wjm

Keeping a hold of Aspegren would be great, he could stick at least a point on his average next season IMO, I would take him before a lot of riders who already have 7.00 + averages.

When you see the sides being put together by teams in the North it makes you realise how entertaining a meeting the Ben Fund will be at Berwick, makes sense all round to have local riders to get an even bigger crowd? Guys like Cook, Masters, Robson, Bach, Stead it would be a really decent start and that’s before you even think about guys like Barker (would surely want to defend his title) and a few EL riders who normally turn up like Hans Andersen who has been a regular. Sure whoever is there it will be an excellent occasion as a lot of the guys always seem really willing to race in this meeting. It’s a well worth cause anyway so worth attending, but it would really be a bonus for Speedway in The North, and not just Berwick if the event is well attended, would help increase the chances of more events coming up this way, which can only be a good thing for all Northern clubs..

Keeping Bellego would be massive, he is such a talent, he really kicked on from pretty much the Ipswich KOC meeting.

Possibly there is yes, I am not disputing that. My own thought is that 20 is still young, I think it’s the same with football though ever since guys like Messi, Rooney and Ronaldo came along the expectation seems to be if you haven’t made it by 21/22 you aren’t going to, Ward, Woffinden and Holder seem to have made it the same in speedway, guys can progress in differing ways.

Might be wrong but are two of the three not assets of other clubs (Nielsen and Jacobs) I appreciate Knight was and Sheffield have purchased him, but maybe this wasn’t an option on the other two? The asset system is flawed in many ways, but, if you can get a commitment from a guy like Knight I can understand why you would back a guy at that age as your asset ahead of another clubs riders. Knight seems like a guy who is pretty determined and focussed to make speedway his career, I can understand why you would invest in him (not to say the others don’t only referring to Knight as he is the main subject here). My own opinion, possibly wrong, when you are signing kids at that age, averages alone isnt the only factor, need a bit more than that to show you are going to progress longer term IMO. Some weeks he might, some weeks he won’t, some week he might get 5, he might go a couple of meetings at home and struggle to make his 3.

Short term it possibly does put you at a disadvantage, but the progression of younger riders (in some cases) isn’t easy in the short term, that’s why every club isn’t doing it, that’s why clubs who do decide to go down that road should be applauded for doing so. The implementation of such a rule where you have to have x amount of young Brits would be tough on a lot of sides in terms of attracting numbers to fill a side, finding replacement for injuries etc, your Bagers and co are just as fundamental to the running, and progression of British youngsters as a lot of British youngsters are. In theory, watching Jake Knight, young asset, grow from a struggling 3 pointer to decent reserve, good second string to strong heat leader over the next few seasons won’t be a longer term disadvantage, it will be both excellent to watch as a paying fan AND for the benefit of the club in the long term, and in the short term that has been balanced out, again, in theory by introducing Stead into the side. Stead and Knight is 9+3 =12, is it that much different from say Wilson + Bager = 6+6 coming to the same 12 points a meeting? , what two will you get more out of across the season, and long term? ( I don’t mean to pick specific riders, or do anyone a disservice just giving examples) more than likely Stead and Knight, hopefully, both in terms of entertainment and points from Stead, and progression and enthusiasm from Knight. I can understand the frustration as such, there is always a feeling among supporters of every side, not just football, not just the best, or worst sides that things could be better, but the promotion are savvy Machin in particular is a smart guy when it comes to Speedway IMO, there will be a decent thought process behind the signing.

Sheffield are fine with signing Knight if they subsidise their side with balance IMO. I appreciate others may have a better NL average than him, but is that NL average their limit? Maybe in some case yes, maybe not in the case of others. If I was an EL promoter I would invest in a few PL riders on 5 or 6 averages who I would see as a “project” before I would a few riders on higher averages. If an EL promoter was to sign a Bellego, Aspegren or Campton as part of their squad it would be pretty understandable IMO, guys on a lesser average but with that bit more potential. Won’t be able to make a true judgement on the signing of Knight until the rest of the side is announced IMO. I like the idea of clubs signing riders with the understanding that it will take time for them to improve and find themselves, they key is being able to manage the situation. I hope/would think Knight will be in the NL as well next season which should in turn help with confidence issues if he finds the PL a bit hot at times, and he will, as long as he shows progression, good on him, and Sheffield for taking it on. There is a bit of a shortage of riders in this country, every club needs to take on the responsibility of growing riders.

Aspegren

That’s an excellent signing, Edinburgh look like they are going to be strong again with that heat leader trio. Same as every winter, you just can’t gauge the strength of sides that announce early, Leicester look less like “league favourites” with every signing that is announced. Quickly forget about the doom and gloom that the winter can bring once riders start to get announced, the North is looking like it is going to serve up some great entertainment.

Pretty unfortunate but better to find out now, still a lot of good riders left without team places while a lot of sides are starting to fill up.

High profile, decently presented…..stick your nice sponsor here… Fair play to guys like Machin and Silver for going about things with a bit of pragmatism.

Pretty decent side, in theory…stronger than the one that actually raced on track for a large part of last season. Same as every winter though, some teams announce early and get stronger/weaker the more sides that come out.

Weegies love a Ned

I don’t mind him, I can see Goldmembers point to an extent, like the other "Armadale loving Monarch” that we had before, he is decent around Berwick in patches, but he has had his fair number of poor races, sure he might break the track record, but then he can tail off badly that’s pretty much been the story of his career on the road for a long time IMO. I wouldn’t know if the move to Berwick would be the making of him or not. I could see him being a frustration across the season.

Just because everyone else does it…. 1.Ashworth 2.Bellego 3.Aspegren 4.Eklof 5.Alden 6.Edberg 7.Barret Better news..... Bandits Bosses Look Forward To 2013 - With Caution on Monday, 26 November 2012 09:34. Berwick Bandits Speedway Club are pressing forward with their plans for 2013 despite not, as yet securing a main sponsor for the team. The Club has entered into negotiations with several potential main sponsors, but nothing has been determined as yet, and despite rumours to the contrary, Berwick Bandits Speedway Club does not as yet have a team sponsor for 2013. However owners John Anderson, George Hepburn and George Fairgrieve were unanimous in their desire to push the club forward once again in 2013, with the Tweedmouth based team already being announced as the venue for the Speedway Benevolent Fund's now traditional curtain raiser - The Ben Fund Bonanza. The club is very excited with the honour of staging this meeting, not because of the prospect of some of the biggest names in world speedway gracing the Shielfield Park shale, but as a thank you to the loyal supporters who have donated in excess of £3500 to the Ben Fund from their annual collections at the track. The club were honoured with a special presentation from the British Speedway Promoters Association chairman, Alex Harkess at their 2012 End of Season Presentation evening a fortnight ago, marking the achievement of the Berwick fans in collecting these funds. This meeting is scheduled for Saturday March 9th, and coupled with the FIM World Under 21 Championship round 4 on August 10th, that the Bandits have also been allocated, makes the 2013 season a mouthwatering prospect for all involved with the Border based club. The three owners have stressed that much work is still to be done in raising the financial backing the club requires, in order to come to the tapes for the start of the Premier League season in 2013. John Anderson tells us, 'We are very passionate about the team here at Berwick, but the simple truth is we have lost our financial stability that we have had for the past three years through our wonderful deal with A&J Scott's of Wooperton. We have actively tried to encourage a new audience, as well as trying to attract former supporters who may have drifted away from the sport, by decreasing admission prices and next year I can reveal that the admission prices will be just £12 for adults, £10 for concessions and kids will be absolutely FREE when accompanied by a supervising adult." George Hepburn adds, "We recognise the hardship that many people in the country have faced in the past 12 months, and with an economy recovery not expected in the near future, we want to ensure that speedway at Berwick can be marketed as a fun night out for the family. We will be selling advanced tickets in books of 5 and 10 too, so that they may be given as gifts, and our season tickets are very keenly priced for our die-hard supporters, of which we are so thankful for." George Fairgrieve summed up the mood in the Bandits camp, "We are taking a positive attitude, we are a family-run club, with good ethics, and want to put on a good entertaining show on a Saturday night that can be enjoyed by all the family. We listen to what our supporters want, and try to give value-for-money entertainment. Make no mistake though, we are intent on running in 2013, and reach out to everyone in the Berwick area - remembering that the Bandits still have on average the highest attendance of any spectated sport between Edinburgh and Newcastle - please help your Club, not only to survive but to prosper. Too many people have put too much effort into the sport in the area, for us to become victims of the spiralling costs of Motorsport. We have associate sponsorships available to anyone, be it a small business, and individual or multi-national company. These are all by negotiation, with packages to suit your needs, and I urge you to contact Julie Newton on 07840998845 now, to not only help the Bandits survive but thrive in 2013." Club Promoter Dennis McCleary, "We are in negotiations with a number of riders for 2013, with most realising that they need to take a pay cut in order to race in the Premier League in 2013, and we have been enthused by the reaction by most of the riders. Most of the riders realise that without the clubs, there is no league speedway, therefore no job for them at all. It looks as though we will once again have 13 clubs come to the tapes for 2013, stretching the length and breadth of Great Britain, it would be a travesty if even one club folds as that is seven riders unemployed. We are not in a unique financial position at Berwick, and therefore league bosses have to be applauded for tackling the problems before they escalate beyond repair. Speedway has featured at Berwick every summer since 1968, we are not about to let that stop in the near future. I have been privileged to be involved with Berwick Speedway for a number of years, but for the Club to be recognised as it has been by the FIM, since the decision to install a state of the art Polyfoam Safety Fence, really has been a true reward for all the effort that has been put in by so many. We will continue to fight for the future of the sport."

An excellent offer, far more of importance to the future of the sport than what colour helmet a rider comes out in, full credit to the Workington promotion.

Dyer is as much an Edinburgh asset as Bellego was a Glasgow one.

From a purely nights out entertainment point of view, Sheffield should have Hall in their team every time IMO, I appreciate he has his limitations, and his away form is questionable at best. But in order to attract fans, new or old, or even die hard fans, you need guys who will entertain. Hall around Sheffield really is fantastic, just what you want to watch when you pay your money IMO. While it is great to read what riders score at Glasgow, Newcastle or Plymouth etc, it fades into insignificance if you aren’t getting entertainment on your own track, this is something that could apply to many teams across the league in the PL, while their away performances differ on varying levels, guys like Complin, Tully, Hall, Garrity, Nelson going back David Mcallan even someone like Simon Walker or Scud Smith will attract more fans than a side scoring well on the road IMO. I appreciate for fans that do travel these riders can be a massive frustration (part of the reason being “how can he be so good at home and so poor away?), but its easy to take they kind of riders for granted when it comes to “entertainment” which seems to be the buzz word in speedway just now.

How many meetings did he ride for them on a Thursday?

Outraged when Glasgow signed Sweetman? These things happen….

Just out of interest…..when did Berwick either, kick up a fuss, or claim he was there asset before he had turned a wheal for them? Berwick always made it clear that their understanding was that he would become their asset once he had raced the required meetings…

Rye are like a lot of sides that are announced early IMO, some sides announce early and look exceptionally weak, or strong, over the course of the winter they normally balance out a bit. I don’t think that will be a bad side at all in the PL next season, I would expect to see a lot of sides of similar strength. If I was an EL side I would be making the addition of Mellgren to my squad a priority.

Great, screm can buy a brick now.

It isn't a party line. I do like it, to me it isn't any worse than something like the away goals rule in Europe, that can see sides unfairly punished. The tac rule has created some great moments, gets emotions going creates talking points. Everyone has the "was great" and "aw ya bas moment" from it. Berwick, KOC, Villar v Grieves (double points) the doubt, gutted emotion of the inevitable double points was blown out the water by the joy of Carlos turning him over. Peterborough v Reading, arguably the best meeting of the last 10 years. Speedway World Cup is phenomenal when the jokers come into play, it lifts the emotion in races. Fair poInt on the weather, I don't know how you overcome that.