Speedway Bandits Face A Former Friend
Posted: 30th July 2010 by News Bandit
Speedway returns to Shielfield Park this Saturday with the A & J Scott-sponsored Bandits hoping to provide supporters with a big win over the visiting Rye House Rockets.
But Berwick's team face a stiffer-than-expected test from the Rockets, who will deploy speedway's rule-book to their advantage to bring in a guest rider as a reserve who is ultra-familiar with the Shielfield Park.
We were expecting Rye House to turn up with their usual seven-man squad confirmed a Bandits' spokesman last night. However, we are now informed that their German reserve Robbie Kessler “a rider with no great record of success in these parts“ won't be coming north.
Instead, they have recruited Josef "Pepe Franc" one of our own club assets, currently on loan to Sheffield, and an absolute ace around this track to ride for them as a reserve, with the possibility of having as many as seven races during the evening!
The anomalies in speedway's rules reveal themselves in the fact that the A & J Scott Bandits will also enter Saturday's match one rider short "Craig Branney remains on the injured list" but the home side will not be allowed a guest and instead must deploy the rider-replacement regulation, with only team-mates able to fill in for their missing mate.
Club owner John Anderson is hopeful his Bandits “under the aegis of newly-appointed team manager Ian Rae“ will still have the muscle to see off their high-flying visitors (Rye House are currently fourth in the Premier League table) despite Franc's introduction to their squad.
We sorted out Birmingham "currently second-top of the League" with just six riders here a fortnight ago, he emphasised. On Saturday, we'll be aiming to do it again, to the Rockets!
We are very much aware that, if Craig is to be sidelined for longer than we first expected we may need to pull in another rider" he stated. But the good guys don't grow on trees, especially at this point of the season.
If we do recruit a rider, we need to be certain he will hit the track rolling and contribute more points that we would achieve with rider-replacement.
He also needs to be available to us for every match between now and the end of term.
Yes, we are always interested in bringing quality speedway riders to Berwick and always will be "but we won't be making any change for changes sake, nor do we do knee-jerk reactions.
I should also emphasise that we conduct negotiations with prospective riders privately, and will only announce a signing when the paperwork is signed, sealed and delivered.
Directly following the match against Rye House, the Bandits Supporters' Club are staging a free Hog Roast "for BSC members only" at the stadium. Guest of honour will be six times World Champion Ivan Mauger, OBE, MBE, who will be attending the entire evening's entertainment.
NEWS FLASH!! NEWS FLASH!!
Ivan Mauger is in attendance at tonight's Premier League meeting against the Rye House Rocekts - but he's on the lookout for a piece of memorablila that a Berwick fan is most likely to have in their possession right now!!
In the middle 1970s, '75 or '76 Ivan rode at Shielfield Park in a series of match -races against one Jim McMIllan and we're looking for a copy of that programme tonight!!!
So much so that the FIRST ONE to arrive at the turnstiles tonight with a copy of that programme for Ivan will get in free of charge - so fancy a free night at the skids?? Got a spare copy of that programme?? Get it out of the dust box at the end of the bed and bring it to the turnstiles tonight and so long as you're ther first to bring one - You'll not pay a penny for your Saturday night's speedway admission.
To emphasise however if you're the second or third or thirty-third etc. it won't count... first come -first served.
ALSO tonight we've been asked to point out that there is due to be "A VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT" made which is "GOOD NEWS" - That's all we know - wanna know more? Get to the match tonight!!!
But Berwick's team face a stiffer-than-expected test from the Rockets, who will deploy speedway's rule-book to their advantage to bring in a guest rider as a reserve who is ultra-familiar with the Shielfield Park.
We were expecting Rye House to turn up with their usual seven-man squad confirmed a Bandits' spokesman last night. However, we are now informed that their German reserve Robbie Kessler “a rider with no great record of success in these parts“ won't be coming north.
Instead, they have recruited Josef "Pepe Franc" one of our own club assets, currently on loan to Sheffield, and an absolute ace around this track to ride for them as a reserve, with the possibility of having as many as seven races during the evening!
The anomalies in speedway's rules reveal themselves in the fact that the A & J Scott Bandits will also enter Saturday's match one rider short "Craig Branney remains on the injured list" but the home side will not be allowed a guest and instead must deploy the rider-replacement regulation, with only team-mates able to fill in for their missing mate.
Club owner John Anderson is hopeful his Bandits “under the aegis of newly-appointed team manager Ian Rae“ will still have the muscle to see off their high-flying visitors (Rye House are currently fourth in the Premier League table) despite Franc's introduction to their squad.
We sorted out Birmingham "currently second-top of the League" with just six riders here a fortnight ago, he emphasised. On Saturday, we'll be aiming to do it again, to the Rockets!
We are very much aware that, if Craig is to be sidelined for longer than we first expected we may need to pull in another rider" he stated. But the good guys don't grow on trees, especially at this point of the season.
If we do recruit a rider, we need to be certain he will hit the track rolling and contribute more points that we would achieve with rider-replacement.
He also needs to be available to us for every match between now and the end of term.
Yes, we are always interested in bringing quality speedway riders to Berwick and always will be "but we won't be making any change for changes sake, nor do we do knee-jerk reactions.
I should also emphasise that we conduct negotiations with prospective riders privately, and will only announce a signing when the paperwork is signed, sealed and delivered.
Directly following the match against Rye House, the Bandits Supporters' Club are staging a free Hog Roast "for BSC members only" at the stadium. Guest of honour will be six times World Champion Ivan Mauger, OBE, MBE, who will be attending the entire evening's entertainment.
NEWS FLASH!! NEWS FLASH!!
Ivan Mauger is in attendance at tonight's Premier League meeting against the Rye House Rocekts - but he's on the lookout for a piece of memorablila that a Berwick fan is most likely to have in their possession right now!!
In the middle 1970s, '75 or '76 Ivan rode at Shielfield Park in a series of match -races against one Jim McMIllan and we're looking for a copy of that programme tonight!!!
So much so that the FIRST ONE to arrive at the turnstiles tonight with a copy of that programme for Ivan will get in free of charge - so fancy a free night at the skids?? Got a spare copy of that programme?? Get it out of the dust box at the end of the bed and bring it to the turnstiles tonight and so long as you're ther first to bring one - You'll not pay a penny for your Saturday night's speedway admission.
To emphasise however if you're the second or third or thirty-third etc. it won't count... first come -first served.
ALSO tonight we've been asked to point out that there is due to be "A VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT" made which is "GOOD NEWS" - That's all we know - wanna know more? Get to the match tonight!!!
