East End Fan

Halifaxtiger has hit the nail on the head. All those dreamers who suggest that tracks can stage meetings full of Wobblies and expect people to pay to watch it need their heads looking at. ANY stadium costs money to run at ANY level. Only turnstile takings can maintain a stadium. So ALL Speedway promoters need to put on a show that the public will pay to watch. Since the present National League became semi-professional, there have been any number of young Brits who have been able to move up into the senior leagues....Best example, our very best current Brit outside of the World Champ ( who came from the 3rd tier), Robert Lambert. So...IF the league is doing the training job it was originally set up to do, then why do we need to kill it by reducing the ability level to the point of extinction ? Whoever it is that has the power to keep the standards down in the NL, needs to learn something about the sport.

Speedy69 got £50 in 1997 ...Today in that same league the top rider might get £250/£300...allow for inflation and it is not that much different is it ?. In the 20 years in between equipment has changed out of all recognition and the costs have spiralled. If Speedy69 had his wish for the 3rd tier to return to amateur status, every track would go the same sad way of Buxton . Does he really want that ? I certainly do not and get huge pleasure from the quality that presently exists in the National League, a mixture of abilities with riders striving to improve.

Have not seen any comments from the club about the failure to get Saturdays. Cannot understand why it did not get automatic approval, After all, what is the difference between one day or another ?

Sounds to me as if Stoke are finally getting the message that they need some decent riders to get better crowds. THis trio will be as good as most. Nice to see Chessell back after his enforced lay-off. Always looked a classy rider when I have seen him in the past.

Have to agree with Teaboy. I probably visit Central Park about 6 times a year. Always enjoy the racing from a nice comfortable seat which, for me, is very important. My days of standing up all night on a narrow terrace, or a grass bank are certainly over. This season just ended was the best racing so far IMO with any capable rider able to go flat out for four laps. Even GP riders can't do better than that ! I have visited other tracks too and for the most part the racing has been of high quality, so I'm not knocking the National League.

Yes, it is a pleasure to see the youngsters with real talent as they progress. I was really impressed with Anders Rowe last season. I went to Kent from time to time, and every visit I made he looked better and better. I see that they have now signed Gilkes, another impressive performer that I look forward to watching. With regard to the numbers of such kids, cannot the BSPA fix up a Test Match or two with, say, Denmark, at Under 19 level. I'd love to see that. But I do not see much enterprise in that direction.

None of us will ever know what went on at the AGM and who decided on the points limit. My guess is that it was not the NL promoters who made it unless it was swayed by the "new " clubs like Leicester ? I do not see the point in giving the lowest riders a 2 point average instead of 3. Anyone who can actually slide a bike can get a team place anyway. Still, won't make a lot of difference, the new stars will emerge as always and thanks to the Youth Programme a steady, if small, stream is emerging. I love to study their progress.

If a club like Birmingham can make Speedway a profitable business in the National League, what possible incentive is there to move into a far more costly Championship, a level at which we keep reading stories of money troubles, tracks for sale and now even the millionaire owned Glasgow threatening to close if things do not improve after 2019 ?? How would all those fans ( don't think it's all that many) who are howling for Championship level feel if, after moving up, the club loses money and shuts down again ? It's a no-brainer for me.

If it is true that Birmingham are to stay in the N.L., I personally think that financially it is the right decision to take. They ran in the upper division and failed to make it pay under the most experienced promoter in the game. So where would the extra money come from to sustain a Championship club ? Out of Mason's back pocket. I'm sure he did not buy the club in order for it to cost him large sums of money. It seems even the millionaires at Glasgow are warning that the end is nigh for them. It's a No Brainer IMO.

Well, Blueherb777. One thing you never hear from Kent is what we are hearing from all over the country at higher levels. Tracks up for sale because they cannot make it pay. Glasgow , with all the money at their disposal are now suggesting that 2019 will be their final year and the Kings Lynn promoter buying up all the tracks around him to keep the top league afloat. I have never heard any comments from the Kent management which suggest they might want to move upwards, so by staying where they are, and keeping the track alive, they are not going back on any promises. Anyway, for me it's great and NL is best.

I think Proudtobeabrum is painting a picture I do not recognise. I watch NL at Eastbourne and Kent. Of course, as in all meetings at every level there are always a few races that are predictable, but they are in the minority at those two tracks and quite often the racing is sensational. Sorry if Birmingham is not the same.

Personally I hope that Kent DO remain in the National League. I visit quite often during the season, just as I also visit Arlington. I enjoy the racing at both venues without supporting either team. Reason is that I can sit in reasonable comfort at both places which is essential for older people like me. And I like watching the development of youngsters which is why I like the NL. All the nonsense I keep reading on this forum about which teams and riders are moving this way or that IS just nonsense until it is a fact. I do not think anyone who posts on here knows any more than I do about the given situation.....it's all just guesswork.....good fun though...keep it up !

All this is pure speculation until the National League promoters have their AGM. I think that is at the end of November but I don't know the exact date. We hear that Eastbourne and Birmingham have moved to the Championship, but it seems very strange that neither club has actually confirmed that....so even that may have been just a rumour. Like almost every previous season I can think of ( and that is a lot) when the new season comes around, my guess is that not too much will have changed.

Is all this guesswork or truth ? Have the BSPA issued a list of teams in every division ? I have not seen it.

I think HalifaxTiger has summed it up very well. I agree with him that the league at present hits it about right between giving young riders the opportunities to show their skill while at the same time keeping the business in line. In the past year or two it seems that the Management of the BSPA interfered with what the promoters wanted and brought in the 39 limit. I remember a lot of talk about it during last Winter. The league should be left alone to run their own affairs, they are not doing a bad job IMO. Richard Weston has some good ideas, not sure how practical they are...I could see rider problems if there was a break away from the BSPA and selling highlights to a TV company sounds good, but it cannot be easy to do, otherwise I'm sure it would have been done. Like the idea of allowing a bottom club in any one year build higher than the rest the next year but doubt if it will happen.

Lots of rumours flying around as usual at this time of year. I would like to see the National League expanded, but it looks doubtful Does anyone know when their AGM is ? We should all write to our respective promoters and press them to decide on a higher average for 2019. I like to see standards rising, not falling and if that was allowed to happen, when the youngsters make the move upwards, they would not find it so tough.

I fully agree.There are loads of fans who take a lot of pleasure from seeing new young riders progress. It is also more unpredictable. I watch nowadays ( not every week) at both Eastbourne and Kent and for the most part the racing at both tracks has been top drawer. I hope the promoters have learned their lesson and will vote fo a higher average. I think 39 was a disaster, and judging from comments on this forum, I am not alone in thinking that.

I note that the Silly Season for rumours has started early this year !! Simply do not believe that Leicester will be able to sign every good looking youngster in the country, much as they might like to.

How many riders would be needed to run squad systems ? There is already a shortage of riders, so I don't see how squads could operate...unless you allowed a lot more foreign riders in. After Brexit, will that be permissable ? Mention of Poland and Sweden by Mikebv. Lots more riders in Poland and lots more money to pay for them. Sweden I don't know, but they run far less Speedway than we do and can call on the whole of Europe if need be Such expensive luxuries make it far more difficult for British clubs.

Track certainly left a lot to be desired and the vast majority of riders struggled to keep control in the 1st half of the meeting. Later on as it got slicker, the riding and racing improved and the final match race between Morley and Bowtell was a classic until Alfie turned it over in the heavy grip on bend 2. Do not understand why track curators get it wrong so often.

You are undoubtedly right about the current views of the BSPA regarding the National League. But I do not think it was always like that. Admittedly, as a Lakeside supporter, I have watched National League racing as a neutral so have tended not to think about the politics. But now, with my team moving to Rye House, I will be unable to follow them very often so will probably watch more NL at Eastbourne and Kent ( both where I can sit down and get a good view) next year, that is, if they run in that league. Like others on this thread, I think the present set up in the NL has the balance of team strengths about right, so all this talk of a 30 point limit sets off alarm bells for me.

I think all National League supporters would agree with your thoughts. 30 would kill the league off entirely. But the rumours as to the truth of it keep persisting. But entering comments on this thread will not change matters. Perhaps we should all write about our concerns directly to the BSPA ? Maybe someone with the technical know-how could start an e-mail petition ?

If only there was a decent answer to the need for guest riders. A greatly criticised system, but in a sport where serious injury is the norm ( unlike ANY other sport) I cannot fathom an alternative. The rules are designed, I think, to keep teams on an even keel if injuries hit, and the guest system more or less does that. It's a shame that now and again, as is the case of Morley/Woods on Friday night, it all looks a bit crazy. But it does not mean the system is wrong.

Who decides whether the National League should be a development league and nothing else ? Clearly JCookie does not support or go to watch N.L. racing. At ANY level there will always be teams at the top and teams at the bottom. Every N.L. club is a business just like those at a higher level. Does Jcookie think that all the investment made and work done will be worth it to see very low standards ? He is deluded...in fact, the higher the standard of the 3rd tier, the better class of rider will be produced. THAT is a FACT and it is ignored by the BSPA who seem not to understand the sport they operate. Way back in history ( can't quite remember the actual date) the 2nd league broke away from the Control Board and ran, I think, very successfully. I can see the same thing happening again with the N.L. breaking away from the BSPA. And who could blame them ?

The problem with using all meetings to be included in obtaining new averages is that all clubs do not enter all competitions, so this would favour those clubs that only do league ( or trophy) matches. That is why only league matches are counted. Of course there is an element of unfair competition when a team can field a talented kid at reserve and there are any number of examples. But in Speedway the luck of this kind of situation tends to move around the clubs, so the law of averages ( no pun intended) means that in the longer term it's the same for everyone. Got to say that Gilkes looked very impressive at Kent and Spooner seems to have had an injection of something !