Longmuir responds to Vipers criticism
Mar 10 2010 by Steve Brown, The Journal
PROTEST by all means, criticise too, Jaimie Longmuir has told ‘fans’ of Newcastle Vipers – just do so constructively, and after you’ve bought a ticket!
Knockers of the Elite League franchise have been out in force following heavy weekend defeats to Hull Stingrays and Cardiff Devils.
They would prefer their team were not playing at Whitley Bay, and had spent more on its on-ice staff.
But a defiant Longmuir – general manager of a team who travel to Hull tonight – insists outlay actually outweighs income, that the maintenance of top-flight ice hockey in the region is a worthy achievement in itself and that talks geared towards a return to Newcastle Arena are close to fruition.
“Come along and criticise, stage a protest, do whatever, but make it constructive,” said Longmuir.
“At the end of last season there was the very real threat that the club could not compete in 2009/10 due to major issues with ice time at Newcastle Arena.
“The only way we could compete was to split our time between venues and whilst this hasn’t been a success, it was also necessary to ensure the club survived.
“Has it been perfect? Far from it, but we had no choice.
“The fans who have supported the club throughout the season have been tremendous and we are extremely grateful for the support, but it is disappointing that more fans could not get behind us for our time at Whitley Bay.
“There are some fans criticising the standard of the team but the reality is the club spends what it can afford based upon revenues and we have stretched this to the limit this season. Based on actual revenues we have probably overspent slightly.
“It’s easy to say ‘Sign this player or that player’ but the reality is that financial implications need to be accounted for and had the support at Whitley been stronger, we could have in turn invested further in the team, which could have made a huge difference to the on-ice product.
“You get what you pay for in life and unfortunately with the team’s budget we are probably where we should be in the league standings, although I hate that rule of thought.
“It has been an extremely difficult season for everyone connected with the club and the fact we have managed to keep Elite League ice hockey alive in the North East is an achievement in itself, no matter what the league table may say.
“All attention right now is focused upon securing a venue deal with the Arena for 2010/11 and we are hopeful we will have an update on this very soon.
“We hoped things would be resolved long before this, but unfortunately it hasn’t been possible due to various issues which are now close to resolution.”
