another team want to add them to their line up then a club can demand a transfer fee (Redcar did and we paid). We could have demanded the same in return surely to Redcar and as above could have filled out extra money on a rider either as a #1 or someone who will add points to his average again like a previous post I made, the inhibiter being Poland feels like a bit of a smokescreen, as whilst I am sure 90% of riders are riding over there which makes team selection difficult, it’s the fact that the remaining 10% (with the exception of our 7) still choose to not ride for us Which is the biggest cause for concern......

What shocks me is that, almost the best 5 point rider available, BWD, doesn’t have a club in the championship, yet we have a spare 1.4 points............ I wouldn’t swap the likes of Ashley, but Carl and Matthew need to stand up as that kid could be a 7 pointer...... promotion and riders need to step up to their averages...

Really? So 2 points under the limit, and a rider who we have never tried to sign, yet relying on goodwill for him to ride for us.. good on Lewis for putting the club first, rubbish from the club for expecting him to do so

That message I meant to send over a week ago. I still feel the same... I however am more concerned than ever as to how in prepared we are. i know Alan walking away has cost us (I remember an away supporter telling us graphically about it last season, during the season).. but..... we still had plenty of time to sort it out... i am sure many fans who comment on here act on the offensive, as do fans on the defensive, many if not all have the future of speedway at the heart, and I for one have lived and breathed it since I was 1 year old, as do my kids today. the biggest dissapointment is the realisation, not just how much we were forewarned of a poor year, and the need to consolidate for the future, the only step needed to make newcastle speedway survive is to move away from brough Park. I am sure all the corporate followers will stand up and say it’s not possible, or they have tried. But the only mistake they have made is not making it happen.. Just for reference, I have sat through the following changes in my 30 years at tracks just in the north, Just in our league 2x smoggies (Cleveland park + current) 2x monarchs (Powderhall + Current) 2x glasgow (Shawfield + Current) 2x berwick ( Berrington lough, current) 1x berwick training track which they building 1x Glasgow training track (I believe they are setting up I would bet my bottom dollar that if Edinburgh were (are) kicked out of Armadale they will have somewhere to move into.. just like every year they have a back up plan to see them succeed with team building. Apparently we have the biggest rent in the league aside Ipswich. Jesus, no wonder we can’t afford riders without sponsors, it’s time to rise above and find a new track, otherwise as George says, speedway in Newcastle isn’t sustainable unless the fans turn up to the level he needs

I couldn’t agree more. I don’t normally comment much on here but I am a regular follower. I do think we are so fortunate to have a promoter so dedicated to newcastle speedway. I do think our weakness as a club is communication and with the new promotion had hoped for significant improvements. I do trust that our promotion has the best of intentions, and will support the club through thick and thin, but if I ever had an audience with George, all I would say is, aslong as u talk and tell us the fans the truth, i will be returning every week, no matter what, a lot happier than i do if we get a wall of silence. Here is hoping for for some really good news, and best of luck to George, Martin and the new sponsors. You can’t beat speedway, and speedway is never better than watching it at brough with the diamonds

it puzzles me who the ex diamonds are who we are talking too, one even an 8 pointer. Dave any thoughts on who this could be? There aren’t many around still these days to choose from..

Would Ashley, Ellis and Alfie not qualify for a reduction in that team? Can’t recall how many years the British lads get them these days

So is nobody questioning Ludvig in this scenario? We already have a competative heat leader trio home and away, Lewis rose has surpassed Ludvig this season.................. why wreck a dominant top two or a heat leader (who has never rode anywhere but reserve) who is outscoring home and away....

Are there any other updates from the forum?

I think if we can put the same amount of effort into the team as we did last year we have to have a good chance of a successful season. Here's hoping we are on the front foot with signings as riders being snapped up quickly

It was this time last year we were hearing the same things about Robert and he has been nothing short of a sensation, and a model professional at that! Would still prefer Robert and Steve as our top two above anyone else though and the only replacement for Robert I would ever be happy with would be cookie if we could get him. Even on a huge average I'd take a strong top two any day, with riders who can improve in the middle order.