TotallyHonestJohn

Birmingham on their way too by the looks of things... Speedway ain't in a very good place at the minute that's for sure... Regards THJ

Guys guys guys ave just got the internet code for this spot and am somewhere in Cumbria... Lorton a think it's called... Google it a dare ya... The Hills Have Eyes has nowt on this spot... 8 Quid for a large McCallum 12 year old scotch and I'm 8 in plus the San Miguel is 4.90 a pint and I have been on that some time before this Duck Do started around one today... and if am honest am full up... but am still standing and there are a few soft southerners here but am not gonna give in... Geordie pride an all that... It's an issue... let an old Alkie tell ya... but it's no good going over old ground... there is a great deal of good will at Eastie and with a fair wind they will be back... am 85% confident on that... Newcastle on the other hand 30% maybe a yes 70% maybe a no... but we have 6 weeks and things are in motion... nice to see people are so passionate about saving the club... It won't be easy for sure but honestly there are discussions on going and we will need to make an awful lot of people happy... but it can be done... and it WILL need the support of the fans as this is beyond the control of one or two people... it has to be fan driven and there will have to be a commitment made by the fan base if it is to survive and you have seen the info on Facebook that puts the situation in stark reality... There will be something coming out in the next week or two with regard to a meeting once I book a venue... but we need to simmer and pull together... On that if this doesn't read very well I'm sorry as I have been on the lash all day and I am on a break not coming back to God's country til Saturday when we will sort a meeting out but things are not straightforward however we can only but try... Keep the faith and pull together... history is just that it's in the past... I'm a bigger tool that what's gone on before but let's see where we can get... Regards John...

Gary I know you are passionate about your team however it is difficult just to pluck a figure out of the air but I will give it a go to try and get peoples minds focused at what you will be looking at to run a successful venture for the first season. If you read the BSPL rule book start up costs of £30k for your bond with the BSPL and £15k against your rider asset's will need placing with the BSPL; now if you don't screw up this is returnable and just sits with the BSPL for however long you want to run until the next person comes along and takes over those costs. You have the good will of the current promotion so buying what few assets he has (very few) riders; the tractors; water bowser; grading tools; sound system; amplifiers; starting gate fencing and air fence; so lets say for arguments sake £25k for those; then you have your annual seasonal fees to the BSPL that have to be paid for licences; insurance; management and administration costs and other essential items (which again you may get back at the end of the season from the shared events however that's not guaranteed) and you have your start up costs at the start of the season to get the track ready set up the team and you need funds in the bank to run your first couple of meetings and especially if you start with a few away meeting as these will need to be paid for before you generate any cash through the turnstiles and at a conservative estimate you need about another £40k in the bank to cover these costs So as a start up and as a very rough guestimate you will need around £110;000 to set the thing up and running. Then the next thing is addressing the crowd numbers and what type of team you can procure that will give you a chance of being competitive and this has two main factors crowd numbers to rider costs and a hard core of 350 dedicated home fans only gives you £7k at 20 quid a head for rough figures and to put a meeting on at Brough costs around £2500 leaving you £4.5k for points money so over 2 meetings that's a rough average of 45 quid a point and when you see the rising star riders on 40 quid a point guarantees it means really that the rest of the team need to be around the 45 to 50 quid a point mark and that is really stretching it as top riders are looking for 65 to 95 quid a point at this level which will mean if you over extend this budget you will need to find the short fall from somewhere which could be as much as 4k over the two meetings that you need to find which is either 200 on the gate or other revenue streams to cover an average team cost on say an average of 80 quid a point across the full team... ARC may be open to offering a two year lease if whoever comes in can show a sustainable business plan and meets all their rules on how they want their facility used and to run the following year my estimate would be another 50k to run that second season (as all bods would be in place)… Now this is where the fun starts as it would give you 2 year to get the next stage sorted which would be to get into your own venue (note I have not said stadium) and again there needs to be some hard talking on this one but my angle would be "lets stop blowing our collective brains out trying to make a profitable business out of this club; many have tried over the years and it is just not achievable so thinking outside the box (hopefully) lets look at running a not for profit organisation that will potentially open up funding streams not normally available to normal businesses" here are a couple of links for light reading which will give an idea... What we need to know about CIC and CIO organisations... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_interest_company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charitable_incorporated_organisation Now I do not want to build up any false hope here its only an idea and it may not even be allowed but to my mind it needs explored further and the funding will need to be in place to run for a couple of seasons until we get to a position where we can jump ship to a new venue but it will be a very long hard slog and potentially a very expensive one. Unless there is an entrepreneur out there who likes a gamble and a risk; because if we could get 3/4ers or even 2/3rds of the crowd who came to last nights wake against Birmingham then "jobs a good un" as the saying goes and the thing is viable for someone to have a go at for sure and I was very surprised at the turn out figure last night of 1232 and many thanks to everyone who turned out (blew my guess of 750 to 850 right out of the water) I am off on a break now for the next 5 days and wont have a signal (or a very limited one that's for sure) to answer all those who pull my figures apart however they are only educated guesstimates for a rough guide to give people an idea of how big the task is... By the way I am just the facilitator and the ideas man... I'm too fat and too old for a job... Honest... Regards John

Honestly Just got home after an emotional evening and to be fair it is going to be very hard to save this thing and after the discussion I have had with Rob tonight it isnt good news... There is a lot of genuine interest and good will from the people I have spoken to tonight prior to my chat with Rob and to follow the name above and be totally honest we are looking at very large start up costs with a big injection of cash required to save the club and with the best will in the world I now feel it is beyond most mortal folk to save... There will be further meetings both with interested parties and the fans I have chatted to tonight but I must add it's not looking good for a.fan based bail out... We need someone to come in and take over the spot outright... However I will endeavour to keep folk updated as to what I hear or if we progress things... but lke I have said it isn't looking good to say the least... Sorry for the less than positive news... Regards THJ

Just finished talking about this and it won't be me doing the biz but happy pulling some very interested parties together who will hopefully save the situation... More... hopefully to follow Oh and just on another note... what a strange night... well done Brummies it could have went either way... pity our No 1 was missing... may have been a totally different situation... however what I will add 12 years military service reasonable Rugby Union Player and former nut case and I had a serious lump in my throat at the thought of that being the end... very emotional in the end and thanks to Rob Grant for seeing out the end of the season it's been a rollercoaster and we are we are but what a great ride... Regards THJ

What a genuine bloke Rob Grant is... he has just addressed the crowd... which has been a good turn out but Rob stated no one made any approaches yet and the 6 week countdown starts now to save the club Regards THJ

Ya right I don't know you and you definitely don't do sarcasm or dry witt do you ... however because of your 42 years of attendance do you have that much arrogance to think that this gives you a right to continually put out negative posts... try a few positive ones for a change and see where that gets you... nice coffee... milk and brown sugar in abundance.... nice... An opinion is a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge... What I share is fact based as I talk to the promotion two or three times a week... they are fact based comments on agreed content that the promotion are happy to share and I try and stay away from opinions... did your mother never tell you to keep your opinions to yourself and especially negative ones and It takes some ego to think that because you pay to get in as a punter you get to say how the sport or the club is run... the previous shower never extended that courtesy thats for sure... 50,000 go to SJP to watch that rubbish and Mike Ashley doesn't take one happers worth of notice of what the fans say and neither did Johnny English VAT fiddler for that matter... What you have in Rob Grant is someone who listens to the fans... now he may not be able to successfully deliver on what they would like always however he will give you a response as to why he has taken the action he has... I have an opinion which is this I don't think you like this promotion... now I could be wrong but I do get this feeling at times with what you post... Are you suggesting I have my wires crossed when responding to another posters request... I would suggest it is your issue jumping in with both feet without reading previous posts and your fundamental dislike for this promotion that is skewing not only your vision but your reasoning as well... When Johnny English bailed out there were two people in the running to take the club over... That was Rob Grant and me... no one else and I was happy to stand aside when I found out it was Rob because I knew with his Business of Event Management and Catering and the connections he had at Brough Park and within ARC racing he was by far the best person for the Job... I have been happy to hand over not only my entrance money but additional cash in the form of sponsorship... It's been a hard season but we have had bad years in the past and this guy has got us through it.... When the opinions are strongly formed; negative:; directly attack; castigate and deride the club the promotion the man then the defence gets stronger and more vigourous.... a carrot gets a more positive response than a stick.... the failings of the last promotion have been well documented and many have expressed their feelings on these matters but if you would like me to run through it again I would be more than happy to accommodate you with a response.... however to save everyone's sanity I am sure they would appreciate it if it was done via the messaging system... so just let me know and I will sort a PM out for you... Regards John Courtney P.S. name in full as requested as I certainly have nothing to hide...

Whilst I agree somewhat with what you are saying once the M.O. of the previous lot was exposed I can also see the perspective from the other side and how some fans may have felt they have had the Mickey taken out of them once the shenanigans of the previous promotion came to light... Again as someone who invested in the product of the previous promotion and supported them financially you would think that me more than anyone should feel aggrieved especially when I found out where my cash was actually going however like your good self I have enjoyed the fare delivered up at Brough Park over the years for sure. However that enjoyment has been tarnished slightly by now knowing what has gone on... have I had the Mickey taken out of me... probably... but I would do it all again for a sport I really enjoy... Ignorance was maybe bliss at the time but now its out there as to what went on... well there are two sides to this and you can't take the emotion out either way... or the choice of words used... unfortunately Regards John

Yep another sad day for Speedway and just something else on Robs plate... Best of it is as unwell as Dave was he was going to make the effort to get today So sad... Regards THJ

Looking on xcweather I think we will be clear of any wet stuff by 12 and should be good to go... even the Met Office forcaste doesn't look too bad and if I were a gambling man I would say unless we get a deluge of some description and the track ends up under water the meeting will on for sure... Regards THJ

When I get somewhere I get a decent signal I will send you a PM or come and see me tomorrow and I can give you the full rundown Also if Mr Likeapost @Tsunami wants to pop along I can appraise him of the situation as well... Regards THJ

I was prepared to update like minded fans who are interested in saving the club as to where we are with coordinating a rescue package as requested by a previous poster to try and save the club which has nothing to do with Rob Grant but a tell ya what Keith poke it... you do it and while ya on get ya little pal English back because he done a great job didn't he... Rob Grant is leaving what do you want him to do get on the Mic and say just for you Keith am really really leaving... there are things going on behind the scenes that Rob isn't aware of and its English syncophants like you who have compounded the problem so either get with the programme and come up with something positive or shut your trolling hole and let some Speedway fans not suck holes try and save the situation... So here's the plan you get ya pension spent and take it on yourself ... I'll pay to watch from the terraces and then come on here and moan on about everything from the team the parking the programme the cost and the strength of the coffee and while all that is going on you run the effing club... Believe it or not there are some people behind the scenes trying to coordinate things so the club keeps going.... Regards THJ

If this meeting does go ahead because the forecast now doesn't look great... but if it does I am hoping to have a beer in the top bar to talk to anyone interested and maybe update a few folk on where we are at... Regards THJ

You not fancying another go Kev? Regards THJ

Think he's on about those little superstitions folk have like from European folklore claiming that a black cat crossing one’s path by moonlight signifies death and don't walk under a ladder or you will court misfortune then the most famous one of all don't stand in front of the London to Edinburgh LNER express teatime special when it is doing 125 mile an hour... Regards THJ

I was always told a man with a hard dick had no conscience is that the same?...

And Rock and Roll...

Forget the 10k add/remove the 40k back in what the liquidators took as well Gaz... Yep a successful team would have really knackered the job... aka Worky... Regards THJ

The VAT man taking nearly £40k off the club at the start of the season done the damage Aye you wouldn't put your 17 year old dog through it would you... just prolonging the pain As it happens Ruff just under £65 quid per point however your are spot on... However Rob has made a good fist of it and would have made a small profit this year (and this is a guess) to about £5k depending if we get the 550+ required for the last home meeting and talking to Daryl Illingworth last night about it and he reckons that would have been the first profit the club made since the early to mid 90's so it has been a hell of an effort by Rob and his team... It does need pointing out it is not solely the finance situation that has Rob fed up... its the whole thing he inherited; it was the rules and regulations he had to be tied into amongst many other things and the final straw I believe was the attempt to poach his only recognised heat leader just before the cut off date for changes... it does take a great deal of time and effort to run a Speedway team for not much recognition or any recompense and to be fair Rob never went into this for the plaudits but he has my full admiration for the effort he has put in this year because it has been one long hard slog but he got to the end of the season... not sure if it was good luck or by good management however he seen the year out without folding... Regards THJ

See previous; the costs remain the same for putting a meeting on between 2.5k and 3k a meeting but remember that home meeting needs to cover the away meeting cost and this is what blew Worky out of the water 328 turning up to the home meeting with Scunny and the team scoring near 60 points in this match and then going to Scunny and scoring over 50 down their where they usually got 35... Worky vs Newcastle 480 in and Worky get over 50 both home and away meetings when they very rarely broke 40 at Brough; Ipswich 428 crowd at DP then you win down their and the travel costs are double and you pay out for 47 points instead of the usual 30/35 ish and I could give many more examples... it is not sustainable even at 20 quid a head that gives you around 10k of income off that Newcastle meeting with an outlay of 2.5k for the stadium rental and putting the home meeting on then 70 quid a point average for your riders wages and 500 quid on travel; but you also have other costs that need paid for throughout the season. Rob Grant wasn't daft and he knew that 550 was his break even figure and that isn't an ambitious figure to be fair but we haven't got anywhere near that with the exception of the the first meeting of the season against Edinburgh when the Covid restrictions were on; the Redcar meeting and Double Header with Poole and Plymouth and for whatever the reasons we got 1088 in through the doors for that meeting which could have been the Poole effect with a good side and/or the Bjarne and Crump farewell tour effect with Plymouth... who knows... Would these meetings as separate meeting have brought in the same figures for two separate meetings? again who knows.... It is a definite juggling act when you are working on such tight margins; and you have to put out a competitive team; the bottom line is we can just about guarantee now around 350 fans which doesn't sustain "Jack" at the minute; however that figure would potentially keep an NDL team running if we could halve or better still get rid of the rental cost but we cant so you need 550/600/650 in to maintain a Championship team 200 to 300 more fans more than we have now... they all ain't sitting on a wall outside unfortunately and its not for the want of trying s the promotion have done a lot of work in this respect to try and encourage more people to come... and if we got just over a 1000 for every meeting we wouldn't be having this conversation whatsoever... Regards THJ

Yes... No... He's had enough... Correct... No... Unfortunately due to stadium and other costs it isn't viable Yep £1300 + VAT (don't forget the VAT even though it is an Input as it can be claimed against Outputs it still has to be paid) then medical cover £600 + VAT and a Referee circa £160:00 and a trackman £250/£300 quid, meeting insurance; tyres and other sundry items you are well over £2.5k just to get a meeting on at home then in the NDL who could you guarantee would come and watch as there was barely 200 people stayed to watch the Gems this season; however giving benefit of the doubt lets say you got your 350 hard core and you would have to reduce the entry fee so £15/12/10 quid a head it will leave you around £2.5k to pay for your home and away meetings points money and at an average of 20 quid a point for 100 points leaving around £500 for travel costs and insurance and tyres for the away meeting... even this doesn't stack up... Honestly whatever is tried will need an awful lot of volunteers; commitment and a benefactor with deep pockets... Regards THJ

Problem is... there is a great deal of good intention at present but when it comes down to putting in your cold hard earned cash that good intention tends to evaporate into thin air... There is an awful lot to do to take this on as a "consortium" of a fan based set up... We need to be speaking to a good solicitor who can advise on articles of association and possibly running as a Community Interest Company ( CIC )… A CIC is a special type of limited company which exists to benefit the community rather than private shareholders... and a good architect who can draw up provisional plans (cheap or better still FOC) to get proposals underway for the Seaton Burn site... also maybe a reverse approach to our multi million pound company landlords to see if they would sponsor the club maybe in the top flight on a Monday night and give them TV exposure and brand the full team and stadium for ARC dog and horse racing... you never know they may wish to take on some Corporate Social Responsibility and support the team... but the clock is running... Regards THJ

Done...

Would there be much interest in putting together a package of support from the fans? Would there be any value in a meeting upstairs in the bar after the Birmingham meeting... are there enough like-minded people who have funds to invest in a lost cause to try and save the Diamonds? Something along the lines of a Debenture say.... however unlike a Debenture there are very limited assets to repay the loan... people would have to loan the money on the understanding that if the new venture is unsuccessful the money is lost and there may (probably) be the need to top up this Debenture on a regular basis... However this would be on the premise that we leave for our own home ASAP and a share issue is made against loans? Is it worth a try or do we just roll over and pray to the Gods that someone comes in on an off chance... Any thoughts or interest from other like-minded companies or individuals?... Regards THJ

So here is the latest Newcastle not running with R/R now as Paul Starke will be Guesting in place of Matty Wethers and Birmingham will be using James Sarjeant at 6 as Paco Castagna is on International duty. They will still be using R/R for James Shanes NEWCASTLE: Ben Barker, Connor Mountain, James Wright, Max Clegg, Paul Starke, Archie Freeman, Adam Roynon. BIRMINGHAM: Chris Harris, Josh McDonald , James Shanes R/R, Ashley Morris, Erik Riss, James Sarjeant, Leon Flint. Regards THJ