Having secured the transfer of Ross Brady and agreed terms with six out of seven team members, the Edinburgh promotion are now focused on finding a new team sponsor to help finance it all.
Edinburgh have had problems with sponsorship ove the years. Previous sponsors Gulf Oil pulled the plug on Monarchs at the end of the 1994 season although they did return to sponsor the final match at Powderhall in 1995. After three years without a team sponsor, Ziebart took over in 1998 but the assumed expansion of their UK operations from a single retail outlet in Edinburgh never happened and the deal was not renewed in 1999. Century Mortgages came in during the 1999 season but went into liquidation in the autumn owing Monarchs some cash.
In the week that rivals Glasgow Tigers unveiled their biggest ever sponsorship deal with locally based Allied Vehicles group, Alex Harkess revealed that he was close to clinching a major deal only to have the rug pulled away "three quarters of the way down the road".
The transfer fee for Ross Brady is reputedly the second largest for a Scottish track. The largest fee that Monarchs have paid out is the £20,000 for Les Collins's signature. More recently, Monarchs did pay £11,000 for Kenny McKinna. If the reports in Speedway Star are true, then Monarchs will have to come up with something in excess of £11,000 to Peterborough by March.
Alex Harkess commented in the Edinburgh Evening News:
"The money for Ross will come from Edinburgh Speedway. It's up to the directors to come up with the goods, which is why it would be nice to find a new sponsor Although Ross's contract has been signed and sealed, it's not a case of us having to run out and sign a cheque tomorrow. No money ever changes hands during the winter."
"We would hope too sell some of our assets although we cannot depend on that. We also have our Grand Draw money which has raised thousands of pounds for the club over the last few years."
Monarchs have limited scope for incoming transfer fees apart from the sum due from Workington for the Barry Campbell deal. Of Monarchs' current assets, six are already named in the team for next season and a seventh, David McAllan, is in contention for a place. That leaves Jan Andersen, Paul Gould, Vesa Ylinen, Stefano Alfonso, Robban Johansson and Mike Faria.
Jan Andersen is currently looking for a team after apparently being left out by Peterborough. He is keen to move to the Premier League although his current Elite League average precludes him from doing so at the moment. Even if he was allowed to ride, his converted average of over 11 points would make it virtually impossible for any Premier League side to fit him in. His chances of riding in Britain this season depends on finding an Elite League track and his options are very limited. Jan added: "I'm based permanently in the UK now and I am desperate to ride in this country this year."
Paul Gould has told Newcastle, who had first refusal on him, that he will not be riding in 2000. Vesa Ylinen appears unlikely to return to the UK this year while Mike Faria is unlikely ever to return. That leaves Johansson who Monarchs tried to bring back last year and Alfonso who has been linked with a place at Glasgow.
Monarchs are in no hurry to fill the vacant number 7 place in the team. It is felt that David McAllan, Brian Turner and Jon Swales are favourites for the position. Both McAllan and Turner have respectively knee and wrist injury problems still to clear up following accidents riding for Monarchs last year. Perhaps the delay is to see if one or both is cleared to ride at the start of the season.