Lakeside 2017

[wealdstone]

 

Congratulations you are now officially my least favourite "contributor" to this forum. Non stop misery, doom & gloom. Must be wonderful to stood next to you on race day. Are you likely to attend any Lakeside matches this season?

Not a chance

[Sings4Speedway]

Not a chance

Excellent. Means i can make a few trips up without risk of having my afternoon spoilt

[woofers]

Might just as well call it a day than go National League. The race to oblivion continues.

Have you attended any National League speedway?

I was intrigued when Eastbourne went NL, but have been pleasantly surprised and don't really miss the top league anywhere near as much as expected. I know many others feel the same. Some doubters came along last year for the first time since the Elite days and are now regulars again. The race times are only 2 / 3 seconds slower and the racing generally closer.

Give it a try.

Have an open mind.

If the choice is some speedway or NO speedway, I know where my vote goes.

Edited March 6, 2017 by woofers

[gazzac]

Anyone who doesn't give the nl a go is missing out. I thought the same when Eastie dropped down, took me a couple of meetings to adjust, but all of a sudden thought hey this Bradley Wilson Dean is pretty exiting, and can this rider called Georgie Wood really come from a try out day? Unpredictable racing, and unlike the so called Elite, the chance of someone coming from 4th to first. Give it a go, rather than condem it beforehand.

[blueherb777]

Might just as well call it a day than go National League. The race to oblivion continues.

 

You have never been to a NL meeting,have you ?

Victor Meldrew strikes !

Ben Morley named as Skipper of the Lakeside team for 2017....

 

Well deserved.

You must be very proud Waco.

[waco]

Thanks AJ is king. Yes i am proud of my grandson Ben Morley,,he used to come to speedway at Lakeside when he was 12yrs old and keep on at me ;;saying i want to do,this grandad,,,, So for his xmas present when he was 14yrs old i bought him a ride and slide day at Kings Lynn where he was tought by Kevin Doolan,,and carried on since then ,,I am of course still hopeing there is more improvement to come to take him to the next level..Having being unable to take up the sport myself as a youngster due to a serious road crash on a motorbike,,It is a great joy to me that my grandson has been able to take up the sport that i love. and reach the level he has,,Looking forward to the new season at Lakeside...

[Halifaxtiger]

Might just as well call it a day than go National League. The race to oblivion continues.

 

Say that to a Birmingham fan

[TonyE]

Doom-mongering appears to be a full time job for some!

[HAMMER180]

I will admit I was not sure about the NL but will

defo give it a go as everyone at the club is very possitve

I think this is just a stop gap for the club as I was not

at the track staff meeting but jon and kelvin were there

and were very upbeat about the future and this is me but reading

between the lines our own stadium few years down the line is

looking more like happening so we will run in both PL and NL

Re the moaners on here don't go then but don't try to put

others off and keep your negative comments to yourselves

you muppets (not what I would like to put).

[The Voice Of Reason]

but don't try to put

others off and keep your negative comments to yourselves

you muppets (not what I would like to put).

Everyone is allowed their point of view fella - whether you agree with it or not.

 

And what gives you the right to imagine otherwise?

 

Personally, I'm more than willing to 'give it a go' when Lakeside are 'local ish' at Stoke and Buxton.

 

But the fact remains that I still don't think Jon Cook has been truthful as to why Lakeside are now NL; nor why we didn't join the Championship instead of dropping to a semi-pro level.

 

I also think the admission cost at this level is an utter pee-take; particularly given the woeful dosh many NL riders are paid.

 

As for the 'new stadium'. Unless we get:

 

(i) a major new sponsor

(ii) a new promoter with more money than sense

(iii) a healthier-looking sport nationally within the UK worthy of the investment

 

.....then I truly believe it's complete and utter BS and will never happen.

Edited March 8, 2017 by The Voice Of Reason

[HAMMER180]

Everyone is allowed their point of view fella - whether you agree with it or not.

 

And what gives you the right to imagine otherwise?

 

Personally, I'm more than willing to 'give it a go' when Lakeside are 'local ish' at Stoke and Buxton.

 

But the fact remains that I still don't think Jon Cook has been truthful as to why Lakeside are now NL; nor why we didn't join the Championship instead of dropping to a semi-pro level.

 

I also think the admission cost at this level is an utter pee-take; particularly given the woeful dosh many NL riders are paid.

 

As for the 'new stadium'. Unless we get:

 

(i) a major new sponsor

(ii) a new promoter with more money than sense

(iii) a healthier-looking sport nationally within the UK worthy of the investment

 

.....then I truly believe it's complete and utter BS and will never happen.

yes of course your entitled to your views but do you

really need to spit such bile?

re the future you don't like jon that's up to you

but I feel with kelvin staying onboard then there

must be something in the pipeline and remember

Thurrock council should be involved so maybe not

such a big layout after all

[The Voice Of Reason]

With the 'austerity' BS still spouted by Government; coupled with local council funding still being continually slashed year on year; do you honestly think that local govt. will fund what is deemed a minority sport?

 

The way forward would be a local sports arena; within which a number of teams, various sport (including speedway) can serve the local community. But do you honestly believe that this will ever happen when even the most essential of social services are continually being slashed?

 

Councils clearly have one priority - housing. It brings them additional revenue and goes straight towards their bottom line.

 

Would a speedway track offer such lucrative returns? Think about it. Of course it wouldn't.

 

And the reason I no longer like Jon Cook is that, as I've previously alluded to, I simply think that he's a liar. I do not for one moment believe that our demise to this level has anything whatsoever to do with our inability to have declared a race night. Moreover, the smokescreen regarding Friday Night traffic was clearly a load of old tosh - given the majority of our meetings in 2017 being run on Friday's.

 

I just don't know why the guy cannot simply 'tell it as it is'.

[liam]

I wouldn't hold out much hope of Thurrock Council doing anything, can anyone name a single thing they have done for a local sports team? Iam sure they was going to help Grays Football team find a new ground about 10 years ago. Still nothing.

[Halifaxtiger]

With the 'austerity' BS still spouted by Government; coupled with local council funding still being continually slashed year on year; do you honestly think that local govt. will fund what is deemed a minority sport?

 

The way forward would be a local sports arena; within which a number of teams, various sport (including speedway) can serve the local community. But do you honestly believe that this will ever happen when even the most essential of social services are continually being slashed?

 

Councils clearly have one priority - housing. It brings them additional revenue and goes straight towards their bottom line.

 

Would a speedway track offer such lucrative returns? Think about it. Of course it wouldn't.

 

And the reason I no longer like Jon Cook is that, as I've previously alluded to, I simply think that he's a liar. I do not for one moment believe that our demise to this level has anything whatsoever to do with our inability to have declared a race night. Moreover, the smokescreen regarding Friday Night traffic was clearly a load of old tosh - given the majority of our meetings in 2017 being run on Friday's.

 

I just don't know why the guy cannot simply 'tell it as it is'.

 

Does the National Speedway Stadium not spring to mind ?

[E I Addio]

Does the National Speedway Stadium not spring to mind ?

Indeed. In fact it need not be as sophisticated as BV. The 90 metre training track was laid down virtually single handedly by Gerald on a BSPA grant if I remember correctly of £5000. Obviously a 300 metre track would be proportionately dearer and it wouldn't have the expensive state of the art drainage that Belle Vue has, but it would be sufficient fo league racing, and at least comparable to many of the other tracks that were laid down in the late 1940s /1950s. The present Rye House track for example was built by Len Silver without employing expensive contractors and that is a reasonable track even if it is not Belle Vue.

 

Then you would need stands on the home straight and terraced standing on the back straight which would not be cheap but basic facilities ( much better than the existing ones) could be set up to get the track in operation. Once the track is running further investment would come because the promotion would be making money on food outlets etc, which they don't at present.

 

It's still a big ask, and would take a lot of effort to get there, but if Belle Vue, Leicester, Kent etc can do it, then Lakeside's prospects shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. It is doable without running into millions.

[TonyE]

I would imagine finding the land would be the major issue. No one in their right mind would 'build' a stadium where houses were viable - so a plot with the correct zoning is essential (just how much, if any, of that is available), who knows? Location and neighbours (or more precisely, a lack of them) will also be a key feature. It is a hard ask in the London commuter belt.

Edited March 9, 2017 by TonyE

[marko]

What I would like to know is, what exactly is the end game here?

To have the current side redeveloped and to have a track as part of that?

To move away from the area into a multi sport complex?

To move away from the area into some waste land for use purely use as a speedway venue?

And lastly is all the above really just a pipe dream and it's merely about nursing the last few years out of the current site?

[E I Addio]

What I would like to know is, what exactly is the end game here?

To have the current side redeveloped and to have a track as part of that?

To move away from the area into a multi sport complex?

To move away from the area into some waste land for use purely use as a speedway venue?

And lastly is all the above really just a pipe dream and it's merely about nursing the last few years out of the current site?

It's obviously more than a pipe dream when you consider they have turned down a move to Kent, and Jon Cook turned down a BSPA offer to run Belle Vue on behalf of the BSPA. Bottom line is Cook needs to have an income and I doubt whether he would have turned down the Belle Vue offer if he thought Lakesides days were numbered.and he would be out of a job at the end of it.

[liam]

It's obviously more than a pipe dream when you consider they have turned down a move to Kent, and Jon Cook turned down a BSPA offer to run Belle Vue on behalf of the BSPA. Bottom line is Cook needs to have an income and I doubt whether he would have turned down the Belle Vue offer if he thought Lakesides days were numbered.and he would be out of a job at the end of it.

I doubt his income comes from Speedway.

[E I Addio]

I doubt his income comes from Speedway.

How do you know that ? According to what he said in a fans forum a few years ago it is.