Two weeks ago, James Grieves verbally aggreed to stay at Armadale for another year before going off to Mexico on holiday. When he arrived back it emerged that in the words of Alex Harkess "trying to nobble James".
The imputus for the move came when Stewart Dickson, proporeitor of Dickson's Buses of Paisley invested heavily in Glasgow Tigers. He is expected to be named as a Director of Glasgow Speedway shortly. Dickson not only employs Grieves as a mechanic but also is one of his main sponsors.
The sponsorship and wages package put forward to James is reputedly worth 40% more than his current deal with Monarchs. James admitted that he is finding the whole thing difficult in the Edinburgh Pink on Saturday:
"I was out with Stewart last night and the deal he is offering me is to be honest, one I cannot refuse. He is placing me under tremendous pressure to sign for Glasgow. And you have to understand that my boss is a Tigers fan through and through."
"I'm in a horrible position and I'm going to let someone down. I agreed to re-sign for Edinburgh two weeks ago. At the time I had not been approached by Glasgow."
By Monday, James was clearly wishing the whole thing had never happened. He delayed making a decision admitting:
"I don't know which way to turn. I've never been under such pressure in my life before. Instead of verbally agreeing to stay with Edinburgh, I wish I had signed a contract. If I had I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now."
Clearly the position that James is in deserves some sympathy. The tactics employed repubedly on behalf of Glasgow are worthy of nothing but comtempt.
It is doubtful if Glasgow have gone through the proper channels on this point. James Grieves is contracted to Wolverhampton but was on loan to Monarchs for 1999. the Wolverhampton peonmotion have agreed to extend this loan for a further season. Any approach to James should have been approved by Wolverhampton.
Alex Harkess is furious about the situation:
"James is owned by Wolverhampton and I don't know whether Glasgow recieved permission to talk to him. It now comes down to James's credibility and character and wherther he is a man of his word. I'll be disappointed if he does change his mind."
With the posiblity of action being taken by the BSPA over illegal 'tapping', the Glasgow promoter Brian Sands is denying any knowledge of the move:
"I know of no financial deal which has been made to James. Other people make offers on behalf of Glasgow Speedway. I'm already talking to Robert Eriksson and David Walsh about riding for us. Why would I want James Grieves? However you can expect a major announcement from us next week."
If this 'major announcement' is the signature of James Grieves, some questions about the ethics and organization of the Glasgow promotion.
Glasgow seem to be a mission to disrupt Edinburgh no matter what the cost. Last year they tried to do a deal behind Edinburgh's back with Belle Vue to snatch Peter Carr after he had agreed to stay at Armadale. This was blocked when Monarchs signed Carr on a full transfer. Glasgow also made a big money move for Ross Brady but were turned down flat. Harkess added:
"I take my hat off to Ross for that. He told them that he didn't want their money and had no wish to ride for them. It seems that Glasgow's only outlook on life is to try and put one over on Edinburgh. It's sad."
Edinburgh supporters have expressed concern as to why the contract was not signed. Alex Harkess explained:
"At the time James was literally stepping on to a plane to Mexico on holiday. It was James who pushed us for an early agreement on new terms before he left. My gut feeling is that he'll go to Glasgow."
Monarchs have launched a last ditch attempt to keep James by offering to try to raised sponsorship cash to match Glasgow's offer. John Campbell has asked for a month to try and put together a package:
"The 40 per cent pay rise Glasgow are proposing means we are talking tousands, not hundreds, of pounds. We cannot match Glasgow's offer on the basis of how many people come through the turnstiles. We require a major sponsor to help us out."
Monarchs do have other options for the position of second heat leader. Robert Eriksson is one obvious choice on a similar average to Grieves and is a Monarchs' asset.
The decision is now with James.