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What you describe here may well be inevitable  - no disagreements from me on that score But that is very different from the Championship can survive without the Premiership  - in that new scenario the only thing surviving is the name....

With 14 teams you would initially be looking at 5 man teams at around 25 or 7 around  30

if there is a league next year it will be less than championship standard , its the only way it ill survive , crowds this year will be down on last year, council tax water rates gas electric all going up, not many peoples wages will be. But thats my naive and stupid way of thinking.

Of course there are enough riders. There may not be enough riders to maintain 7 man teams to a 40 point limit but there will be enough for 5 or 6 rider teams at whatever strength depending on riders available. It just needs researching properly 

I suspect the requirements for flat track protective barriers is different than for speedway

Oxford - Weakest reserves in the league but best top 5 (sounds familiar 🤔), think they'll be very strong at the start of the season and will be able to hold the top spot though might not be as strong playoff time as I think the reserves will hold them back over 2 legs. Hopetully Erik stays well this season as he'll be scoring big points. Poole - Potentially the strongest reserve pair by the end of the season (though think they'll end up being better away than at home) and a very good 1 and 5. Gilkes just back from a big injury so might be a bit slow at the start but think he'll grow into a very important rider for the Pirates. Kerr and Bowes are inconsistent which could hurt against stronger teams. Glasgow - All depends on how Mario and Kevin do, if they do well (6+ average) Glasgow could dominate but if they are just staying around their 5 point average or lower the team could just struggle to get any momentum. Otherwise probably the most solid team of the 9, Bomber, Howarth and Flint make a very good top 3 and Hodder and Hagon should be a strong pair. Plymouth - As long as Klima rides most meetings I think Plymouth have a great chance this year, lots of experience and will always have the strongest reserve. Really want to see Plymouth do well. Workington - Team relies on Cook in my opinion, if he doesn't disappear the team has a good chance at the league, JJ I think will only get better from last year and Batch is a good rider to have at 3 or 5, if Cook does disappear though I don't think the team can cover him and they'll struggle. Think Tate will come back to form this year and Jakobsen will be interesting to watch. Edinburgh - Solid looking team but I feel Paco, Kye and Sedgeman can disappear at points in the season which could hold them back. Will be interesting to see if Dan can keep up his improvement and see how he does at number 1. Loftus is also an exciting prospect. Berwick - Quite like the look of the team but everytime I predict them doing well the riders all end up in an ambulance by the end of May it seems. Kildemand, Palovaara and Morris make a strong top 3. Redcar - Not convinced by this team, if Ace keeps up last years form they have the strongest reserve pair for the early season (though think Poole's pair will overtake them) and a good number 1 but not convinced there is much improvement in the 2-5. Not enough power in the middle will make it difficult to claw back if they go down early but also will be difficult to build a lead. Scunthorpe - Strong number 1 and I rate Harrison, apart from that nothing much going for them. Maybe they can make some changes when Picko gets an average but who is out there to bring in? Think the 1-3 can be in any order and 4-8 is incredibly close so should be a very entertaining year. Think the favorites all have different strengths so will be interesting to see over 2 legs who'll come out on top.