21st century heathen

Looks like I'm the first with comment on P&P. Great to see the lads out there and the new race jacket gets my seal of approval. Starke - Didn't seem to do too many full throttle laps so hopefully that's a sign he's happy and comfortable with his kit. Greaves - I thought Nath looked very good last night. He did plenty of quick laps and didn't put a wheel wrong all evening. Hopefully the nunber 2 race jacket isn't going to faze him and if he can make some clean starts alongside Starke he just might surprise a few more highly rated riders. Perry - Looked to be comfortably the fastest of the Heathens riders. That was encouraging to see. If he can click in to top gear early in the season then a difficult 2013 should soon become a dim and distant memory. Clegg - Max didn't look as quick as I've seen him ride Monmore before. I wouldn't go so far as to say there should be any concern but he did look a tad sluggish (relatively speaking). It's going to be a really big season for Max so fingers crossed he can improve on his gating and get himself in the mix more on away tracks as well as home. Worrall - He's another I'd say I've seen lap faster but he looked reasonably quick and certainly comfortable. If I'd note anything of concern regarding Steve it would be his practice starts. I don't think that was as sharp as it could be, nor should be if he's going to push on to become a 9/10 point man. Perhaps it's just the impression I got from watching one rider on his own though. Williamson - Matt really impressed me. He looked a lot quicker and smoother than I expected. I thought it would take some time to settle in at Monmore but these very early signs are promising. It remains to be seen how it translates in to racing but it's going to be exciting watching him progress this season. Phillips - I got more or less what I expected from Danny. He might take a few meetings to properly settle at Monmore but there was nothing negative to report. He had perfectly respectable pace and didn't make any significant errors. All-in-all it seemed to be a very positive practice session for the lads with no major dramas. Thankfully there were no major blow-ups or obvious bike problems of any significance so that's a real plus too.

Wow, I had to make some tough calls even in speedway fantasy-land. Worrall - 7.09 O Greenwood - 6.89 Rose - 6.76 Perry - 6.30 D Greenwood - 5.74 Kingston - 4.20 Freemantle - 3.00 = 39.98 And if any of them let me down I'll not think twice about sacking them next season.

Cheers. Yeah, I considered Ollie as well. I went for Dan based on him starting in a second string position which should give him some slightly easier heats. It is certainly true to say that it could be a really big year for Ollie too. Cracking looking line-up Coventry have. They're the pre-season favourites for me. He's just a victim of circumstance. It happens to clubs/riders every year. C'est la vie.

Riders to watch in 2014? Quite a few to be honest but I've restricted myself to one from each (most) team as one I think will 'one to watch'. Buxton - Carr I'm expecting big things from him this season. A combination of few of last season's big hitters and (a recurring theme for many to follow) a natural improved this season on last will see Liam's average rise sharply I believe. I'd expect out-and-out heat leader quality at home and a menace on the road where he could lower a few colours. His away form may well define the season for Buxton. It won't be easy but he could inspire them to some surprise results that just keep the league total ticking over. Coventry - Dan Greenwood Dan was absolutely flying toward the end of the last season and if he can start the season in that form and stay fully fit the confidence will build relentlessly. He's had plenty of laps around Brandon so it's not like he will need time to settle on a new home track. He was very good value for the Heathens in the mickey mouse pairs that Coventry staged last season, outshining Starke on the night. He's not riding in a heat leader position to start the season but he could very easily be riding to a heat leader average and could make the Storm title favourites (and the fours and the cup!). Cradley - Tough one this and one I have naturally thought more about than the other clubs. Starke needs to prove last season wasn't a flash in the pan. Can he maintain or even kick on from his near 10-point average? Can Worrall finally (a couple of years late perhaps) have a really big breakthrough year like his brother had? Can Perry regain his true form after a difficult 2013 that was affected by illness and injury? Can Clegg bolster the middle order with more consistent away form which will probably mean finding a way to be more consistent from the gate? Can Greaves handle the pressure in starting in the 1-5 and more importantly keep it rubber side down? I came very close to naming Greaves my one to watch for the Heathens for this very reason. He had something like 15 retirements and exclusions last season and I'm sure by far the majority were due to slipping off the bike while in good scoring positions, mostly 1st or 2nd placed at the time. Put this right and he'll raise his average significantly again. I then considered Phillips who is a rider I wanted us to sign this season but expected to go to Mildenhall, so imagine my surprise and delight. I quite sure he can replicate what many a 3-pointer with a bit of quality does and put at least a point on his average with a combination of cracking scores when it all comes together and perhaps the odd disappointment when arguably trying to hard and blip in confidence (see Greaves). But in the end I'm going for Williamson. This is mostly down to two reasons. He has last year under his belt and he starts from a lower average than Greaves giving more room for average improvement. His points at the lower end, along with Greaves and Phillips will be crucial and likely define our season. We may see him need some time to get used to Monmore and work out the lines and that you ride it with your brain as much your throttle but I expect Starke in particular to be on-hand to give as much help as the lad asks for. Devon - An unknown at this point. Kent - Freemantle. The top three will do their job and provide a solid base for the club to launch its assault on the silverware and Mason/Chessell will do what they does in the middle order. Freemantle has all the potential to move straight in to the top 5 and prove himself a very worthy addition to it. He's certainly going to be one of the ones to watch in the league not just his own club. I expect a big average improvement and one that could prove to be the difference between two teams when they go head-to-head. King's Lynn - For me this one was quite straight forward. It's Rose; simple as that really. I expect him to soar head and shoulders above his team mates and provided he keeps his focus and channels drive and determination the right way I believe he'll become one of the top riders in the league this season. Competition amongst the top riders will still be stern despite so many having moved and this is he'll need to make sure he try too much and end up with falls or exclusions costing him points. There may be time when a 2nd or a 3rd has to be settled for but over the course of the season it'll see his stock rise. Mildenhall - Kingston is the man for them in what looks another solid line-up. It's a team packed with potential but this lad probably impressed me most of all visitors to Monmore last season, and I'm not alone in thinking his display that night was truly noteworthy. In a similar position to Greaves in that he's going to start in the top 5 with a season under his belt so it could be how he approaches the extra responsibility and expectation that come with that which ultimately proves me right or wrong in naming him one to watch. I do expect a big but steady improvement from him as he doesn't strike me as a rider to make rash or foolish decisions. Scunthorpe - Another unknown quantity and I suspect I may not be the best person to pick one out of their line-up when it's known as it may well feature riders I know little if anything about. Stoke - There's one man I think will define how far up the league Stoke can push next season so he's without any doubt or hesitation my one to watch from their septet. I think it could be a really big season for Hopwood. I view him similarly to Dan Greenwood as a 2013 second string that will benefit hugely in 2014 from both natural progress and the number of heat leaders that have moved on. There are still riders that will average a fair big more than Hopwood (and Greenwood) but he will shine in this league, of that I have not about. Great to have Devon and Scunny in the league this season and I look forward to seeing how they line up. As good as this is I join with everybody in being truly gutted that we've lost IOW. I really hope a solution is found down there but it doesn't look good at the moment.

The following is taken partly from the CLA website and partly my experience in the job I do. Under UK copyright law it is illegal to make a hard copy or a digital copy (scanning) of "substantial" parts of a work without prior permission of the copyright holder. It is also an infringement of copyright law to perform, rent, show, lend the work to the public. There is huge ambiguity in the law though as what constitutes a "substantial part" of any given work is open to debate. The only real guide that I know of in relation to my job relates to books. It's accepted that you may copy 5% of the total number of pages or one chapter in its entirety regardless of the number of pages that equates to. Though this is not directly relevant to the subject raised here it does demonstrate that what is considered to be a substantial part is quite a small amount. It's also worth noting that if a case is brought against someone for an infringement of copyright the importance and significance of what has been copied is also very important, not just the quantity of words or pages. A case can also be brought against the recipient not just the person that made/distributed the copied material. Please visit http://www.cla.co.uk/ for full statement of fact on UK copyright law.

Real shame to see this posted here. I guess he's going to be out of action for quite some time then?

That's a good read and certainly better than one can expect from the BSPA. If I were being ultra-picky perhaps you could have nailed Morris down for a couple of lines. He looked very quick against Coventry around Monmore a couple of weeks ago and will surely be amongst the potential spoilers, assuming you subscribe to the like of Howarth, Garrity and Perry being the most likely to stand on the podium. --------------------------------------- Looking forward to what could prove an absolute cracker tonight. The weather is just about perfect. Not too hot or cold and dry so the track should be well prepared. Hopefully we can carry the Heathens and ex-Heathens to a positive result.

Great for Ash - crap for the meeting.

Really good to have my regular Friday night speedway fix to look forward to even on SGP weekends. Well done Cov for make the move to a ) fill the blanks dates and b ) giving a chance for our young Brits to get crucial league action. Hopefully we'll see some cracking racing (a positive result for the Heathens) and no injuries.

Well, it depends whether you followed up getting drunk with the rest of the antics the Aussies lads are reported to have. It makes a difference that it's professional sportsmen though and I reiterate that if it were high profile footballers caught peeing in the street in this country it would be all over the press and they would face action for it. It's not just this incident though. The difference for Ward is that it's the latest in a long line of incidents that he's been involved in. The fact is that unless someone steps in it's going to go very horribly wrong one day and his career will be down the pan, and perhaps his personal life too given some of the things he's been involved in. Whatever anyone thinks of him off track most people acknowledge his ability on track and don't want to see natural ability flushed down the pan. Another Aussie was boasting the other day, seemingly proud, of the fact that he'd been repeatedly black flagged and ultimately banned for life from a go-kart centre in a matter of minutes. I doubt he was recognised by anyone but putting it out there in the public domain was a bit silly. I'm not anit-Aussie before I'm accused of that. Crump (though I didn't much like him as a rider), Adams and Sullivan, to name but three high profile riders didn't hit the headlines for the wrong reasons.

Hang on, you're not considering at the reported facts. Got drunk and got thrown out - hardly worthy of breaking news. But two well-paid professional sportsmen getting drunk, fighting (why they had to take their clothes off for this is open to debate) and urinating in the street is a story. The fact that Ward is involved again makes it a bigger story and one that the sport should not brush under the carpet. You can be damn sure that if it were a more high profile sport and happened in this country it would be all over the news. And more importantly you can be damn sure that another sport would take action to distance itself from the individual's actions and make sure the public image of the sport was not damaged by taking action against the individuals. As you stated yourself, I believe, after Ward's previous indiscretions it's doing him no favours by not being slapped into line both from the view of the sport and for himself away from speedway. I believe you are also one of those that slated Middleditch for his 'it is what all young people do' comments a few weeks ago. Perhaps he thinks this is also what all young people do. Well, it's not. So you're assuming he lost the fight without landing a blow?

So it's not a family sport unless the start time suits you? My brother and I would sleep on the back seat of the car on the way home.

The traditional start time for many, if not most, clubs over the years is/was 19:30. In the past crowds were many times larger than they are currently. I don't see a change to 17:00 on a Sunday as viable. I disagree with defining 'family sport' as the time it starts or where the track is in relation to your home.

The flying camera needs work - to put it politely. Relatively poor quality, riders out of shot and out of focus. The Louis analysis is of more benefit to newbies and casual viewers than to those us that have watched speedway for years. We tend to spot things anyway and generally know, or quickly work out which gates and lines are working on a track. Still, it's far more interesting than other time-filling waffle we've had in the past. I watched the Sky meeting when I got back from Monmore and fast-forwarded to the races in most cases, but still found myself hitting play to hear what Louis was saying and see what he was pointing out. That and the updates from the other tracks are a great addition to the coverage. It would be good to have a bit more technical stuff incorporated for the long-time followers as well.

All good fun.

You doing updating? I can PM you my number if so. If not please let me know who to contact. Cheers. Dry, still cold for the time of year but not as icy cold as it has been, cloudy but not rain bearing bar the odd dribs and drabs of drizzle here and there. On paper we look good at reserve, but they don't have many laps around Monmore so I think we need to get this meeting under our belts to see how well the boys take to it on their debut. They're bound to be a bit nervous as well which can have an effect. The top 5 should have enough general experience to work through set-ups to find what works for them and work out the lines relatively quickly. Hopefully Ash and Dan will be quick to advise where necessary.

Surprised this one hasn't been started yet. Preview from the Heathens website below. Cov's website doesn't allow C&P - linked to it though if anyone wants to read their take on it. HEATHENS are expecting a bumper opening night crowd for their Travel Plus Trophy tie with Coventry at Monmore Green on Tuesday (7.30). The former Cradley club are looking to build on their stunning National Shield win at Mildenhall on Sunday by building up a handy first leg lead against the Storm to take to Brandon for the return on April 19. And boss Will Pottinger wants fans to welcome the club’s fine new signings with open arms. He said: “It’s a big night for the new lads but when they see our fans on the terraces they will realise just how many people are willing them to succeed. “We are really pleased with the win at Mildenhall but this is a new test for us because Coventry have riders with experience of the Monmore track, so we’re expecting a very tough test.” Coventry are new to the National League and include former Heathens riders Richard Franklin – who had two seasons at Monmore – Brendan Johnson and James Sarjeant. They’ve also signed Joe Jacobs as the new No.1 and he was a team-mate of Blackbird in the title winning Mildenhall team last season. Admission prices for tonight are £11 adults, £8 concessions and £2 children. Programmes are £2. DUDLEY: Ashley Morris, Gareth Isherwood, Paul Starke, Dan Greenwood, Lewis Blackbird, Max Clegg, Nathan Greaves. COVENTRY: Joe Jacobs, Richard Franklin, Oliver Greenwood, Brendan Johnson, James Sarjeant, Trevor Heath, Martin Knuckey. http://www.dudleyheathens.co/news.php?extend.766 http://www.coventrybees.co/news.php?extend.2228 So the long awaited renewal of an rivalry is upon us. The Heathens hand home debuts to 5 riders. On paper I feel we are too strong for Coventry but with Monmore being a track where experience is important our boys lack of experience early season may see a few cracks in the armour. JJ and Sarj will be quick, I'm sure. Greenwwod looked pretty good in practice last week and Johnson wasn't troubled at all by his team mates so he was looking pretty decent too. I'm certainly not writing off the potential challenge by the visitors but I'd like to see us run out comfortable winners with every one of our boys in the points again. It would represent a solid start and a real confidence boost ahead of the NL meetings. Any one from Cov heading over? It would be great to see a strong following.

Excellent work by Sky. Clearly they recognise that sometimes breaks in the action are unavoidable, though I think speedway needs to sharpen up and provide a more 'slick' (not the track ) product, and has found a way to fill the gaps. The inside track gizmo works nicely with someone that can use it properly and is useful to newbies and possibly if it develops we might all start to learn a thing or two. The reports from the other track are a welcome addition too.

Yeah, they were all listed initially but do not appear on the issue 1, the first with a riders' average. It could be one of two things I s'pose. Either there is a dispute over a rider's average, though why that would only come to light now I don't know, or perhaps Shane is going to be out injured for an extended period. I hope not. I kinda assumed he was ok, though probably battered and bruised, because nothing had come to light.

Does anyone know why KL don't appear on the declarations page? http://www.speedwaygb.co/issues13/nl13_issue_1.pdf

I think Stoke may have some poor away days but should be strong at home. The top three are a match for any. The Lukes will be fine on their own shale but inconsistent elsewhere in my opinion. The reserves should get dialled in at home and score some useful points as back to the rest but there might well be some tricky away-day's. Great to see Smarty in top form.

I followed on Updates and it seems both teams can point to dropped points here and there so let's not get too picky one way or the other. Obviously, I am delighted to have taken the win but above that I am so happy to see 6 different heat winners and Greaves taking a paid win. That's extremely encouraging for the team as a whole and a huge confidence boost ahead of their home debut. If any of them had had a tough night then it could have been a bit of a case of 'bunny trapped in the head lights' on Tue in front of a big home crowd. As it is they can approach it full of confidence and hopefully enjoy the experience and bag a hat full of points. If I were a Mildenhall fan I be naturally disappointed but not overly concerned. It's just the first meeting and some cobwebs will be blown away. I wouldn't expect the home form to be a particular concern throughout the season. I still think they will be there or thereabouts throughout.

He may not do our PL if he has other league offers. I expect he will have them queueing up abroad too.

I wouldn't be surprised to see him in a Poole race jacket next season!

Perhaps we won a coin toss and Mildenhall were drawn out of a hat? (only half joking) Anyway, it's in the past now so let's just crack on with this season.