And all to try an win competitions with almost zero reward, and therefore, relevance... With their lack of jeopardy, consequence and authenticity, ensuring that the reward and relevance will always stay so small.... What a plan!!!!!

I rarely post on here now and it's ironic that one who has chosen to post on this particular thread used to continually trawl some of my posts that I had no option but to put him/her on "ignore" as it became tiresome and repetitive! Also there was another who frequents the forum regularly who spouts very bizarre rhetoric and opinions but I guess that's the nature of public forums and one must accept that if one wishes to participate in open discussion?

I agree there was a vast differences   between the two leagues  now the lines are so blurred , Bomber would have been a number one in old NL at his age no disrespect but Scott Nicholls would be no where near the old Gulf league at almost 50 yrs old .

And the majority of the riders rocked up in the pits with 1 bike or 2 if they were lucky strapped to the back of a car, and if they had bike problems they'd fall back on the track spare to use, not like now where they all expect sponsored sign written vans with 3 or 4 bikes in the back.

The difference when I started going in the early/mid 80's was vast Joe Owen was the king of the national league but really struggled even at reserve in the old british league. Jen's Rasmussen was a 5 point Oxford reserve he dropped down and was virtually unbeatable in the old second division. When Havelock & Silver moved up two very gifted young riders at the time it still took them 2-3 seasons to bed in to the top league before they started to kick on. Now days other than a handful of riders the bulk plying their trade in the UK can be seen in both divisions for different teams.

It was used as a development tool so riders could move up to see if they could compete, but with a safety net of being able to still ride in the 2nd tier if they were not of top tier level... Now it is the most important fundamental part of the operating model and business plan, even including which nights clubs have to race on... Incredible how it has been allowed to happen....