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Wow, if true, that's again a bit of a shock!

I highly doubt that to be fair. With Bournmouth and Weymouth set to close, as well as Plymouth set to move up, that gives 8 teams, 9 including Stoke. 14 in the PL, plus Leicester and rumoured to be Ipswich, that's 16. Are 4 more teams going to drop down? Or is there going to be the creation of 7 more teams?

Potters vs Heathens...could also be fun!

I just hope we can build a competitive team. I think one of the problems that we will face is the fact the Spitfires were so under supported, and there is a sense of "Pl Snobbery"...a lot of fans are of the opinion it is PL or nothing. If Stokes team doesn't start winning and quickly, I fear for the club.

I suppose club asset Barrie Evans comes into play! Could be interesting to see who we sign. Plus, it gives NL fans a new track to visit I suppose!

So, today has seen the news that Stoke are going to drop down to the NL next season. I wonder if we will be able to build a competitive team in this league!

From what I gather, Smarty won hi 4th race, according to the Bournemouth twitter updates. Still, congratulations Smarty

Didn't at one point, a few years ago, the league come down to 2 meetings on a neutral track? It was held as a double header at Stoke, and from memory, Mildenhall and Sheffield were both involved in it... I remember it was to decide the league as there was issues due to the unavailability of the tracks involved

Man after my own heart £15 for adults £10 for concessions

Shame for Joe, was looking forward to seeing him ride! As for a replacement, they can either give it to the next highest average in the league (As Glasgow will have Trav representing them anyway) or they could give it to the next Glasgow rider...

Tom Armstrong was easily the best rider on display, but cost himself with poor gating in 2 rides and a stupid move on Sarjeant. That said, Irving was a deserved winner as he rode consistently, much to the annoyance of Squall and Spin King after I had icked him as my man to watch A good meeting though, shame about the crowd, although when you are expected to pay £14 for National League riders, and then the next week pay £15 for the PLRC, it is understandable. (I don't mean that as a slight towards NL riders, I just think that an individual with no home interest for riders who are generally of a lower standard than is there the week previously, some form of offer on ticket prices could have drawn a few more fans in)

I think I may wander down for this one. Is it normal admission prices?

Complin could do very well at Sheffield, so long as there is a bit of dirt on the track. Also, Taylor Poole to cause a few shocks. He won't win it, but I don't think he will be disgraced.

As has been said, if he had been good enough to qualify he would have qualified. He isn't the best rider in his team, and he isn't the best second heat leader in the league. Simple as that. Plus, Auty will be far far far more entertaining!

Should be a corker of a meeting! Will be there to (drunkenly) cheer on Taylor

So...are riders on assessed averages eligible? And does someone have to do a specific number of meetings for a club? As it stands, Stoke's top 3 are Frank Facher (Assessed 7, ridden 3 meetings) Jeremia Thelaus (Assessed 7, 1 meeting ridden) and Ben Wilson (Average 6.3, ridden 2 meetings) If they have a minimum number of meetings needed, we would end up with Taylor Poole riding in the meeting! With the greatest respect to Facher, Thelaus and Wilson, I would much rather Poole be there, as he is someone who has been with us all year!

Flippin eck, any more riders with a Stoke connection?

Pretty sure they said that Nelson couldn't be used again, but because of the confusion over the rule, they wouldn't dock the points...

You could also add Piszcz, Sitera, Simota...do you think the Stoke promotion won't have already tried these? And that often, it isn't due to the points money at all?

Ok, who would you bring in as a heat leader on a 9 point average? We have had this discussion on the terraces lots, and for one reason or another, there simply wasn't the number 1 to bring in! Somerset went with Lubos first, and now have Hefenbrock, so it isn't just us struggling for a top line rider! Workington haven't had a number 1 all season!

It all depends on what you do when his average drops. If, for example, his average drops and we then use the 4 points to strengthen up somewhere else in the team, is it such a bad thing? We haven't had the best of luck this season, losing Bunyan after 3 meetings, and now he has a broken arm, Roynon rode 3 meetings then broke his ankle, Jakobsen decided he couldn't be bothered to turn up, Holder was useless, and Rajkowski didn't have a bike that wanted to move! The fact that we have only been able to field a complete team in 3 official fixtures this season sums it up for me. It's been a terrible year for us, but we keep plugging the gaps with the best that we can. Given a choice between having Tomicek and having an NL rider at 1, I know who I would pick every day of the week. Sometimes, these things are forced upon you. Let's face it, who would have thought Smart would have averaged nearly 6, or Graversen would be averaging about 5? These are the chances we take when our team is falling apart!

Facts can be made to say what you want. I could say he is averaging 6 for Stoke, which is approximately what Vissing was averaging, so we haven't lost out in any way...

Stoke...

Any news on the results of these qualifiers?

Bunyan will have a good go at it!