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Newcastle Diamonds 2021


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1 hour ago, geoff100 said:

Its all down to "costs" riders have to play their part, do they need 4 crash helmets, do they need to pay someone to fuel a bike and change a back wheel , a hair dryer to cool a clutch? All the things riders didnt have in the glory days it has to go back to being a decent paying hobby not a full time job.have said many times the only people making money are the stadium owners and engine tuners!

I'm with you on helmets but in fairness lots of riders are not paying for mechanics the work is done on lots of occasions by friends, family or junior riders looking for experience. The pits become an intense place during a meeting and riders are busy passing on info to others changing helmet covers and cleaning goggles between heats especially in today's climate were fans like meetings pushed on time is limited. Clutch coolers are needed as the potential to burn it out if running to hot is very high. Surely £100 for a cooler that lasts years is better than burning up a full set of clutch plates and alloys which cost over £200 

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10 hours ago, Tosh1218 said:

One last point in there first season running a junior side was a massive mistake and won’t have brought no income in what so ever . Let’s hope someone comes in and saves the Diamonds

With the benefit of hindsight, and I don't know the timing of events etc. but surely the massive mistake, if there was one, was running a Championship side. Because as soon as the taxman came calling NDL may have been the only way to go.

2 hours ago, geoff100 said:

Its all down to "costs" riders have to play their part, do they need 4 crash helmets, do they need to pay someone to fuel a bike and change a back wheel , a hair dryer to cool a clutch? All the things riders didnt have in the glory days it has to go back to being a decent paying hobby not a full time job.have said many times the only people making money are the stadium owners and engine tuners!

They're going to need a basic minimum standard of kit, but I assume most send their kit off to engine tuners for servicing etc. This money goes straight out of the sport for zero benefit. Riders at Championship level especially and probably Premiership level do not need super tuned engines. If they want tuned engines for their own individual endeavours or clubs in other countries that's something they should be paying for not British clubs and punters. I've said it elsewhere, I've never gone to a Speedway match to watch a rider ride a new highly tuned engine.

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13 hours ago, Dandelion said:

Sounds like we've been well and truly f#cked over by Godfrey and his croneys AGAIN... He won't be happy until it's Scorpions vs Stags every week... Maybe he thinks the whole country will ascend on Scunthorpe to watch the only speedway still in operation.

How about we all boycott his club!! See how he likes being f#cked about

how?

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13 hours ago, Dandelion said:

Sounds like we've been well and truly f#cked over by Godfrey and his croneys AGAIN... He won't be happy until it's Scorpions vs Stags every week... Maybe he thinks the whole country will ascend on Scunthorpe to watch the only speedway still in operation.

How about we all boycott his club!! See how he likes being f#cked about

Rather silly comment to make unless you have any information to back it up? There's probably only so much that the people in charge can do if a club suffers serious financial losses. They certainly won't have masses of cash to throw at the problem.

The sport in this country does need a total overhaul though to give it any chance of surviving the next decade and beyond.

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19 hours ago, TotallyHonestJohn said:

Well the parties over and we're calling it a day after 92 years...

RIP Newcastle Diamonds... big thanks to the hard core of fans who have followed the Diamonds through thick and thin... 

Regards 

THJ

It's sad news for sure when a promoter decides to walk away, I've suffered it twice with my team. But I've highlighted your opening sentence THJ because is it really gonna be the final nail after 92 years?...(I hope not.. ).

The facts are those 92 years were not actually 100% active for Newcastle Speedway...there has been at least 4 periods of non speedway action at Brough Park.. when other promoters packed in..With therefore something like 20 seasons of no speedway racing for Newcastle's fans during your long history...92 years yes - but 72 years of racing realistically.

Ok speedway is perhaps in a worse position nationally regarding fan bases today than when Diamonds were halted in the past....but the phoenix culture is nothing new at Brough and so  why not be something on the future horizons again ?.... Hopefully, yet again, you geordie fans can rally round and keep the party going for many more years...practice makes perfect.

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10 minutes ago, singy13 said:

It's sad news for sure when a promoter decides to walk away, I've suffered it twice with my team. But I've highlighted your opening sentence THJ because is it really gonna be the final nail after 92 years?...(I hope not.. ).

The facts are those 92 years were not actually 100% active for Newcastle Speedway...there has been at least 4 periods of non speedway action at Brough Park.. when other promoters packed in..With therefore something like 20 seasons of no speedway racing for Newcastle's fans during your long history...92 years yes - but 72 years of racing realistically.

Ok speedway is perhaps in a worse position nationally regarding fan bases today than when Diamonds were halted in the past....but the phoenix culture is nothing new at Brough and so  why not be something on the future horizons again ?.... Hopefully, yet again, you geordie fans can rally round and keep the party going for many more years...practice makes perfect.

If it does close again, this time it could well be for good, as Planning Permission is highly unlikely to be be granted, which is why we are all hoping for someone to come along and save the club.

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4 minutes ago, StevePark said:

If it does close again, this time it could well be for good, as Planning Permission is highly unlikely to be be granted, which is why we are all hoping for someone to come along and save the club.

So it requires a very quick fix then......hopefully THJ picks the correct lottery numbers asap.

I see you were originally from Barra Marra.....did you attend Barrow speedway at Holker St in the early 70's....happy days v Comets.

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16 hours ago, topsoil said:

Would you like to expand on this? Curious.

 

18 hours ago, Dandelion said:

Sounds like we've been well and truly f#cked over by Godfrey and his croneys AGAIN... He won't be happy until it's Scorpions vs Stags every week... Maybe he thinks the whole country will ascend on Scunthorpe to watch the only speedway still in operation.

How about we all boycott his club!! See how he likes being f#cked about

Would love an answer on this from Dandelion , a few facts 1- Rob Grant got caught out on a few things the previous promotion had listed and Rob went with his heart on his sleeve and has come unstuck . 
2- Running a junior side was a suicide decision from day one

3-How has the Speedway Promotors shafted Newcastle Diamonds  and it’s promoters 

4- The underlying issue here is there hasn’t been. the footfall through the gate to see the Diamonds survive these tough times 

5- Has anyone asked for a lower rent from the owners 

6- Can the local council help ??

All the above are not Rob Godfrey and his cronies fault as you call them  , still awaiting a reply from my previous comment.   Dandelion ??

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Very sad to hear of what could be the end of Newcastle Speedway but..

 

Last Friday i visited a fabulous speedway club just south of Newcastle where the club seemed to be very vibrant,a really good crowd,brilliant racing,good presentation and a very strong team.The stadium looked really good and importantly supporters seem to be spending cash inside the stadium!

The club seem to be brimming with sponsors and no talk at all of any closing or looking for investors,things looked really good at Redcar,and despite the result all of us headed back to Scunny thinking what a great night we had at Redcar[Hats off to the promotion and supporters ]

how is it that Redcar`s nearest and dearest are in the position they are when the mighty Bears seem to be going great on and off the track?

 

interesting that being so close to each other yet total different situations

 

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This was written when the begging bowl that is ‘ Go Fund Me ‘ was first put out , and before the third ‘ line manager ‘ was released, it makes interesting reading, even though it was written tongue-in-cheek by the author.

 

Does this sound like a good businessman?
Buy a business , based in someone else’s rented property , that has struggled for years and probably has not made a profit for quite some time. Don’t do a thorough check of the ‘books’ and sack your main staff members who have good knowledge of how the business has been kept afloat all this time including the main man who is highly respected within his very specialised field.
Then, decide to double your potential outgoings by doubling your main staff wage bill whilst only expecting the same financial income as the previous few years even though the country is an a financial crisis and add it to that the fact that you have watered down your main product to such an extent that your ‘ customers’ are telling you they won’t be visiting your establishment as you no longer provide value for money. To add further to that issue, INCREASE the price of your ‘ product ‘ to the point where most of your repeat customers cannot afford to purchase it on a regular basis.
Then, bring in inexperienced staff to run the production line, sack two ‘ line managers ‘ in a row before they even entered the premises and then put out an appeal for cash from the very people who you wish to spend their hard earned pensions within your business as you also threaten to close the doors due to lack of support.


I ask you ‘ Dragons ‘ , do you want to invest ???

Whilst its sad to lose any track , and not all of this catastrophe can be fully blamed on Mr. Grant, why would any businessman in their right mind put money into speedway in the current climate ?

 

Edited by Fortythirtyeight
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19 hours ago, TotallyHonestJohn said:

Honestly Ian can't disagree but the BSPL are the problem... I am brewing for a blow out with a few home truths I'm just checking with my brief and other colleagues as to what I can and can't say because it's disgusting what's went on really... but more on this possibly later...

It gives me another meeting to work on Rob and see what we can do because he is the only hope for the spot... unless I win the Euro lottery that is...

Regards 

THJ 

The fact you are checking with legal advise would suggest there are things that are better left un-said.

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46 minutes ago, montie said:

Very sad to hear of what could be the end of Newcastle Speedway but..

 

Last Friday i visited a fabulous speedway club just south of Newcastle where the club seemed to be very vibrant,a really good crowd,brilliant racing,good presentation and a very strong team.The stadium looked really good and importantly supporters seem to be spending cash inside the stadium!

The club seem to be brimming with sponsors and no talk at all of any closing or looking for investors,things looked really good at Redcar,and despite the result all of us headed back to Scunny thinking what a great night we had at Redcar[Hats off to the promotion and supporters ]

how is it that Redcar`s nearest and dearest are in the position they are when the mighty Bears seem to be going great on and off the track?

 

interesting that being so close to each other yet total different situations

 

It doesn't seem that long that Brian Havelock was pressing some alarm bells at that place though......

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9 minutes ago, singy13 said:

It doesn't seem that long that Brian Havelock was pressing some alarm bells at that place though......

Indeed ....

And those fans from other teams that appear to be gloating need to realise that their team cannot eventually end up riding against themselves.. 

Bottom line is any club going to the wall wont mean too much emotionally to too many people locally near any track..

In most 2nd Divs case maybe 1000 or so max (?) who regularly go...

In Div 1, maybe 1500? Or 2000 max...?

In real terms hardly anyone...

Those doing "well" should thank their lucky stars, as the operating model and business plan they all share is clearly inherently unfit for purpose, and their time, if it doesn't radically change, will invariably come...

 

 

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My understanding was the City Council would not allow Speedway to re-open if Newcastle closed for more than one year, this is due to new housing regulations and people

must realise that in 1929 when the Stadium was originally built, it was in open ground and there was not a house in site for anybody to object to the noise.

Edited by scampispeedway
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50 minutes ago, singy13 said:

It doesn't seem that long that Brian Havelock was pressing some alarm bells at that place though......

agreed but that was then and this is now,i was more interested to the difference between the two clubs and the reason of one seemingly running well and one not so well

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