nickp 0 Posted November 11, 2012 Any decisions/news from the Forum on thursday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greyhoundp 990 Posted November 11, 2012 (edited) Yep , overwhelmingly it was in favour of returning to the Cradley name, a majority in favour of PL racing, but the Promoters were only in support of PL racing if the financial terms were favourable, and dependant on what other changes may be made at the AGM they will attend the PL meeting, ruling nothing out, and nothing in, so dependant on that it is in the air as to which League we will be racing in, but most likely that we will remain NL. The promoters said they will not put at risk what has been achieved so far, and basically we are in this for the long haul. The biggest drawback to having PL racing was Cost, and within this, the vast amount of increased travelling involved, but also increased admission to PL meetings which would be pitched at £14 per meeting, and CVS said he didnt see any problem with staging more than 16 meetings at Monmore Wood. Thats a brief summary of some of what was said, basically the main points of interest to outsiders, Obviously Chris Louis, and Michael Lee were mentioned and at that plenty of Boos were forthcoming . Edited November 11, 2012 by greyhoundp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Super Blue 616 Posted November 11, 2012 Are you seriously trying to tell everyone that everything wont be " Dudleys " fault any more ? " Its all Cradleys fault " just doesn't have the same ring to it ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteveEvans 248 Posted November 11, 2012 Are you seriously trying to tell everyone that everything wont be " Dudleys " fault any more ? " Its all Cradleys fault " just doesn't have the same ring to it ! It had a perfect ring to it in the 80s and 90s! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greyhoundp 990 Posted November 11, 2012 (edited) Yep, even Cradley fans can blame Dudley now, and definately it will be nice to say Cradley Heathens once again, as i have never had any good reason to associate my local Council with a great Speedway Team, or indeed any Sports team in the area, as they have a record comparable with the worst in supporting Sports Teams, ie lost The Cricket Team and Ground, lost The Football Team and Ground, lost The Speedway Team and Stadium, lost Greyhound racing and Stadium, all in all a pretty poor record, so YES i also blame Dudley...and if you check my posts, never have i said Dudley and Heathens in the same breath. Oh and another item to come out of The meeting was, Nigel Pearson if The Heathens go PL, will step down from his role as Chairman, due to what he sees as a conflict of interests, when asked why/how Chris Louis combines the two, he said it is his decision that he will do that, and as a example he said imagine Cradley v Mildenhall how could he commentate with NO bias bearing in mind the somewhat dissapointing end to the season, imagine Nigel Pearson saying Live "Come On Cradley stick it up those ******** Barstewards" we owe it to um, I did miss one word out. Edited November 11, 2012 by greyhoundp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
berniev123 58 Posted November 11, 2012 I did not go to the meeting Thursday BUT look on the brightside for 2013....................... Heathens are back in the League, whichever one, who knows? We may be called by our correct name....CRADLEY/CRADLEY HEATH! I will have my beloved Heathens on track for another year & hopefully be allowed to sponsor a Heat again for 3 years running! Another Season Ticket when the email arrives! Alan Belham, sorry Jamie, will make me a perfect hand stiched replica race jacket again for the 4th year running & I will win a 2013 Golden Hammer race jacket on eBay for the 4th year running. Happy Bunny..........................?????????????????...........Say YES!!!!!!! I care not what League (EL to MDL) or guise! Roll on March 2013! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
salty 2,208 Posted November 11, 2012 I Yep, even Cradley fans can blame Dudley now, and definately it will be nice to say Cradley Heathens once again, as i have never had any good reason to associate my local Council with a great Speedway Team, or indeed any Sports team in the area, as they have a record comparable with the worst in supporting Sports Teams, ie lost The Cricket Team and Ground, lost The Football Team and Ground, lost The Speedway Team and Stadium, lost Greyhound racing and Stadium, all in all a pretty poor record, so YES i also blame Dudley...and if you check my posts, never have i said Dudley and Heathens in the same breath. With you on this. I've only referred to them as the Heathens. Can see the reasoning behind the naming of the team as Dudley as it was hoped this was more likely to get the council onside in terms of finding a suitable site, but after 3 years we are still waiting to see anything more than lip service. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TividaleHeathen 11 Posted November 12, 2012 This was on twitter this morning from Nigel Pearson; @nigelpearson: Decision next weekend on Dudley Heathens #speedway and what level we will race at next year. Talking to CVS and @garypatchett this week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greyhoundp 990 Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) Nice to see all these Heathens appearing on the BSF, and knowing our lot, it should certainly enliven the debates. Welcome TH. Edited November 12, 2012 by greyhoundp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
guestie8 3 Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) I do hope Dudley/Cradley management dont mis-judge the depth of pockets for the fringe support that watch the Heathens as its good value night out at £10.00. At this pricing level its also certainly easier to drag along potential newbies as well.... The core supporters want Premier League but at £14.00 - fringe support will be definately be affected. All promoters will tell you that whilst the core support is essential - its attracting a new younger generation and the fringe support on a more regular basis that makes the difference. Be careful what you wish for!!! Edited November 12, 2012 by guestie8 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soul Crew 87 Posted November 12, 2012 Ironically, if they go PL it will attract me as a supporter, NL hasn't done it for me sadly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davebeagle 5 Posted November 12, 2012 PL for me, would like to keep a few of our riders for next season........ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
21st century heathen 220 Posted November 13, 2012 PL for me too, though I've enjoyed and will continue to support NL. I will be disappointed if we don't make the step up now though. To dangle the carrot and then take it away would be cruel. It's like telling a child 'maybe' you can have 'x' if you are good. Well 'maybe' means 'yes' as we all know. I can understand the management being cautious and I can understand it wanting to canvas opinion. However, the management has now created a huge problem itself. It seems by far that the majority of fans want to go PL and certainly the hardcore fan base that take time to post here or on FB etc. Either the club takes the plunge or it risks upsetting a large percentage of that fan base. My fear is that more fans could be lost through staying where we are and just treading water in the NL than if the move to PL is taken. I've not heard one person say they wouldn't pay £14. If the admission cost goes up by the same percentage across the board then you could afford to lose some fans and still take more money on the night than currently. Upset fans and lose some at still £10 each (adult cost) and you've lost money. That's my concern - I'm leaning toward it could be a bigger financial risk to stay in the NL now. It's going to be very difficult to 'sell' a Heathens NL team next season after the unbelievable performances by our team this season. Despite some of the teams we've had in the past it was this team that set the record for the biggest winning margin by a Heathens team (in fact I think they did it twice, were on target to beat it when a meeting was abandoned after 12, and set the away record as well). The Heathens need to trim almost 15 points to get under the limit for next season. With only one asset to our name the task is made harder still. The top end would probably be Perry, Morris and Ritchings stepping up from reserve to 3rd heat leader. We would then need someone with a similar average to Ritchings and three 3-pointers. It will be very difficult to build a team that can challenge for honours on that type of model. We would certainly not be on our own as all teams must get under the same points limit. But a number of clubs will be able to name a 'steal' on a 3-point average whereas we would have to use virtual novices. After this season it will be tough to ask people to pay £10 a week to potentially watch that type of rider struggle half a lap behind. People want to see competitive racing and in that regard we could, I believe, build a more competitive team at PL level. I believe a PL Heathens team could have a number of riders that have some sort of link that the Heathens fans can relate to. Partly a wish list and partly a team that I think could be put together would be N Morris, Mear, Roynon (? on going EL only), Wells, Newman, Dyer, Perry with A Morris as number 8 unless another club offers him a permanent place at 7 like Somerset did with Perry. That fits under the limit. Nick grew up a Heathens fan because his Dad is one of us. He'd have ridden for us in '10 I understand but had to sort out a team place before we were confirmed running. Mear would be the odd one out, so-to-speak, as there's no link with him but I'd love to have him in my team at PL level. Roynon loves the club and fans as much as we love him - could we convince him? Wells rides Monmore every week for Wolves, hangs out with some of our boys and gets on well with them. He's even used the term 'ommer um' so he's almost had the doghead knocked out of him already. Newman rode for us last year, enjoyed his time but had to move on to PL and likewise Dyer rode for us in '10 but has moved on to PL. Tom and Ash need no introduction. So for me there we have the basis (if not necessarily every rider exactly right) of a very competitive and very entertaining PL team full of riders the fans can associate with and would be more than willing to pay to see. I know it's easy to say when it's not my money at risk but for me it's a no-brainer. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SCB 0 Posted November 13, 2012 I do hope Dudley/Cradley management dont mis-judge the depth of pockets for the fringe support that watch the Heathens as its good value night out at £10.00. At this pricing level its also certainly easier to drag along potential newbies as well.... The core supporters want Premier League but at £14.00 - fringe support will be definately be affected. All promoters will tell you that whilst the core support is essential - its attracting a new younger generation and the fringe support on a more regular basis that makes the difference. Be careful what you wish for!!! Being a big fish in a small pond for too long is a bad thing though. You get used to winning, it becomes accepted so when you do move up, if it's not as easy and you struggle people get peed off. Take the bull by the horns, move up ASAP and let people get used to the PL for a bit/ hopefully that way when the club get their own stadium (remaining positive/hopefull) they can return to their rightful place in the EL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
