21st century heathen

Perks went back to reserve briefly due in large part to Neale improving significantly at the same time Perks was riding whilst injured - I heard he almost jacked it in for the season but decided to ride through it. He averaged 7.78 (with BPs) from all meetings and must, I'm sure, have been a serious consideration for a second season with the Heathens. (stats from Cradley website) Harris was a strange one. He really should have had a much better season. I saw some real promise in him in 2014. He's smooth with a tidy style but his gating was dreadful and confidence at a real low. He was shutting off half way down the straight when behind, yet on the few occasions he had fresh air he was far more committed in to the turns. As soon as he was passed he was shutting off early again. ---------------------------------------- There are others that averaged 4.something it's just those few that I listed quickly. Many will be seen as unattractive options and are taken elsewhere of course but we're going to need someone who can fill that role and just keep scoring the 2's and 1's. Dugard is not yet announced anywhere so he should be a target. Widman? Maybe IOW? Jones on sub-4 should put half a point on. If you want one out of left-field then what about Isherwood also on 4½? Anybody know if Freemantle is looking to ride again? Fairly sure he's still on a 3 - don't think he ever got a new average.

Dugard is likely top of most club's shopping list I imagine - 4.49 Shame it looks like Extance will miss most if not all next season - 4.48 RTD Woolley Jones Tedham Bacon Widman etc are all 4.something.

Max and Matt - handbags at dawn, or sundown would probably be more accurate, after getting in each others way during a race. If they wanted to argue the toss with each other about it then should do so far beyond the gaze of the fans, press, sponsors etcetera. Still, it's in the past now so c'est la vie I guess. What's not clear from my initial post is that I do not blame either rider more than the other. On reflection I have given the impression Matt was at fault - sorry Matt. You leave with my very best wishes after successful stint as a Heathen.

There are around a dozen riders from last season on an average between 4 and 5 so there are plenty of riders who could be approached. We have to trust that our promotion team have either exhausted those options or seen something in Purchase that makes him worth the risk on 4½ (or both!). What's noticeable by its relative absence is riders on 3.something. Most riders who started last season on 3 either averaged 4+ or failed to achieve 3 so start on 3 again. That makes for a tricky decision in some cases. Do clubs give riders another chance and hope that a season or two under their belt was all they needed to then kick-on or ditch them, many still very young, and sign somebody new on a 3?! Luke Harris is a typical example of this.

Jack Kingston has posted on Twitter today - thanks for this season, learnt a lot, onwards and upwards. To me that suggests he will ride in 2016 for a new club.

I really do admire what all connected with Buxton achieve with so little resource. Here's hoping to another steady season, at least!

Actually I think it could be close and a bit of healthy competition between the two, assuming Payne is with BV, will do no harm. Note healthy competition as team mates arguing does nobody any favours and the dispute between Matt and Max last season was frankly pretty embarrassing. Payne had a stint at a higher level than this and in my opinion underachieved to end last season on 8. He should be 9+ and if Matt gets over 9 he'll have had another excellent season.

Didn't know that when I posted and rather assumed without substance that he wouldn't be back with Cov. Stoke certainly have a significant rebuilding job on their hands. They could do with getting at least one but preferably two top heat leaders sorted before there's none left. Payne is likely at BV I imagine but I hope for the Stoke fans that everything is/was done to keep him. With a strong enough top end to compete and Philips doing a solid middle order job it certainly shouldn't be a disastrous season for Stoke, although likely a lot nearer to the bottom than the top. If they could get Wilson that would be a massive boost for them.

Brummies already shaping up as potential champions. This is a vital middle order signing as there was already no doubting their top end and reserves.

Yes, they're looking likely to have a solid team. I suspect at times, particularly away, there may be some wobbles in heats 13 & 15 but also on occasion I can see Greenwood/Carr being match winners in those heats too.

I wasn't watching league racing at this level back when Purchase first rode but based on the couple of comments made here it sounds to me that he should be given an assessed 3½/4 point average. He certainly shouldn't be a 3 given previous experience but should get a reduction having been out of the sport for so long and having not ridden at any higher level than reserve/second string in the third tier. If he averaging in the region of 4-4½ then simply rounding down to 4 seems perfectly fair to me. I can see a case for perhaps 3½ if his previous average was only a fraction over 4. His average would have had to be a high 4 to justify it being now 4½. I guess the short version of what I trying to get across is round it down to the nearest half point.

Agree. It's probably the most sensible decision the BSPA have made in the modern era. The problem lies with the majority of PL clubs not giving a toss about British riders. These riders should be in a tier 1 draft with the number 7 rule in place too. We all know it but they simply refuse and prefer to sign a crap foreigner on the off chance they'll find the next Pedersen, Iversen or whoever. Pathetic self-interest will always outweigh common sense or any sense of 'Back the Brits' with that lot.

I can't comment specifically about him but it's worth noting that riders at this level can make very sudden significant improvement so it's worth seeing the lad in action for a couple of months before being too harsh on him.

I'm sure Bowen can find some 'sponsorship' to supplement his £10 a point earnings. He could certainly offer a lot to any younger, less experienced riders. He would certainly guarantee the club a genuine out-and-out number 1.

I'd expect Wajtnecht to average about the same, Perry could put half a point on to form a very potent threat at the Brummies' top end. With good reserves too they will have a similar style team to the Heathens so out meetings with coming season could be thrillers.

Campos will do a job for the team. He's of course not the kind of exciting prospect many of the younger riders are but they can't all be that. Every club and every level needs riders who just turn up and do a solid if unspectacular job for the team. Greaves has had a lot of falls but not too many crashes - if you see the distinction. Last season's badly broken leg was by far his worst injury of a short career to date. Let's hope it's the last bad one for him and he rebuilds and kicks on in 2016 - apart from at Monmore, obviously.

Yeah, Dwyer had a good year that probably went under the radar for most. If he maintains his average around the middle of the 5-6 points then he's done a good job and should then look to kick on well over 6 in 2017.

Good signing. As stated he fills the role vacated by Armo but also he's still a more formidable heat leader than you might expect for a man his age. He averaged just over 8. If Stoke get Payne too then with Phillips likely to improve this year they have a solid start to team building. I wouldn't say Phillips under performed last year - he upped his average. A second year at the same track should help him develop. I'd have thought Tedham and RTD will be back too,

First season back, although only a short time away, has to be seen as a 'find-your-feet' season. I don't see IOW being cut adrift at the bottom of the league and for fans who thought they may have seen their last ever IOW meeting that will, surely, be enough. There's nothing wrong with NL journeymen. The league relies upon them, although everyone wants at least a couple of young/new prospects that may light up the team/league. I don't want be too negative but I must admit I find the new logo a bit too 'fussy' too. Speedway logo's need to be kept simple. A single 'Warrior' in the centre with the W's underneath would have been better IMO. I can understand the comment about the website too. I don't like the text/images floating on the background. A flat design would be my preference. But hey, the club's back and that's far more important.

Neale ended his season early due to problems with equipment but he did a cracking job in the second half of the season and was looking a no-brainer to sign him again. It's a real shame if he sits out 2016. It will certainly have a knock-on effect on his progress. With Extance likely out most if not all of next season and now Neale sitting it out too it rather blows out the water the team I was hoping for!!

Before we signed him I'd been an advocate of us trying to get him in to our team as soon as he was ready to come over but I also, at the time, wondered about his average. As he has a British passport and has not represented the Kiwi's (or any other nation) he's on a 3. If he had a passport from another country, say NZ for argument's sake, and/or had represented them then he'd be a 5. At least that's my understanding. *edit* There are often conflicting and ambiguous rules and regulations - and don't forget you're reading 2015 regulations not 2016. Something may have been changed.

I must have got his PL average wrong then as I thought it (converted) was lower than his NL average. I'll need a tweak to my dream team then.

Welcome Andy.

Yeah, sorry to see Nathan go after an injury hit season with first the wrist then the leg injury. Shame as I'd like to have seen him leave, if at all, on a high having had a really good, progressive season. Still, I think it's a move that will suit Nathan down to the ground. It's a track I think he can thrive on and he should kick on next season and put a point on his start average. He was just starting to find something like his best form with his final average creeping back up to just over 7. I'm sure he'd have been over 8 by the end of season if fully fit. Best wishes to Nathan - I just hope you've completely forgotten how to ride Monmore.

Good to have Clegg back with a higher-than-expected points limit meaning he's not 'costing' us too much. I thought Morris was on his old NL average of 8.83 too. Kinda cocks up my plan if 9.06 is right. Where is that figure from? I was rather hoping for... Clegg Morris Bailey Neale Extance Andrews Harris/Govier (at 7/8 and pick based on form) #wishlist