Speedway fan 205 Posted April 16, 2021 2021 MSDL The 2021 MIDLANDS + SOUTHERN DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE will consist of three clubs meeting each other home and away twice. Coming to the tapes are the reigning champions Birmingham , who won the title in 2019. Joining them in 2021 will be Eastbourne and Wolverhampton. Each track will also be staging their own second halves as well with Wolverhampton also having a side in the new Premiership Junior League. They are organizing their MSDL side in conjunction with Birmingham . League co-ordinator Laurence Rogers is pleased that the league will be back in a shortened 2021 campaign, “ I was determined that the league would continue . It is a vital part of British Speedway along with the Northern Junior League giving young riders their first taste of league racing and being in a team as a stepping -stone like so many before them into the higher leagues.” “We have unfortunately lost the nomadic teams under new rules which is a great pity but once the pandemic is over and those clubs can continue their search for land for their tracks we can then hopefully welcome them back.” “ A big thank you to Ian Jordan at Eastbourne and Chris Van Straaten at Wolverhampton for ensuring this league can continue by agreeing to enter sides. With an excess of riders wanting to ride for Birmingham we are assisting our West Midlands neighbours with their team building.” “At Birmingham we plan to run a 2nd half every meeting and in addition to the MSDL we have agreed a three club experimental NJL Shield with Redcar and Berwick involving all three cc classes (125, 250 and 500) . We are also involving the Birmingham and Wolverhampton squad members split into 3 groups of 4 riders who will contest 2 Grand Prix type rounds each with the top 8 contesting a Final. We will also have demo races involving 125 and 250cc youngsters“ “Eastbourne also plan other events as do Wolverhampton so there should be plenty of track action for the up and coming riders.” JUNE Weds 9 Birmingham v Wolverhampton A FIXTURE Sat 19 Eastbourne v Birmingham A FIXTURE Mon 21 Wolverhampton v Eastbourne A FIXTURE JULY Sun 4 Eastbourne v Wolverhampton A FIXTURE Weds 21 Birmingham v Wolverhampton B FIXTURE Weds 28 Birmingham v Eastbourne A FIXTURE AUGUST Mon 2 Wolverhampton v Birmingham A FIXTURE Sat 7 Eastbourne v Birmingham B FIXTURE Mon 9 Wolverhampton v Eastbourne B FIXTURE Mon 30 Wolverhampton v Birmingham B FIXTURE SEPT Weds 1 Birmingham v Eastbourne B FIXTURE Sat 4 Eastbourne v Wolverhampton B FIXTURE Dependent on fixture dates Birmingham will stage a MSDL Riders' Final with 8 riders over 8 heats with top 2 averaged riders from the 3 clubs and 2 wild cards. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Speedway fan 205 Posted April 16, 2021 BIRMINGHAM 2ND HALVES 2021 JUNE Weds 2 Bulls challenge … Butcher’s Bulls v Davies’s Dragons CHALL Weds 9 Birmingham v Wolverhampton MSDL A FIXTURE Weds 16 BULLS GP ROUND 1 Weds 30 BULLS GP ROUND 2 JULY Weds 7 BULLS v Redcar NJL Shield Fri 9 Redcar v BULLS NJL Shield Weds 14 BULLS GP ROUND 3 Weds 21 Birmingham v Wolverhampton MSDL B FIXTURE Weds 28 Birmingham v Eastbourne MSDL A FIXTURE AUGUST Mon 2 Wolverhampton v Birmingham MSDL A FIXTURE Weds 4 RESERVED Sat 7 Eastbourne v Birmingham MSDL B FIXTURE Weds 11 BULLS GP FINAL Weds 18 BULLS v Berwick NJL Shield Weds 25 RESERVED Mon 30 Wolverhampton v Birmingham MSDL B FIXTURE SEPT Weds 1 Birmingham v Eastbourne MSDL B FIXTURE 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesHarris 390 Posted April 16, 2021 (edited) Just want to say a big thumbs up to Laurence for keeping this going. It may only be 3 teams but it keeps the league alive when it looked like it was dead. It will be 10 years in June since the MDL (MSDL) launched. Edited April 16, 2021 by JamesHarris 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Petecc 352 Posted April 17, 2021 16 hours ago, JamesHarris said: Just want to say a big thumbs up to Laurence for keeping this going. It may only be 3 teams but it keeps the league alive when it looked like it was dead. It will be 10 years in June since the MDL (MSDL) launched. And it is only 3 because of some air brained reason that clubs like reading,Weymouth,Milton Keynes, and others are not allowed to join because they don't have a track of their own. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesHarris 390 Posted April 17, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, Petecc said: And it is only 3 because of some air brained reason that clubs like reading,Weymouth,Milton Keynes, and others are not allowed to join because they don't have a track of their own. That is true. But unfortunately I personally cannot support "ghost teams". The BSPA finally ran out of patience with them and when Cradley closed shop it finally gave them the excuse to remove that thorn from their side. Ghost Teams are run by enthusiasts that can't be denied. BUT there is a distinct difference between those that genuinely are seeking to bring back speedway to towns and those that are using a name from the past to play fantasy speedway without any intent of putting their money where their mouths are. Without naming names a very successful "club" in the early years of the MDL gave it large how they wanted to bring back speedway to the area. I told them how the owner of a certain greyhound circuit within a racecource was a motorsports fan and they should approach him. Said fantasy club were not interested. Enough said. Edited April 17, 2021 by JamesHarris 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Petecc 352 Posted April 17, 2021 1 hour ago, JamesHarris said: That is true. But unfortunately I personally cannot support "ghost teams". The BSPA finally ran out of patience with them and when Cradley closed shop it finally gave them the excuse to remove that thorn from their side. Ghost Teams are run by enthusiasts that can't be denied. BUT there is a distinct difference between those that genuinely are seeking to bring back speedway to towns and those that are using a name from the past to play fantasy speedway without any intent of putting their money where their mouths are. Without naming names a very successful "club" in the early years of the MDL gave it large how they wanted to bring back speedway to the area. I told them how the owner of a certain greyhound circuit within a racecource was a motorsports fan and they should approach him. Said fantasy club were not interested. Enough said. I understand why you are careful not to name names but as you say some "genuinely are seeking to bring back speedway to their town",and this denies those people just the opportunity to keep the flag flying while they try. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*JJ 511 Posted April 18, 2021 (edited) On 4/17/2021 at 7:35 PM, JamesHarris said: That is true. But unfortunately I personally cannot support "ghost teams". The BSPA finally ran out of patience with them and when Cradley closed shop it finally gave them the excuse to remove that thorn from their side. Ghost Teams are run by enthusiasts that can't be denied. BUT there is a distinct difference between those that genuinely are seeking to bring back speedway to towns and those that are using a name from the past to play fantasy speedway without any intent of putting their money where their mouths are. Without naming names a very successful "club" in the early years of the MDL gave it large how they wanted to bring back speedway to the area. I told them how the owner of a certain greyhound circuit within a racecource was a motorsports fan and they should approach him. Said fantasy club were not interested. Enough said. All of which is beside the point. Why were the 'ghost teams' a 'thorn in the side' of the BSPA? The result of this decision is to sharply reduce the opportunities for riders to develop into team riders proper. In any case, all MDL teams - including those theoretically attached to league teams - were run by 'enthusiasts' in my experience. Edited April 19, 2021 by *JJ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HGould 2,213 Posted April 18, 2021 Big thumbs up to Laurence and the other 2 Clubs who are keeping this League alive. The issue of "dormant Clubs" is not the fault of Laurence and we are lucky at Perry Barr to at least have some junior racing to watch. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
00000 1,279 Posted April 18, 2021 40 minutes ago, HGould said: Big thumbs up to Laurence and the other 2 Clubs who are keeping this League alive. The issue of "dormant Clubs" is not the fault of Laurence and we are lucky at Perry Barr to at least have some junior racing to watch. And we're lucky to see the youngsters at Eastbourne too. Love spotting the next 'big name'. Who will it be with the present crop of juniors at Eastbourne? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Petecc 352 Posted April 18, 2021 9 hours ago, HGould said: Big thumbs up to Laurence and the other 2 Clubs who are keeping this League alive. The issue of "dormant Clubs" is not the fault of Laurence and we are lucky at Perry Barr to at least have some junior racing to watch. Nobody was having a dig at laurence. Quite the the opposite , praise for laurence, and a big thumbs down for speedway management. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Speedway fan 205 Posted June 24, 2021 fixture changes '--add: JULY Sun 4 Eastbourne v Birmingham A FIXTURE Sat 17 Eastbourne v Wolverhampton A FIXTURE Mon 19 Wolverhampton v Eastbourne A FIXTURE 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Speedway fan 205 Posted July 5, 2021 (edited) Sun July 4 EASTBOURNE 21 ( NICK LAURENCE 4R 9; ELI MEADOWS 4R 3+2; JAMES JESSOP 0; JOSH WARREN 4R 9+1) BIRMINGHAM 15 ( JAMIE SEALEY 3R 1; BAILEY FELLLOWS 3R 5; STEPHEN WHITEHOUSE 3R 0; JACOB FELLOWS 3R 9 MAX) Edited July 5, 2021 by Speedway fan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*JJ 511 Posted July 5, 2021 On 4/18/2021 at 10:26 AM, *JJ said: All of which is beside the point. Why were the 'ghost teams' a 'thorn in the side' of the BSPA? The result of this decision is to sharply reduce the opportunities for riders to develop into team riders proper. In any case, all MDL teams - including those theoretically attached to league teams - were run by 'enthusiasts' in my experience. I notice that the original poster never replied to this question. What was the 'thorn in the side', Mr. Harris? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Speedway fan 205 Posted August 2, 2021 Wolverhampton Heathens 17 ( Sam Woolley 11; Ben Phillips R/R ;Tim Colley 3; Stephen Whitehouse 3+1) Birmingham Ductair Bulls 18 ( Ben Trigger 8, Bailey Fellows 3+1; Jamie Sealey 2; Jacob Fellows 5) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Speedway fan 205 Posted August 3, 2021 2021 MSDL Up to + inc 2/8/21 M W D L F A PTS Wolverhampton Heathens 3 1 1 1 48 47 3 Birmingham Bulls 3 1 1 1 45 50 3 Eastbourne Seagulls 2 1 0 1 38 34 2 9/6/21 Birmingham 12 ( Luke Muff 3r 8; Tim Colley (g) 3r 4+1; Stephen Whitehouse 2r 0; Bailey Fellows r/r) Wolverhampton 12 ( Sam Woolley 2r 6 (max); Ryan Ashcroft 3r 5+1; Ben Phillips 3r 1+1; ) ( abandoned after heat 4 following crash in heat 5 ) 4/7/21 Eastbourne 21 ( Josh Warren 4r 9+1; Nick Laurence 4r 9; Eli Meadows 4r 3+2; James Jessop 1r 0) Birmingham 15 ( Jacob Fellows 3r 9 (max); Bailey Fellows 3r 5; Jamie Sealey 3r 1; Stephen Whitehouse 3r 0) 19/7/21 Wolverhampton 19 ( Sam Woolley 3r 8; Bailey Fellows(g) 3r 6; Ben Phillips 3r 3+2; Tim Colley 3r 2) Eastbourne 17 ( Ben Trigger (g) 3r 8+1 paid max; Josh Warren 3r 5; Eli Meadows 3r 4; Cesca Wright 3r 0) 2/8/21 Wolverhampton 17 ( Sam Woolley 4r 11; Stephen Whitehouse 4r 3+1; Tim Colley 4r 3; Ben Phillips r/r) Birmingham 18 ( Ben Trigger 3r 8; Jacob Fellows 3r 5; Bailey Fellows 2r 3+1; Jamie Sealey 3r 2) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites