21st century heathen

The '10 rules says if the NL club pays a loan fee it has first choice, but I need to check exactly how the rules was written (don't have time right now). But in any case we ride on a Tue which doesn't clash with either on a regular basis. As I said it depends what's come out of the AGM I s'pose.

If that were the case, and taking the statement at face value, why would he need to apply to the BSPA for membership and how would it be able to make charges? The statement was only made after the decision had been taken. I think it's about time some of the details of what goes on at BSPA Towers is made public. And as mentioned there are plenty of people directly involved in the sport that do take time out to post on here. There's no reason he should be treated any differently in that regard. My gripe with the BSPA would be its apparent making and breaking of its own rules and regulations depending on to whom, when and where said rules apply. If he was never going to be allowed in then that should have been made clear from the start and not allowed to drag on until now when the fans have been given what turns out to be false hope. It's the fans I feel sorry for because it would seem the BSPA may have known all along there was no chance of Mildenhall being allowed in but the fans, as usual, are treated badly and kept in the dark.

I think he was PL 3.95 RocketBen so depending on the AGM news he'll be NL 7.90. Cheap as chips. At 22 Adam still has time to progress to become a very solid EL rider. It's a big year for him there's no doubt about that.

Already posted on the line-ups thread mate. Great signing.

I'm sure a few people would have seen my posts for the last few months (Roynon top of my wish list since the end of last season) so I'm a very happy Heathen tonight. If Adam can get his confidence back, start truly believing in himself again and regain anything like the form he had pre-injuries he could put a fair bit on his average. I don't want to make too bold a prediction and put pressure on him, but the guy has plenty of natural ability. Welcome Adam and 'Ommer Um'.

Gutted for the fans. If the BSPA are making decisions based on who's who, taking into account other issues to have arisen since last season, then perhaps it would be better for the sport if it were taken to court and ripped to shreds!!

Comments like that really bug me. There is equally good and poor meetings at all levels. I watched all three, four if you include the GPs, levels of speedway last season and enjoyed them all at times and half switched off at times at all of them.

Poor example as he's not exactly a spring chicken, but I understand the point you are making. The point is that the system in our own country is working against the British lads in some cases. For example with the new conversion rate in place Craig Cook, having done it the 'right' way and worked his way up, would be an EL 3.98 already. Who's going to take him on that average when you can bring in Jonny Foreigner on 4.00. Even at this early stage Cook is not an sensible option when you're looking at it from a numbers point of view. If he averages say 8 in the PL (entirely realistic) next season for example he'll be on 4.80 for the EL in '12. I wouldn't read anything in to that if I were you. Hamill rated Wells.

Perhaps one or two will re-think their view on the new conversion rate and points limit? The best bet for most Brits is PL and DU even to the point that Barker has moved down. Frankly I'm surprised Allen didn't do the same thing. It's very disappointing to see Wolves bring in a 3-point foreigner but given the make-up of their team there weren't exactly a lot of options. There's no point putting Morris in, and there's nobody else good enough on a 3 either. Probably the only NL class of '10 that could do anything in the EL '11 would be Cook/Smart/Lamber/Herne as No.8's or perhaps a DU (and none of them fit at Wolves incidentally - 6.33 I think it is they have left for the reserves). And frankly the fact that we're talking about putting any NL rider in the EL shows how poor the league is now.

Cov tried it back in about '04(ish), about the same time as Wolves, and it wasn't popular enough. These days the stadium has a full calendar of speedway, no smart comments please, and stocks in different classes.

And do you think the NL would vote against allowing those clubs to join the league, forcing them into closure? The Heathens weren't officially accepted into the league until the end of Jan last season, but realistically we were never going to be left out. *edit* I should add that we, the Heathens fans, have already been told our new number one won't be revealed until the end of February. A long wait for official news and for the i's to be dotted and t's to be crossed doesn't mean that there aren't things going on behind the scenes. http://www.dudleyheathens.co/news.php?extend.246 Must have done!!

Announced through the Dudley Heathens FB page too. Same time as last year so what was all the fuss about?

Not confirmed yet but Perry and Ritchings expected to sign for the Heathens. Full article at the link below. http://www.dudleynew...Heathens_chief/

I believe the Heathens have a team in mind, but it can't be finalised until the rules are rubber stamped. Would you rather they didn't sort it out, go to court and potentially there is no speedway in this country until the courts sort it out for them? That could easily take years. We all wish the row hadn't happened but it has and it needs to be reconciled as a matter of priority over all else. That's just my opinion of course.

So do you think that in the first season dropping back down the club should risk splashing out of a team full of, except one if Evans were used, loanees? If there is some uncertainty about how the fans will react to the drop down, and of course in particular how it will affect attendances (and given the current economic climate), is this not an unnecessary risk? I know what you mean but you will need 5/7 pointers and you will need, in both of our opinion, older riders to pass in experience and you already have that on your books. I know the cost of bringing loan riders in will be offset if you can loan riders out but I would expect it to cost significantly more than you save if you bring 6 in and loan 2 out. Let me put this another way - realistically speaking, rather than riders that are all-but nailed on elsewhere, who would you bring in? Must be a chance of using Priest then? Rough averages rounded to nearest whole number... Evans - 8 Burrows - 7 Priest - 6 Felton - 5 looks like a perfectly good start to team building to me. A couple of last seasons high-flyers will be missing from the NL this coming season which is also a consideration when your looking at top end strength. It will probably leave something like 15 points for the other 3.

Do they? More than half the positions available (8 teams each having 8 positions = 64) in the EL are yet to be filled and nobody knows what the rules will be or whether it will be 8, 9 or 10 teams in the league. ------------------------------------ If the NL were to be all sorted this week or even next week it would still be earlier than last season. If it rolls over until the first few days of Feb it will still only be a week later than last year. Although I agree that all three leagues should be sorted long before Christmas, let alone well in to the new year, I feel that there is merely a perception of a long delay this year compared to last rather than it being true. ----------------------------------- Forgot to quote but to Parsloes - There's no reason not to start in April sometime and still finish at the end of October in my opinion. We're in the unusual position of track-sharing and I'm pretty sure the plan is to run our meetings between April and October anyway. Other clubs will have more freedom than the Heathens so I can't see why it should cause any problems.

This is a bit random but as I was sat here doing nothing much at lunch time I decided to have a quick look through this thread. Now admittedly I have speed-read it so apologies in advance if I've missed something but a point for Vog. Compton on 12 would be stupid as he's only going to drop his average, and the chances are there will be more teams and a lower points limit this season meaning a weak bottom end would be nailed-on. However, I do think a bit of experience in the team to help the young lads is a smart move. I believe it helped our lads to the top of the table last season. If you've got riders like Burrows and Felton on the books then use them. They have more experience and will fill holes in the team that would need to be plugged anyway, namely 5-7 pointers. And of course you wouldn't have to pay out a huge loan fee, as would surely be the case with someone like Compton, so that fulfils another important factor. I would use Evans while I was at it as, for exactly the same reasons. Those three would be a good start to team building and then try to get some 'kids' in and around them with a view to the future Is Priest yours? Just my humble opinion of course mate.

Try a PM to greybear. Pretty sure he's a Bradford fan and may be able to help. I emphasise may as I have no idea other than a vague recollection that he's a fan.

'Fred' had missed a meeting due to a prior Grasstrack booking so didn't have a new average if memory serves. --------------------------------------- Glad to have Ash confirmed, not that it's any surprise. Perry is local too so it's, surely, all-but certain he'll return. Would like to have Rich on board too. He made no secret of loving his time with us last year so it would be good to give him another chance. He's relatively local too. Armstrong was very popular so I suspect everyone involved will be keen to get him back next season. Would desperately love to see Roynon in the team. If he gets his confidence back and gets dialled it he's a 10+ man in the NL, easily. Easier said than done of course, but the raw talent hasn't gone away. Depending on the limit, fitness and other signings I would be happy with Taylor coming back in.

On Radio WMs' speedway forum last night Nigel Pearson revealed that Bournemouth will not run next season but that Mildenhall are expected to return.

The crowds at Monmore were significantly bigger but by what I'm led to believe NL crowds are generally like I would say Perry Barr was good too. The distance from Dudley Wood Road to each track is near as makes no difference the same, but many Heathens' fans have expressed a preference to Monmore. That's mostly from the point of view of spectator viewing and the quality of racing. Personally I think that PB can provide just as good racing at it's best but is less consistently good, and if you get up on one of the metal stands the view is fine. At the end of the day it has to be commercially viable and who can blame them if they look to maximise their profits?! It's a shame if racing at PB, and only a couple of times, is a one season wonder but hey-ho. My personal thanks to all at B'ham for allowing a Heathens team to play in your sand pit for a season.

The BSPA only allow 'x' number of winter meetings. Can't remember the exact rule and not got time to look for it just at the moment.

So as I said at the time could they not borrow a bike just to put on a show for the fans in the last couple of meetings?! (or had they shipped their gloves and goggles as well ) But yes, we can agree to disagree mate.

Congrats to Buxton. There's no doubt the Buxton lads were the form riders at the right time, so everything else aside they did the business on track. Just for the record - I have no gripe with the Heathens not being handed the title of League Champions (as some suggested) because we were soundly beaten in the semi-final. But I do feel for all conected with Newport for not having a fair crack at it in the end. It's a real shame because until the last month (ish) the NL has been a massive success this season, except the sad loss of Mildenhall of course.

Sorry mate, I don't like it. The bottom line is that they chose not to ride and send their bikes home. Was not Cradley's most important meetings of the season (the DWT) just a challenge at the end of the day? I would love to have heard your opinion of the some of the former Heathens riders if they decided not to ride in it, or if Hamill and Hancock had sent their bikes home and not ridden in the last meeting of the season at Dudley Wood. You have a point but it's the rules, yet again, that are wrong. The same rules applies. You can have a facility if a rider is absent for any reason. I don't have a problem with clubs exploiting the rules, that's just good management, but it should never be allowed to happen. Much the same as clubs being given a facility for Aussies sending their bikes home early, my own club included. If Jake and/or Micky sign for the Heathens again next year I'll back them, but it doesn't mean I won't speak out on what I see as negatives as much as I will when they ride well and deserve praise.