HGould

yes looking a lot brighter now for tomorrow fingers crossed as they are a team I think we can beat as one of the weaker side away from home.

sadly on a Wednesday night in Brum very little is local as M5/M6/M42 corridor is an absolute nightmare and that puts many off in dodgy weather especially if you have already driven out of the City from work and have to venture back in via any of the M-ways

steady continual rain for 12 hours from 8am to 8pm is far more likely to put wavering fans off than the possibility of a sudden 20-30 minute heavy shower. I will support team and promotion 100% but can't help feeling that by calling off like they did last week will have many regulars on tenterhooks every week when rain is forecast and some will lose habit of coming.

that's what was forecast last week??..

A good Commercial Manager is worth her/his weight in gold and some very good examples of that at tracks like Belle Vue; Glasgow; Birmingham/Swindon, IOW; Leicester and Eastbourne from what I have seen with my own eyes in the last year or so.

lets hope BBC weather have got it wrong otherwise could have another early call off.

I think its a meting that needs to be shared around tracks on a north / midlands / south and big / medium / small track split as that will help the youngsters develop... places like Berwick / Glasgow / Redcar - Birmingham / Leicester / Monmore - Poole / Eastbourne / Swindon would be ideal imho

Kemp is one of 3-4 who could really develop in to top class riders but for that reason I can't see any single one of them dominating like Lambert has between 18-21 age range when they get there. As much as Kemp gets the column inches the likes of Brennan and Flint are on his coat tails and then we have Thomas who has a bit more experience that Kemp and Brennan and the likes of Edwards and Atkins developing well too. All good for UK speedway. What these boys need to do now is what Lambert did, get European experience, we only had 1 Under 19 Finalist in Europe last year (Brennan) and progress would be to have 2-3 this year and every year from now on then try to push them in to U21 where they will face the Polish masses and learn more quickly.

Cut off for Shield and KOC Round 1 is supposed to be 15th May.

Guess which day next week is the only day in Birmingham with rain showers forecast between 2pm and 6pm....ouch!

strange then that several Kent riders have pointed out the 2nd bend issue, and last season the ruts in 3rd turn were a continual problem. I'm only making comment about what I have seen with my own eyes and read with them too. Have widely praised Kent for getting many things right, but a dangerous track that could be rectified with a day with a blade is surely something that needs sorting.

Having seen both sides already. 50-40 imho Heats Leaders cancel out, just favour home side though. Reserves - Eastbourne - Wood and Brennan would beat Atkins and Rowe 8 times out of 10 in NL Racing. Middle Order - Somerset - Kurtz is key as he is far better at Oak Tree than Bowtell and Morley and great chance for the German to impress too.

Presume BSPA own all Lakeside assets as according to Peter Oakes in last weeks Star they were liquidated in February.

Be ideal for us with same teams as Ashley.

Not sure what BW-D average is in CL but Eastie have got 1.46 points to play with on declared 1-7 and Morley on 4.80 so would be 6.46 or under they could use?? If first green sheets out next week they would have to act fast, other Clubs like Brummies could have a lot more leeway after first Averages.

Certainly make them more potent away from home and didn't he start there?? I agree would be unfair on Morley if true. It was more than one person saying it in bar though but might just be 2 + 2 = 5 on this occasion.

Poole

I asked this as we are in a 3 team group. Actually first question I asked was why are we in a 3 team group, as I would have though Northern/Borders Group that Workington were in should have been the 3 team Group not the Southern Group as that was going to include Leicester. I never got a sensible answer to that other than Southern group is 3 new Teams (2 up 1 down) The answer I was given re 2nd place is that it'll be based on highest points and if level aggregate t or - between 2 x 4 Team Groups as only the winner of the Southern Group would go through. That seems very unfair to me , but we and the others in our Group are "new boys" so I reckon we have to sit quietly in the corner and let Mr Bates and Mr Godfrey walk all over us and be grateful for being in their league...

agree Gazza, doubt you had many queues in NL era though, been queues both time i've been this season, first meting only had 3 turnstiles open though but on Friday all were open.

Think we will need to move quickly for BW-D as strong rumours at Eastbourne were that they were going to bring him in to replace Morley before new averages come out as they would have no chance to do after it, might just be wishful fans tittle tattle though.

Correct re the rent and I think things like insurance and paramedics etc. The crowds at opening 2 Fixtures were OK but not great better than NL but not much better, and I think they would rather have a sunny night for what will probably be biggest gate of the season especially with Leicester flying. Not heard anything from sensible sources re Team changes, have heard various rumours on terraces with names like Wilson-Dean; Luke Becker, Mitchell D and Danyon Hulme....we will have to wait and see.

Bit early considering its a local derby and weather not due in until lunchtime and clearing about 6pm, they must have pretty accurate information to hand. Will be congratulated if they are correct and pilloried if sun is shining at 7pm - who'd be a Promoter. Would think Somerset will be off too as weather forecast there is even worse!

I wish all Clubs well in making a profit. In the case of Kent who have a lovely stadium and decent support, it is a shame that they have seen fit to raise admission prices to above the level of some CL Teams and provide a track that is in desperate need of some TLC and attention and in the case of the 2nd turn downright dangerous. If Len could see for to employing a proper track man for a few hundred quid a meeting I'm sure the majority of kent fans would love it.

I always allow extra time and most meets am there in stadium an hour at least before tapes up. As I have said a few times in this thread, it took me 2 hours longer than normal to arrive at Stadium from south of Birmingham. I and many others and a fair few from Birmingham arrived later than we normally would due to M25/M23 issues. I spoke to fans from London (ex Dons) outside who had taken 4 hours to get there; from South London. Please give the Club some credit for thinking of fans who are late through no fault of their own. There are a good 80-100 people outside there at 5 to 3 who would probably would not have come back if they had not delayed start by no more than 10 mins to let us in, if a few inside have an issue with that I hope they are never delayed when they come to see their Team at Birmingham. Good customer service should be seen as being thoughtful and considerate, and that's what it was. Good Friday was a great day for Speedway everywhere with big crowds at all venues, I really do wonder if some actually want it to die just to preserve their illogical preferences.

Yes I do think there is a fine line between building a strong side and too strong a side. All within the rules of course and no complaints there, those 2 reserves will be amongst the best 2 pointers in the League and very clever to pick them up when Eastbourne moved up as they had been regulars there, but with the top 5 they have and those 2 reserves look very strong, prospect of Jenkins and Spooner at reserve already in May. That and the issues with the track, turn 2 looks in desperate need of modification and 3 not much better means "tonkings" and long drawn out meetings will negate some newcomers from going back and that's a shame then there is the elephant in the room "the curfew". I sincerely hope that Kent can find a way to move up as they would grace CL with their set up and if they could just sort the track out. Enthusiastic crowd who deserve professional grade racing. Although Len knows he can make a nice buck in NL with much lower pay scales.