MDL 2023

[Sings4Speedway]

2 hours ago, *JJ said:

Nice to know; I wish that the rest of them would do something!

A better question would be why have those who were involved previously stopped?

[*JJ]

21 hours ago, Sings4Speedway said:

A better question would be why have those who were involved previously stopped?

They were discouraged, I suspect. All of the MDL teams which I saw  - some years ago now - were run by fans and enthusiasts, not by the promoters of the EL or PL teams. And when the BSPL got rid of the 'ghost' teams, that discouraged them even more. As I said before, the promoters weren't interested; when a fan asked a promoter if the Long Eaton team could ride at Perry Barr, he lied and said that the planning permission only allowed for 20 heats. This is not true, it is 21, so the present promotion is able to run MDL teams.

[Sings4Speedway]

The only promotions i can ever recall giving a hoot about the MDL sides were Barry & Martin (IOW), Kevin Jolly & Rob Henry (Mildenhall), Dale Allitt (Kings Lynn)  and Laurence Rogers (various) the rest as you correctly stated have bee run by fans/enthusiasts who gave untold hours for the cause and received very little back. 

The list of NL/CL & PL graduates through the MDL was vast at one point now that number is rapidly declining and the only real routes are NJL and youth rounds. Fast forward 5 years and the NL will consist of riders who still own a bike rather than who makes the grade.

[PotteringAround]

9 hours ago, Sings4Speedway said:

The only promotions i can ever recall giving a hoot about the MDL sides were Barry & Martin0  (IOW), Kevin Jolly & Rob Henry (Mildenhall), Dale Allitt (Kings Lynn)  and Laurence Rogers (various)

Think the bulk of Martin Widman's MDL involvement was actually with Long Eaton (at Leicester), but Stoke, Belle Vue, Scunthorpe and Buxton were other clubs who "gave a hoot" about MDL for many, many, years when the MDL was going strong.  Sadly we won't see Stoke Spitfires again, but Belle Vue, Scunthorpe and maybe even Buxton would probably be in an MDL if there were any riders around to make it feasible.

[Sings4Speedway]

11 hours ago, PotteringAround said:

Think the bulk of Martin Widman's MDL involvement was actually with Long Eaton (at Leicester), but Stoke, Belle Vue, Scunthorpe and Buxton were other clubs who "gave a hoot" about MDL for many, many, years when the MDL was going strong.  Sadly we won't see Stoke Spitfires again, but Belle Vue, Scunthorpe and maybe even Buxton would probably be in an MDL if there were any riders around to make it feasible.

Great shout i shamefully forgot about Martins involvement with Long Eaton although not part of the promotion. Buxton's withdrawal from the MDL was costly for them as it was a great brreeding ground for potential riders especially when competing against clubs with deeper pockets. I think riders would appear from everywhere for the chance to ride at Belle Vue even with midweek fixtures but any experiences with Stoke and speaking to many others is that the promotion treated the second half riders poorly and would be the most likely track to not stage the even despite being a weekend venue. 

[Petecc]

On 4/6/2023 at 8:44 AM, Sings4Speedway said:

Great shout i shamefully forgot about Martins involvement with Long Eaton although not part of the promotion. Buxton's withdrawal from the MDL was costly for them as it was a great brreeding ground for potential riders especially when competing against clubs with deeper pockets. I think riders would appear from everywhere for the chance to ride at Belle Vue even with midweek fixtures but any experiences with Stoke and speaking to many others is that the promotion treated the second half riders poorly and would be the most likely track to not stage the even despite being a weekend venue. 

I do slightly disagree about things at stoke. Things did improve (abet with the aid of volunteers) everything was done to help when carmarthen ran as the mdl team. The ghost teams were  destroyed by the BSPL premier junior league which has now been kicked deep into the long grass. 

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by Petecc
I'm an idiot

[JamesHarris]

As controversial as it may sound I do think the BSPL were right to pull the plug on Ghost teams. I agree it has had a knock on effect with regards to the number of teams operating in the MDL but it did need to be done. I speak from experience with my involvement in the early days of the MDL. There were several ghost teams back then. Some were run by genuine enthusiast who wanted to provide a platform for youngsters whilst keeping alive a not too distant name from the past. Sadly though there was a small minority of ghost teams run by unsavoury ego obsessed muppets who were far more interested in using the best riders within the rules to fill their own trophy cabinets. It was very embarrassing for the league IMO when one of these teams got a 30-6 whitewash and boasted about it - all too easy when you fielded 4 NL standard riders against 4 juniors. That said a couple of MDL teams fielded by the established clubs were run by unsavoury characters as well.   

[dukes]

1 hour ago, JamesHarris said:

As controversial as it may sound I do think the BSPL were right to pull the plug on Ghost teams. I agree it has had a knock on effect with regards to the number of teams operating in the MDL but it did need to be done. I speak from experience with my involvement in the early days of the MDL. There were several ghost teams back then. Some were run by genuine enthusiast who wanted to provide a platform for youngsters whilst keeping alive a not too distant name from the past. Sadly though there was a small minority of ghost teams run by unsavoury ego obsessed muppets who were far more interested in using the best riders within the rules to fill their own trophy cabinets. It was very embarrassing for the league IMO when one of these teams got a 30-6 whitewash and boasted about it - all too easy when you fielded 4 NL standard riders against 4 juniors. That said a couple of MDL teams fielded by the established clubs were run by unsavoury characters as well.   

Having run teams in both the Initial MDL and in NJL leagues with a view of reintroducing a venture in Halifax, this particular team gave opportunities to now established riders and sadly ones who walked away from the sport.

In and around West Yorkshire the publicity not only kept the name alive but an interest that sadly now has waned.

Some of the meetings had more than normal in attendance as lapsed fans returned for a look at what was going on.

Unfortunately it was not to be in Halifax with a council hell bent on not allowing a return, but whilst the Ghost team ran so did riding opportunities.

Given the prospect of any potential return from a Ghost team, then why not allow them to run on the proviso of a planning application.

[JamesHarris]

36 minutes ago, dukes said:

Having run teams in both the Initial MDL and in NJL leagues with a view of reintroducing a venture in Halifax, this particular team gave opportunities to now established riders and sadly ones who walked away from the sport.

In and around West Yorkshire the publicity not only kept the name alive but an interest that sadly now has waned.

Some of the meetings had more than normal in attendance as lapsed fans returned for a look at what was going on.

Unfortunately it was not to be in Halifax with a council hell bent on not allowing a return, but whilst the Ghost team ran so did riding opportunities.

Given the prospect of any potential return from a Ghost team, then why not allow them to run on the proviso of a planning application.

I remember you running in the initial MDL. You were one of the genuine ones. Sadly it was the minority running under the Ghost team banner that let it down for everyone else. I do agree though that maybe they could be allowed to run again but under very strict criteria. 

[*JJ]

16 hours ago, JamesHarris said:

As controversial as it may sound I do think the BSPL were right to pull the plug on Ghost teams. I agree it has had a knock on effect with regards to the number of teams operating in the MDL but it did need to be done. I speak from experience with my involvement in the early days of the MDL. There were several ghost teams back then. Some were run by genuine enthusiast who wanted to provide a platform for youngsters whilst keeping alive a not too distant name from the past. Sadly though there was a small minority of ghost teams run by unsavoury ego obsessed muppets who were far more interested in using the best riders within the rules to fill their own trophy cabinets. It was very embarrassing for the league IMO when one of these teams got a 30-6 whitewash and boasted about it - all too easy when you fielded 4 NL standard riders against 4 juniors. That said a couple of MDL teams fielded by the established clubs were run by unsavoury characters as well.   

Who? That wasn't my experience, though that may have been later on.