Post by PLUSTAR on Jun 5, 2010 17:15:01 GMT 1
« on: November 1, 2009, 03:23:04 PM »
q1 When did you see your first speedway meeting?
NM Old Meadowbank 19 canteen.
q2 Your top seven Tigers?
NM Everybody who wore a Tigers race jacket was special. It would be unfair to nominate any top seven, they were all superstars.
q3 That accident at Hampden Park when Sven Kaasa lost his life, there was not a dry eye in Hampden. How did you feel when you had to announce it over the pa system?
NM That night was the lowest point in my speedway career; having to make a public announcement was devastating. Charlie Monk stood in the tunnel that evening out of view of the public and encouraged me to make the announcement.
q4 Was Charlie Monk something special and why?
NM Yes, he was something special. Over the years I was privileged and honoured to get to know the real Warren Edric Monk. Charlie held the Tigers together for many years. He would turn up for a race meeting with his equipment immaculate, he would do his job, i.e. race a speedway bike, and go home, never seeking publicity.
q5 The loyal squad: were they special in your speedway days?
NM Yes, the loyal squad were very special boys and girls. Their enthusiasm for the Stripes was second to none. I don't think any other speedway promoter has enjoyed the loyalty and comaraderie provided by these wonderful supporters.
q6 That night at Coventry, Robert Nagy won the nlrc - was he one of your finds?
NM Yes, Robbie was one of mine, I am on video being interviewed by Chris Malcolm at Shawfield the night the Hungarian touring team visited Scotland when I informed the public that I would sign 'numero quattro'. That rider was Robbie. I tried to sign Robbie next morning at his hotel in Hamilton but he had Polish commitments that year. I kept in touch with him during the winter when he was racing in South Africa with Gary Havelock. I heard through the grapevine that Brian Havelock was trying to sign Robbie. I flew to Heathrow and met Robbie in the transit lounge on his way back from SA to Hungary and persuaded him to sign a Glasgow contract there and then. One of my better moves!
q7 Best promotion Hoskins-Beaton?
NM Both promoters had their good points, Ian Hoskins being the showman and Jimmy Beaton investing lots of his personal money to keep Glasgow Speedway alive in the dark era. I personally learned a lot from Trevor Redmond who to me was the complete package as a promoter.
q8 Worst referee you came up against?
NM G.F. Little
q9 Who was the best speedway rider in the world you watched?
NM Ivan Mauger
q10 The cost of grand prix tickets - do you think its too expensive?
NM Yes, the tickets are very expensive but I have sympathy with the promoters as I also have sympathy with the riders. The cost of equipment nowadays is so expensive and like everything else there is no choice in life.
q 11 Do you think we will ever see a mauger-olsen-fundin-briggs-penhall-collins again?
NM No, I do not think that we will ever see the skill levels displayed by these riders. As I have said many times in the past, the guys nowadays are riding exocet missiles without the skills of the above riders.
q 12 Were your days at Paisley a failure? Was the track safe?
NM No, Paisley was a success, it gave us another team in Scotland increasing the media awareness. The track, while it had very long straights and tight bends, still complied with the SCB regulations, therefore it was safe.
q12 That referee Logan - How many riders did he ban or throw out of meetings at Love Street?
NM The night you refer to was when Newcastle came visiting and Crawford Logan excluded Mr. Owen for foul riding. It was pointed out by yours truly to Mr. Logan that he had the authority within the rules to exclude Mr. Owen for the rest of the meeting and to my surprise he took up my suggestion and excluded Mr. Owen for the rest of the meeting, much to Newcastle's managements' disbelief.
Q13 The rumour at Love Street: the measuring tape at Paisley had 1 metre taken off it.
NM Not true, the tape measure was accurate to the nth degree. When they demanded to measure the width of the first bend, I produced a bona fide, genuine surveyors 100-metre tape. Everybody who was interested in knowing the reading on the tape all went to the fence side of the track. Yours truly went to the grass side of the track, folded up 12-15 inches of the tape inside the palm of my hand and shouted across to the referee to read out the measurement, which turned out to be 12-15 inches wider than the minimum track width requirements. So now you know: no bits cut out of tape, no cheating, just a bit of creative management!!! It was never necessary to measure it in the first place because it had already been passed by the Speedway Control Board as minimum requirement!
q14 Did you enjoy taking that fence down at Hampden Park?
NM No, didn't enjoy doing it but, with the help of the Loyal Squad, we used to have fun doing it. We had two tractors and trailers and divided the Loyal Squad into two teams and had a race to see which team could complete their half of the track first. I have a feeling I kept promising them prizes but I don't think they ever got them but if anybody out there still feels I owe them a fairy cake, please let me know!
q15 Best team at team riding that rode for the Tigers?
NM I don't honestly recollect any great team riders within the Tigers camp over the years.
q16 Is it true wee Mitch Shirra rode for the Tigers at 15?
NM Not sure about that, to be honest I think Mitch was only 14.
q17 Which rider would you have loved to have signed for the Tigers?
NM I think that one of the best signings I ever made only rode two meetings for the Tigers, that rider of course was Egon Muller, who went on to become a world champion. I remember picking Egon up at Glasgow Airport, taking him to Cliftonhill, looking at the stadium from the top car park and it was pretty obvious by the look on his face that he would not be with us too long. Egon rode that night at Coatbridge, the next night at Swindon and was never seen again in Tigers colours.
q18 Would you love to get back into speedway?
NM No thank you very much. I've had my day, better to have been a 'has been' than a 'never was'.
q19 Best times at Tigers?
NM Back-to-back League and Cup victories in the 90s, Robbie's success at Coventry, and beating Edinburgh more times than they beat us.
q20 Did you ever manage Scotland?
NM No, they gave that honour to a journalist!!
Q21 I think that it is fair to say that you might have been one of the "old school" who wasn't averse to a stunt or twelve. Which stunt that you pulled off had the most effect and why?
NM I cannot believe for one minute that you're suggesting that I pulled strokes, or even bent the rules. I am mortally offended by that suggestion. The fact that the tractor kept breaking down on the track when we had mechanical problems in the pits is pure coincidence. Incidentally, that same tractor that I used to have the problems with appears to have turned up at Stoke Speedway as I believe my old mate Crabbie is pullling the same strokes. I was always passionate about my Tigers and would bend the rules to breaking point to try and gain an advantage for the team. I can honestly say that, having served on management committee for many years and knew the rules inside out, I was probably more aware as to how to gain an advantage than some of my fellow colleagues. In fairness, Ian Steel was a superb team manager who worked tirelessly along with Robin Goodall for the benefit of the Tigers management team.
Q.22 In the same vein: when did you try something which you wished that you hadn't?
NM Yes, I do regret having kicked the Powderhall centre green phone halfway up Princes Street, as that cost me a £50 fine from Mr. Ackroyd. Sssssshhhhhh, don't tell anybody but I bought him a pint in the bar after the meeting and he let me off!
Q.23 Did you ever find yourself winding up a crowd to the extent that they, or indeed the track staff, reacted in a way that made you a wee bit anxious that you might end up getting a doing?
NM My own memory of this sort of instance goes way back to the mid 70s at Boston. I was privileged to be a member of that Band of Brothers called The Loyal Squad (I think that you might even have come up with that name
yourself). We were on a Southern tour and were based at the Middleditch's. Part of the tour took in Boston. At one point, you got a bit irked by a decision made by the ref. As result, you gave the centre green 'phone a bit of a kicking and then decided to pay a visit to the ref's box to give him a piece of your mind. The only way to reach the box at Boston was by way of a rather shaky old ladder which was right in front of the main terracing. You were halfway up the ladder when one of the locals decided to try to dislodge you by giving the ladder a severe shaking. My claim to fame is that I pinned the guy up against the safety fence, all the time dissuading him from continuing with his course of action, thus saving you from certain
death. (Some folk have never forgiven me for this.) Your very accurate description of the night at Boston was one of the more terrifying experiences. Thanks for your help. Another night that sticks in my mind, apart from your very accurate description in the preceding paragraph, was the night at Oxford when David Walsh had broken down en route. We, as a team, complained bitterly about the state of the track after Heat 1, after Heat 2, and made them regrade it, we rode Heat 3, demanded another track inspection. By this time the Oxford crowd were beginning to doubt my parentage and were very vociferous in conveying that message in plain English. We continued complaining about the track as a delaying tactic. As soon as Walshy screamed into the pits car park, the track suddenly became raceable. The records will show that Walshy's contribution that evening was vital. There are lots of other occasions where I have felt slightly threatened but never 'chukkapanty time'.
Q.24 Do you have any tales which you want to tell us about the BSPA or the SCB (the more controversial the better). Come on, you know that you want to.
NM There are laws governing libellous allegations!
Q.25 If you were in charge of the sport at the moment, what changes would you make?
NM Better brains than me have tried over the years. Somehow we must make it cheaper for the riders to be competitive, which in turn would make it more cost-effective for the promoters, allowing them to reduce the fees payable by the general public, but I'm sure promoters have been saying that for the last fifty years.
Q.26 What are you doing for a living at the moment? I had heard that at one point you were giving golf lessons. True?
NM Yes, my second love behind speedway is golf. I'm now semi-retired, living in West Sussex and teaching golf at a private college.
Thanks for the questions and thanks to Neil for answering them so honestly!