Graham C

To be fair to LR, I'm sure that he's been given a budget and has to work within that. Whether that budget is sufficient to put together a team that will, at least, maintain the crowd levels at Perry Barr remains to be seen.

According to Brum forum they have been in contact with Try booking and refunds are being arranged

Looking forward to seeing a full Brum septet again. Both Tom's looked comfortable enough during their aftermatch practice on Wednesday. Expecting a Brum win.

Have to agree. The crowds for even the least attractive NL meetings have been as good as the EL meetings, with the obvious exceptions of Wolves and Coventry.

Lots of people, myself included, were, either publicly or privately, very critical of the Birmingham management at that time - having witnessed last nights event, I would agree with GA, Brum made the right call.

In the five meetings between the two teams thus far, the "home" side has failed to win, so the answer to your question is "Yes", although it is unlikely.

Birmingham would be crazy to pick any team other than Cradley in the Gold Cup Semi-Final(if they have the choice). Guaranteed good crowd, plenty of "local" media interest, money in the bank - balance this against choosing any other opponents. You would probably get a "decent" crowd, but nowhere near as good as against Cradley, "local" media interest and money in the bank, would also be reduced. Given the choice Brummies should choose Cradley, with the 1st leg at "home", and, if we did happen to qualify for the Final see what we can do to maximise the interest from supporters and media alike, having already had a "Bumper" pay day in the Semi's!

Great result, well done Adam, fantastic race to get the better of Ashley Morris in heat 14. Well done to the Heathens promotion on putting together an excellent field for this meeting. Perhaps the day's of the "classic" individual meetings are not yet over! If you put on a quality meeting you will be rewarded with a massive (by todays standards) crowd. Hopefully Tony Mole will put together a similar, if not better, 16 riders to compete in the Joe Thurley Memorial Meeting for the Second City Trophy.

Having watched the Brummies at all three levels my views are as follows: Entertainment: In terms of Entertainment, I've seen both good and bad meetings at all levels. The major plus point for NL, as far as I'm concerned is that ALL the guys WANT to race - I haven't seen any rider who's has been happy to tootle around for appearance money. Value for money: £14 (inc Porgramme)for Adults, plus sensible, £2 admission for Kids, means that it is more affordable than last year and gives the club an opportunity to attract and, more importantly, keep the younger fans. Quality: I've been slightly surprised by the difference in ability between the top guys and the reserves (with a few obvious exceptions, Ellis Perks et al). I would suggest that the difference in ability is greater at this level than at any other. The races in Heats 13 and 15, however, (featuring the top guys) have been as good as anything I've seen at a higher level. Crowd Levels: With the exception of the EL meetings against Wolves and Coventry, I reckon that the crowd levels have been at least equal to those that were achieved for the majority of EL matches. On balance I would prefer Premier League racing, more variety in opponents and generally more skillful riders (who still want to race) BUT, the National League is not to be sneezed at, watching Seven guys who WANT TO RACE FOR YOUR TEAM is far superior to the EL.

Meeting Off - taken from Official Brummie website; birminghambrummies.co

Looks like the "Young Stars" should have a great chance then!

Excellent. At least speedway is alive and kicking in Manchester.

Another Brum pairing, Doyle and Smolinski?

If Hougaard rides like he did for the Panthers on Monday night, I don't think you'll be too dissappointed.

Birmingham - Yes. You can pay by Card "On the night" or in advance by phoning the Advance Booking Line on 01564 782489. (I would advise users to check the official Brummies website first as there is an alternative number also available). Birmingham make NO additional charges for Paying By Card and actually offer a 10% Discount (I think) if you use the Advance Booking Line.

I remember that night very well - Mauger got a well deserved standing ovation from the Perry Barr faithful. In over 40 years of watching speedway I don't think there is another rider who comes anywhere near him in terms of team riding skill.

Typical shortsighted view from the SCB. Someone, or group of promoters, obviously feel that there is interest in this sort of series for UK based riders so why not let them run it? The SCB are not risking there money and so long as the correct insurances are in place and the series does not cause onflict with the riders "Official Speedway" commitments what is the problem. As others have said, it's probably that the SCB are scared that someone may do a better job than they can.

How about a bit of sympathy for, probably, the majority of Birmingham fans, who weren't exactly thrilled at the prospect of joining a NINE team EL, let alone a seven team league! Witches - enjoy the PL, Lynn - if you've got any sense you'll stay PL too.

Really hope this rumour proves to be unfounded. I'm sure crowds against Wolves and Coventry would be very good, but I don't think they would be sufficient to make up the shortfall when Birmingham face the other 6/7 EL teams for the second or third time in 7 months.