MattJ81

With under 16's being free this actually becomes a good value meeting for me with the 3 kids in tow Not sure Cradley will have quite enough to win although I would like to think we will make the final. Birmingham and Cov look pretty strong, in fact Group A should be a great semi.

Yes without doubt, which reflects the strength of last years Cradley side. It should be a good close meeting, fingers crossed there aren't the track problems from last year

Other than Steve Worrall, who was top of the Heathens averages

I know, very late to start a thread on this 2 days after it happened but just so there is one..... The lack of thread probably says it all, a pretty straightforward passage through for Cradley on a very dusty track after threatened rain didn't arrive - no criticism of the promotion here as they were in a no win situation once that happened. Plenty of water put down throughout the meeting but was never going to help too much. A couple of nasty falls and the fourth bend caught a few out, Greaves in particular came a cropper hitting the fence coming out of the fourth bend and ending up face down on the track near the starting tapes (kudos to Jon Armstrong on being first over to an injured opponent). Mogridge also found the fence coming out of the fourth bend and how Neale managed to get so close to it every lap and avoid clipping I don't know! Nice to see Ellis Perks looking a little more comfortable with his knee injury and also to see Luke Harris picking up some points from reserve. Danny Phillips impressed, very quick out of the traps and Lee Payne offered a serious threat to the Heathens top order throughout the night. On to the semi.....

It was far from a classic and lacked the excitement of the Eastbourne and Coventry matches, the atmosphere wasn't helped by the faulty PA and the delay but I enjoyed it nonetheless (decent weather, good company - I'm easily pleased!). Impressed with Kingston when he didn't struggle with the first and second bend, although he wasn't the only one who suffered. Tom Bacon was also impressive from reserve. Ellis Perks was obviously still struggling with the knee injury, he looks far from comfortable on the bike compared to the meetings earlier in the season. Harris will benefit massively from moving to reserve and with Mogridge really firing and Williamson enjoying a really good spell at the moment things aren't looking too bad for the Heathens Was reported after the meeting that the crowd was the largest so far this season which can only be a good thing, unless too many were put off by the delay I suppose

Wow, 13 years. Such a nice bloke, he rode plenty of meetings for Club CH around that time, I remember sharing a drink with him in Cardiff in 2001. Was so difficult the following year as we all stood and raised a glass to him in the same pub RIP

To be fair to him though, he is only a few weeks from being a child. Only turned 18 recently, I don't know of his racing history but it wouldn't surprise me if this is the most pressure he has been under as a rider and he has had a bad couple of weeks compared to the flying start he made (for Cradley at least). He isn't the first and won't be the last to take a little time to settle down, if that is what is happening. I saw a very young Greg Hancock come back into the pits at Belle Vue after a race and throw a complete wobbler, throwing things around etc. It's good to have that passion, might just take some time to channel it in the right way. Learning is what the NL is all about after all. He has family with him, his Dad and also his (Great, I think) Uncle Dave - both of whom have been around the sport a very long time Anyway, back to Eastbourne

The wide lines at Perry Barr are very wide I think, nobody has ventured quite that far wide as yet but I'm sure some of the home guys (Cradley and Brum) will be getting to grips with it sooner rather than later In for a close one on Wednesday I think, hopefully another Heathens victory of course but could go either way. Hope everyone gets through without harm

Great to see Luke getting plenty of points on the board. I think this fixture was put in as the date was originally pencilled in for Cov vs Cradley, however with Clegg and Perks on PL duty Cradley declined the fixture (along with a few others that were originally planned in a similar fashion). I guess as mentioned it's worth track time for the riders that were available

Wouldn't say Birmingham were lucky, personally. They seemed sharper from the starts which was a big difference to last week. Adam Ellis rode as he will likely do for the majority of the matches this season (half a straight in front!) Enjoyed the meeting, if not the ending - is this how it felt for other teams in the 90's where we would throw Hancock and Hamill in Heat 13 and 15 (and a double tac-sub in 14 if needed) and come back from many points down to win with successive 5-1's? Still, you can't beat a last heat decider once in a while Heat 12 was a cracker, Chapman had to keep his line bang on to stay in front of Perks and to a lesser degree Williamson but didn't put a wheel wrong Track was dusty at first but with rain forecast you can understand why, there was certainly plenty of work put in (and water put on!) once it was known the rain was a few hours away Hope Luke Harris and Adam Kirby are OK after their knocks

I fed and watered the kids to bursting point before we went in last night to avoid any need for additional purchases and the bloke next to me was stood with a sandwich box!

I believe Clegg has also stated that three leagues would be too much of a strain on his current set up (i.e. his Dad) with travelling and time off work etc.

This is a worry, just going from the riders I have seen a little more of both Greaves and Clegg seemed to gain so much from their EL experience as the season progressed. I would argue that Clegg would perhaps be a better choice for Leicester this season than Lambert but I can see that he isn't quite up to the standard of most of the other draft riders as yet being at least a couple of years younger than them. Having said that with the probable points limit in the NL they both will be towards the top of the averages, and rightly so. It then becomes essential that they get regular chances in the PL to ensure they continue to develop against better riders. I do hope that they are given this chance

Not sure there is much dislike between Cradley and Brummies Fans (any more than there is dislike between Cradley and anyone else, but that's a different thread!) - I think the fly in the ointment would be the dual naming of any team. Perry Barr isn't a particularly popular option for a lot of Cradley fans (of course it is much preferably to no speedway) and to name a team "Birmingham Heathens" or similar wouldn't see a lot of enthusiasm from the Black Country I fear. Nigel Pearson has said that it would be wrong for Cradley to run at Perry Barr if there weren't a Birmingham team running there, but depending on the make up of the National League surely there would be enough free weeks in the season to both run at that level? Either way this seems a bitter blow for Brummies Fans, along with everyone else I sincerely hope a solution can be found

There were unsustainable losses in 96 even with from what I remember weren't bad crowds (certainly by today's standards). It's a very heavily populated area though isn't it? I would imagine it was one of the first sites considered all those years ago as a ready made stadium, not sure if it is council owned to be honest - not that it would make much difference with Dudley Council.

I didn't get to Perry Barr when we were there, or Monmore in those years as it goes - lack of spare money, young kids and midweek meetings etc but we did get to a few last season and have attended most home meetings and a few away this season. The kids are now very much hooked and we would certainly attend Perry Barr. Not sure there are many other choices unless a piece of land and a digger appear on the horizon pretty quickly. Not a particularly easy place to get to from the Black County at 6 o clock but certainly preferable to no Cradley. I could see us staying in an expanded National League based at Perry Barr next season if crowds are going to be affected by the new location, although is that going to be enticing enough for fans who are keen to move up after a successful few years at this level? Catch 22 I suppose, this is supposing anybody manages to get back at Perry Barr next season of course - fingers crossed

He isn't riding tonight either, plus as TividaleHeathen points out he had a very good second place over Lambert in his first ride and pulled out of his second. In addition Matt Williamson wasn't fully fit so I doubt there would have been a desire to add too many reserve rides unless essential Was an enjoyable meeting, Clegg continues to impress and was able to step up when required against Tactical Rides and in Heat 15. Will 10 points be enough? Depends on fitness/guests available I guess but it should be a close affair in the second leg

Then, to perhaps misquote an old phrase, why are we bothering to keep score? Without wishing to go over very well worn ground, while there is a league in place and competitive racing there will always be teams striving to win it and rightly so. The gap between the two approaches has grown too large this season and needs to be addressed without doubt. I very much agree though that riders priorities in this league may be elsewhere at times, and I think there is a greater acceptance of team changes in the NL for this reason. I think it is pretty much a universal desire from Cradley fans to move up next season but Mildenhall have tried and struggled in the PL pretty recently and if it weren't for the NL Cradley probably wouldn't be riding at all. With regard to last night it was a shame that Kings Lynn were decimated, especially after Morley was injured in the first race which effectively ended it as a contest. Was very impressed with Connor Coles for Mildenhall who apart from a struggle in his last ride looked very quick.

I'm pretty sure that by the mid 90's it was a mix of ELP - Fanfare for the Common Man and 2 Unlimited - Get Ready for this. Have a feeling Queen - We Will Rock You was played before anyone actually marched out to get everyone in the mood

My young son uses "Excludified" which I quite like - perhaps we could adopt this? It sounds quite ominous

I think the two were linked to be honest. I think it was Bruce who predicted that Billy would be World Champion sooner but wouldn't last as long (or something like that) thanks to their very different riding styles. For the record I am a big fan of both, not surprisingly, and seeing them team ride was a definite highlight. Especially pleasing when it was on a 5-1 at Monmore against Sam/Ronnie/PK etc and they were comfortable enough to switch from outside to inside lines through the bends - there must be a video of that somewhere?

This is what I was going to say, but it's a lot better put I think it is possible to underestimate the effect of removing the Club Captain and a vastly influential presence on the performance of the other, particularly less experienced members of the team.

My only real memory of the Golden Helmet was perhaps related to the above post by Rob. I remember Jeremy Doncaster beating Erik around Dudley Wood to win the Helmet, which may well have been how he came to have it when visiting Oxford and losing out to Cox? Not sure, if it was 86 I was only 5 and to be honest Erik losing it upset me quite a lot It seemed to be a really big deal, match races as such were pretty special and didn't come around too often.