GWC Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 (edited) I just cannot see how Leigh Lanham and National Development League can fit in the same sentence. Surely, the purpose of this level is to bring young riders on. Leigh provided me with great pleasure during his 'golden years' at the Raceway but this league is no place for him. Sorry but must disagree as the lower leagues have a history of using 'experienced' riders along side young riders.Eastbourne made a habit of it for years and I think Leigh has an awful lot to offer the sport at NL level, at least David Mason is still involved as is Tony Aitkin. Edited December 16, 2016 by GWC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waco Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 Would like to see Jack Smith 6 pointer as third heat leader with stacks of room to improve.... with then one 4 pointer and one 3 pointer allowing Hunter to start at reserve..I Think one strong reserve is important ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWC Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 With Steve Boxall announced at Plymouth I'm amazed at the number of riders in the NL who have had a connection to Rye House the majority having started their career at the club in one way or another. Just a shame so few progressed beyond this league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marko Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waco Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 Personally I think they would get a.lot more people if they all charged £10 at this level,....Money could be a deciding factor and bearing in mind they will be competing against Rye House at the top level,,,for the areas fans 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebrum Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 Just want to wish Zack all the best. Was a great joy watching his first season and I hope he can continue on his improvement next season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben91 Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 With Steve Boxall announced at Plymouth I'm amazed at the number of riders in the NL who have had a connection to Rye House the majority having started their career at the club in one way or another. Just a shame so few progressed beyond this league. Plenty of riders have progressed in the sport after being at Rye House during the early stages of their careers, Edward Kennett, Danny King, Jason Garrity, Tai Woffinden etc. are the standouts off the top of my head. Boxall and Bowen are back in the NL but both have been PL riders for the majority of their careers, Boxall flirted with the EL and really had the potential to be decent top level rider in Britain but for one reason or another it never materialised. Strong top two for the Hammers, two good prospects further down the order too, although I can see two three pointers if they want to have a decent third heatleader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 (edited) Plenty of riders have progressed in the sport after being at Rye House during the early stages of their careers, Edward Kennett, Danny King, Jason Garrity, Tai Woffinden etc. are the standouts off the top of my head. Boxall and Bowen are back in the NL but both have been PL riders for the majority of their careers, Boxall flirted with the EL and really had the potential to be decent top level rider in Britain but for one reason or another it never materialised. Strong top two for the Hammers, two good prospects further down the order too, although I can see two three pointers if they want to have a decent third heatleader. Other graduates from Rye House over the years have included Gerry Hussey, Wally Green, Mike Broadbank, Brian Brett, Colin Pratt, Gerry King. Or were their eras too far back to be recognised? Edited December 17, 2016 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E I Addio Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 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. As they charge around £13 for a stock car meeting at Arena without having to pay the stocks drivers anything I think £13 must be about the rock bottom figure to put a spedway meeting on, although I agree that if it creeps up to the £15 mark it could be off-putting for some. Ultimately it's going to be a winning team of racers that keeps the crowds coming, assuming they are attracted in the first place after being used to the top league. It's a big gamble and I am still not sure if Cook has made the right decision, but it could take off and I hope it does. I think Kelvin will be a key factor. Lakeside are probably the only NL club with anyone as experienced as Kelvin closely involved with rider development and if his experience can be converted into ability by the riders there is scope for some of them to make a big Improvement. I haven't seen a lot of NL racing but from what I have seen some of them are incredibly naive on even some of the basics, which is perhaps understandable given their limited experience, but if they are prepared to listen to Kelvin and learn it will be a great opportunity to accelerate their careers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Mole Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Don't forget Eastbourne, who have Martin Dugard to help out riders with all they need including equipment 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben91 Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Other graduates from Rye House over the years have included Gerry Hussey, Wally Green, Mike Broadbank, Brian Brett, Colin Pratt, Gerry King. Or were their eras too far back to be recognised? I was listing riders that are active still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhamboy66 Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 As they charge around £13 for a stock car meeting at Arena without having to pay the stocks drivers anything I think £13 must be about the rock bottom figure to put a spedway meeting on, although I agree that if it creeps up to the £15 mark it could be off-putting for some. Ultimately it's going to be a winning team of racers that keeps the crowds coming, assuming they are attracted in the first place after being used to the top league. It's a big gamble and I am still not sure if Cook has made the right decision, but it could take off and I hope it does. I think Kelvin will be a key factor. Lakeside are probably the only NL club with anyone as experienced as Kelvin closely involved with rider development and if his experience can be converted into ability by the riders there is scope for some of them to make a big Improvement. I haven't seen a lot of NL racing but from what I have seen some of them are incredibly naive on even some of the basics, which is perhaps understandable given their limited experience, but if they are prepared to listen to Kelvin and learn it will be a great opportunity to accelerate their careers. Personally i think it ridiculous to expect people to pay £13 for NL speedway. I do watch a lot of NL stuff at Kent, Mildenhall, Eastbourne and Rye, I will miss the NL racing as it was a good filler for non PL days at Hoddesdon and it is a far better product than many who don't watch it assume but it does fall into a price category that shouldn't be near £13. Of course there will be another cost of a programme where if i were running at this level i would opt for a race card only which would reduce the costs. I wish them luck and hope they succeed but to do so they must have a top quality side but it looks a bit top heavy to me otherwise the fans won't go near the place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liam Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 I think £10 sounds about right but if it's £13 would it really make that much difference...Not really. But then again the last time I watched National League I would have said £10 was too much lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander15 Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 If Lakeside charge £15 then it'll seriously affect the pricing structure of the league and British Speedway as a whole. The gaps in prices between the leagues are small anyway but a jump of £2 minimum and £4 compared to some teams is massive. Fans at clubs won't routinely pay £15 for NL, which in turn pushes up Championship prices and puts Premiership prices over £20. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Mole Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Personally the price of £2 for the programme at Eastbourne is better value for money for what you get in it than the £1 race card which you get a Rye House and isn't even designed very well 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E I Addio Posted December 18, 2016 Report Share Posted December 18, 2016 Personally the price of £2 for the programme at Eastbourne is better value for money for what you get in it than the £1 race card which you get a Rye House and isn't even designed very well £2 is not a bad price for a programme IMO . A lot of people prefer a programme to a race card. Reading the promoters notes, looking at averages and other information makes it more of an occasion than just a plain race card. On the question of admission costs we have to remember that 20% VAT is included so on admission of £10 the promoter gets about £8 which is quite unrealistic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaboy279 Posted December 18, 2016 Report Share Posted December 18, 2016 For me national league should be £10 entry for clubs with a higher team (only way to get the EL PL "snobs" to consider Nl) and around £13 for stand alone clubs. If it gets too over £15 for entry and a programme then that's pushing it. Not sure on all clubs but kent allow under 12s in for free (not paid for my 6 year old at any speedway other then gps) and this needs to be considered when thinking of entry price. The comparison between speedway and stock car and banger racing crowds and the way they are promoted has popped up a few times recently. And for bangers you are looking at 13 -17 quid depending on the meeting. And 20 quid plus for a brisca meeting. Most if not all of these events charge child admission from 5 upwards. If you go to a theme park the kids price is pretty much on par with adults. So for a family day/night out speedway actually stacks up as pretty good value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliv Clav Posted December 19, 2016 Report Share Posted December 19, 2016 With 12.98 left, it will be interesting to see who the Hammers get for their 3rd heat leader. If we go with 2 x 3 pointers, which I wouldn't advise, we have 6.98 available for the last heat leader. Hammers assets, Shane Hazelden on 5.42 and Jack Kingston on 5.84 can't be fitted in together. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waco Posted December 19, 2016 Report Share Posted December 19, 2016 (edited) Jack Smith or Nathan Stoneman.....or the other route Shane Hazelden plus a 4 pointer and a 3 pointer.. Edited December 19, 2016 by waco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurnTwo Posted December 19, 2016 Report Share Posted December 19, 2016 A former London rider surely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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