greyhoundp

Yes there was some close racing, and like you say plenty of smiling faces to welcome us, mind you most of those smiles had disappeared by the end of the evening, due for the most part to a bitterly cold wind. No dust but i got covered in shale after the first race so beat a hasty retreat to another viewing point . I thought there was a good turnout of Heathens fans, i would like to thank the promotion for getting through the proceedings pretty quickly it wasnt a night to be hanging around. There were a fair few children their which is always nice to see, the problem speedway has is retaining the kids interest. On to the racing Cradley were never seriously threatened though their were some promising displays from the Plymouth boys. Stevie B is probably a little disappointed he couldnt stop Dan the man from getting his Max. Ben Wilson was a good guest for Tom P, Dan G seemed to be finding his best form, solid backing from Luke & Joe, probably Ryan and Connor were a little Disappointed with their points returns, but no lack of effort on there part, for Plymouth Steve B was doing his best to topple the Heathens Ht leaders, but wasnt making the starts, Benji obviously his injury isnt helping him, Smartie was solid if not spectacular, Young Henry A looks a fine prospect for the future, and is one to keep an eye on, probably the most important thing to come out of this meeting for Plymouth was that Richard Andrews seemed to be showing a return to form, he just needs to keep that Thumb from getting injured fr the rest of the season, i think The Devils have something to build on, on Track. That mascot you have doing some laps, dont know who he is or how old, but from what i saw he needs looking after, could be someone, along with Henry, that could keep Plymouth running for years to come. Off Track i think someone needs to be getting out and about around Plymouth with some promotion, i dont think Devonians have taken to the drop back to NL racing yet, i thought it looked like there were about 250 ish in numbers which taking away the Cradley fans ( again around 100 ish) meant their would only be about 150 Devils fans supporting them. It needs some IOW type promotions to be done, look outside of the normal avenues of promotion guys, dont rely on the old tried, and failed ideas.. Tesco community could be a way forward, and Lidl seem to be interested in promotions, possibly try bring a friend for a fiver or 2 for a Tenner on the less attractive nights, a fiver income is better than nowt.. . I know you read these Lorro im trying to be positive here, no criticisms meant to anything or anyone.. good luck to everyone down their, just stay positive and things will turn around..

So who will be signing Max Clegg, when his average drops ?, theres a real can of worms being opened up here.

I have respect for any rider that rides Speedway, what i am questioning is an apparent lack of effort, and a history that says questions remain over Mechanical issues that were apparent over previous attempts at riding Speedway, and still seem apparent this time around. I really feel for the promotion over their they do an absolutely fantastic job, all thats lacking is the final piece of the jigsaw on Track.. Come on Warriors Ommer Um.

Of course Kent tracked 3 current NL riders albeit Spooner is about to lose his place in the Kent Team.

Huh very few travelling fans, did you go last year for the League meeting ? i reckon there were between 75 and 100 of us, this year i would suggest it was again around 100, I thought there were more Eastbourne supporters last season than this. Now while 75 to 100 is not many i would suggest for the National league its very good considering how far away it is, I have never ever in the time we have been in the NL ever seen 100 visiting fans at Monmore, and that includes Eastbourne . we may have a few idiots amongst us at times, but its rare if ever that we take less than that to any away meeting. Next time we are down your way take a walk around the crowd, have a look on the Car Park for Cradley stickers you might be surprised.

Good win for Swindon, as S4K says its the bottom end thats hurting the Warriors, whilst i realise their are very few riders available to the Warriors, surely Mullins is just wasting a Team place ?, the minimum requirement is that a rider tries for 4 laps, i question whether this guy is even doing that,There must be a young rider somewhere who is able to fill this Team spot.

It seems that it was not Liam Carr on 4.69 in the initial declaration.

Yes, and this is the most worrying thing about this whole episode, Im rapidly coming to the conclusion most so called promoters treat supporters like a bit of dirt on their shoes. Its long since past the time where another breakaway league was formed Ohhhhh for another Mike Parker is their one out there to save Speedway while there is still something left to save ?.

First time Iv ever heard of a call off through wind, maybe we will see some Typhoon pics from KL later, I think their may be more to this than meets the eye if KL dont want to ride NL then pull out, and let the riders get some Track time elsewhere.

One thing i forgot to add something about last nights meeting, about 12 months ago i saw a young lad have a pre meeting spin, he wasnt old enough to take a Team spot, last night this self same kid, scored 15 against some peoples choices to win the League, well done Tommy B as he is known around those parts. Now lets reply to those people who say its not about winning i dont pay the best part of £70 for 2 of us to watch us develop riders, maybe it called Development League as its for the benefit of So called Senior Teams, because the NL Teams cant have assets, maybe its the right time for another Mike Parker, Im sure Easty wont like developing Tommy B for someone elses benefit.

Eastbourne won and deservedly so, having said that i thought Eastbourne were there for the taking, i dont think they are great shakes this year, Brennan is keeping them on the winning side at the moment, Mark is not a No1, Georgie to inconsistent, Connor hasnt moved forward, Matty Hot or Cold, and Powell well he is Powell, and Kelsey wasnt fully fit,Thats why i thought Eastbourne looked their for the taking, but Cradley simply were not good enough to take advantage, and when you get two riders failing to finish a race when up against one Eastbourne rider then it simply rubs salt into the wounds for the fans, i dont know if its good enough for the management but they certainly need a rocket up there backside, i dont think some of the riders are riding to their true ability for whatever reason, I Think this will be the 3rd season without winning something worthwhile if it carries on, Danny Ayres was the exception to these comments. Thats from a very dissapointed Cradley fan.

The reserve situation with Mullins is even more tricky he is simply so uneliable, and not good enough, no different to when he was when he last rode for IOW, and in my opinion needs replacing.

What i am trying to suggest is whilst I notice no-one is in favour of double points, in my opinion its just a gimmick brought in for Tv only. Im sure no-one likes to see 50+ point home or away wins, they generally are no good for the Sport as a spectacle, what ways are there to keep spectators interested not so much in the result, but to keep some races interesting ?, as an example to see Boxhall take on the opposing Teams top riders 1 or 2 more times in a meeting thats already lost, but in the case of Eastbourne losing away to Mildy even that would not have helped, because they didnt have an outstanding rider at that particular meeting so even such a rule would not have helped improve the spectacle in such an instance. Im just putting this out their for discussion as Speedway as a whole needs to be doing something that supporters find easy to understand, not by messing with averages (12+ average what a joke that is) which clearly is not working, and leave the Sport open to manipulation. Then we have the added situation of the NL having the NO asset rule Imposed yes Imposed on it by the BSPA heirachy, which then doesnt allow the NL to even have a vote at the AGM, how can they decide whats best for a League deemed seperate when it comes to voting, but part of when it comes to imposing self interested rulings ?.

So it seems many things contributed to Eastys woes at Mildy, however the fact remains for young Brennan to score almost half the total points must be worrying, given that Mildy are on a high at the moment its a long season, and things are going there way especially with there choice of guests, as for Cradley the other thing Easty need to remember is our top 2 riders are not known for their gating prowess.

Last season the NL did away with tactical (Maybe a different name) rides, was it a good move or not ?. The move was made i think primarily because a Team or Teams had lost matches because of the double points rule. I think if the Tactical ride rule was re-introduced as 3,2,1 point score if a Team was 8 or more points behind, it would prove to be more of a spectacle for spectators, surely its much better than watching un competitive races, Im not saying that a tactical should be allowed to unfairly influence the result of a meeting which is what double points did, but once a meeting is heading for only one result surely its better that racing remains of interest.

Well Dry House got that name for a reason, and the same guy that does your Track is the same guy that got Rye House that name..

Think the "Weak" Aces reserves could well be the match winners, Bewley different gravy last night.

Yeah, and it was bloody freezing..

Come on Lorro, surely you could find someone to sponsor Free Easter eggs for Kids at your Easter meeting.

Matty has always seemed to be one of those riders, who never seemed to ride two races the same, in one he can come out and look a world beater, in the next he can look pretty much like a novice..

Worrying comments about the crowd level, and from the pictures from Cradleys first League meeting there crowd was way way down and could best be described as sparse..

Yes i to heard that Luke Chessell was taking a year out,apparently he planned to go to Australia, but thats not happening now, so maybe he still has bikes will travel ?.

There are a few riders who have got averages that would fit! Adam Kirby 3.77, Took a year out to get over injuries, seems now that its going to be 2 years James Purchase 3.59, Injured awaiting a shoulder operation B4 he can ride again Jamie Halder 3.57 Paul Burnett 3.46, Probably a decent option if he can be persuaded to sign Daniel Blake 3.40 Reece Downes 3.33 Ben Basford 3.09, Taking a year out. Liam Rumsey 3.05, still has his equipment but does he have the will ?.

Good luck with a journey like that, its to be hoped everything works out..

If it is on, then better wrap up warm, the weather forecast is for it to be bloody cold, doubt i will be going not feeling to good, so likely i will give it a miss. On to the Teams reckon Cradley will just shade it, for Brum a lot will depend on how Cupitt goes, if he goes well & Dazza regains some form then Brum could just sneak it, as for the final League positions Red & Yellow aint far away, but lots will depend on how Dazza goes he was really poor towards the end of 2016.