Ben91

If there's air fences at all tracks then there's no excuses for them not doing it! Be nice to see Elite League riders having a blast round NL tracks!

No idea to be honest, it should be pretty cut and dried though. Yeah I'd say so, he's declared in the side so Silver & Sampford want him to ride, as he's having a sabbatical then he's withholding his services.

3 meetings where he was poor and clearly uninterested. A horses for courses number one guest will be more than happy to have 6 races. Then any of the other riders can take a ride each too. I'm not saying its a good thing, I'm saying its better than an uninterested Mear and it's a realistic assessment.

He would fit and then we could redeclare with Garrity in place of Lambert on Garrity's return if we wanted. Puts JG in a reserve berth!

Sure they will do, he's been seriously injured, people know it will take a bit of time at least he won't lack effort. In Mear's case he's been riding all season in the top division, he has no excuses for poor performances in the Premier League. In this occasion we are, R/R gives everyone an extra ride, not bad to cover a rider who was averaging about 5 points a meeting. Something which is unacceptable for a heatleader.

The way he'd been riding we'll be better off with R/R. There's no doubt we'll be granted a facility, he's withholding his services. He replaced a four point man and was riding like one himself, when the four pointer he replaced was riding like a heatleader. Get on the phone to Roynon if he's available.

Spot on, big home wins seemed to attract more fans too! I don't know how you got to so many away meetings mate, I love following us away but it's just so disheartening these days.

Glad I stayed away tonight. Not going back til Garrity returns. Not spending my money on an ego going through the motions. As I've said on another thread, when Garrity is fit get him back in with Roynon and show Mear and Lambert the door. Harsh on Lambert as he's been injured but can't be sentimental. Roynon gives his all when he races and it would put Garrity at reserve most importantly.

Harris is representing his country granted but for Tai, had he been fit then a facility should have been granted as he would have been representing his country on the international stage.

Regardless of debate over the ever changing field I'm looking forward to this. A Nicholls/Harris pairing would have shown up reasonably well tonight, if Tai had been fit we'd have even been in with a shot of the podium. Such a shame we close ourselves off from such events as a Speedway nation.

Not at all, when all 7 are on form we are a very good side. Agree re the ambition though, Garrity should have started at reserve. The reserves have looked very suspect recently. Get Mear out and Roynon in then bring Garrity back in for Lambert when fit. Leaves Garrity at reserve.

Thought we'd lose but this takes the biscuit. I can understand Lykke still finding his feet and Simon coming back from injury to a certain extent but Nelson is much better than 0 points. 3 points for Elite League rider Robert Mear... that was a woeful performance. We've missed Jason Garrity's balls to the wall performances and the sooner he is back the better. The frustration on my part is that on paper we have a side capable of living with the likes of Somerset home and away.

The fence we have at Rye is the safest I've seen anywhere in the world, there are always going to be crashes in Speedway but our fence cushions the blow riders take then offers a run off area rather than chucking them back onto the track into the path of oncoming riders. Most tracks will benefit from an air/foam fence, there are a few however that won't.

That makes two of us

Was Tommy in 05, as he'd ridden for us the previous season a facility was granted which is acceptable IMO.

No Bech has settled it then, no Rye for me on Saturday!

We won the league (through the play-offs...) with two three point reserves in 2007. Granted they were Woffinden & Roynon though!

Not seen much mentioned here about Jack Kingston. The lad tries his heart out there can be no doubt about it, he comes off a lot perhaps but it's not because he's struggling by any means that can be seen when watching him race. He's not afraid to try the outside line and once he gets more track time behind him I reckon he's going to flourish into a real decent rider. On track signs are promising for the Kings, I was sat next to a gentleman who has just started attending the sport yesterday and he was impressed and even said to me he wasn't expecting the Kings to start winning straight away but I reckon that win won't be far off!

Mear is a good stop gap for Garrity, whether he stays any longer is anyone's guess. Rob was a very decent prospect when he came through at Rye originally and regular PL racing again at Rye may get him back on the right track. If it does he can be a force in this league, he was generally a rider we could count on home and away, something which fits with this years side. When Jason Garrity comes back lets hope we have a real headache with 8 riders doing a fantastic job.

Yeah, temp replacement would have to be under Jason's figure and could only be used for 28 days so we may as well bring someone in on a higher average. If that replacement is riding well then it's not a bad situation to be in come Garrity's return to fitness.

The team are riding incredibly well this season considering we've been operating with R/R and a NL guest up until now. If as expected Jason Bunyan returns for our next fixture R/R will be used for Garrity I'd expect although with only Bunyan, Lambert and Nielsen able to take rides I'd want to sign a temporary replacement as the former two have only just returned from lay offs. We've got 7.71 to use, answers on a postcard!

There is always going to be team strength controls and there has been rider control for a long time, even before the averages came into play. A few seasons back when the grading system was used in the NL David was a Grade 11 and if that system was still in place he still would be and wouldn't have got a look in as Steve Boxall would have been too. The National League is always going to be unique because are standalone sides and second sides, when he was at Rye House David was a great rider to help bring the youngsters through with his experience. The Kent side is a standalone one however regardless of Len Silver and John Sampford's involvement and they have to build a winning side which would rely on David scoring his average on track too.

How have they "bottled it" may I ask? Surely if they hadn't got the backbone to lose a rider who won't score to his average then that is "bottling it." I'd say a rider being dropped and replaced by another is one of the more straight forward things in the Speedway World to understand. Kent Speedway need to build a reputation for winning at home at least and the promotion have taken steps to achieve this. As I said before you can't hold on to someone because they are a nice guy. I'm a nice guy but I'm sure no-one would pay to watch me ride a Speedway bike. I hope David gets fixed up, I honestly do as I grew up watching him dominate the Conference League at Rye House. He is a victim of his average perhaps but that's the way the sport has been for a very long time.

There are three main issues being played here as far as I can see, there is a certain blurring between the lines of each in some areas perhaps but nevertheless you have; 1) Personal 2)Speedway 3)Business. The latter two reasons are more prevalent when trying to be successful than the former. David Mason is a nice bloke and has clearly put a lot into being prepared for the season, I feel for him and I'm sure that the fans do too but you can't expect people to turn up each week just to see a nice bloke unfortunately. The paying public want to see a winning team and if they don't they'll soon lose interest which cannot happen from a business point of view. The three pointers at the bottom end are a necessity when accommodating a rider like Steve Boxall. In Boxall the Kings have the National League's best rider, something to be proud of and every time Steve has been on track at Central Park, the atmosphere has been tangible. He comes with a high average but it is good for business as he brings the punters in. Morley is doing his thing and once he settles in at Central Park he will be a very good foil for Boxall, the fans have taken to him already too, why? He has been winning races. Any three pointers in this league are going to be raw, there may be better out there than the Kings trio but there also may be worse options. Kingston and Kirby look very tentative but both have scope to improve and they have shown that on track, that improvement will come with rides, that is something you can afford three point riders though. Woods does seem to be struggling but it's early doors. Coles is a talent, having watched him at Rye last season I can confidently say the lad is a racer. He seems to have added gating to his arsenal over the winter but his machinery is holding him back. Connor Coles on a competitive bike is one of the National League's finest young prospects. That left Mason, he is the rider likely to drop the most points from his average on the track and was always going to be vulnerable if the axe was to fall on any King during the season. It has struck early admittedly but from a Speedway and Business point of view the Kings have done what they had to. On a personal note it is a shame. I'm not taking sides as I can see both, these things need to be looked at from a measured perspective.

The Kings problem isn't the long tail, there are plenty of NL sides with long tails, it's not a negative thing, three pointers riding in the NL means that young Brits are coming through. It is important however that the Kings top three score points to enable the 3 pointers to settle in. It's a shame David has gone as his experience and guidance would prove invaluable but there is no way he would have achieved his starting average, especially with his home track not being Rye House. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the extra point the Kings have gained as David has moved on, it's a new venture though so they have to start winning meetings before too long.