mudflaps Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 The above example is one of the reasons that people have walked away from Speedway over the past 30 years or so... It annoying to spend money on travel and accomodation on cancelled meetings but to be kept in the dark and treated like mugs when all the punters want is information is unacceptable. If a meeting is ever in doubt weather wise or for other reasons I will not risk my hard earned on travelling there.. who is the loser? The Promotions and British speedway... ever decreasing circles.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainAudi Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 It annoying to spend money on travel and accomodation on cancelled meetings but to be kept in the dark and treated like mugs when all the punters want is information is unacceptable. :nono:/quote] Think the fact that there has been no information on this "health and safety issue" is most Monarchs fans main problem. If a genuine reason was brought forward then there probably would have been no complaints, but the lack of information and poor handling of the situation (delay in telling our management etc) is why they are annoyed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudflaps Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Think the fact that there has been no information on this "health and safety issue" is most Monarchs fans main problem. If a genuine reason was brought forward then there probably would have been no complaints, but the lack of information and poor handling of the situation (delay in telling our management etc) is why they are annoyed. couldn't agree more with you my friend... At best it is very bad manners - and extremely bad PR for a promotion who are desperate to get punters back through the turnstiles at the EOES 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smod Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 If there was any common denominator between the Coventry cock-up for the ELRC and this mysterious "health and safety" situation at Peterborough, it might tell us something. Oh, wait....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halifaxtiger Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 (edited) If your a speedway supporter then you're patronised, it comes with the territory. We've all been out of pocket at some point without seemingly good reason but we return anyway. Why do they need to let you know the details? This thread is chip paper so to speak when we all focus on our next meeting. Those fans are not going to get their time or money back, that's the harsh reality and I doubt that they'd feel any better if they knew why? They might but it's unlikely to happen. FWIW, I was not really affected being local but think that it was shockingly handled and communicated and am fully sympathetic to the Edinburgh fans, and those who apparently turned up at the EoES for the meeting. Far from ideal in a season in which we're trying to regroup! nb. I'm still waiting to know why 2010 happened, why Panthers lost those Kings Lynn points again last season and how those 10 heats at the zoo v Poole were allowed to continue, or even start in dangerous conditions - so me first please as I've been waiting longer. Oh and one more - why Frost changed his mind so quickly to throw in the towel after seemingly being all set for 2014? This wouldn't have happened then. I think you're right, it does come with the territory (Peterborough, believe me, was just the main course for me after the starter at Kent on Monday). But it bloody well shouldn't do and just accepting the situation is simply more likely to encourage such behaviour in the future. You are also right that I (and others) will not get our time or money back. But having lost that time and money, aren't why entitled to a reasonable explanation as to why that was the case so that we can determine whether we want to use more time and money in the future ? Not doing so leads to speculation and the suspicion that the promotion are at least partly at fault and, from that, that they are unreliable and that this will happen again. From Mitch's comments, Edinburgh's real problem is that they don't really know why. I can see their point and, indeed, agree with it. At the end of the day, in such circumstances most people appreciate honesty and building up a reputation for that will do no harm whatsoever. The truth here will come out and if this is down to Peterborough they are going to look like clowns no matter what. Better to be a honest clown than a deceitful one, I'd say. Because this is/was an unacceptable one off (well not quite one off as it does happen from time to time unfortunately) and you'll be depriving yourself. Is it ? Didn't Peterborough have a meeting abandoned the other week because of light failure and isn't this virtually the same promotion that were responsible for the appalling shambles at the ELRC, where they allowed people to pay to come in in the full knowledge that the curator had said that the track wasn't rideable ? I make that 3 incidents in about 8 weeks. Mildenhall was a one off on Sunday. In the absence of the trackman they sodded the track up and there was a delay while it dried out. Kevin Jolly admitted responsibility immediately and apologised. Because of the difference in reaction, Mildenhall will continue to get my money, Peterborough won't. Because it's the best racetrack in the UK. I would say its one of the best but who's to say when he spends his £50 to get there next time the same thing (or something similar) won't happen again ? On an occasion like that, its not the best race track but a dead loss and a waste of money. Edited May 7, 2014 by Halifaxtiger 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucifer sam Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 (edited) Have Peterborough come forward with a proper and full explanation as yet? They're not going to come out of this smelling of roses whatever they say, but they do need to be honest and open with the fans if they want them to show up next week. All the best Rob Edited May 7, 2014 by lucifer sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch Me If You Can Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 if if an Health and Safety issue then you can't argue with that can you. Can you ? But who decided it was an Health and Safety issue, the HSE themselves or is if just some sort of excuse that smells like bull. Come on Swales,Horton Watson - stop treating the people that earn you a living like idiots ! What is wrong with you guys ? Why not give us more details. Otherwise how can you be trusted to provide a meeting for us in the future. It used to be down the the weather, but now you seem to have your own set of excuses. Almost like network rail and "wrong kind of leaves" scenario. Horton and Watson - have a look at the word "promotion" in the dictionary. The pair of you so far this season, what with p'boro and coventry debacles may need for the boffins In Oxford to re-assess the word. Happy days ! I cannot comprehend that Peterborough could not give a reason for the so called 'Health and safety' reasons on call off! It is a terrible way to deal with fans. Perhaps the health and safety was a plane breakdown at a foreign airport? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudflaps Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Perhaps the health and safety was a plane breakdown at a foreign airport? YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!!!! THAT'S BALLS (tennis ones! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storming Norman Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 I've been very impressed with the new Peterborough Promotion so this postponement and handling of the communcations is really surprising and disappointing. C'mon Neil Watson, recover the situation - surely nothing prevents you explaining what the H&S issue was. Those travelling fans from Edinburgh deserve that at the very least. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromafar Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Horton's PR skills leave a lot to be desired,proving he just wants to turn up take the cash and Go Home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me2 Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 The reason for the call off needs clarification, but surely their priority, having called the meeting off, should have been to inform the Edinburgh promotion, who could then have have informed their riders and travelling support at the earliest opportunity and stopped them travelling any further. Why wait two hours? What were they thinking? I'm not going to count up what it's cost me. I'm angry enough as it is. What I will do though is make sure Peterborough Speedway never get another brass farthing out of me. It won't bother them, but it might make me feel better. Apologies, I appear to have used 'priority' and 'travelling support' in the same sentence. What an idiot. I'll never learn. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigcatdiary Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Have Peterborough come forward with a proper and full explanation as yet? They're not going to come out of this smelling of roses whatever they say, but they do need to be honest and open with the fans if they want them to show up next week. All the best Rob I have thought for years this is a basic problem with the speedway management in general. They treat supporters with complete contempt and try at all costs to keep them completely in the dark, honest and up front is much the better way but it's something this sport is dire at and is a major reason why it's in the state it is. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur cross Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 (edited) I have thought for years this is a basic problem with the speedway management in general. They treat supporters with complete contempt and try at all costs to keep them completely in the dark, honest and up front is much the better way but it's something this sport is dire at and is a major reason why it's in the state it is. Very fair comment and there's a simple explanation for it ... Speedway's full of either elderly administrators or younger ones who've easily become used to their elders' way of doing things, one of which is an attitude to PR and customer relations that's still rooted in the dark ages of the 1970's when it was far easier for any authorities (not just in speedway) to keep the lid on their awkward situations because any tricky information travelled so slowly that it rarely built up much momentum. Then along came brick-sized mobile phones to make it easier to speak to someone away from their home or desk ... then came text-messaging on increasingly smaller mobiles as well as the widespread use of e-mail ... then our mobiles became more powerful than our home computers from just a few years earlier ... and now, we're so used to all the mobile technology around us in 2014 that it's downright hilarious to think back to situations like my father having to queue up in the 1980's for a train station's pay phone to ring my mother to tell her to delay cooking their evening meal because of a travel delay !! Meanwhile, far too many speedway administrators are woefully poor at understanding that a story can leak out from another angle even if they think they're still keeping the lid successfully on their own angle. All of which leads us onto yesterday's Peterborough Panthers shambles ... For the venue to announce the postponement on Twitter at 9.55am but the Panthers not to inform the Monarchs until more than 2 hours later is bad enough ... even worse, judging by Edinburgh's version of events, there appears to have been no effort to apologise for this 2-hout gap when the Panthers' promotion caught up with the shock postponement. Most of all, shame on Neil Watson, often in the past someone willing to drag speedway's PR out of the medieval ages, for having the nerve to issue the blandest of press releases simply blaming a "health and safety issue" for the postponement without making any effort to explain whether this was all the information given by the venue to the Panthers or whether it was the Panthers' own choice of reason for the postponement. If this was all the info given by the venue, then at least have the guts to make sure everyone in speedway knows it's the venue drip-feeding that info rather than the Panthers themselves. But if Neil himself, or the Panthers as a club, think they can get away successfully with creating such a vague explanation of yesterday's postponement, no wonder the general public of Peterborough don't visit the East of England Showground in anything like the numbers the actual track surface and racing deserve ... that general public will prefer to spend their leisure money on other activities that welcome and care for their customers rather than a speedway club that, on this occasion, has treated its visiting team, never mind its spectators with utter contempt. Edited May 7, 2014 by arthur cross 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Kelly 41 Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Over to you, Neil......... (silence) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScotsman Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 (edited) Couldn't agree more. Not being a Panthers supporter, but living within an hour and a half away, I have been a more than casual attendee at the showground this year, in fact I have only missed one meeting. I have also been to Ippo and Rye this season and am waiting for my first trip of the season to Mildenhall. I don't support any of those teams either. The last 3 are all within about an hour's range. Lakeside is a similar distance away but I can't be bothered fighting the M25 on a Friday. However in the absence of an explanation for the postponement, I'll be surprised if I am in a rush to go back to Peterborough until Monarchs come visiting again. I certainly won't be there next week even if they phone me up and ask me to go for free. It's such a shame because the racing is generally very good especially compared to the bore-fests that are Ippo and Rye. I may watch Eastenders instead. At least I know it will be shown when advertised. Edited May 7, 2014 by TheScotsman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans fan Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Didn't Peterborough have a meeting abandoned the other week because of light failure and isn't this virtually the same promotion that were responsible for the appalling shambles at the ELRC, where they allowed people to pay to come in in the full knowledge that the curator had said that the track wasn't rideable ? I make that 3 incidents in about 8 weeks. the meeting was abandoned the other week because of a electrical failure of circuits or wiring in the bar (which also affected the floodlights) on the 1st bend , not Horton & cos fault , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemini Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 (edited) So why all the secrecy this time? Why don't the promotion explain why the match was called off as 'health and safety' reasons could be absolutely anything. I feel really sorry for a friend of mine from Edinburgh who had a hotel room booked for the night so had a wasted journey with all the fuel costs it entailed. No wonder very few fans travel to away matches. Edited May 7, 2014 by Gemini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crump99 Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Horton's PR skills leave a lot to be desired,proving he just wants to turn up take the cash and Go Home. Considering every promoter at Peterborough bails out after losing a shedload I doubt that there's any cash to take home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racin Jason 72 Posted May 8, 2014 Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 Has Neil Watson gone on holiday ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Jones Posted May 8, 2014 Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 (edited) Has Neil Watson gone on holiday ? Doubt it . Probably in the BSPA bunker until the flak dies down. Edited May 8, 2014 by Dave Jones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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