East End Fan

Will a move into the Championship be enough to get our fans back from Rye House ? A very Northern based league with only Peterborough and Ipswich as local Derbies. None the less is probably the best move given that National League did not pay its way. It's now up to all of US to pay our money at the gate, stop moaning about the management and make sure we have a future

Regular racing...now that's a new idea. If it's to be Championship league, it would be great if we had a meeting every week and I don't care what day it is. Just pray that enough customers arrive for every meeting.

All sounds very positive, and I really hope it is the beginning of a new and more prosperous era for the club. Personally I am delighted that the proposal to enter the top league has been shelved ( if it has ?) because IMO that would have been suicidal.

I presume that comment is based on the assumption that he has a stadium and track ? It's all gone very quiet about the new stadium that was being talked about. I have always been doubtful ( in spite of being hopeful) about that, new stadiums are very expensive no matter how modest they are.

Must admit it's a subject I don't think about too much. The Lakeside air fence is up and down each meeting and it must be a very hard task, especially if it has been a wet meeting and the air cushions are smothered in sticky shale, and it's raining as well ! Is this an item that is considered when deciding whether to run in questionable weather? I think it would be if I was in charge ! Well done to those who volunteer to take on the job.

Well, Teaboy 279, you seem pretty well informed. How do you know that Swindon, Rye House etc intend to apply. I have heard no rumours to that effect excepting for Coventry and I don't know if that rumour is true or not. I agree with all those who have suggested a high points limit to avoid the use of too many Wobblies although I do like to see a newcomer here and there, just not too many of them. Also there is a big difference between the skills of new riders and we have seen new youngsters this year, allegedly not attached to a club, top scoring for someone. Outstanding example, Drew Kemp paid for 12 points for Eastbourne at Belle Vue. How is it possible to reconcile a rider of such talent with a young kid finding the going very tough ? The lower the points limit, the more the likes of Drew Kemp will make a possible unfair difference to the team they join. A high limit would tend to even out such a difference.. I am very sad that my own team, Lakeside, intend not to run in the league, opting for what I think is a suicidal re-entry into the top tier.

I'm dreading the thought of an over optimistic management deciding to re-enter the league which in my view will kill them off. Does anyone know whether BT Sport are to cough up any money for racing on TV ? The last I heard it was in doubt. Will the fans who defected to Rye House this year come back to support the Hammers ? That is the key question. But there were not enough of them before this year, so I cannot imagine any new ones popping up from nowhere. That is why I view this with pessimism when I am normally an optimist.

Is a Premiership team a pipe dream or a reality ?

Yes BV72, very well said. At present the National League as a whole seems to be a reasonable mix of experience and newcomers. It is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much, watching the kids progress as they try to emulate the more experienced riders in their team. Having said that, Lakeside were using kids with not enough potential talent, so none of them progressed into exciting performers. Plenty of other teams seemed to find better kids and it is one of the few complaints I had about the club.

I would not call the current facilities at Rye House as other than very basic. It used to have about 1000 seats around both bends before the current owners took over and the grandstand by the Pits was also much bigger with lots more seats. The big Bar building has been destroyed so the only bar is at the top of some very steep steps....oh yes..and what happened to the referees' box ? As to the car park, well, if you can find a space ( which is unlikely) there's more pot holes than parking. So all those ex-Hammers who have transferred their allegiance simply because they are in the top league can stop ranting about how wonderful things are there. As has been mentioned, at :Lakeside we have a much much better car park which I happen to think is important as I don't like driving to a track and then having to walk half a mile after parking. Personally I happen to enjoy the roughness of the National League and I hope that Jon Cook decides to stay in that division. IMO a move back into the senior league would see the club close for ever.

New stadiums do not come cheap. A person investing money to build a stadium for Speedway would have to be a big enthusiast and be able to suffer the financial cost.. This is not impossible as enthusiasts of all kinds spend their money on unlikely schemes. However it is highly unlikely, so stop dreaming, start supporting your club while it is still there. Face the Facts...use it or lose it. Simple.

When people who do not attend find time to moan about the promoter on this forum, they must lead very sad lives. Having in the past been privileged to have known two or three quite prominent promoters and team managers, including Tommy Price at West Ham, I know a little about the problems they face. So in general I am supportive of the men who put their money in. If you put yourself in their position, working hard to run a speedway which is losing money, perhaps some of the criticism would cease. Instead of making comments like " I do not like N.L. racing" so I won't go", such people should make the effort to support the club by getting to know the N.L.as I have done. They would be surprised at the entertainment value.

Lots of chatter about clubs in the N.L. moving upward. No one seems to consider the enormity of such a move financially, not to mention the extra work involved in employing foreign riders who need collecting from airports week in week out among other things. And in the upper leagues, no rider loyalty and no new local kids to watch progress and the admission prices are higher too which hurts families. KIds free at many NL tracks including Kent. Their 8.30pm curfew can't help the attendances I would have thought. My own club, Lakeside, talk about returning to the top league having already failed to make it pay at that level. Cannot see the sense of it. I have watched a lot of NL this season at Lakeside, Eastbourne and Kent and when I read on this forum that people are fed up with the racing at this level, all I can say is that they have not been watching the meetings that I have been to. Thoroughly enjoyable season for me, long may it continue.

Sorry state of affairs. In general I have been supportive of both Jon Cook and Kelvin Tatum. It must have been a very difficult time for them made less easy by some fans staying away from National League. None the less their recent responses have not been good and I really fear for the future of the club. Anyone with any idea would consider that a move back into the top league would be financial suicide. So, in my view, the best future, if there is one at all, would be where we are now and for me, I have enjoyed the racing at this level.

In a way, a bad day for speedway as Tony Mole bows out. He has saved many clubs from extinction during his career including Wolverhampton, Mildenhall as well as Birmingham ( twice), so a lot of people owe him a deal of gratitude. I wonder why he has decided to drop out now. I have a suspicion that it is because of the way he and others in the National League have been treated in recent times. I hope his meeting tonight is a great success, he deserves that....

I think that the National League lost its "Development" aspect some years ago. It is now, in my view quite properly, a third division which happens to be the level at which new young riders can find team places to learn their trade, but not there solely for that purpose. I went to Kent on Monday to see Ben Morley and Paul Hurry in the Laurels meeting. I was not disappointed as the racing was unbelievable with our two right in it to the finish. There were a few younger riders who did reasonably, but the fact that the older riders were putting on a superb display did not make me wish to reduce their numbers in the league. Bring 'em all on I say

Because of all the question marks about the Chanpionship or Premiership leagues, and the high cost of running at either level, I would prefer our team to stay in the National League. With a season's experience behind both Jon Cook and Kelvin Tatum will be able to spend the winter putting together a more balanced team likely to produce better racing. Having said that, we have been one of the top 4 clubs in the league this year which isn't bad first time round, and I have enjoyed the racing some of which has been top drawer. I suspect that if we were to go in the Premier League as Jon Cook has indicated, we would niot be able to afford the better riders so would most likely be cannon fodder.

As I have not yet had the chance to see exactly what went on at Belle Vue, I don't know why the Hammers got beaten so heavily. I would have expected better, so I suspect there were problems. Whoever makes the Final will have the hardest battle of the season, but both Eastbourne and Kent are not out of it. When either side present their full 7, they are a force to be reckoned with.

Wish I could get to this one. Will be a great meeting without a doubt. Could go either way and the inclusion of Jason Edwards seems a sensible move. Great prospect if we win to face either Eagles or Kings in the Final. Either way should put a smile on Cook's face with the prospect of a decent crowd.

I went to Sittingbourne last night and certainly never saw any aggro' from any Kent fans, or Eagles fans for that matter. Where I sat in the high part of the main stand the atmosphere was as you would expect, cheers when the Kings riders won and sadness when the opposition did the same. Actually, as a neutral, the meeting itself was fabulous with some really great races and lots of talking points with luck swinging both ways. Thought Jake Knight's wheelies out of the gate were highly spectacular and amazingly successful. It was obvious that both sets of riders had every intention of winning and so produced some great speedway.

Dream debut for Jason Edwards. He is what we have been missing all season...No doubt had we had him in the side earlier in the season, the attendance figures would have been vastly improved. Fans like to follow a new and exciting local youngster no matter what league...far more chance of that in the National League which is why I like it so much. Don't know what Kelvin will do with him if we are in the Premier League, but for sure we won't be seeing him.

I think "Hot Shoe" is missing out. The racing in the NLRC at Leicester, once they'd watered the track to get a bit of grip, was really good and some local supporters that I spoke to when I was there assured me that the shorter track has improved things beyond recognition.

Very hard to forecast with all the strange names on show. Hammers take the edge, I think. To make the final will avoid Cookie being embarrassed with the number of meetings.

We can moan as much as we like, but we cannot alter the weather. This season has seen an extraordinary number of rain-offs at all levels and this has a big impact on our league because of the riders doubling up as well as making fixture completion more difficult.

Must gvive us a great chance of reaching the Final