MattJ81

Glad to see Tom fixed up, he was an entertaining part of the Heathens team last year with an unorthodox style and bravery that meant you had to keep your eyes on him, his knock at Leicester was a nasty one but I'm sure he will progress this year.

A shame that Reading aren't able to compete if they are willing and able to do so. I remember something about the Cradley situation whereby we were allowed to use Monmore for as long as the club were actively seeking a new stadium of their own (this may be something I've made up or confused admittedly) - would this be a sticking point? It may be that Cradley were already in place by the time the powers that be made any change to the rules, or they are looking to increase the link between the Top leagues and the NDL by trying to get as many second teams involved as possible rather than stand alone clubs?

The Cradley statement says that "The aim is to ultimately return the third tier to a junior development league" - could it be that with that in mind teams need time to assess whether they can take part? Depending on how it will look I'm sure admission costs would need to adjust accordingly which may not suit standalone clubs with fixed costs

Hi, really sorry for the delay my daughter had filed the programme away! Heat 1 58.14 (Stoneman) Heat 2 57.76 (Clegg) Heat 3 58.01 (Greaves) Heat 4 57.08 (Clegg) Heat 5 57.86 (Lawlor) Heat 6 58.48 (Stoneman) Heat 7 56.94 (Clegg) Heat 8 56.83 (Lawlor) Heat 9 58.06 (Edwards) Heat 10 58.31 (Stoneman) Heat 11 58.09 (Clegg) Heat 12 59.21 (Perry) Heat 13 59.97 (Greaves) Heat 14 58.23 (Clegg) Heat 15 59.58 (Perry) Final 58.65 (Clegg)

CVS is attending the AGM representing Cradley so there is some hope that we will continue, although I wouldn't imagine it's something he could do alone. Wolves will have between 14 and 17 home meetings (I think!) depending on progress in playoffs/supporters cup so there will be a few free Mondays; although as this season there wouldn't be much room for manoeuvre when a few fall foul of the weather.

I have the programme at home so I should be able to post them later

That must be the hope, coupled with possibly fewer teams in the top league CVS may like Cradley to fill the gaps (assuming it helps with rent or what have you)? In an ideal world the supporters trust would take a role although I'm sure that depends on many factors/costs. CVS still being around is the only thing we have to indicate any future interest, Will I believe has a full time job outside of speedway and is busy with Eastbourne so understandably this limits the time he can dedicate to Cradley. New faces and investment are definitely required. I'm sure identical programme columns have been around for many years haven't they?

I can pay for an ice cream from the van in Monmore using a contactless card but the turnstiles are cash only. Appreciate it's probably not going to be top of the list of things that need attention, and with speedway often being tenants it may be outside of their control but in an increasingly cashless society especially younger people would perhaps appreciate the option of payments by card. Not so much an issue with the current demographic and folks who know the setup but another thing that could make it look old fashioned to new attendees

I think, although I can't remember exactly, some of the criticism is making a lot of money from large crowds on NL racing when the appetite and support is there to move into the higher leagues. I think this increased apathy with NL racing links to the reduced crowds - certainly away from Monmore. I can't see that there are nearly enough dates as we stand at Monmore to consider moving up and Perry Barr has been shown not to attract enough for whatever reason(s), which brings you back to finding land and building a place of our own. As you say on the face of it surely as long as they aren't ripping off supporters and paying the bills on time it's a good thing if any promotions are managing to make any money, fair play to them

Admission prices reduced the the play off meeting at Perry Barr - £10 adults, £2 kids http://www.cradley-speedway.com/news.php?extend.1888

In Heat 15 he straightened up across bends 1 and 2 first lap and ended up a distance behind Smith in third - he gained a little over the race but didn't seriously threaten

Very nearly got all 30 heats in before the 10:30 strict curfew and some decent races especially in the Kent meeting. A mention to Harry McGurk who completed 12 rides last night and along with a couple of the other Cradley riders was visibly shattered by the end! Great result against Kent in a close meeting, Clegg was rarely troubled after Heat 1 of the first meeting to stay unbeaten in 9 rides and Luke Harris had a good night using the Karlsson korridor to great effect several times. Agree with those above who mentioned that Drew Kemp doesn't quite look his old self, it almost seemed he was riding with a slight injury the way his body language seemed after Heat 15 in particular. He was very good around Monmore last season but didn't threaten a big score at all. The track was dusty from pretty early on, understandably with the rain earlier in the day Mildenhall need to gain maximum 4 points at Plymouth on Thursday to take the last play off place

Thanks I didn't know about that. Best wishes to him

I believe Tom is still suffering from the concussion despite having ridden and put in one of his best performances of an encouraging season at Plymouth. R/R is never easy in a double header but can't be helped - Cradley do usually name a number 8 which may help keep things ticking over Raining at the moment but due to clear up before lunchtime all being well, fingers crossed it goes ahead as planned as they have the potential to be two good meetings

That's a real shame. Obviously have some vivid memories of our time there in 96 along with fainter ones from previous trips to watch the Potters (including I think with a very young Jason Crump in opposition). Visited for the NL fours recently and enjoyed the evening, it has its charms the old place - I'm still a sucker for a big grass bank to watch speedway on Thoughts with the Potters fans