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Swindon Robins 2020


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Gutted as thought with Doyley turning down Sweden it was all going to be ok. I’ve heard that there has also been a lot of damage done to the pits, changing rooms etc during the winter. It’s been really rubbish & looking forward to seeing speedway again was a huge tonic. For me it’s 48 years of watching the Robins & out as no way will the stadium be done even in a climate where trades would jump at the work:-(

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What a glum day.

On one hand it’s no surprise to learn of teams struggling to make plans for ‘21 with everything so uncertain still and deciding not to risk it. On the other it is somewhat of a surprise to me that Swindon have taken the decision themselves with the rest of the league still hoping to run this year.

The stadium situation has been nearly 15 years in the making now though. All the false hopes of each previous announcement only make you more certain that the new stadium will never appear. I’ve said for a while that I thought the best hope of keeping speedway at Blunsdon is for crowds to keep turning up in good numbers, keeping the club in the local eye and as a tangible asset to the town and its people, rather than it just withering away and the community seeing it as something that should be put out of its misery.

COVID has given Osbourne the perfect scenario to quietly shake the club off the site. Even if no building work on the site happens in the next 12 months, you can easily imagine the stadium being written off as unsuitable for use at scale after being sat empty for two years.

Gives Osbourne the chance to show he’s not the the ghoulish, deceitful, slimebag some of us might think of him as based on previous form though, if a new stadium were to somehow emerge. I won’t be putting much money on it myself though.

Even if against the odds, the robins do take to track in 2022, you wonder just what will be left of other clubs by then. Hard to feel much positivity about the sport at the moment.

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10 hours ago, Triple.H. said:

How old is Clarke Osborne ? i remember him from the time he was trying to close Oxford, so i assume he must be in his 70s

Yes and he nearly sold us down the river then! Seem to recall he once took to the track in a race car and had a race with Gordon Kennett around Cowley or am I imagining that?

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48 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

Yes and he nearly sold us down the river then! Seem to recall he once took to the track in a race car and had a race with Gordon Kennett around Cowley or am I imagining that?

I remember the car going around the track, must have been around 1973. It wasn't Osborne, I think it was a guy called Tombs?  Not sure they raced side by side, might have gone around separately.  The incident was not a great success but was entertaining. Those were the days!

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11 hours ago, poole keith said:

sadly neither one would have any clue whats going on

I don't believe that. As tenants, I think the speedway club are fully aware of what is going on and have been all along. If they are not aware, then Rossiter and Kilby are negligent in their roles.

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11 hours ago, orion said:

Such a shame. Obviously it wouldn't have been kept since 2017, not something described as a stadium - a fence on pallets maybe. I can only hope they do return in 2022.

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13 hours ago, thecoombdog said:

Exactly. A few pictures of this stadium in storage and everyone would shut up for a while! Suppose you can't photograph something that doesn't exist! 

I think it's in the same storage unit as the roof for the Odsal superdome :rofl:

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20 hours ago, Phil The Ace said:

Are the dogs still going to run when the so called stadium works are being carried out???If they are then I'd say that's the biggest indication that speedway won't be running for this year and TR knows this so let his fans know early 

The point was made that dog racing could survive 2021 without crowds but speedway couldn’t   

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There’s more to this than just the stadium and the real truth about what’s gone on at Swindon will seep out over time. After all the smoke and mirrors excuses by all concerned you can bet it’s mainly about money! 

Edited by Speedtiger
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3 hours ago, MattK said:

I don't believe that. As tenants, I think the speedway club are fully aware of what is going on and have been all along. If they are not aware, then Rossiter and Kilby are negligent in their roles.

clarke osborne has kept terry russell in the dark all along matt,i doubt even the senior managers at stadia uk know any details,i believe matt ford has at times found it impossible to even  make contact with osborne let alone get any information from him.There may be other reasons as well but i believe the total and continous frustration and despair with the stadium situation has contributed to terry russels decision.

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1 hour ago, poole keith said:

clarke osborne has kept terry russell in the dark all along matt,i doubt even the senior managers at stadia uk know any details,i believe matt ford has at times found it impossible to even  make contact with osborne let alone get any information from him.There may be other reasons as well but i believe the total and continous frustration and despair with the stadium situation has contributed to terry russels decision.

Interesting to read Clarke Osborne's profile on Linked-in: My background is in accounting. I have through my career been an Accounts Manager, Company secretary, Finance director, Property Director, Managing Director and CEO, all within a PLC enviroment.

I have created and built new organisations in diverse business fields and in recent years successfully Chair a number companies and organisations.

I have international experience in Ireland, France, Spain, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and Japan.

Specialties: Team building and management, Change Management, Complex Negotiations, Company Aquisition and Disposal, Management Buy Out, Government Liaison, Complex Property Development, Food and Beverage, Major Public Facility Management and Promotion, Gambling systems management, Greyhound Racing Promotion, Media Rights.

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1 hour ago, Ghosty said:

Interesting to read Clarke Osborne's profile on Linked-in: My background is in accounting. I have through my career been an Accounts Manager, Company secretary, Finance director, Property Director, Managing Director and CEO, all within a PLC enviroment.

I have created and built new organisations in diverse business fields and in recent years successfully Chair a number companies and organisations.

I have international experience in Ireland, France, Spain, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and Japan.

Specialties: Team building and management, Change Management, Complex Negotiations, Company Aquisition and Disposal, Management Buy Out, Government Liaison, Complex Property Development, Food and Beverage, Major Public Facility Management and Promotion, Gambling systems management, Greyhound Racing Promotion, Media Rights.

...and keeping people in the dark as regards my intentions fobbing them off with all sorts or excuses.

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3 minutes ago, Speedtiger said:

To be fair I don’t think TR would be fobbed off to easily, he a is smart promoter who knows the score. 

I'm sure you are correct but Osbourne has history whist at Oxford until the SOS Committee stepped in!

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