Halifaxtiger

I am coming for this one, and a couple later in the season

I think that's right but this is speedway after all and no doubt there will be the usual squabble whatever is decided when the rules of the sport should make his eligibility clear lomng before he even arrives. Personally, I think it will be a huge shame if he can't ride.

I'm no expert either but I agree and that's what the law states (at least as far as I can research, anyway).It seems a pretty simple one to me - british passport he rides, no british passport he doesn't. Nail on head, Philip I think that's the thing, Postie. There has to be a balance between the needs of the clubs to stay solvent and the principle aim of the league ie development. There's no doubt that the young Aussies who have ridden in the NL over the past few years have helped with attendances (I have little doubt that Heeps will do the same)and in my view (and very eloquently put by Mr Kirk)that doesn't have a huge impact on British youngsters getting places.

I'd be interested to know how he is eligible first I disagree, though. I think there is a place for foreign riders (not just Australians) in the NL but that it should be limited to a maximum of one per team. For that reason, I think Heeps should be allowed to ride no matter what. What you have to remember is that some NL clubs rely completely on the gates they pull in and are not there to create assets for the senior side. Its therefore a question of what clubs gain and what development loses and personally I think that it is worth the potential loss of 10 places for the entertainment these foreigners provide.

I got somewhat confused here because Jayne Moss (for one) says he can't ride in the NL. This is what the law says: UK ancestry visas are for Commonwealth citizens with a grandparent who was born in the United Kingdom (UK), the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man. This visa is also referred to as a British ancestry visa, or a UK patriality visa. If your grandparent was born in Ireland before 31 March 1922, the year of partition, you may also be eligible. Eligibility requirements for the UK ancestry visa Your grandparent can be from either side of your family. You may also be eligible for a UK ancestry visa if you are adopted, or if the parent through whom you are claiming ancestry was adopted. The main criterion is that you are willing and able to work. It is advantageous, but not necessary, to have a firm offer of employment in the UK. To qualify for a UK ancestry visa, you must also satisfy the following criteria: • You are a Commonwealth citizen, • you have a grandparent who was born in the UK, • you are 17 years of age or older, and• you are able to work and intent to seek employment or self-employment in the UK. This is what speedway regulations say: Addendum to The 2011 Speedway Regulations Issue date: 30th March 2011 17.9 A NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE Team’s initial Declaration will consist of a squad of 8 Riders, of whom the highest 7 Riders by CMA must not exceed 40.00 points with the 8th Rider’s CMA not exceeding that of the lowest Rider in the top 7. 17.9.1 It must also not exceed 40.00 points when re-declared (permanent or temporary) except where the CMA of the introduced Rider is equal to, or lower than the Rider being replaced. 17.9.2 Team Declarations may include: 17.9.2.1 Any Rider with a PL CMA of 6.00 or below at the start of the Season, provided they are not in a declared PL 1 – 7. 17.9.2.2 Any current PL Rider under 25 years-old with a CMA of 5.00 or below at the start of the Season. 17.9.2.3 Only one Rider over 30 years old, unless that Rider continues to ride for the same team as in the previous season. 17.9.3 All Riders must hold a UK Passport or have UK Patriality. 17.9.4 A Rider taken out of a Team cannot be re-introduced into that Team within 14 days. 17.9.5 Where a Rider has both a previous PL & NL CMA, the highest will apply. 17.9.6 Where a Rider is declared in both a PL & NL Team, then if the NL Team pays a Loan Fee, the NL Team shall have 1st call on the Rider, otherwise the PL Team have priority, except that a PL Rider nominated for the NLRC must appear in the NLRC. 17.9.7 It is mandatory for Riders to appear in the NL 4TT, NL BP & NLRC; Riders will be suspended from their next 2 Home Meetings in contravention, subject to MC confirmation. So presumably for him to ride he must be a UK passport holder, because you can't qualify for patriality until you are 17.

It was A credit to both sides, British Speedway in general and NL Speedway in particular. I think the slick conditions played into Hackney's hands at the start and the Heathens were caught out a bit by the surface. As they became more dialled in, they started hitting the starts much more consistently. Terrific performances from several British youngsters (Darryl Ritchings in particular), some good racing and a last heat decider with the match points sorted on the last bend of the last race. Great stuff.

Asked for that didn't I ? Two broken legs, a broken pelvis and various other minor injuries. Awful. Every best wish to the lad.

My own personal view is that public criticism rarely does any good. I doubt if there are many of us who haven't experienced either being on the end of it or seeing someone else who is - at work, playing sport or otherwise - and only exceptionally has the person concerned bounced back. Usually, they go down further. In this context, as long as there is a degree of trust in the management to do what is necessary supporters have no need to know what is going on between promoters, team managers and riders or, at worst, only general comment needs to be made. It is only when it is obvious that changes are overdue and nothing happens that more specific clarification doesn't go amiss. When I first read the title of this thread, I was surprised because public criticism of riders is hardly unheard of. I haven't read the article, but words 'harsh' 'shocked' 'very poor' are almost equally unheard of when members of this forum comment on such criticism, suggesting that this is unusually aggressive. The thing is that Nick Laurence's average has dropped less than Joe Jacobs and James Brundle's has decreased by about the same, so anyone might wonder why they aren't being criticised in the same way. At Stoke last week, while Laurence was out of his depth the only angry remarks I heard from the West Row faithful were directed at Brundle when he pulled on to the centre green while at the back. Then again, its much easier to have a go at a No 7 you can replace than a No 1 you can't, isn't it ?

Regettably, the weather forecast has put me off coming. Its a long way for a rain off

Completely agree

He's a top man, Dave, and I have had a lot of time for him ever since we first met at Mildenhall in early 2007. As to his driving.......I saw him at Dudley last season and he was telling me about a race to get to Plymouth once. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be in the car with him on that occasion.

Thanks 2 and a half hours for me I have heard how Main Man drives so I knew 90 minutes would be a push.

Weather permitting, I am coming and then having a mad dash up to Coventry in the evening. Main Man tells me its only about an hour and a half between the tracks, but that's driving at his speed so its a good two and a half for the rest of us .

Point taken I think it might have been better to suggest that the score did not reflect the meeting - after all there were only 7 points in it after heat 11, and I certainly did not expect Mildenhall to collapse in the way they did, conceding 19 points in the next 4 races. Blackbird had only had one last after all and was clearly going in for Laurence, while Brundle was in two of those races and had seen off Webster pretty convincingly. I remember remarking that heat 12 would be a Mildenhall 5-1 and, although I am a notoriously poor tipster, that certainly wasn't an unreasonable guess. No worries That Sue is getting cheeky, though. She text me to find out if I'd do it and when I mentioned that I'd be at Coventry on bank holiday Monday she said she'd have me in mind for that, too Does rather damn him with faint praise, doesn't it ? I think I ran out of adjectives In truth, it was a very good performance indeed.

I'll leave the predictions to Squall in future Speedway can be a strange sport - I thought the King's Lynn-Lakeside match a few weeks ago (which had plenty of passing) was rubbish but this (which had little) was pretty entertaining. It must be that this one was close for at least half the meeting and both sides looked in with a shout (the final score definitely flattered Stoke), the other being the complete opposite. For Stoke, Atkin and Webster were dependable, Armstrong sublime and Sargeant impressive but pride of place goes to Pickard. I saw him at Plymouth last year and thought he was a decent rider but this was the best NL performance I have seen this season, his pass on Brundle in heat 15 being a matter of fierce determination and skill. PL sides looking for a 3pt rider could do a lot worse than give him a call. Baseby, Halsey and Hargreaves in particular showed plenty of fight for the Tigers but Laurence is out of his depth, Blackbird looks very good when he gates and a novice when he doesn't and Brundle was an NL No 1 in two races and disinterested in the other three. The crowd eventually seemed about the same size as PL matches and I suspect above break even figures. Good to see. Quick mention for the chap behind me who helped with heat times after my usual helpers (the frost bitten feet fen females) failed miserably, and one to my old sparring partner Proud Potter - nice touch to salute the crowd at the end, Malcolm, few more officials could do that.

Looks OK at the moment I think this will be close.

I'll be coming down for this. Anyone coming up from the Fens ?

Wally Mawdsley

There's a statement on the BSPA website about poor gates for Hornets meetings. I can't help but think that if the PL team closed down rather than the Hornets they would lose less money - many of the PL fans would watch the NL meetings and the overheads for an NL match are substantially less than a PL one.

First of all, let me say I don't have an axe to grind. I call it as I see it. To be honest, when I put the post on the updates forum about 200 I thought I had overstated it. I simply cannot believe that there were 650 there and would be interested to hear an official view on the attendance. I think the problem with Belle Vue's track is not that it is isolated to that meeting - bluntly, whenever I have been there it has been awful and the racing has reflected that.Its one reason why although I was home in 35 minutes I have been to Kirky Lane only 7 times in 8 seasons (I have been to Weymouth the same number of times)and while its all very well saying it is the same for both teams, that is hardly the point. The exceptionally talented Jason Garrity aside, no-one passed without a mistake and even Howarth and Garrity did not look like catching Hargreaves in the final race. To be fair, your last paragraph regarding atmosphere is spot on and I also accept that there is only so much the promotion can do given that it is not their stadium. As you will note, I gave the Belle Vue promotion credit for entering an NL side and do so again now and they also deserve credit for recognising that a new stadium is needed. Every success to them where that is concerned. One last comment: this forum will truly die when fans without an axe to grind cease to put objective comments on here or are savagely criticised by partisan others for doing so (although that hasn't been the case here). I can think of several of our best posters who no longer contribute for that specific reason, and this forum is all the poorer for it. I'd say you need a decent track to provide good racing - it doesn't matter what the difference is between the two teams if you haven't got that. Take it from me (I have been to 11 tracks this season and every one in Britain bar Somerset and Eastbourne in the last year) Belle Vue do not have one.

Have a look and see who was doing the updates, Kev

Nightmare meeting . Garrity aside, all passing was as a result of mistakes. The track was awful and while the weather didn't help, experience suggests that even a perfect day wouldn't have made much difference. There was absolutely no atmosphere whatsoever (the crowd was around 250 at most)and it was (certainly for the first few heats) a one sided massacre. Throw in a couple of dreadful refereeing decisions and short of a bad injury I don't think things could have been worse. The Belle Vue management deserve better for having the courage to enter an NL side but they have to do something about the track and the atmosphere. The only good thing was the chance to see a few of the boys from Mildenhall.

Jayne Moss has stated that for any Aussie to ride in the NL they have to have patriality and you can only have that if you are aged over 17. Its an opinion I have heard from at least one very credible NL source. He won't be riding for Mildenhall this season.

Leaving in 15 minutes or so.

Very much appreciated