Ben91

Personally can't see him becoming a full time GP rider but I hope he can do it and prove me wrong, class act at this level and looked the real deal during the EL play-offs.

Think this is his last year in the U21s? Either way he is a must on that average, if the new promotion have some savvy they'll know the dates NBJ could be away abroad and make sure we're not scheduled to race on them. I don't care if he's missing for a few meetings, not many better riders available on the same average.

If BWD goes into the PL on an assessed 5 next year then other NL teams should be outraged that he was allowed in the NL this year. If he's not British he's not eligible. If he is racing as a Brit then he should be eligible for a PL spot on a 3 point average next year. Not sour grapes at all btw, think he's a good rider but rules are rules and all that.

They got married.

Palm Toft back to Peterborough, wouldn't have been a bad signing.

Matt Wethers on a sub-five average must be under consideration for the senior reserve berth? Would be very surprised if the Monarchs don't put a good side together again.

I don't think he will be, improved each season he has raced so far, entertaining too. However as Len is no longer at Rye there's no reason he should let us use Ayres, who is a Kent asset I believe. Think we'll see Morley though I'd like Olly Greenwood back, the 2014 version that is.

Nah he's alright staying away.

If you have Konopka and Phillips at six and seven you may as well not bother with next season.

One year on one year off for Webster then!

NL riders are not professionals, most have other jobs or are kids funded by their parents (and sponsors before someone kicks off about that). You couldn't sustain your equipment and fund your day to day life as a NL speedway rider solely (or PL for that matter probably). Unfortunately there are many blokes in Britain who race and seem to think they've made it and are pro speedway riders yet complain that they're struggling to make ends meet because their 8 odd minutes of work each week isn't giving them enough in the way of wages. A bit of a tangent from the thread but hey ho.

Didn't know Mellgren had signed for Berwick again for next year. Mear's average is somewhere in the fives or sixes after his pitiful spell with us a couple of years back, I wouldn't go to watch a team with him in it. I'd take MPT over Kasper personally, very good round Rye and can get out of the gate.

I think Morley has improved a lot this year but he needs to be riding somewhere other than Rye to continue developing IMO. I think the three point NL reserve rule will rule Bowen out, it should if we want to challenge. Under a 42.5 limit he could be a handy reserve especially at home if he is the bottom averaged rider in the team but I'd not feel confident going away to certain tracks with him as our senior reserve. Anders is an interesting one, if fit he'd be more than capable of putting a point on his average back at Rye, that's a big if though. Not sure if the bridges between him and the promotion have been burnt now or not either. Would consider him as our fifth averaged rider but no higher than that. I don't think we'll see Robin back, he's too inconsistent although his average will see him get a reserve berth somewhere I'm sure, of course if we'd not pulled the masterstroke of signing Maassen to replace Boxall and thus pushing Robin into the team this year we may have seen the best of him at reserve, he'd be a gamble though. Kasper is a no for me, we need riders who can trap, especially at Rye and I can't see him improving his average as a Rocket regardless of how good he is to watch. As a second string he will do someone a job but I'd be happier to have someone who can gate, it'll take the pressure off the top riders to win every race. NBJ is a must, preferably as a third heatleader or second string even if possible, I don't care if he misses a few meetings here and there because he's on the continent, he's mustard and will only get better. Boxall and Maassen, no thanks. I'd prefer to try a different option for our three pointer too so no Dan Greenwood for me. I'd like to see Rob Lambert return, realistically if he does it'll be as number one. I can't see us using both Eddie and Rob so it'll be either or I'd suspect, pros for Kennett are he is almost unbeatable at Rye, for Lambert, that he comes in on an average about a point lower and will only get better.

Take the mud slinging elsewhere please.

Barker is capable of putting a point on his average, he'll be hot property this winter, would take him at Rye if we got the chance.

Rather have Olly Greenwood back, give Ayres a go or go with a Watjknecht/Spiller. The other reserve needs to be someone who can score home and away.

Bit of a pointless argument really, all boils down to who you chose to believe, Len Silver in his book or the defunct banger track website or whatever it's called. Either could be right and the other wrong, or alternatively they could both be wrong.

One swallow doesn't make a summer IMO, Couzins spent the majority of the season in the main team because he did better than the other three pointers, he looked a good little rider when he was at reserve, of course being in the main team for the majority of the season is no easy task. Verge has been about quite a while and just doesn't look to have any killer instinct in him, relying on his gating too much. Kingston seems to have gone stale at Mildenhall, he looked a good prospect when he was a King, would seem beneficial to both parties for him to return if the chance arises.

He's not a Brit though, so he shouldn't be part of the draft, shouldn't have been in the NL this year either that being the case but that's another can of worms all together.

Mark Baseby on 5.33 would be a better bet than his brother on just shy of seven. Will the Kings go with two three point reserves again after their long tail cost them dearly this year? Thomas is nailed on, of the three main three pointers from this season Couzins is the only one who looks like he will be able to build on a three point average next year. Shanes, Ayres, Chessell, M.Baseby, Thomas and Couzins would leave just over six points for a final rider.

Think it was possible to drop Hawkins or Bowen to get Boxall back in, instead Doyle went. Of course it could be said hindsight is a wonderful thing seeing as Doyle is now a GP rider but he was an out and out PL number one back then too. I'm sure we ended that year with James Brundle racing for us too...

Despite putting nearly a point on his average? That's the purpose of the NL for a club like Rye, for their riders to learn. From watching him early in the season compared to how he was going at the end he has been learning and improving. All speedway riders are dangerous if they come off, it's a dangerous sport.

We declared a team way under the points limit, Boxall was injured pre-season (I won't go into the details) and Doyle was drafted in, naturally making the team far better than the one that we had originally declared. Doyle was scoring well and as Boxall was nearing a return we could have dropped a second string/reserve for Boxall if I recall correctly, meaning Doyle could stay and we would have Boxall back too as a second string/reserve as opposed to a heat leader. Anyway, Len dropped Doyle and Boxall came back to revert to the original 1-7 that we declared way under the points limit, then to rub salt into the fans' wounds he went on the mic before a meeting basically telling the fans it was his team and he could do what he liked with it. I think a lot of fans stayed away after that, it has certainly made me stop making as many trips to Rye since.

We have to be thankful for the good things Len did, I wasn't around for the first spell, but bringing the club back to Rye, building two Premier League winning sides and giving us a list of riders we can all fondly look back on watching. Those who went on to bigger things, Woffinden, Kennett, Danny King (all started at reserve), Sundstrom. Those who had potential but ultimately never fulfilled it unfortunately, Haines, Roynon, Nelson, Boxall even. Then there was Robbo (Stuart), probably my favourite rider, a true entertainer and one who suffered horrific injuries racing for Rye House. Signing Jason Doyle from nowhere when Boxall was injured at the start of a season was a masterstroke too, unfortunately that was the start of the decline when Doyle made way for Boxall's return despite the fact he seemed willing to do a whole season at Rye. Things have gone stale since that time, there can be no doubting or denying that, a seeming inability on Len's part to move with the times and change his principles on team building have seen us plummet down the table when arguably we should have been one of the dominant forces in the league. Personally I thank Len for the good times, but I'm glad to see the club has an opportunity to move in a new and hopefully positive direction from this point. If the new promotion can build a good team, engage with their fan base and promote the sport in the local area then there is no reason we cannot see the Rockets on top of the Premier League again. I sincerely hope the Raiders run again next season too, we have three prospects in the side already showing great potential, being able to produce your own riders is a great thing. As for Len, I hope being able to commit 100% to Kent now will re-invigorate him, he will relish the fresh challenge and hopefully give the fans there a side that can challenge for honours too.

Carr D. Spiller Greaves Ayres Smith Parkinson-Blackburn E. Spiller Totals 38.02, hopefully Liam Carr's average will have dropped by at least 0.02 by the time the final averages are published.