marko

After last years debacle with the parking, forcing many including myself to have to be effectively turned away, wasting in some cases considerable time and petrol, can we have some guarantees that this year measures will be put in place to ensure all those Speedway fans who wish to come to this event will be able to do so?

Kelvin was a very good rider but in his latter days he wasnt the same rider, i recall only too well a lot of fans including myself being very frustrated at his lack of ability in riding our track, it was pretty much outside line all the time no matter what because he couldn't physically turn the bike hard because his joints were worn or replaced, its why he was able to do long track racing for so many years. That fortunately wont affect his ability off track to give guidance, not so much in a riding capacity because everyone rides a bike a different style but his knowledge of setting the bike up should help a youngster who unlike an experienced rider probably wont likely have as much of an idea about gear ratio's etc

Its a bit harsh to say AJ didn't care about the fans or the club, he probably knew there was nothing he would be able to do to help apart from riding for free, the other unmentioned riders I am not surprised about though, they are journey men who have had more clubs than hot diners. It is a shame though despite lots of riders having an interest in riding for us in 2017 we have still ended up with a 40 year old in the team, hopefully over the next 12 months the academy and school can develop some more promising teenagers who we can look to blood with a view to being the mecca of youth speedway.

IMO the club have a history for trying to be like Arsenal, they aim for a top four place (by winning at home) rather than build a team to actually top the table. To be fair though a lot of clubs now adopt this attitude because the core of your support is at home, apart from the odd derby match, gone are the days where you see more than a handful of away fans visiting. So over 95% of the fan base only see the team at home so home wins are vital. Once the new boys settle in this will be a very good team at Arena, despite I don't agree with his signing I think even David Mason will score well at home early on but by the end of the season I would expect his figures to pan out something like 8.00 at home and 4.50 away. Shame Anders Rowe has signed for Kent, after all the track time we gave him last season I would have like to have seen him sign for us, not sure on his age but maybe Jason Edwards is a contender?

Teaboy I think a small few will turn up to the Q & A, like most clubs there will always be a small hardcore support that will go whatever and whenever, I also think a few sitting on the fence might go to see what is what and whether they feel they will give the product a go.

The trouble is John the last time Lakeside put on a fixture of NL standard they wanted £13 and it was only a challenge match against the Kent Kings, and I think that was 2015 so I can only see the price increasing but as others have said £12 plus £2 for a non flashy program is reasonable but I think they will expect £14 or 15 plus another £3 from an overpriced program, the Lakeside one is good but it's simply not worth £3 when you compare it to some football programs. I think Sunday's would be a bad idea also as the M25 can have its moments late afternoon/evening, the only day the M25 really is not a risk is Saturday.

To be fair most people sitting on the fence regarding NL racing at Arena won't probably be too bothered by who is in the team and who is not, the main deciding factor which will be revealed probably in March is the cost of attending, that i have no doubt will be the deal breaker in defining whether NL racing is a viable exericse at this venue. If they expect people to pay upwards of £15 then i would imagine the crowds being quite poor, but at this level they might only need 500 to break even?

Mason a novice? He isn't that good!

Yet another two fingers stuck up by Mr Cook at the fans, its their choice who they want to have in their team but don't come crying when hardly anyone comes to watch and no sky money to bail you out this season, I certainly will not bother investing my time or money into a club that is clearly on the wane and has no ambition even when racing at the lowest tier, the fact they are giving team places to riders 15 years past their best which was never very good in the first place says it all. Good luck Lakeside, your going to need it if you are still going to be in business in ten months time.

With all due respect, at this level the riders main income should be outside of speedway the same as a non league footballer often has a primary job or business outside of his football training and matches. I would say the same should apply to the lower riders in the middle tier too, the only riders who should be full time riders are those who race for multiple teams at a high standard whether it's in this country of a combination of this and those abroad.

I would rather us sign riders under 25 or riders with a total of less than 8 years experience in the sport, i would not able to support a David Mason esk type of signing, its goes against the spirit of the Division.

The good thing about the true youngsters is that will listen to advice where as other riders will hear but not listen.

Kelvin is far more important to have in the pits then on the track where he has to worry about himself, i honestly think some of the gutsy youngsters would scare him and he would end up doing a Batchelor most of the time and bottling it rather than wanting to have a proper blood and thunder race with them, besides i doubt his joints (some of which are replacements) would be upto taking the strain.

tea boy he has had over 20 years to crack the larger tracks, he is what I can only describe as a professional junior, I hope youngsters aspire to be much more like a Jason Crump, Tony Richardson or even a rider like Chris Harris than be a rider stuck in the bottom tier because the only riders he can beat are ones who are either young enough to be their son or so green they find it hard to put together four consistent laps. Sorry but I would rather see a youngster try his wattsits off and fall off from trying too hard than watch an veteran poodle around for four laps, the sport is about Racing, not Riding.

I remember watching David Mason for London Lions 20 years ago and he is no better a rider now than he was then, how can a rider who has never been anything teach other riders? if a rider like that wants to ride a bike then he can go and do events with the Dragons or Southern riders clubs, certainly shouldn't be taking a team spot which a youngster wanting to make his way in the sport could have yet alone draw a wage from it.

On the subject of older riders in the NL, im sort of against it BUT if they are their to help bring on the kids and not just their to earn a few quid at the expense of others I'm okay with it. Amazing how Ben is still only 22, he will be very hard to beat around Arena, given he has taken the scalps of some very good riders in the past. I like where this team is going currently, to make a success of the NL I think the promotion need to important factors, 1. a young team full of racers who are their to race and not just to ride and 2. setting a realistic price for the pleasure of watching said team, I think £13 is about right going by what most teams charged last season, for some sitting on the fence your going to need that hook of it being more affordable to get them down their to see what NL speedway is about, once you have them then the money will continue to come in, its better to charge say £12 and have people come once and then maybe every match than attempt to charge say £15 and put people off and therefore never getting anything from that particular section.

With the points limit as it is i would guess we could only have two out of Ben, Robert, Leigh and Zach All but one of the CH teams is complete and I cant see Leigh or Zach riding for Edinburgh so are they in contention? could we squeeze three in and then go with a longer tail end in the hope one or two of them will turn out to be overnight sensations which can happen at this level? that would be my call as a top heavy team will nearly always beat and strength in depth one.

Friday's in the NL would be worse than a damp Monday with sky in town, I feel, it has to be Saturday or Sunday, maybe a Sunday afternoon? I would be quite partial potentially to the latter, night meetings can be on the cool side at Arena at the best of times. PS everyone is talking about Leigh Lanham but how would his average compare with Robert Mear because I had Rob and Ben in my mind, people have also mentioned Zach W but I think he will be racing in the PR and CH? so riding in the 3rd tier would be too much. Leigh once settled in would be a very good number one at home but away from home? I also think Robert Mear might be a better fit for helping to motivate the kids, not saying Leigh could not, that's just the impressive I have from this side of the fence.

I have to say that's an encouraging start, I think if the club is to grab the fans attention they will need to sign young riders like these two and not journey men who have been racing for years and years or riders in their 30s regardless of experience. Ps don't know how old Rob Mear is now but I would have him leading the team as he has experience of teaching through the academy and will be a good mentor and Ben Morley should be a given.

its a sport which can be entertaining, entertainment normally means the outcome is predetermined and done in such a way it adds to the drama (ie pro wrestling, movies, sitcoms, soap opera's etc), speedway CAN be boring, meetings CAN be one sided and pretty much a non contest, sure we have gimmicks to try and keep the score close but the bottom line is its a competitive sport where everyone is out to win even if that means for a large part of the viewing audience the action itself does not hold much interest.

Costs are going up all the time because promoters made the huge mistake of deciding to pay certain riders a guaranteed sum regardless of how many points they actually scored, its one of the worst things to ever happen to our sport, riders should be paid travelling expenses and for whatever points they tally on the night including double points but nothing more. If that is not enough to make ends meet then do what other riders used to do, get a part time job, when I started watching the sport in the late 80s most if not all the riders at 2nd division level and probably some in the 1st had jobs away from speedway and they didn't have big expensive sponsored vans either laid on for them either, I recall following one rider out of Arena one time, cant recall his name but he was a foreign rider, riding for Hackney and he had two bikes on an open trailer, that was his means of getting his bikes about.

I will make a prediction that Lakeside will be the most expensive club in the NL if they race in it, they were joint top of the most expensive clubs in the Elite League (shocking given the state of the stadium) and when they staged a 3rd tier challenge match a season or two ago they wanted more than the other NL teams wanted at the time for watching National League fixtures.

Ah Chalky White and Troy, a blast from the past from happier times when I would drive to Arena even if it was pouring with rain even though I knew I would not likely see much if any racing, the days before those that run the sport started to turn me against it.

I thought it was a given we are now a NL club?

I think what you will get from those 5 is commitment, they are known for being racers on the track who seldom give up, (ok maybe not so much Watty in past seasons but none of us knew what was going on behind the scenes!) I doubt there will be many meetings where Rye will need to use guests riders etc, this is a workman like team and I doubt they will get troubled at home but still offer a reasonable amount of fire power on their travels, something my team could never do.