Ben91

The one thing that annoys me is that we've never had a satisfactory answer as to why the guy is riding NL as he isn't British.

Paid seven is more than Greenwood scored in any meeting he rode for the Rockets. Luke is the best rider available on that four point figure. The issue is with the reserve pairing on the whole, the Maasen signing was crap, lets not sugar the pill. It's not too late to make more changes for this season, it's too late to save the season though.

Well yes he is, born in France maybe but his parents are British and he races as a Brit.

And? He's not even British.

Maybe one day he'll be as good as Mitchell Davey.

This is why I've been avoiding Rockets meetings and going to watch the Raiders. Who sat down and actually thought Maasen was the answer? Other promotions are proactive we are reactive and very slowly at that. There are plenty of riders out there who could have come in and kept Robin at reserve. It would be so easy to build a winning team at Rye, the track lends itself to one that offers home advantage, when prepared right the racing can be good too. The more time goes on the more it seems that the 2005 and 2007 title winning sides may have fallen into place by good fortune rather than planning.

PL teams weren't interested because there are a lot of Friday night meetings in the PL that he would miss due to his Lakeside commitments. At least that's my understanding of it. Nothing to do with his ability but as a young Brit he should be encouraged to ride as much as possible, even if that means in all three leagues. BWD is probably running at a higher average than Ellis without checking, is he too good for this level too Alex? Shall we chuck him out too and make Eastbourne use Niall Strudwick instead?

Don't be daft, or would you rather see a young British prospect without a team spot?

Doubling up should be for Brits only. If you're not British you ride PL or EL simple. Any Brits stepping up to the EL for the first time should do so on a three point average if they aren't in the draft, not a converted PL figure. This promotes the use of British riders. Again, simple. These things shouldn't be done to pander to Brits, they should be done as something of a selfish move to help our riders progress first and foremost and improve British Speedway as a whole in the process.

Of course but that is the nature of the sport. Greenwood wasn't cutting the mustard and I'd rather see us try to improve the product on track than stick with someone who is not scoring well enough. Bowen is probably the best replacement about that could fit. Though personally I would have replaced Boxall with a rider who has an average higher than Robin to keep him at reserve and tried another three pointer in the place of Greenwood. As it is there will be a lot of pressure on Luke to perform and carry Maasen I think.

That's a little bit extreme, it's not like working your notice, if you're a speedway rider and your head isn't in it then you have to stop going onto the track for your own sake and that of other riders. Luke's future may be in the NL, he may have a strong end to the season for the Rockets and be one of our key riders for the rest of the year, it's too early to judge. Even though we now have nothing to race for realistically.

I was there. So basically you're holding a grudge because it's your grandson? Racing speedway is dangerous, Bowen of all people would know about that and he wouldn't intentionally impede another rider/team mate. I'll say what I like too thanks.

Maybe Bowen was just quicker than Morley.

James McBain was scoring well in the NL last year before his injury/retirement. Better than Ruddick.

Would never work. Much too close to Rye, the track would be tiny too. Possibly one of the smallest in the country.

Nobody to blame but ourselves. Maasen coming in when we have a free scoring reserve thus pushing Robin into the team was an atrocious decision in the first place. Trying not to sound like I'm getting on the bloke's back but it's just baffling. Luke did more than Greenwood would have today but our reserve pairing before the changes would have scored as many if not more than today's reserves. Especially as Robin could have taken two R/R rides while at reserve and he would have scored more from a reserve berth than he did in the team. Our season hinged on the cup and we've blown it. It isn't hard, play to your strengths, in Kasper and Robin we had a good reserve to back up a strong top two and we have decided to ruin that before our most important meeting of the season.

Maasen, awful signing.

I could be wrong but I think that the first three would come in on seven point averages and Castagna would be on a five. Kulakov possibly even an eight, seem to remember Bondarenko at Leicester starting on an right point average as a Russian a few years back. Think a lot of people are overestimating him, no doubt he's got potential but the NL is a weaker league this year too.

They were lucky that the points limit was raised. As catinthehat has said Len Silver oversees the training schools at Rye, he is in touch with the youth scene. Sittingbourne run practice sessions, there must be young riders there too that are literally on the Kings' doorstep. Then on top of that there are grasstrackers and motorcross converts, it's not as it there are no riders about.

Losing your best riders year in year out to the points limit has been the nature of the sport at any level in Britain for years. The Kings' top four is one of, if not the best top four in the league. Most of that top four was signed before the announcement of the points limit and that left the Kings very top heavy however. Now it is too late to make any changes without dropping at least two of that quartet which is highly unlikely to happen.

All depends on what country they are from and what competitions they have already competed in. If we gamble on an assessed five pointer then Robin would move into the main team, not worth that gamble imo. Even Wilson-Dean on a five point average would be a gamble somewhat, he looks impressive but he wasn't that much better than Morley round Rye and Morley is on a 3 point PL figure still.

If Perry is out for a while Luke Bowen would do a good job at NL level on an 8 point average.

There are plenty of riders of a similar standard to Boxall about though, whether they are the right fit for Rye is another matter. The heatleaders are where there is a problem, squads with teams having to use British reserves only is completely feasible and also better in the long run for British Speedway. Wilson-Dean has said he will only ride for Eastbourne this season, can't see him going back on that sadly. If he did sign then we'd lose Robin at reserve and I don't think that's a gamble worth taking personally.

With two changes, Boxall and Greenwood out, we haven't got much scope other than like for like replacements. Mattress for Boxall would leave us 3.57 to replace Greenwood. Hawkins would fit but he was dire last time he ride for us and it appears he's been the same this year. Better to persist with Greenwood or another youngster. If Kasper is out longer term we could make three changes, it'd be key to keep Robin at reserve though IMO or bring in someone else who could score heavily in a reserve berth.

So, Boxall's season is over. Personally think that's time up for his Rye career. We can't hope to get anywhere with R/R so we need to find a replacement really or make 2/3 changes and give ourselves a little bit more firepower at the bottom end by replacing Greenwood. Any news on when Kasper and Anders are likely to be fit again?