TotallyHonestJohn

Honestly I do wish I could pick the lottery numbers as easy as it is to see through some of the charades that go on in Speedway... Firstly Newspeed2003 accounts overdue... Why? https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04865297/filing-history I can tell you why? its a small matter of unpaid VAT... some £158,048:00 worth... ouch... Open and read the "Statement of affairs" dated 27 Nov 2020... Now I wonder who the VAT man will be chasing for that... again look at Companies House and you can see there was only "One Director" Only another guess but I assume there will be an awful lot of "Blood Letting" and we will just have to wait and see and watch the local press and the HMRC Web Site to see where this one ends up... Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas... Regards THJ

Close... the situation is you need to have at least 12 months of audited trading accounts before you can apply for a Sponsors Licence and with the Covid carry on I doubt if the new Speedway company will have these (because they have not really been trading to be fair)… However there may be a loop-hole as Rob has his other business interests that have been trading for around 15 to 20 years and he may be able to do something on the back of these other companies... Here's hoping Regards THJ

Honestly I don't think throwing a spanner into the works would worry Glasgow much to be fair if history is anything to go by... What will the TV monies amount to 80k (ish) a club maybe? so it would mean 70k per club for an 8 team league... doable?... Glasgow up and Mildenhall IOW and Plymouth come into the Championship so 8 in one league and 14 in the other? The riders will be whoever can be obtained and like in the good old (or bad old) days maybe one 8 point average rider per team in the Premiership (Share things out)… However here is a prediction for you GLASGOW WILL GET THERE OWN WAY... THE POINTS LIMIT WILL STAY AT 41 POINTS AND GLASGOW WILL KEEP THE EXACT SAME TEAM THEY SELECTED FOR 2020; stuff anyone else... and I wish I could predict the lottery numbers as easy... Regards THJ

Agree with what you are saying to a certain extent however without trying it's only guess work really... The rewards are higher in the top league and surely the crowds would be bigger... what are the crowds like now? 6/800 possibly? With better racing could they double that and with a couple of quid on the entry fee? Its not beyond the reach of a club as big as Glasgow are now... I honestly don't think it should be totally dismissed out of hand as they are losing fortunes (or subsidising lots whatever your take is) on providing the current level of racing... it wouldn't cost much more to make the jump up and the returns would be a lot greater... no sign on fees it the top league... If it was me I would give it a go... how many teams have went up one year then came back down the next... Just a thought Regards THJ

Nice little piece on the BSPL web site where Darren Hartley is recommending some of his Newcastle team for doubling up roles in the Premiership http://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/news.php?extend.38510 He is suggesting that Claus Vissing; Max Clegg and James Wright are all keen to double up and he believes they could do a job for someone in the Premiership... and why not... Regards THJ

Wow and I mean WOW!!! Talk about airing your dirty washing in public... so where I was guessing before at a build limit of 38/39 it looks like this option is being discussed and the limit will be 38.5 if other clubs get their way and all clubs will be looking to lose at least one rider from their chosen 2020 septet if the new build limit is enforced... Alan Dick does to a certain extent have a point however there are some very extenuating circumstances to be considered here with Brexit, Poland and now to a lesser extent Covid and not least 11 other clubs in the Championship and another 7 in the Premiership... I could pull apart some of his arguments with counter arguments but there would be little value in that and I do sympathise with some of the points he has put forward; but I think as he himself has stated everyone should have held off and waited until after Brexit and the Poland issue's were sorted and him included with this press release... It smacks to me (and I may be totally wide of the mark) that Glasgow may have jumped the gun and paid riders sign on fees that they will now struggle to recover and obviously if changes are now forced upon them they may wish to take the team in a totally different direction and cut more than one rider to restructure their team; but of course this could potentially cost more in lost sign on fees and the paying of new ones... Interesting times and I think there will be ramifications from this press release as it isn't the way the BSPL tend to operate... i.e. in the public domain; so to speak... I would love to be a fly on the wall at the next BSPL meeting as his press release will certainly generate debate that's for sure... Finally as everyone (including Alan Dick) is of the opinion that the "product is being diluted" why don't Glasgow take their team up a league which would strengthen the rider pool for the teams left in the championship or possibly make an opening for Plymouth to come back into the league?... I have said for a long time Glasgow have the support; the stadium and the financial clout to compete with the so called big boys in the Premiership... Sheffield have taken the risk and unless you try you will never know; it may be more financially rewarding than where they are now... Regards THJ

Never a truer sentence was said No one said that any club should be penalised and I'm not sure what penalty could be applied or for what reason. Or for that matter what penalty you could be referring to... The issue faced by all clubs IMHO will be a reduction of the team build points therefore meaning a minimum of one rider being swapped out... so whether you consider that being a penalty it will be a one faced by all clubs not just Glasgow and again IMHO the current Glasgow team will unfortunately exceed whatever BSPL build figure they come up with for teams... Then there will be the issue of work permits and Visas which wont (or shouldn't) be a problem for Glasgow as they must have a sponsors licence as they have brought commonwealth riders into their team in the past but may be for other sides. Finally if Glasgow end up trying to use a 2020 rider who has a Polish commitment this will also have a potential impact on their original 2020 selection (but again maybe not)... So no one is saying they should be penalised for anything the unfortunate fact of the matter is due to factors outwith their control they will have to make a change of some description. Whether that is one rider or six of them they are in the same boat as everyone else... Regards THJ

To be fair Glasgow are faced with the same problems as everyone else and it will be interesting to see what way they go when the whole thing settles down... Regards THJ

To be brutally honest I have no idea... I am not even sure if the promotions know what they are going to do... there appears to be more than one spanner in the works... usually on the run up to Christmas everything is sorted teams wise with one or two slots left to fill and the team make ups are being released to the public as clubs plan for the build up to the new season... but this year for 2021 your guess is as good as mine til we find out the team build points and more importantly what riders are available... one thing I would guess at is teams in our league will have 3 or 4 riders doubling up as I just can't see where all the riders are going to come from... Interesting times... Regards THJ

Commonwealth riders (since we joined the EU) have always needed Visas (and still will when we leave the EU) and these were either a tier 2 or tier 5 visa (these government folk do like their tiers) the system is being strengthened or realigned and rolled out to include all non UK citizens, residents or people who don't have a business in the UK with the exception of Irish Citizens... there is a bigger piece on this on the Newcastle 2020 thread... The bottom line is there will be very little change for Aussies and they will still need a UK sponsor and a Visa to race in the UK. Regards THJ

If ya say the words in ya best Cheryl Cole accent they will start to make sense to ya... bonny lad... Regards THJ

A like the way ya thinking Ruff but av seen the YouTube of Freddie singing so we will get him on the club and pub circuit Ludde can go to Warbys and need the dough to make the baps... the two Wozzas are like the Trotters off "only fools and horses" so they will get by... the Bjerres can do Snow White owa the Christmas as two of the 7 and then become Grape Tredders making the Chateau Gallowgate from the grapes grown on the banks of the Tyne and if James is owt like their kid we can get him a job in Greggs putting the holes in the doughnuts... Jobs a good un as the saying goes... Regards THJ...

Oooooòh am so tempted but when a guess right a get accused of spoiling the fun... So mums the word from THJ.. But I prefer the intelligent guess with a bit of reason behind it rather than pick 7 riders whose averages add up to 53 and wouldn't come to Newcastle as long as they had a hole in their posterior... you know the type... so here goes... 1. Freddie Lindgren 8.25 2. Ludvig Lindgren 4.20 3. Richie Worrall 8.11 4. Stevie Worrall 7.39 5. Kenneth Bjerre 6.25 6 Lasse Bjerre 4.05 7. James Wright 4.00 Total 42.25 with 0.25 to spare... The reason behind the team is we will only have half the travel cost cos they can all pair off and when James comes up he can drop Charlie off at Redcar on the way and save on travell there as well. Who needs @Dandelion it's Simples... Regards THJ

Honestly If you read through the earlier posts I have been pointing this out for some months now and a great deal will depend on how the Brexit negotiations pan out and if we get a soft Brexit that keeps travel pretty free and relaxed across borders and allows for Citizens from the EU/UK to keep comparative rights they have now; like fast tracking through immigration; or if we end up with a hard Brexit and we go on World Trade Organisation Terms which will result in all borders tightening up between the EU and the UK and anyone travelling in and out of the UK will be standing in queues to get in and out of EU countries. A Finnish colleague who travelled from Spain to Germany with an Asian colleague walked through passport control unencumbered as an EU citizen the Asian colleague took just over 3 hours to clear passport control and immigration (both live in the UK but one travels on an Indian passport the other a Finnish one)!!! Brits will potentially end up in the "Non EU Citizen" line and have to go through immigration and passport control and of course the process will be reciprocated this end. (we cant have those Johnny Foreigners treating us Brits like TCN's) (can we?) There are ways (potentially) at the moment to get around this work permit situation and if you get bored pick any EU country and pretend that you are trying to comply with the new UK rules and go through the process on the gov.uk web site (doesn't cost anything) at https://www.gov.uk/transition this actually shows you the hoops EU citizens will have to jump through to live and work here. Potentially setting up as a Sole Trader business in the UK with a UK Business address would allow riders to ride without a Visa/work permit. Again being seen as a UK resident would negate the need of a work permit and that's about it. Oh and the deadline for applying is 30 June 2021 and you must have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020. Not much time left eh!!! If anyone has been cute (and I do know of one rider who has become a UK Sole Trader) they will avoid the need for a work permit (possibly). If not then from 1 January 2021 each club using a non UK citizen will need to have a sponsor licence to hire most workers from outside the UK and those personnel will need a Visa/Work permit to operate here. As you correctly infer from 1 January 2021, freedom of movement between the UK and EU will end and the UK will introduce an immigration system that will treat all applicants equally (allegedly), regardless of where they come from (aye righto). Any club who wants to recruit from outside the UK, (excluding Irish citizens), will need to apply for permission first to use this rider and will need to obtain a sponsors licence. Honestly this Brexit carry on is an absolute can of worms and here is another link to look at for what is required from an employers (or clubs) perspective https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recruiting-people-from-outside-the-uk-from-1-january-2021 and if a club does not already have a sponsor licence in place these clubs will need to consider the Home Office sponsor licence application fee which is £536 (for small companies/charitable sponsors with 50 employees or fewer and annual turnover of £10.2 million or less) (so basically a Speedway club) and the form takes about 30 mins to complete. The riders... well this is where the fun starts as every Tier 2 migrant must be assigned a valid Certificate of Sponsorship – commonly referred to as a ‘CoS’. Each certificate costs £199. This fee is the same whether the certificate is assigned for a 1 or 5 year period. Then there is the Home Office application fee and each applicant will be subject to a Home Office application fee which will be dependent on the type of visa they are applying for. The amount due will also be dependent on the length of the visa being applied for and whether the application is being made within the UK or from outside and these fees range from £464 - £1,408. If the application is refused, it is unlikely this fee will be refunded. Once you have cleared that hurdle there is an Immigration Health Surcharge (‘IHS’) which is a fee of £400 per applicant per year which is payable when the application is submitted. For example, if an applicant is applying for a three year visa, they will be required to pay an IHS fee of £1,200. Now riders do pay insurance because Speedway is a dangerous sport so I am not sure where this charge will sit however this fee is a surcharge levied by the Home Office for the migrant’s use of the National Health Service (‘NHS’) during their time in the UK. If refused, this fee should be refunded, although there can be a processing delay. Then there is the Immigration Skills Charge and this charge was introduced on 6 April 2017 and is used to address skills gaps in the UK workforce now could not having enough UK riders be classed as a "Skills Gap". This Charge is due each time a CoS (see above) is issued. The fee requested depends on the size and type of the sponsor and the length of employment stated on the CoS issued. If the company is classed as a small or charitable sponsor (as defined in regulation 2) the fee is £364 for any stated period of employment up to 12 months plus £182 for each subsequent 6 month period stated on the CoS. In all other cases, the fee is £1,000 for any stated period of employment up to 12 months plus £500 for each subsequent 6 month period stated on the CoS. If a club sponsored a migrant/rider for 3 years, for instance, the fee would be £1,092. Now most of the above I have pulled off the internet in a five minute search and from having to do this for one of our employees and it is only an indication of the fee summary which is for guidance only and is definitely "subject to change" the nearer we get to 1st Jan 2021 and Brexit. However it does give an indication of the "Slaver" that clubs will need to go through just to get a foreign rider into the UK. Now some clubs are already doing this and following all the processes and as stated I believe the process will either be tightened up further or slightly relaxed depending on what type of Brexit deal we get. Oh and of course the web site did state Home Office Fees are subject to change (which is usually a euphemism for "if we get lots of them we will put the price up). So from Jan 1 there will be an additional cost involved in employing riders from the EU that some clubs may find to much to bear... but as you rightly say work permits will be required to race in the UK and all you have to do is look at the commonwealth countries to see what type of criteria will be needed to race in the UK; it may work against (and stop) many of the young Scandinavians who used to come over to do their apprenticeship in this country which will be a shame. Aye all those little "Englanders" "two world wars and one world cup do da"; coming home to roost now eh... if you think we were hated in Europe before just wait until we get this Brexit malarkey out of the way... we will never get another point in Eurovision ever again... Regards THJ

I would say that the current promotion are professional enough and business savvy enough not to fall foul of the current U.K. tax system... unlike the previous Dummkopfs who ran the spot... Just saying like... Regards THJ

Deffo forum... lol...

Thing is gazzac it's never stopped some of the nuggets building teams in the past... Regards THJ

Hi Mike Think you have made some valid points and I agree with what you are saying... I still think there will be two leagues as there is the TV contract to honour however there will be an awful lot of doubling up... an awful lot... As a big advocate of 6 man teams I also would not be adverse to that however I don't think it will happen any time soon... however following the washout this year has been there has never been a better opportunity for the BSPL to reset things... Let's hope they grab the opportunity with both hands... Somehow I can't see it happening but you can always live in hope.. Regards THJ

Honestly I am really surprised that there have not been any predictions on the team changes yet with Nick Skorja and Ondrej Smetana now not coming and not just on this thread but on all threads. The silence is surreal because usually folk are on here making outlandish predictions and bids for the prospective riders they would like to see in their team for the season to come. I appreciate that there will be changes on the team build points level which will probably reduce from the 2020 level of 41 to somewhere between the 35 to 39 mark for the Championship so this will release some riders as teams have to restructure to comply to the new build points level; and on rider availability due to actions being taken in Poland restricting riders on the other teams/leagues and countries they can ride for/in and of course the dreaded Brexit situation that is fast approaching; although that seems to have taken a bit of a back seat with this Covid carry on but it will also impact foreign riders casting a large shadow on what can and cannot be done. It will be difficult for promotions that's for sure... So what we were having in 2020 was... Newcastle Diamonds 1. Claus Vissing 8.43 2. Matthew Wethers 6.92 3. Nick Skorja 5.00 4. Ondrej Smetana 5.00 5. Max Clegg 4.92* 6. Connor Mountain 4.61* 7. James Wright 4.00 Team Total: 38.88 Remaining: 2.12 The other question now is; will we be able to retain Claus? What's his status; will having a home in the UK give him preferential access and the ability to work in the UK (if he indeed does have/or wants a second home here)? does he have dual nationality? can he run as Claus Vissing Racing Ltd as a business in the UK and use this as a route to ride without a Visa or will he need the dreaded Visa which is a further cost and who pays for the Visa the club or the rider; or is there another route that no one has thought of yet that gets him here without a Visa and allows him to ride in the UK? all questions that need answering not only by Newcastle but by any clubs who use a foreign/European rider. As it stands re. Brexit I don't think Commonwealth riders will be impacted as there are already processes in place to allow these guys to ride in the UK... How loyal do clubs have to be to riders contracted in 2020? Promotions/BSPL did hint that they would try and run with the same teams that were contracted in 2020 to the best of their ability but this seems to be a big aspiration to me which will now be almost impossible to achieve. Newcastle have lost 2 riders so far but who is out there to fill in these gaps. If the build points are set to a lower level does that reset everything and does this allow clubs to approach any rider? Newcastle were already 2 points under the build limit so this should/could protect the riders they have left from 2020 but as I see things at present there are definitely more questions than answers. The picture should become a little clearer once Brexit has been put to bed by the end of December but I imagine there will be some arguments and infighting to overcome within the BSPL over the Christmas and New Year periods... Who would be a promoter eh!!! Regards THJ

Absolutely brilliant... Love it... I do hope the fans flock back... I tell everyone where I go at work about the Speedway and most people say "is that still going I used to go and I wouldn't mind popping back again" If we could encourage half of the lapsed fans to return it wiuld make a massive difference to the club... I hope everyone spreads the word and I am really looking forward to my Covid jab and getting back to Brough come Easter... Good luck Rob and if any one deserves it your the man... Regards THJ

I'm all for Brits and the other issue after Jan 1 is Visas and the cost involved with those... it won't bother some clubs but others on a tighter budget will surely think twice about bringing in foreign riders... Regards THJ

Think you could be right Jim with the UK angle but I think all the teams we have now will start the 2021 season just that these teams could look an awful lot different to what was due to turn out in 2020 Regards THJ

Not if the Team Build Points are reduced; if Nico Covatti does go (and I have no idea if he is or not but his name was mentioned earlier) and is currently on an average of 7.82 and with the team having 0.23 to spare you now have 8.05 to play with from the original build level of 41 points for a replacement. However if the new Team Build is set at 39; 38 or 37 that figure could come down to as low as 4.05 at 37 and 2.05 if the Build Limit is set as low as 35... So I would put money on it not being a like for like average swap out unless other riders are swapped out at the same time... if the Team Build Points are reduced; I can honestly see the whole team building circus starting again to a certain extent... hopefully the riders clubs already have and want to retain are protected and the ones they release will be used as fillers for other teams... its a problem for sure... Regards THJ Edit: Just seen on the Official BSPL web site that Covatti is in fact not riding for Kent (shame that as he is an exciting rider)

Funnily enough I don't get hung over as I try and drink a pint of water before I go to bed and that usually does the trick... and Ruff wishes he lived in Longbenton with the big lads instead of the posh end of NE12 in Forest Hall (Don't you know)(all fur coat and no knickers) Regards THJ

Think you will find you whinging Makem clown I was sponsoring the same bloke and have posted as such on the Newcastle 2020 thread before you stuck this slight on here you "schlepper"... what a tool... better start believing smeghead because 90% of "what I give"; you can take to the bank numbnuts... that is for sure... Yes and it is entirely feasible that the new guy has a lesser average than the bloke he is replacing is it not? Regards THJ