Dudley

[nickp]

Any decisions/news from the Forum on thursday.

[greyhoundp]

Yep , overwhelmingly it was in favour of returning to the Cradley name, a majority in favour of PL racing, but the Promoters were only in support of PL racing if the financial terms were favourable, and dependant on what other changes may be made at the AGM they will attend the PL meeting, ruling nothing out, and nothing in, so dependant on that it is in the air as to which League we will be racing in, but most likely that we will remain NL. The promoters said they will not put at risk what has been achieved so far, and basically we are in this for the long haul.

 

The biggest drawback to having PL racing was Cost, and within this, the vast amount of increased travelling involved, but also increased admission to PL meetings which would be pitched at £14 per meeting, and CVS said he didnt see any problem with staging more than 16 meetings at Monmore Wood.

 

Thats a brief summary of some of what was said, basically the main points of interest to outsiders, Obviously Chris Louis, and Michael Lee were mentioned and at that plenty of Boos were forthcoming .

Edited November 11, 2012 by greyhoundp

[Super Blue]

Are you seriously trying to tell everyone that everything wont be " Dudleys " fault any more ?

 

" Its all Cradleys fault " just doesn't have the same ring to it !

[SteveEvans]

Are you seriously trying to tell everyone that everything wont be " Dudleys " fault any more ?

 

" Its all Cradleys fault " just doesn't have the same ring to it !

 

It had a perfect ring to it in the 80s and 90s!

[greyhoundp]

Yep, even Cradley fans can blame Dudley now, and definately it will be nice to say Cradley Heathens once again, as i have never had any good reason to associate my local Council with a great Speedway Team, or indeed any Sports team in the area, as they have a record comparable with the worst in supporting Sports Teams, ie lost The Cricket Team and Ground, lost The Football Team and Ground, lost The Speedway Team and Stadium, lost Greyhound racing and Stadium, all in all a pretty poor record, so YES i also blame Dudley...and if you check my posts, never have i said Dudley and Heathens in the same breath.

 

Oh and another item to come out of The meeting was, Nigel Pearson if The Heathens go PL, will step down from his role as Chairman, due to what he sees as a conflict of interests, when asked why/how Chris Louis combines the two, he said it is his decision that he will do that, and as a example he said imagine Cradley v Mildenhall how could he commentate with NO bias bearing in mind the somewhat dissapointing end to the season, imagine Nigel Pearson saying Live "Come On Cradley stick it up those ******** Barstewards" we owe it to um, I did miss one word out.

Edited November 11, 2012 by greyhoundp

[berniev123]

I did not go to the meeting Thursday BUT look on the brightside for 2013.......................

Heathens are back in the League, whichever one, who knows?

We may be called by our correct name....CRADLEY/CRADLEY HEATH!

I will have my beloved Heathens on track for another year & hopefully be allowed to sponsor a Heat again for 3 years running!

Another Season Ticket when the email arrives!

Alan Belham, sorry Jamie, will make me a perfect hand stiched replica race jacket again for the 4th year running & I will win a 2013 Golden Hammer race jacket on eBay for the 4th year running.

Happy Bunny..........................?????????????????...........Say YES!!!!!!! I care not what League (EL to MDL) or guise!

Roll on March 2013!

[salty]

I

Yep, even Cradley fans can blame Dudley now, and definately it will be nice to say Cradley Heathens once again, as i have never had any good reason to associate my local Council with a great Speedway Team, or indeed any Sports team in the area, as they have a record comparable with the worst in supporting Sports Teams, ie lost The Cricket Team and Ground, lost The Football Team and Ground, lost The Speedway Team and Stadium, lost Greyhound racing and Stadium, all in all a pretty poor record, so YES i also blame Dudley...and if you check my posts, never have i said Dudley and Heathens in the same breath.

With you on this. I've only referred to them as the Heathens. Can see the reasoning behind the naming of the team as Dudley as it was hoped this was more likely to get the council onside in terms of finding a suitable site, but after 3 years we are still waiting to see anything more than lip service.

[TividaleHeathen]

This was on twitter this morning from Nigel Pearson;

 

@nigelpearson: Decision next weekend on Dudley Heathens #speedway and what level we will race at next year. Talking to CVS and @garypatchett this week.

[greyhoundp]

Nice to see all these Heathens appearing on the BSF, and knowing our lot, it should certainly enliven the debates. Welcome TH.

Edited November 12, 2012 by greyhoundp

[guestie8]

I do hope Dudley/Cradley management dont mis-judge the depth of pockets for the fringe support that watch the Heathens as its good value night out at £10.00.

At this pricing level its also certainly easier to drag along potential newbies as well....

The core supporters want Premier League but at £14.00 - fringe support will be definately be affected.

All promoters will tell you that whilst the core support is essential - its attracting a new younger generation and the fringe support on a more regular basis that makes the difference.

Be careful what you wish for!!!

Edited November 12, 2012 by guestie8

[Soul Crew]

Ironically, if they go PL it will attract me as a supporter, NL hasn't done it for me sadly.

[martin_t]

PL for me

[Davebeagle]

PL for me, would like to keep a few of our riders for next season........

[21st century heathen]

PL for me too, though I've enjoyed and will continue to support NL. I will be disappointed if we don't make the step up now though. To dangle the carrot and then take it away would be cruel. It's like telling a child 'maybe' you can have 'x' if you are good. Well 'maybe' means 'yes' as we all know.

 

I can understand the management being cautious and I can understand it wanting to canvas opinion. However, the management has now created a huge problem itself. It seems by far that the majority of fans want to go PL and certainly the hardcore fan base that take time to post here or on FB etc. Either the club takes the plunge or it risks upsetting a large percentage of that fan base. My fear is that more fans could be lost through staying where we are and just treading water in the NL than if the move to PL is taken. I've not heard one person say they wouldn't pay £14. If the admission cost goes up by the same percentage across the board then you could afford to lose some fans and still take more money on the night than currently. Upset fans and lose some at still £10 each (adult cost) and you've lost money. That's my concern - I'm leaning toward it could be a bigger financial risk to stay in the NL now.

 

It's going to be very difficult to 'sell' a Heathens NL team next season after the unbelievable performances by our team this season. Despite some of the teams we've had in the past it was this team that set the record for the biggest winning margin by a Heathens team (in fact I think they did it twice, were on target to beat it when a meeting was abandoned after 12, and set the away record as well). The Heathens need to trim almost 15 points to get under the limit for next season. With only one asset to our name the task is made harder still. The top end would probably be Perry, Morris and Ritchings stepping up from reserve to 3rd heat leader. We would then need someone with a similar average to Ritchings and three 3-pointers. It will be very difficult to build a team that can challenge for honours on that type of model. We would certainly not be on our own as all teams must get under the same points limit. But a number of clubs will be able to name a 'steal' on a 3-point average whereas we would have to use virtual novices. After this season it will be tough to ask people to pay £10 a week to potentially watch that type of rider struggle half a lap behind. People want to see competitive racing and in that regard we could, I believe, build a more competitive team at PL level.

 

I believe a PL Heathens team could have a number of riders that have some sort of link that the Heathens fans can relate to. Partly a wish list and partly a team that I think could be put together would be N Morris, Mear, Roynon (? on going EL only), Wells, Newman, Dyer, Perry with A Morris as number 8 unless another club offers him a permanent place at 7 like Somerset did with Perry. That fits under the limit. Nick grew up a Heathens fan because his Dad is one of us. He'd have ridden for us in '10 I understand but had to sort out a team place before we were confirmed running. Mear would be the odd one out, so-to-speak, as there's no link with him but I'd love to have him in my team at PL level. Roynon loves the club and fans as much as we love him - could we convince him? Wells rides Monmore every week for Wolves, hangs out with some of our boys and gets on well with them. He's even used the term 'ommer um' so he's almost had the doghead knocked out of him already. Newman rode for us last year, enjoyed his time but had to move on to PL and likewise Dyer rode for us in '10 but has moved on to PL. Tom and Ash need no introduction. So for me there we have the basis (if not necessarily every rider exactly right) of a very competitive and very entertaining PL team full of riders the fans can associate with and would be more than willing to pay to see.

 

I know it's easy to say when it's not my money at risk but for me it's a no-brainer.

[SCB]

I do hope Dudley/Cradley management dont mis-judge the depth of pockets for the fringe support that watch the Heathens as its good value night out at £10.00.

At this pricing level its also certainly easier to drag along potential newbies as well....

The core supporters want Premier League but at £14.00 - fringe support will be definately be affected.

All promoters will tell you that whilst the core support is essential - its attracting a new younger generation and the fringe support on a more regular basis that makes the difference.

Be careful what you wish for!!!

Being a big fish in a small pond for too long is a bad thing though. You get used to winning, it becomes accepted so when you do move up, if it's not as easy and you struggle people get peed off. Take the bull by the horns, move up ASAP and let people get used to the PL for a bit/ hopefully that way when the club get their own stadium (remaining positive/hopefull) they can return to their rightful place in the EL.

[bruno]

got to be pl for me,i enjoyed the results last year but not the racing.i feel 14 pound pl will keep fans going but 10 pound nl might keep some away

[TividaleHeathen]

Defo PL for me aswell, although i have a slight feeling we may have another season in the NL before making the step up!!

 

Whatever happens a decision needs to be made ASAP as other teams in both PL & NL have already started to put plans and riders in place!!

[21st century heathen]

SCB - Rarely do you say/type anything without a subtext rant or throwing an all-out in-your-face strop so I'll take that positive post mate.

 

bruno - Not the first comment along those lines that I've seen. I actually thought that for the most part that racing was good value for money despite the score. It's rare that our boys (Royno and perhaps James apart) made consistently good starts so it made for some great action. I've dull as dishwater 45-45 meetings. Give me entertaining racing whatever the score every time.

 

TH - I suspect a decision has already been made, despite what may have been stated publicly, but in any case we will get our answer after the AGM this coming weekend so you won't have long to wait. With regard to team building we're mostly at the mercy of other clubs making riders available to us, whether it be the rider requesting a move or the club not wanting/needing/being able to fit a rider in for the coming season.

[greyhoundp]

My viewpoint is this, I am IN favour of PL racing but and this is the problem, most of the PL Teams have this season lost money, and i would hazard a guess, almost all the Teams who pay Stadium rentals have lost money, and possibly even some of those who have there own stadia. What several people have said, is Yes they would pay £14 as opposed to £10 to see a higher class of racing which in itself is fair enough, but the point being missed is The MAJORITY of PL Teams have lost money this year, Glasgow Champions in 2011 lost money that season, Edinburgh Champions in 2010 lost money that year, so being succesful is no guarantee in itself of financial stability. So i am NOT prepared to see us lose what we have currently, and for 2013 The Heathens should go all out to attempt to find there own Track, even if it means a standing still or as is very likely step back on Track.Now 2014 is a different matter altogether, should the efforts to find our own home continue to be unproductive, then basically we have to go S***e or bust, go PL and see what it brings with it, because by then we will be up to the 5 year plan, if we continue to be viable then great, if we fail, then we fail, but at least we will have tried.

 

At least two things need to be looked at during the AGM; 1, The riders pay structure, points money has to go out of the window to be replaced with a salary dependant on there average, with a Bonus if they get to Play offs, this way Promoters can budget for the whole season, and not get Hit by massive Points money payments due to there success, what other Sport brings with it financial losses due to success.

 

Travel costs have massively hit everyone, riders and spectators alike, regionalisation can help, but how do you cut Travel costs for someone like Ben Barker who lives in Cornwall ?. This is where Promoters have to balance things out, and weigh up if that particular rider is worth it, can i afford him ?. So its not just about helping foreign riders with Airfares, but when signing riders what are the additional unforseen costs likely to be? again i think the answer HAS to be, offer Rider X a pay package which includes X amount per meeting for riding, and an additional payment for Travel, this to include a fixed Hardship payment if it is rained off, Put simply the rider either accepts the terms on offer or says no thank you. Something along these lines needs to be brought in.

 

Then there is the bigger issue of TV money, if the EL which i doubt, is prepared to share out the Pot of money further then this would help, and definately GO Speed needs to be given the brush off. Put simply what has Go Speed got wiithout Speedway, Go Speeds needs are greater than Speedways need, Speedway can do without Go Speed, Go Speed cant do without Speedway.

 

Breakaway time ? it most certainly could be, will it happen ? I very much doubt it.

Edited November 13, 2012 by greyhoundp

[waco]

While not knowing the ratio of elite league fans that also support the heathens at Monmore,,going Premier with extra addmission costs,, may reduce the numbers who can at the moment afford to support both teams? I dont know the facts but is it worth risking the tremendous support the Heathens presently have ?

Edited November 14, 2012 by waco