Parsloes 1928 nearly

Neither can I. Some people appear to be implying that what it will be, is that the two reserves in each EL team have to be NL riders and will only have two programmed rides and these are against each other (ie heat 2 times two..). Is this correct..? Or have I totally misunderstood..?!

Crumbs, there are tough cookies there that's for sure!!

Well yes, depends how you define 'professional'. Speedway (outside of the STR & Dragons' kind of set ups) is a 'professional' sport in the strict definition of being paid. And that applies to the NL - riders get points money etc. If you mean 'professional' as in full-time and not needing or having another job/form of income then for very few at NL level will that apply. My analogy was with Football's Ryman League where players are paid too - so are 'profesional' in that sense but no way are any of them 'full-time'.

I think the point meant that there will be riders at NL level who are not ever going to do what Tai did, move on to being World class riders but have a perfect right to compete at the level they're at.. The example is football isn't it - where good players can enjoy playing at a good level (like say the Isthmian League) without needing to have placed upon them the expectation of others that if they don't improve and get into the Football League or Premiership they should pack up.. Too often in Speedway, riders at third tier level are castigated for remaining there and not moving up... The problem is under a two league structure such riders will lose that 'national league' (literally atm) where they can compete like this but if handled correctly and enough opportunities given to still ride, it could even possibly work out better for riders who want to compete at that lower level maybe..?

Crickey, and there was me wondering when the Potters were actually going to finish their 2013 home season...?!

Think there should be the requirement for junior races but can't see how it could work for them to count towards team scores - that would necessitate (for example) Buxton juniors travelling down to Kent on a Monday for a max of two rides..: that couldn't work. Juniors, virtually by definition, are going to be local - when I think of the sheer number of juniors/non-League riders who popped up at Crayford second halves over the years (the majority of which never got a team place) it certainly makes you think..

Now THAT'S a team! Though replace Nelson with Stevie Boxall!

It was 'Make It A Date, Friday at Eight'...: though taken as red shouldn't be late!!!

No question that Rye House is a good enough set-up for the top division - I really hope it happens.

Like others, I do think going to two divisions may (especially IF the TV money's lost...) be both a possibility and, certainly for the stand-alone NL clubs who sustain good crowds (like Kent & Mildenhall, for example..) probably a good thing. Certainly we need a good number of fixtures at Central Park and ideally not a repetition of the same opponents too much - if the NL got any smaller that would be damaging. Rye House certainly from a set-up perspective would fit well into the upper tier but crowds could be the stumbling block - I also think it's correct to say that in all their long history RH have never been in Speedway's top division have they? It would mean a large-ish number of riders not having a team slot but really it worked okay in the '60s through to the end of the '80s - but that was also of course the era of full 'second halves' which gave riders not in the team chances to impress and to take on existing reserves in the main side and try and beat them to force their way in.

I really don't understand this constant reiteration by some, of a 'concern' about the links with Rye House. People talk of them as if such a thing's unusual. Mildenhall have the exact same relationship (no, not the same - actually much closer) with their PL neighbours in Suffolk, the Ipswich Witches. Does it cause anyone at West Row any angst..? Not so far as I've ever been able to pick up. When Crayford opened first it was the 'nursery' club of Wolverhampton; when it reopened it had a pretty close relationship with Hackney - indeed Len Silver was promoter at Hackney and co-promoter at first at Crayford too in '75. He had been promoter at Rayleigh and of course then at Rye House at this same sort of time. Many of the Kestrels had been Rockets in the year or two before and/or were Hackney assets. So it's not unusual; and more importantly it's not damaging. For goodness sake, the link gave us Stevie and Ben, our top two; it also of course, gave us David and Connor. Was that in any way a bad thing..? Would getting - for example - Simon Lambert or even possibly Luke Bowen next season (just examples not speculation!) be a bad thing..? I'd be hard pushed to say yes so why on earth would anyone else. And to even suggest not coming to Central Park anymore because some riders are RH assets is utterly bewildering...

Only 37 times..? As a former Council employee myself I can tell you we never answer until a question's asked 40 times! A schoolboy error on your part there!!

Well stone the crows, after several weeks of being unable to post after the BSF 'upgrade' (sic), suddenly it's allowing me to again!! Am sure I've been missed!!! Can't say I've missed gustix STILL banging on about the biggest 'non-story' in his distinguished journalistic career..:why Connor Coles wasn't in that final (actually never to be...) away team of the KK season.. Hopefully we'll hear no more of that! Rather like it looked you were going to hear no more from me again!!

Can anyone help me out with the full name of the rider who partnered Les Collins in the Edinburgh Pair in this meeting at Arena Essex in 1994. I have it in my prog as V. Vlinen..

Er, actually it was a 4TT featuring Canterbury, Ipswich, Birmingham & Rayleigh.. Rayleigh's last ever appearance before losing their home track

Right, well I wasn't actually referring to your one 'throwaway' (barbed though it was..) comment on this thread - more that you'd gone on about the decision to drop Mason all year without seemingly pausing for breath. Happy to hear that actually you understood why it happened all along!!!

Some very interesting contributions especialy from arthur cross. My point was merely observation really, that Romford Dogs is packed out for Friday & Saturday nights - sure BAGS is financially important to the Corals operation but those are real live punters attending the place those nights! And sure, the crowds did considerably increase when the 'Stow closed. I do think too that people in the Romford area like a night out. I sadly never saw Speedway at the old Brooklands (closed just before I got into the sport) but by all accounts they got huge crowds there too.

Hmm, so as you understood this so well all along, one can only conclude that your constant references to the David Mason 'situation' was all along just mischief-making...

For heavens sake gustix - change the bloody record! You've been banging on completely inaccurately about this for months now. The Kent side had a real problem with fitting in riders when Steve Boxall's assessed average was so high. When a rider as talented as Benji Compton suddenly became available early on in the season, the management could either have left it and Benji would've signed for someone else or make a (difficult) decision to temporarily change the side to get Benji in. The latter was the decision made. As soon as Boxall's average reduced, Mason was reintroduced and the Kings won every remaining home league match after that with Compton & Mason actually a formitable partnership. The decision was hard but clearly proven to be correct. Your constant banging on about it shows literally no understanding of how one has to juggle resources and make team management decisions. Is there ANY chance you'll finally understand what happened and why!?

What is the point you're making then?

Not an expert on greyhound racing by any means, but I can tell you that the crowds at Romford (which along with Plough Lane and Crayford is one of only three remaining tracks in Greater London) are absolutely enormous - well they are on Friday & Saturday nights. Incredibly there are weekly meetings on FOUR evenings: the two just mentioned plus Mondays & Wednesdays. Amazing - you name another sport which is staged at the same stadium FOUR evenings (and indeed two lunchtimes too...) every week?!

Yes - the decision to cut the MDL Final was based on a couple of things. Some unavailability of riders but also that two Stoke riders (Payne & Tedham) were due to appear for the Spitfires having already ridden for the Potters in the NL Double Header. As reseves that could possibly mean 10 rides BEFORE the MDL match where they'd have a further three. I think it was thought this could cause problems and I reckon they're correct there...

Don't think Wolves have a fixture on that Monday though I suppose IF the Olympique were rained off tomorrow that might take the Monday as a restaging date..?

IF the IoW win on Weds how on earth are they going to be able to stage a home leg of the Final as Dudley stage their home leg on the only remaining Tuesday..?! The more one looks at this the more one has to question the decision to go for a replay. Surely in the past some KOC competitions have used the run off at the end of the second leg when a tie's drawn. That would've saved us from all of this, this time around...

Now I hear that the MDL KOC Final part of this meeting is not going to happen....