Peterborough Panthers 2023

[JoeW436]

Nothing said about the future, only thing mentioned was the farewell meeting now having a date.

Crowd was smaller than I thought it would be as well. 

[Bald Bloke]

10 minutes ago, JoeW436 said:

Nothing said about the future, only thing mentioned was the farewell meeting now having a date.

Crowd was smaller than I thought it would be as well. 

Thanks. I thought it would be a big crowd, with plenty of noise,  a chance to meet the riders, and  statement from Buster. I know there is supposed the be a farewell, but surprised at the no reaction tonight 

Edited September 14, 2023 by Bald Bloke

[JoeW436]

16 minutes ago, Bald Bloke said:

Thanks. I thought it would be a big crowd, with plenty of noise,  a chance to meet the riders, and  statement from Buster. I know there is supposed the be a farewell, but surprised at the no reaction tonight 

I think we’re all probably just a bit fed up tonight, the meeting passed me by I must admit.

[Najjer]

13 hours ago, Panther1997 said:

http://www.peterborough-speedway.com/news.php?extend.4258

 

PETERBOROUGH Speedway tonight (Thursday) stages its final league fixture at the East of England Arena with the visit of King’s Lynn.

We fully understand this will be an emotional occasion for our supporters, following confirmation that speedway will not continue at the venue in 2024.

First and foremost we want to thank everyone for their tremendous support this season in general, and more particularly in recent weeks where our crowd numbers have been superb, matching the team performance and quality of racing, and the result has been a wonderful atmosphere at our home meetings.

We also do not under-estimate the financial strain caused by the busy recent period of Monday-Thursday meetings, and we can only thank you for your continued patronage during such a tough time.

However, it is necessary for us to address several items of wholly inaccurate speculation and insinuations which have appeared online from a very small minority over recent days.

We have worked with our landlords AEPG over the last 12 months and more to ensure that the 2023 season did take place at the East of England Arena, and they have been particularly helpful and accommodating during this busy period.

Any suggestions that there is a situation beyond that whereby the ownership and promotion of Peterborough Speedway could in some way benefit from the closure of the site are completely and utterly false.

We have always been aware, as tenants, that this season would very likely be the last at the venue, and that the long-term future of the club needs to be elsewhere. This situation has not changed, and it will remain the case whoever is at the forefront of the club.

The current ownership will give every possible assistance to all efforts to retain the sport in Peterborough – but it should be clear that simply selling the club will not solve the fundamental issue of the need for a place to race.

The club has continued to invest heavily this year and did not throw in the towel even when results over the first half of the season were not up to scratch and a play-off challenge was therefore out of the question.

This was with a team which was largely not constructed by the current ownership, as it had been anticipated that a club sale would take place last winter. The exception was the final signing of Nicki Pedersen, which did not work out for reasons which have already been documented.

However, rather than drift to the end of the season, we introduced new riders – with costs associated – which did dramatically improve performances and results, and we hope provided everyone with a good deal of enjoyment over the closing weeks.

We are members of the Sports Insure Premiership and, despite inaccurate speculation elsewhere, it was always our intention to run our final fixture against King’s Lynn, which takes place tonight. This is correct for the integrity of the league, the contracted riders of both clubs, our season ticket holders, and the wider public who wish to attend.

However, the rapid arrangement of the fixture, which was only finalised on Monday afternoon, led to our decision to run a Farewell Meeting at a later date, which we felt was right to give everyone the opportunity to make plans for one final visit, rather than finish with a meeting which had been announced at 72 hours’ notice.

We categorically reject any suggestions that this meeting is solely being arranged as a ‘cash cow’ and would respectfully suggest that anyone of that opinion has the option to be wherever they wish on the day the meeting takes place – whether at the Showground or elsewhere.

The nature of the comments we have read caused us to seriously consider pulling the idea of a Farewell Meeting and simply ending the season after tonight’s meeting – which in fact would be easier logistically, given the timescale and volume of work required prior to vacating the site.

However, we have decided that out of respect to the vast majority of our loyal supporters who deserve the opportunity to give our home a fitting send-off, we will go ahead with the Farewell Meeting and hopefully by tonight we will be in a position to confirm a date.

Everyone has worked hard to keep the club operational through an immensely difficult period, and everyone feels huge sadness that our time at this venue is coming to an end.

What we cannot accept are remarks which verge on the slanderous, made by people who are not in possession of the full facts much as they would wish to believe they are.

We hope to see 15 heats of thrilling speedway tonight, and we hope everyone enjoys the meeting.
 

 

What the F is Buster on. Bloody embarrassing. Why is he always having a sulk after an event instead of being honest at the time?

I really feel for Peterborough having lost my own team before but Buster is basically a liability to any speedway team

[startline sid]

56 minutes ago, Bald Bloke said:

Thanks. I thought it would be a big crowd, with plenty of noise,  a chance to meet the riders, and  statement from Buster. I know there is supposed the be a farewell, but surprised at the no reaction tonight 

big problem was the accident on the A1 caused a massive tailbck must have prevented some people  getting there

[Pinny]

40 minutes ago, Najjer said:

What the F is Buster on. Bloody embarrassing. Why is he always having a sulk after an event instead of being honest at the time?

I really feel for Peterborough having lost my own team before but Buster is basically a liability to any speedway team

Exactly.

The whole lot of them at Peterborough are. The whole Buster/Tomalin/Rathbone/Johnson rubbish all season long has been nothing short of shambolic. 

[Noodles]

7 hours ago, JoeW436 said:

Nothing said about the future, only thing mentioned was the farewell meeting now having a date.

Crowd was smaller than I thought it would be as well. 

I thought it was decent considering only announced Monday night.  

[scoobydoo]

Hope everyone who is attending the farewell meeting had a few words with Jordan Jenkins as hes riding in the NDL riders final on Sept 24th 

[arnieg]

17 minutes ago, scoobydoo said:

Hope everyone who is attending the farewell meeting had a few words with Jordan Jenkins as hes riding in the NDL riders final on Sept 24th 

Looks like 7 Oct now, but could still be a problem for Jordan as it is a potential date for a Cubs v Chargers final.

[Hackney]

48 minutes ago, arnieg said:

Looks like 7 Oct now, but could still be a problem for Jordan as it is a potential date for a Cubs v Chargers final.

Ben Basso said last night he will not be available.

[Hackney]

Can I ask where the money raised at the farewell meeting will be going ?

[StarBoy]

5 minutes ago, Hackney said:

Can I ask where the money raised at the farewell meeting will be going ?

Into the kitty for the Stars 1-7 next season

[Hackney]

2 minutes ago, StarBoy said:

Into the kitty for the Stars 1-7 next season

That's ok then I thought that would be the case 

[Shhalewhhale]

18 minutes ago, Hackney said:

Can I ask where the money raised at the farewell meeting will be going ?

There will be costs involved in leaving the Showground such as removal of plant, equipment, vehicles, flood lights and buildings so I imagine it'll help pay for some of that.

[arnieg]

18 minutes ago, Hackney said:

Can I ask where the money raised at the farewell meeting will be going ?

I presume to the promoter.

 

I really don't understand why some people seem to have a problem with that. Do they want promoters to only stage meetings that loose money? No wonder nobody wants to be a promoter. I'm pretty sure that Buster has faced huge amounts of additional costs this year at his two tracks, and if this helps defray those losses I'm content with that.

PS And I'm usually to be found throwing rotten tomatoes rather than praise in his direction.

 

PPS Nobody is forcing you to go.

[Pitch]

18 hours ago, TTT said:

This is Michael's facebook post, Spread the word if you can. 

This is the best Ray of hope that I have seen from anyone since about April 2023. I have also shared elsewhere. 

Edited September 15, 2023 by Pitch
added a bit more.

[Byker Biker]

12 hours ago, JoeW436 said:

Nothing said about the future, only thing mentioned was the farewell meeting now having a date.

Crowd was smaller than I thought it would be as well. 

We're you actually there? The crowd was very good with a delayed start to get everyone in.

[Dodger Blue]

2 minutes ago, Byker Biker said:

We're you actually there? The crowd was very good with a delayed start to get everyone in.

The crowd was roughly the same for the last few meetings, all of which had delayed starts and for a change this year, for those meetings the whole grandstand was opened to enable people to get a seat.

[JoeW436]

6 minutes ago, Byker Biker said:

We're you actually there? The crowd was very good with a delayed start to get everyone in.

Yes I was, I was talking in terms of it being the last ever official meeting. It was a good crowd, I just thought there would be more there.

[TINYS]

8 minutes ago, JoeW436 said:

Yes I was, I was talking in terms of it being the last ever official meeting. It was a good crowd, I just thought there would be more there.

Me too.