Sings4Speedway

I used to have an enlarged and vibrant NL but now its worn a little thin

Agreed its not like for like but very rule will have its pitfalls. Same can work the other way though. When Zack Waj or Ellis Perks are running at reserve like they have been they can run riot with RR. Its a double edged sword some teams are weaker with RR some are clearly stronger. Just seems harsh to insist teams in the NL have a number 8 when RR is used in the NL and then not actually use them.

In that instance it would make you weaker but over the course of the season it would balance out across the teams. But with my suggestion you could re order the team i.e 1.Cleggy 2 Extance 3 Williamson 4 Moggo 5 Perks 6 Harris 7 Govier doesn't look too shocking to me?

Id wait and see what they do to Kings Lynn & Mildenhall first. I strongly suspect this Danish lot will be awesome. Are they likely to send a bunch of chumps over to represent Denmark!?!

Exactly. Even more crazy is they cant step in for a reserve during a meeting. If one was struggling or the meeting was already won / lost it would be an ideal time to give riders like Niall match experience.

I think several riders would benefit from some extra MDL outings but many appear to not want them? Personally I think that RR should be dropped from the NL and the number 8's used or shuffle the riding order and put a reserve in the 1-5 with the no 8 in at reserve. They should also be able to take any reserve riders outing not just RR rides. If we are going to insist upon them and want to drive new blood into the sport why not give them all the opportunities available?

What are the Cradley supporters opinion of Luke Harris being "rested"? Seems a little mean considering you will be running RR anyway?

Has anyone actually brought one of these now they are on general sale?

Ippo are darned if they do darned if they don't tonight. Nothing other than 60+ would be deemed acceptable and ive a nagging feeling a couple of the "Rye" boys might just go for it! BWD could be interesting but im not sure if the dirt at Foxall will be too much for him? Definitely wont be at Rye next year either. Saturday then Sunday with the Eagles? Highly unlikely. Any PL team that runs on a Thursday / Friday will lead the chase. Although at the moment he is good but Morley level good.

IF he gets an average above 3.00 by the end of the season & IF Eastbourne want to use him next year. The Dugards have proven that they have a wide net of contacts and wont be solely hanging their hat on Powell. Plus all experience is good experience & isn't it 4 home 4 away before getting an average? Could be wrong with the last bit? How does that work if the rider is guesting for multiple teams?

Long term id agree that Zach has better hopes. He already has deep pocket backing, good grounding and ego is not likely to become an issue and in the current climate has a UK passport. BWD is a huge talent no doubt of that but is fully reliant on sponsorship & visa's if either of those dry up it could hamper things greatly.

Appalling team. Only thing worth watching in this one will be Uncle Len's reactions!

What time will the new curfew be on Fridays 9 or 9.30 I forget? A new curfew time is only any good if the meeting starts at the same time as it does now. The other issue with Fridays will be endless guests / RR as loads of PL teams run on a Friday. On that note is it time to abolish RR in the NL and insist that the Number 8's are used or re-jig the team and drop a Number 8 / unattached 3 point rider in at reserve?

Time for a wage cap? A publically set limit of how much is paid per point in each of the 3 (or potentially 2) divisions next season. If riders cry its not enough then they have a choice. As it stands NL should just be a hobby that gives a little back. PL should be the equivalent of a low paid job but one you love and EL is just a practice league for Poland & Sweden anyway where the decent money is paid (sometimes paid in Poland). The sport needs to get back to those who love doing it and are appreciative that they can earn something towards it rather than those who are trying to milk it for every penny. Fingers crossed for Scunthorpe. Hope everything works out.

Definitely that the Dugards can spot potential better than those at Kent. Wood is a multi British champion so not a huge gamble but one that has handsomely paid off. Andrews went stale at Devon but has had new life bred into him. Danno has been around for years and nobody else has been interested. He did very little in a weak Scunthorpe side and got shafted when he went to Aus but even if he had practiced every week over the winter he just wont race!

Beggeration. Brilliant bit of work by Brum. I thought the wheels might have fallen off but now going from strength to strength. As for the R/R and number 8's debate I could go crazy about it but at present the rules are there and teams are enjoying the best of them.

Why would Kent have considered Cottam. Nobody even knew he was making a comeback until the past 7 days (except Eastbourne promotion). I do rate Hopwood although he has ballooned since last season neither rider are on averages to help Kents predicament. No point swapping Baseby for either as Aaron is doing a great job for the Kings. Unlike Kent Eastbournes gambles have paid off as they were educated ones whereas Kents were just sign whats left. Still stand by my opinion that Richard Andrews was the signing of the season.

Right im like a bear with the bum ache this morning but I will try and start with the positives. Ben, Danny & Jamie were top drawer as usual. Ben doesn't seem to ever get a decision go his way at this season. The meeting ran through at a decent pace and the fans that did attend were pretty vocal and got a win that they deserved. Dan Greenwood despite being the villain did produce some magical moves and legitimate passes and kept the scoreline respectable. Now for the grumps. This was the worst line up of reserves I have ever seen in a NL meeting and ht 2 a 15 year old newbie races away from the home riders to victory! Basford was a lot better than last week but that doesn't say loads and Danno was plop. What he was doing battling Jamie in ht 8 I will never grasp and threw a 3-3 away. Fortunately for Kent Halder didn't carry on where he left off and Hunter was on very line except the correct one. I waited all night for a track grade but it never came so it just got slicker and slicker. The ref finally got a decision right with Greenwood moving at the start but called everything else wrong. Im going to wait and see what 7 Danes 3 cups do against other teams first but I fear that I could be a 60 point mauling so might give it a miss.

What a disaster. A reserve who is still amongst the points is carrying an injury and needs a few weeks to recuperate. Up pops a ready made replacement with bags of experience to slot in nicely. Biggest headache would be if Cottam scores big and often and decisions would need to be made once Kelsey is fit again......

Kelsey looked fine yesterday and rode well on borrowed kit after he bent one and Andrews bent his spare. Saw Cottam have a practice after the meeting so something was afoot but still a major surprise! Perhaps Kelsey wasn't enjoying himself? If this is true? Pity he wouldn't fit in at Kent!!

Good meeting once the track slickened off. Not the first time Mildenhall have tried to prepare a grippy track for slick track visitors and have been caught out. Forgetting the first 5 heats which weren't racing the rest of the meeting was good and swung to and fro nicely. Best wishes to both injured riders. The gash on Luke Ruddicks leg looks horrific. Must have been a long ride home and questionable how long til he can be back in the saddle again!

I think this is probably the least experienced reserve pairing that has visited central park this year so if Danno doesn't fill his boots tonight there is no hope. Whilst I agree there may not be many better riders out there at present given the time the current 2/3 have had they may offer something? I agree with Waco that options need to be investigated but why wait around and only try one per week? As a fan I would rather see a couple of new reserves give them a week at 6&7 each and then see how they do. I would feel happier watching a couple of different riders and thinking at least we are trying something than watch & hear the same old excuses each week.

Cheering when an opposition slides off and your team gains an advantage is one thing but when its potentially nasty its definitely not. Sadly I heard several big cheers at Kent when Eastbourne riders went down and felt very sad and ashamed.

Eastbourne ran a few practice days over the winter / last season to see who was about / available and sadly Kent cannot do that. Georgie also has some very useful connections within the speedway world who pointed him in the right direction although no doubting his motorcycling talent and natural ability. However the never been on a speedway bike until this season my ears. He was doing second halves about 3 years ago but didn't get picked up. That said cant knock anything about the way Eastbourne have treated their riders this year, kevlars, backing both technically and financially. The big club approach in a lower league clearly works well.

I do agree that there are riders about if you look in the right places. Iwade I believe cannot run speedway machines atm? As for the Rye training days from what I hear there have been very few this year and Len is seldom in attendance for very long hence Andrew has the graduates and Len doesn't. Add in that they have dropped the Rye MDL team this year I would say that developing Kents own riders seems down the priority list sadly.