berniev123

I went with my wife from a sunny but at times overcast Cradley to a rather wet & very puddly road from the Wolvo down to Monmore Wood and got waived away at 6:30ish and I saw some cars covered in hail/snow, so Nigel & co must have made the correct call in my opinion. Thanks to the guy in the purple PT Cruiser that we followed as he bought back memories of my purple PTtheGt 2.5 GT

Thank you all for the results and I agree that it was a shame that the late withdrawal of Daryl and Dan must have spoilt the chances for the AJL riders. They must have had their reasons. Hope we can put a return AJL Challenge Match on at Monmore Wood in the return with them both, Daryl and Dan, taking part but with time constraints I can't see that happening. Will we at Monmore Wood ever see a MJL Team, I can but hope as it would help our reserves and the future of the Heathens!

Could not be there so does anyone know the score as the AJL Select was half Heathens!

I did not in anyway agree with the use of Oliver at #4 either! A Spitfire would have been a more logical choice for track time for a rider, not get one who is a pretty good 3 pointer from Scunthorpe! After all they train enough NL & PL riders of the future to stock the Stags in the NL and quite a few JL teams. Pity Dudley can't do that like they did way back in pre-history. I actually alluded to the managements agreeing to the sides make up in a couple of other comments, perhaps the I of W & Dudley were too gentlemanly, didn't care, made up the rules as they went along....as you say they were only Challenge matches so who knows? I don't.

After reading MV's post a bit earlier......can I ask in a very polite way about the re match? Are Dudley going to be allowed 2 guests on the 14th? Royno is with Workington & Fred should be with Somerset....so, to make things equal a la the home match when Stoke had a guest at #4 can we have an equal guest to Fred's declared average or do we have to run with R/R as NL Rules say? Just a little thought as, after all, "it is only a Challenge Match" and does not really matter in the great scheme of things, as the fans will want a competitive match at Loomer Road like the excellent one we had at Monmore Wood

Thanks for the correction re the re-declaration time but rules are rules........Challenge matches are different so the I of W could have included a certain C. Holder and Dudley could have included K. Newman? Don't think so!!!!!!! Two excellent adverts for the NL & a great pity they were not on Sky TV, especially the Monmore Wood match, as it had everything! I was not at Loomer Road on Saturday, although I spent 2 years of my life there as a PL Stoke supporter!

This has been pointed out somewhere else on here. Stoke cannot under 2012 rules use Adam under the 40 point limit unless a rider stands down THEN the team is re-declared BUT they cannot from my understanding use the stand down rider for another 28 days then re-declare the team again. Also, Adam CANNOT be a number 8 as his average is greater (over x2) than the declared number 7's average. On another level, they CANNOT run a squad system either in 2012! Oh, last night at Dudley they were using a GUEST at #4 which to my knowledge is not allowed as the injured R. Naylor IS NOT A NUMBER 1, only a 3 pointer(?), Oliver Greenwood is, by the way, in Scunthorpe's declared 7 but that is another question or argument! I am a Speedway Fan and Heathens Fan but I cannot understand what is going on, I of W & Dudley rode against them but we have heard of no uproar about the way Stoke are bending the rules in their first two matches this season.....perhaps they were too gentlemanly to raise the questions before the match.

Correct me if I am wrong, but squads are not allowed in 2012 in the NL, so one of the big guns would have to go then the team redeclared with Adam in it then when the PL rider is put into the side it would have to be redeclared again. I assume it is Worrall or Birks as they are going like express trains in the PL at Newcastle and Scunny at the moment. Any way what ever happens here's to a good season for all 8 teams and come the end of the season I hope the trophies are spread around again like 2011!

If you add the 7 riders averages that are on the BSPA web site......they add up to over 43! So, I assume that they have to drop one of the big guns and bring in a rider of very lower average to comply with the 40 point ruling in the 2012 NL. Correct me if I am wrong someone? If not, all the other seven teams are nearly 4 points plus BEHIND Stoke's combined team average!

I must say that you have hit sport of any kind on the head and it is a breath of fresh air to hear a rider speak the truth. It costs silly money in any kind of sport as I said on another posting with my involvement in UK top level Ice Skating, but you have given me lots of joy when watching you at all your levels of racing over the years! Thank you for all your endeavours and pains over the years.

I spent years chasing the Holy Grail of Ice Figure Skating.......2 or 3 cars, caravan, training in Solihull & Sheffield, travelling like a NL Speedway Rider to Competitions all over the UK, travelling to NISA training sessions & NISA Tests sessions, Olympic Squad National Training Camps all over the UK and days off work without pay. It cost my wife & I about £75,000 in total and a lot of days apart from my family over 9 years. Soft tissue injury put paid to my daughter at the grand old age of 14!!!!! If you do not have the cash, don't carry on, my problem was worse.....I was ill and she was finished! I have NO SYMPATHY at all......there are winners and loosers in life.................................Get over it! I would not change what I did for anything, but take it from me, costs in any sport are horrendous no matter what you chose for your son or daughter to follow, just thank God that they are healthy and very able in what they do when they are a lot older than 15!.

Is this not a situation where the 2012 NL stand alone clubs can now dictate what happens and the NL becomes a FULL LEAGUE in its own right? Same rules/pay/etc that the NL would enforce and the then the other three are no more than a glorified ML/NL outfit where perhaps they belong........at least a natural evolution for a TRUE 3rd Division below the PL WITHOUT the EL/PL costs?

The National League has long lost being pure Development League in my opinion, I have been going since 1998/99 It really should be a semi professional 3rd division that allows youngsters to come in when ready and other riders who are forgotten/seriously injured in the PL to join. An expanded Midland League or Northern League is where the new riders in the 21st Century should learn their trade and then move up. Even so, Scunny have done stearling work with the resources that they have. It is the way to go for all new tracks if the money allows.....but then we can all dream as Planning Permission, etc usually does not allow it!

Thank you Jayne for a straight answer to something that could have been put to bed ages ago amongst fans of NL Speedway. Good luck in 2012 with the Hitmen as you deserve success with the sterling work you do up there

Rob Branford has patriality and has pinned his flag to the UK from what I understand from an edition of the Speedway Star. Nick Morris' dad is from Netherton....................just up the road from Dudley Wood Stadium (Cradley Heath Heathens land which some will say is foreign....I have beeen a Heathens fan for decades!). I always thought that when Dudley was declared as opening at Monmore Wood just after Nick signed for Glasgow and then Buxton was a pity as it stopped Nick doing his dads' dream......him being a Heathen! So he has patriality. That is what I am led to believe around the Black Country anyway. Wished I had never answered the post saying that Cameron should be on a reduced average now. As I said earlier "a steal on 12 points" as he is brilliant and we could have done with him at #7 last season at Dudley

Thanks for the honesty, but he would be a real steal on 12

I agree with you 100% but was just curious as I have never got to grips with this thorny problem last season, mind he was brilliant when I saw him and should really be 3rd Heat Leader at Ipswich by June 2012 I would have thought.

I will have to ask the obvious, but how can Cameron's 2011 9.18 (BSPA web site) GS average be reduced? After all he was an illegal, in my opinion only, rider in the 2011 NL as he is 100% Australian and from my understanding of the NL rules last year should not have been allowed in the NL in the first place as no other team used a 100% Aussie......Newport's & Buxton's were 100% legal! Just curious

Simples..............pay up for the 2011 Bond before the new season starts or close in 2012!

After 2 years at Monmore Wood I can say that in my eyes that the Heathens ARE NOT the "Wolf Cubs"! 99% plus on a Tuesday are true Heathens fans and NEVER wear anything Wolves and are NOT Wolves fans in any way. I attended all the Wolf Cubs matches when they ran in the CL with the excellent Graham Jones as the captain and the support was never, ever, the same as we get on a Tuesday or away from Monmore Wood. If the Hornets & Wasps shut please DO NOT blame the Heathens in any way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are Sittingbourne (Iwade) coming back in 2012? They have appeared on the BSPA web site and the NL is now 11 members according to the Club in the NL section!!! Strange or what?

The thing that upset me about last night was the attitude of Courtney. His body languge said it all and the two slow downs on the back straight while in a scoring postition to let Stoke riders through was amazing to watch and was the final straw. Can we send him back to Leicester today? The lads were up against it very much by the time Ritchie & Danny went to the pits/hospital, so I did not expect a win BUT the rest then set the clock back to the they use to ride at Dudley Wood in '65-'68.......no fight, no pride another loss by a mighty big score and here comes the wooden spoon again. Stoke won by a country mile and deserved to BUT they were not magnificent in any way....one would say they were normal...they were only against 1 rider in about 10 Heats....no reserves, various falls or a large number of engine failures! One of their riders collecting with a bucket said he was shocked by the result and the way that they lay down and put their paws in the air after the Heat 2 accident

Pity is was not on SKY on TV Monday and Premier Sports on Tuesday. Far better match and, although I am a Heathen through and through, maybe a draw would have been fair but the last 15 metres in Heat 15 was the best Ive seen for ages, mind the other 14 Heats and nearly 4 laps were crackers as well

I have to say, & I hope I am wrong, that 30 may be beyond us without Adam & gating heads on

After Adam being ruled out (back way to early in my opinion) & last night's result.......Potters to win by a mile unless everybody turns up with gating/racing heads on On an off note, I did not expect Dudley to win the NL in 2011 and really do think that they peaked in the NL Shield then really the NL4s (we have a few too many weak/unpredictable bottom end riders compared to a title winning side) was shear magic in itself