TotallyHonestJohn

Would you like Custard, Cream or Ice Cream with that Humble Pie You nearly got your wish when Worky got "Humped" up at the Dale Pity they whizzed on your parade as hearing your contrite comments would have been intriguing to say the least Regards THJ

Honestly No really.... HONESTLY!!!! Jesus I can't honestly believe what I am reading at times, after relentlessly slagging off the Monarchs for the last 4 or so years you come up with this, (oh no hang on you only believe in light hearted banter, that's right, every one else is bitter and twisted, honestly) the only club that thinks others should jump to their demands are Glasgow, closely followed by two others (who shall remain nameless) one very sad lady with very red and white spectacles. Hang on stop the bus "Bitter Drive" my stop Finally I "Can't believe" you are saying this either but then again I can't believe its not butter, or can I Regards THJ

Honestly Paulco you have hit the nail right on the head "honestly brilliant" and I forgot all about the Spring Trophy PMSL Regards THJ

What a load of tripe Honestly the lovable Glasgow Twisters unbelievable. Also Workington were prepared to travel without Klindt so once again your statement of fact is incorrect They did get humped at Armadale but repaid the compliment the following night in Spades at Derwent Park Funny thing Karma Finally Glasgow couldn't do the 5th of October for some reason then low and behold some Mickey Mouse Scottish Cup turns up and Workington get left with a blank weekend, when was this monumental (manufactured) competition slotted into the fixture programme. This competition racks right up their in importance along with the Ian Thomas Shield, the Tyne Tees Trophy or the Tyne Tweed Trophy, its and absolute disgrace and if the BSPA don't step in and tell the Glasgow promotion to get this play off started it will be a travesty. Go to Workington on the 5th after all a Friday is Workington's second race night Regards THJ

Cant disagree with any of this Plus I feel a great deal of the General Public prefer to watch sports on their TV, X-box, Play Station, other hand held device even their mobile phone and if your product isn't on these media streams it gets overlooked. TV gets the sport out into the public domain then the interest to watch it live is generated from that. Pity you couldn't gamble on races to get the bookies interested as that would get the sport out there. Here,s a mad idea three team meetings giving 6 riders per race (like a dog race) 15 heats gambling on each race the bookies could possibly be in on that, fully televised every meeting streamed into betting shops? Unfortunately the investment to widen tracks and set things up would be colossal but it needs some radical thinking to turn things round. Regards THJ

Honestly Who knows or Feck knows might be the better response As someone once sang, Why do birds suddenly appear, Why do stars fall down from the sky, and all that tosh More money than sense maybe, don't honestly know Montie above has put a valid post up Regards THJ

I wish Pishing down here now in Newcastle after a glorious day Regards THJ

PMSL It was to just nick the THJ handle really although not a favourite rider or anything it just fitted and as my Granddad said he was once going to open a bookmakers called Honest John the Bookie (he was also a John but never a bookie, I think he fibbed on that one to an admiring little kid) I liked the ring it had. Oh and not an Edinburgh fan either although I do get up there several times in a season. "Gating Tart" might have been more appropriate but that's taken and "Gobsh*te" was rude with "Soft Puff" borderline. However Tapeworm was definitely safe as we once had a dog with one and it was Feckin Awful... Honestly Also at work my go to dismissive word is Honestly it has so many meanings with just a different inflection Regards THJ

Hoots Mon!!! Must try harder I am off now, need to go and walk the dog and get out of this office, but back Monday all refreshed Good luck to all in their endeavours in life, and as me Mam used to say "remember you only pass this way once so be as nice as you can to as many people as possible" But being such an A-wipe I do find it hard at times... Sorry Regards THJ

First off I am 130 mile away from Sellafield on the East coast with more chance of turning green from Chernobyl than Sellafield and believe me the Play Offs are in no way the financial saviour of any club ask Edinburgh, Newcastle and Sheffield to name but three. it is an absolute myth and a misconception that the play offs are the saviour of any club all they do is compound losses, and 250 "weegies" coming South wont be the saviour of Workington. (sadly) Yes fans look forward to them but the impact on the clubs for a bit of silverware is colossal Regards THJ

Win the lottery and run it as a hobby then who gives a monkey's you can be the only one in the stand.(oh and let your pals in for free) (might have to be the Euro for that to happen like eh) Chatting to one or two promoters the feed back and feel I am getting is if you do not have secondary channels of funding, bar, food, training track to rent, other facilities to let, stock cars etc to market, it becomes very difficult to run a competitive team at even championship level. Read the release from Rosco on the Robins web site he puts it in open and honest terms about an up and coming meeting (and previous ones) that have the potential to hurt their club financially and it seems indicative of the sport. Buster and Rob get stick from most quarters on here but believe me when I say they do have the best interests of the sport at heart and they are actively looking to improve (or save) where they can, but they are meeting opposition and resistance in every corner, its not my place to state what is going on but I honestly feel for these guys. Look at the post above by Tsunami, if Worky could attract (and retain) half those 2200 fans back to DP it wouldn't be a problem, so my question to you would be what has changed from then to now, what has made these people attend then and not now, what has changed so dramatically that these fans have deserted the sport in there droves (they couldn't all have died) what has changed so much to stop these fans from coming back (as I wasn't around in those days) as it is still 4 guys racing round a track. That's your answer for the Worky predicament "people through the doors" as the Worky promotion have very little scope for additional revenue schemes. Or a generous benefactor or sponsor would do it Regards THJ

Honestly I will type this slowly so you have time to digest it, just in case you are not a quick reader, Okay here goes; you are correct (there I said it) Workington did not accept the 7/10 initially as they were unsure that they would receive a facility for their missing rider. If they had not acquired a facility they would have had to go to Glasgow with a National League Rider in the Number 1 slot so who in their right mind would agree to that, (even for a league match let alone a play off one) not a guest or rider replacement; a NL rider. Teams have refused to travel to Worky this season due to there being the possibility of having to run with a guest or R/R let alone a NL replacement. Never mind, (which is why this race night; not your race night; thing has reared its head) (could be wrong and this is just my opinion) (Glasgow Friday Workington Saturday) Worky then sought clarification as to what facility they would receive if any, for running on the Sunday; this took time to come back, (now I honestly don't know how long unfortunately) in the mean time Glasgow pulled the plug on the 6/10 then Worky got confirmation that they could have a facility for their missing rider, (again I don't honestly know which way round this happened, but it did) however in the interim Craig went and unfortunately got himself injured (the scan will prove how badly I would have thought) so we are where we are. (A Brian Rix Farce maybe or that American Sit Com Soap from the 70's) (I just cant decide) Workington have an available Saturday on the 6/10 at DP and if Glasgow want to run later than this I honestly cant see what the problem is. Why cant Glasgow run on their usual Friday at Ashfield on the 13/10 is that not sensible, and Worky do their night on the 6/10 and lets be honest if Craig cant make it Glasgow can bring in any other rider in the league (not in the play offs) as his replacement due to his high average. (and as explained Workington's options are limited with dates) Or here's an idea as Craig is a GP rider I am sure with the "clout" Glasgow have they could arrange for Woofy or Greg Hancock to replace him and I am sure Worky would appreciate such a high profile rider going along to Derwent Park to swell the crowds. Oh hang on its a GP weekend on the 6/10 so that cant happen oops my bad. Maybe the following Friday up at Ashfield if Craig cant make that one due to injury eh? Now please do not take this the wrong way as I do not know your ethnicity however I have taken a crude guess and just in case you have difficulty with English please find the above in Scots Gaelic and apologies for any spelling errors or mispronunciation A-nis, na gabh an dòigh ceàrr seo oir chan eil mi eòlach air do chinneasachd ach tha mi air tomhas mì-laghail a ghabhail agus ma tha duilgheadas agad le Beurla, lorg an rud gu h-àrd ann an Gàidhlig na h-Alba agus leisgeulan airson mearachdan litreachaidh no fuaimneachadh sam bith Gu h-onarach Sgrìdaidh mi seo gu slaodach agus mar sin bidh ùine agad a chuairteachadh, dìreach ma tha thu nad leughadair luath, bidh e ceart gu leòr; tha thu ceart (an sin thuirt mi) Cha do ghabh Workington ris an 7/10 an toiseach seach nach robh iad cinnteach gum faigheadh iad goireas airson an marcaiche a bha a dhìth orra. Mura h-eil iad air goireas fhaighinn bhiodh aca ri dhol a Ghlaschu le Rideradair Lìog Nàiseanta ann an slot Àireamh 1, agus mar sin, cò leis a bha iad a 'faireachdainn ceart, dh'aontaicheadh iad sin (eadhon airson geama lìog gun a bhith a' cluich dealbh dheth) ionad aoigheachd no marcaiche; marcaiche NL. Tha sgiobaidhean air diùltadh siubhal gu Worky an t-seusan seo air sgàth 's gum bi cothrom aca a bhith a' ruith le aoigh no R / R gun a bhith a 'leigeil le NL ath-àiteachadh. Na cuir dragh air, (is e sin an t-adhbhar air an oidhche rèis seo: chan e oidhche an rèis agad; tha rud air a cheann a thogail) (dh'fhaodadh a bhith ceàrr agus is e seo mo bheachd) (Glaschu Friday Workington Disathairne) Dh'iarr an obair an uairsin soilleireachadh air dè an goireas a gheibheadh iad ma tha e airson a bhith a 'ruith air an Didòmhnaich; thug seo ùine seachad a thighinn air ais, (a-nis chan eil fhios agam dè cho fada gu mì-fhortanach) anns a 'mheadhan a chuir Glaschu an plug air 6/10 agus fhuair Worky dearbhadh gum faodadh iad goireas fhaighinn airson a' marcaiche a bha a dhìth orra (a-rithist na bi fios gu h-onarach dè an rud a thachras seo, ach rinn e) ge-tà, chaidh Craig a dhèanamh agus gu mì-fhortanach chaidh a leòn (bidh an scan a 'dearbhadh dè cho dona' sa bhiodh dùil agam) agus mar sin tha sinn far a bheil sinn. ('S dòcha gur e Brian Rix Farce a th' ann no So-ruigsinneachd Sit American bho na 70an) (chan urrainn dhomh ach co-dhùnadh a dhèanamh) Tha Workington ri fhaighinn Disathairne air 6/10 aig DP agus ma tha Glaschu airson ruith nas fhaide na seo chan eil mi gu cinnteach a 'faicinn dè an duilgheadas a th' ann. Mar sin chan eil Glaschu a 'ruith air an oidhche àbhaisteach aca aig Ashfield air 13/10 nach eil e ciallach, agus bidh Worky a' dèanamh an oidhche aca air 6/10 agus bidh e iongantach mura h-urrainn Craig a dhèanamh gum faod Glaschu marcach sam bith eile a thoirt a-steach don lìog ( chan ann anns na cluicheadairean cluiche) mar a thionndaidh e an àite mar thoradh air a 'chuibheasachd àrd aige. (agus mar a mhìnich e tha roghainnean Workington cuingealaichte le cinn-latha) No smaoinich an seo mar a tha Creag na marcaiche dotair teaghlaich. Tha mi cinnteach leis an "clout" Glaschu an urrainn dhaibh Woofy no Greg Hancock a chuir air dòigh agus tha mi cinnteach gum biodh Worky a 'cur luach air mar a bha marcaiche àrd-inbhe cho àrd a' dol gu Pàirce Derwent gus a dhol fodha an sluagh. O cuimhnich air deireadh-seachdain an dotair teaghlaich agad air 6/10 gus am bi e comasach dhomh a bhith a 'tachairt gu math dona. Is dòcha an ath Dihaoine a-nise aig Ashfield mura dèan Craig an aon sin air sgàth eh? All in all its a load of "Hydraulics" really isn't it?(and yes that is a euphemism) Regards THJ

Well according to you Glasgow Regards THJ

Whoa there Tiger!!! Read the post as you have confirmed what I have said, Worky offered the 6th which I agree was accepted at first by Glasgow then pulled (ask your promotion why) (twit for Tat) so are you now saying that the 6th is acceptable to Glasgow are you confirming on here that this date will be the first leg at Derwent Park? I am sure the Workington promotion will be glad to hear that. You seem to be in the know? But do you really know; do you really really know do you? do you "Ken"; or can your "Ken" kiss my "Barbies Ass" Lets also clarify Worky finally accepted the 7th up at Ashfield once they found out that they would get a facility for Klindt who is the rider who would be missing, or do you want them to use Dale Lamb as their No1 up there again to give you a chance Furthermore the BSPA were reluctant to sanction the Sunday as it is the day of the Ben Fund meeting at Redcar which will already have riders missing due to Round 3 or 4 of the Lakeside Peterborough saga (and for once you cant blame either of those clubs as their fixture lists are what they are including weather impacts) and why did Glasgow want to run on an off day as their chosen night is a Friday (but hey you own the stadium and can run on any day you/they want) but it wouldn't have anything to do with fitting in with the scheduled of St Craig the new patron saint of Glasgow would it (Hmmm, no surely not) or Worky possibly being shorn of a rider. Funny how moving West a few mile can change a sinner into a saint. If Craig had been with Glasgow from the start of the season I may have had some sympathy, the circumstances that got Craig there weren't the most honourable (to say the least but I wont go down that road) and the claim that he was brought in for the best interests of British speedway don't ring very true either. We all know whose best interest it was for and in. If Glasgow can choose dates on the availability of Craig like someone has said earlier wait until next April when Dan will be fit and run it then (on second thoughts no as that's not practical either really; is it?) Now to be really honest Glasgow wanted the 12th and 13th of October which if there had not been this congestion in the fixture list would have been acceptable to both parties (I assume) but that would leave Worky with a blank weekend on the 6th and 7th and with the meetings they have to fit in just can not do it unfortunately, especially as there are only 4 weekends available in October for their remaining fixtures, so what do you want them to do concede this fixture and let Glasgow go through to the final with a bye. It would just about sum up the farce the sport is turning into. This whole argument may be moot anyway as Craig is having a scan today on his damaged hand/wrist/arm to ascertain exactly what the position is regarding his injury so serendipity may intervene and sanity may prevail and this meeting will just happen and all this bickering will just be a side show to the real event, and dare I say once Craig's position is resolved one way or another then dates may become totally meaningless. Good luck to both teams whenever it happens and lets hope everyone is safe. On my honesty I will retain the honest in the name thanks or if you do want a name change how about "Longshanks" as there is a good Scottish link there and whilst we are on with name changes can I suggest one for the Glasgow Tigers as Twisters would seem more apt and "The Glasgow Twisters" does have a certain ring about it. I will disseminate information and share what I deem fit and it will be as I have been honestly informed, if that proves to be wrong I will be the first to point that out and then post an apology; a retraction; or both; whatever is appropriate, I am happy to admit when I am wrong and some rumours are strong and still they are proven not to be the case but whoever let a good story get in the way of the truth. However the "Truth will out" as the saying goes So come on "The Glasgow Twisters" do the right thing Regards THJ

Honestly Yes they do understand and yes they do want to give as much information to fans both home and away however there are still 5 fixtures to complete between Lakeside and Peterborough and having asked the question I can confirm the Worky promotion are just as frustrated as the fans in not being able to progress these matters and I can also assure you there are a raft of emails between Tony Jackson and the promotions concerned to try and get meetings on, but there is a reluctance and rightly so I suppose to firm up dates when these other meetings are still to be concluded. The following demonstrates just how skewed the Workington fixture list has been this year: “From 1st April until 31st August this year the Comets raced as a team EIGHT TIMES at Derwent Park” “From 1st September until 29th September this year the Comets will have raced as a team SEVEN TIMES at Derwent Park” This scenario has panned out over the season and has been thus for various reasons, however it has not been all of Workington's own doing, they have been trying to get fixtures run but to be diplomatic (for want of a better word) they have kept their own council and tried to get on as best they can with the situation. I can understand fan frustration at not getting fixtures sorted but believe me its not for the want of trying by the Workington promotion. I have seen and been party to the correspondence so there is plenty of evidence that the Workington promotion are trying to progress matters. (its just not something that tends to be shared) More to follow (as the saying goes) Regards THJ

Think you will find that Workington offered Saturday 6th of October as a viable date!!! Which was declined by Glasgow, so BSPA not required for that are they The Edinburgh semi final is this weekend 28th at Armadale Stadium and 29th at Dewent Park which had been pre arranged by all three teams who could compete in that semi final at the time of arranging a date, Edinburgh wanted the earliest date possible and Workington and Newcastle accommodated them Also Workington may feel this weekend would be a better option with a crocked Cookie and did i not read on here somewhere that Bomber is not available as he is riding in a final of a long track event somewhere so maybe the Monarchs are "The fly in the ointment" they seem to get the blame for everything else. Tyretrax has possibly answered his own question as the Worky faithful would be happy to see Cookie at DP they welcome all the local lads and always have done Rich Lawson Dan Bewley Adam Roynon Kyle Bickley "et al" even the juniors as they are fiercely loyal and like to see what they consider as "Their own" doing well and they always receive warm welcomes even when they come calling with the opposition, however as it has been stated on here "ad nauseam" they are restricted on dates and no matter how much moaning is done they can only do what they can do Possibly Regards THJ

Not sure as I haven't looked to be honest but I accept what you say as it is usually the case these days unfortunately Regards THJ

Some one will tell us as I cant remember but the one of the play off finals drew a crowd of over 15,000 with people locked out as it was a full sell out crowd with the stadium rammed. Again I am not sure how true this is but I was also told that due to the sponsorship and the TV revenues that Speedway teams receive in Poland it wouldn't matter if they got no crowd Says quite a bit I would say Oh and chatting to a locally adopted Geordie Swede (before he went AWOL) I don't think things are totally rosy in Sweden with regard to their leagues and set up unfortunately Regards THJ

Honestly I can assure you that Workington were not "allowed proper replacement guests that night" as you put it for this rained off meeting. They were going to have to run with National League Guests and Kean Dicken and Kelsey Duggard were lined up to replace Rene Bach at reserve and Nicolai Klindt at Number 1. This was due to the fact that the Danes were both racing in the Polish 2nd Division for which; at that time; no facility was allowed. It is a long story however with the help of that bad man Rob Godfrey (so he is not all that bad then eh!) Workington finally got resolution to the problem that run all the way to the European FIM the day before the Newcastle Workington meeting and Tony Jackson had been given a right royal run around but they finally got a facility for the the two Danes where there were clashes in the fixtures with Poland, due to the assistance of Rob. However this clarification of the situation regarding a facility did not come through until a week and a bit later and after this fixture would have been run so TaylorJ is correct Workington would not have received a facility for this fixture and would have had to run with two NL Guests. Regards THJ

Honesty I never dealt business wise with Ian Thomas but I have heard he could be hard to deal with at times and if you could see what he could do with a pack of cards you would never have played Poker with the guy as his slight of hand was amazing and he was definitely what you would class as "Marmite" but I thought the guy was great and could have listened to his stories all day long. However he was definitely his own man in my opinion and although a small guy he was a great character and a big miss. Regards THJ

But if Workington have other commitments to other teams in the two cup competitions they are still fighting for this does not just impact Glasgow to be fair does it. I appreciate as a Glasgow fan you want the best for your team and the opportunity to put out your strongest team but what about Edinburgh (sorry to swear at you) or Peterborough/Lakeside who Workington will meet in the Shield Final? These clubs wishes also have to be taken into consideration surely, or do Workington have to come at the behest of Glasgow, when suits Glasgow the best, have you considered that it may just not be possible to commit to Glasgow's requests without being accused of being awkward; maybe the Glasgow promotion could sweeten the deal and offer some form of remuneration to Workington to race on an off night and then they can race when Glasgow dictate, Workington can run on their second night possibly a Friday if allowed to by the powers that be, but that didn't suit earlier in the season when their fixtures were pulled, or they have raced on a Sunday in the past but their are restrictions set by the Local Council and the local Church Council so that isn't straightforward either Then of course what about Lakeside, Edinburgh and Peterborough who will all want to race on their chosen dates that best suit them so they can have all their top riders racing, and to be fair why shouldn't they expect that, its not as straightforward as people would like to think and I for one would like to see Craig racing both home and away on a chosen Friday and a chosen Saturday! Why... because that suits me and my work commitments (but that's me being selfish) so if it is not possible and cant be done then so be it, I doubt if it is the first time this has happened and it certainly wont be the last. So if Craig is missing so be it with his average a top notch guest can be brought in and I would think Workington will miss Dan Bewley more than Glasgow would miss Craig and what a shame that during these play offs we wont get to see these two going at it head to head and hammer and tong I think the fans are being robbed of what would have been a brilliant series of races Good luck to both teams Regards THJ

I know a few guys who race in Division 2 which is the third tier in Poland and the points money is Double and in one case Treble what they earn in the UK Premiership so it wont be sniffed at that's for sure Regards THJ

Newcastle done it one year racing against Edinburgh I think in a cup competition on the very last weekend of the season where the Sunday was on the 31st of October (I stand to be corrected) but it was a frantic end to the season (for whatever reason) So as we are only in September whats the panic Gulp!!! Regards THJ

Honestly The figures I have quoted are pretty near to; if not spot on; the mark (and I do know your man) Even the late great Ian Thomas (a man I liked immensely although not everyone's cup of tea) would struggle with the dilemmas that this promotion are facing, he went through it at Newcastle when he took them up and regretted the actions he took forever and a day. Honestly I am a positive "pot half full" guy but I fear it has gone I can not see a resurgence in any way shape or form I have crunched the numbers for 2019 and it will take a very brave individual to take it on which saddens me greatly. On you last paragraph "Here Here" it is the best team the Comets have had for years and lets see if they can go out with a bang, not just for the fans of Workington but for Laura, Jacko and the whole promotion, including the back room staff, When its gone its gone and it will be dam hard to bring back Regards THJ

Honestly The whole thing may need a rethink if we end up with 6 man teams and a build average of around 36 Regards THJ