marko

This plus the return of the tactical sub rule and the fixed race nights has got me more excited for the sport in this country than I have been for a long long time, Certainly enough for me to want to start attending on a regular basis again.

Wonder who will represent Lakeside then as the promotion don't travel outside of Kent or Essex, yet alone the UK

My Hammers Team Kim Nilsson 7.13 Zach Wajtknecht 3.21 Danny King 6.66 Edward Kennett 6.39 Richard Lawson 6.43 Ben Morley 3.12 Alfie Bowtell 2.00 Total 34.94

Bridger no thanks, far too unstable mentally, and rides only for himself, not for a team.

Absolutely, Adam Ellis would be a high seven so effectively a second or third heat leader.

Don’t think anyone can have an issue with Lakeside joining the CH, as there was no promotion/relegation between the CH and NL, the prem however is a different story and should for at least this winter be honoured, so in short no change to the teams in that division unless someone wanted to drop down because the only alternative would be to close in which case Sheffield should be given first refusal to keep the numbers as per 2017. BIG IF Kent are still NL, Rye are prem, then some of those fans might double up, it happened in the past, I used to go and watch Rye sometimes when they were second division and Arena were in the first, granted back then you would not have loads of double uppers so you went to see riders you would not normally watch but were still at a good level. Ipswich I imagine will stay as CH and with Lakeside looking at that option you would have a derby of sorts.

It’s not 100% confirmed yet though, we have an intention but as with most things in life, these things are subject to change, we will know for certain once the AGM has been ratified.

Apparently it came from an end of season get together, I think it’s a case of they couldn’t afford the top flight as it stood at the time, dropped down to the NL only to find it was a bit of a drop to far so have decided to go for a more intermediate approach.

There is bound to be protests if Lakeside are seen to be getting a rider with an average that doesnt suit other clubs (wink wink)

I don’t see Kim riding for us either, his average would be too big a chunk and I don’t think he would ride in the second tier anyway, think the lad has more ambition than that. But despite Jon claiming to have said he would like an all British team I don’t think you can rule out the odd Australian. I am sure we could find seven brits though no problem at all, if we can get at least three hopefully four of those all well under 23 and future prospects then Even better, Ben, Zach and Alfie (at reserve) would fit that bill, just need another reserve to partner Alfie, could we get someone like Tom Brennan?

A question for a question here- I wonder if riders in next years Championship will be given an average based on one they attained in the CH in 2017 or will they reconvert the PR 2017 one? you never know, they might state the higher of the two figures will be used for team building purposes but i would expect the following roughly Ben Morley and Zach to be around 5.50, Adam Ellis around 7.50, Edward Kennett 9.00 and Kim Nillson around the 10.50-11.00

They would have averages too high to ride at reserve Addio, Ben maybe could if the top five was very so so, but we could do with a couple of big hitters, I see Ben and Zach as second strings as they will be around 5-6 point riders.

Totally agree and whilst i will never likely see eye to eye with the current promoter, I would actively support the club at this level, would rather it not Friday nights but if everything else set up nicely then it’s something I will put up with, after all it’s not the race night that draws in the crowds, it’s the whole product on offer.

This could be a clever move, if the top division is racing Monday/Thursday and Lakeside are racing Friday or Saturday then we could have the odd double up/down rider without too much risk of having said rider double booked, of the riders who could double up, without a doubt Rory Schlien would be a very popular signing and I would like to see Justin Sedgmen too as he was quite popular the last time he rode for us, Ben and Zach would be second strings, and I would suspect Zach would push on more than Ben towards the heat leader bracket. This would be the first time since 2003 that the Hammers have raced in the second tier, and 2003 was a very enjoyable season, I have found memories of that one.

Do Ipswich have more vulunteers then? as they are in the same situation and they race on week night. I don't know if its me but if I cast my mind back or watch videos from the 80/90s we seemed to have more staff then, starting gate staff/rakers etc

So what do they do Cityrebel? Friday just isnt an option, not only because of the traffic but also restrictions on certain riders having to travel ahead of weekend commitments abroad, Saturday for the latter also, Sunday is Polish speedway day, Grasstrack and heaven knows what else. Monday or Wednesday or Thursday is not ideal but i have always felt if the product is right people will come, you only have to look at previous seasons of meetings by SKY TV, most Mondays played out in front of near empty stadia, but come the play offs when something really counts all of a sudden being a Monday is no longer a problem, fans flock in their droves and not just for the home team. I would sum it up as this, if a meeting has enough incentive about it, fans will come no matter what day, however if the meeting means nothing and is full of guests etc, the day, even if its perfect for travelling and no school the next day, it wont make any difference, it won't even draw flies.

I don’t think BT pay out, it’s a deal which gives speedway exposure in the hope of attracting more fans but in reality is only watched by current fans who would go but watch it at home or people who only watch it on tv but have no intention or don’t live near a track. Must admit I don’t think that our league is a good advert a lot of the time, the Grand Prix though, yes.

Ok, if Ipswich move up then being in the same division as them and Rye House would be a no brainer financially.

But how many actually defected to Rye House? Don’t forget the Kent Kings factor too, a few from south of the river supported Kent in the third tier and us in the top, when we dropped to Kent’s level they stopped supporting us because Kent was already there third tier club and loyalty was to them, some of them I heard even turned on some of our riders so I guess they showed their true colours there. I still think the second division would be the clubs best bet.

I would imagine that there is as much chance of plans being know at this stage as there was about the club dropping down at the end of last season, so basically a very good chance

Are there still gypsies still resident in the car park at Arena Essex?

I’m behind Kev The Rev, neither of us want to see the club close but I suspect both want to see the club moved forward, whether that is with the current administration or another. As it stands there are a lot of unhappy fans, even some who used to back the club vehemently have in more recent times been critical of certain elements and then you have the ones who are never seen or heard from again, are they gone for good? Who knows? But let’s get one thing straight, no one is going to put up with something they are not happy about, sure the likes of myself, Kev and Vor could dissapear into the ether never to be seen or heard of again, does that help the Hammers?

So what are you saying? Jon Cook is loaded and he will pay for a new stadium? money will have to come from somewhere if the Hammers are to carry on long term, does not matter whether we are getting 500 or 5000 fans.

If the current promotion shut down there is nothing to stop someone else finding a site in Essex and running, obviously that can’t be done now because so long as Lakeside are running another licence would not get approval in the same county. But and it’s a big but, if Arena Essex is doomed and there isn’t another place in Essex to stage speedway then all this talk and debate is for nothing.

So are you saying there is no point because we are going to lose the raceway sooner rather than later?