neil3065

Ah, I read it that those riders couldnt guest for other NL teams - but you're saying the rule applies to riders guesting for PL teams? Thanks for that, the wording on the NL team declarations sheet didnt make that clear. Obviously I'm aware that any guest's average cannot exceed that of the rider he is replacing.

Even if Irving was still number one in the averages, Lambert isnt permitted to guest for anyone, as he has attained a PL average of over 4.00. There are a number of riders currently in NL 1-7's affected by this rule, including Barrie Evans, Nick Simmons, David Mason and Adam Allott. Seems a silly rule to me - if your number one is injured, you should be able to use anyone in an NL 1-7 to guest whose average fits that of your rider. Must be a recently added rule too, as I know Barrie has guested in the NL previously, as has Jon Armstrong, who is also ineligible to be used as a guest.

Given the pattern of results in previous matches between these two at West Row this season, Mildenhall will need to keep the score within ten points tonight, to have a realistic chance of progression to the final. Hopefully talk of their improved form at Loomer Road in the 4's, from that of the league match can come to the fore tonight. They've struggled away against the better sides in the league this season, so hopefully they can improve on that tonight. In many ways the key will be filling in behind Lambert for shared heats, and taking full advantage of the heats he is not in. Realistically, it'll be a very tall order for Mildenhall to keep to within 10 points of Stoke tonight. If they do manage it, they will have ridden very, very well.

. Cant agree with that. I'd suggest there hasnt been anything about any Mildenhall press releases this season that could be considerred inflammatory. Publicity seeking, yes, at times - but that's part of promoting Speedway. Inflammatory is wildly over-exaggerating it, which you and certain others seem only too keen to do on here. Secondly, I think the fact that Mildenhall are still in the hunt for any honours this season (albeit big outsiders to overhaul Stoke over two legs in either KO Cup or play-offs, IMO) is a complete bonus to the promotion. Michael Lee said in April that they'd built a team with the primary aim of winning home matches and that is what has been achieved.

You will always get people on here wanting to make scapegoats by pointing the finger firmly in whichever direction suits their views, or connections within the sport, whether to teams or individuals. Its easier to do that for many people, than to offer a balanced view which might reflect that the cause was down to more than one factor. Personally, I read Chris Louis' comments in the press last week, and didnt see anything that could be described as 'inflamatory'. He merely said he didnt agree with the Stoke team manager's comments on bringing Australians into the National League. His other comment about Simon Lambert was irrelevant, IMO, as he is eligible to ride in the National League, based on his average at the start of the season. Of course, he may well have had it in mind that this would create some added interest or publicity for the match, but then that's nothing new. Graham Drury and Len Silver frequently did the same ahead of Mildenhall v Rye House fixtures in the past, and I'm told similar things were done for many years prior to that. But I dont think his comments could be branded 'inflammatory'.

Blimey, certainly sounds like an eventful afternoon at Mildenhall! Lots of conflicting versions of events on here, very few of which tie in with each other - a bit like a game of Chinese Whispers! One of the problems with Speedway is that there are certain people who post on here, who are keen to get involved, but do not offer a balanced view, because they know there are certain people they cannot afford to fall out with.

Final score Mildenhall 51-43 Stoke. Mildenhall will need to be on top form to defend eight points in the second leg.

Mildenhall have certainly been vulnerable to TR sucker punches after building big leads in matches this season. Hopefully they can build the lead back up towards 20, but that wont be easy with Lambert out in heats 13 and 15.

That's the sort of margin Mildenhall need to take into the second leg. Obviously, Stoke could yet get back into this, courtesy of the TR's, but again, Mildenhall need to pack the minor places behind Lambert and limit the damage when he goes for double points - a 3-6 wouldnt be ideal, but it wouldnt be that damaging to Mildenhall's hopes.

That's better - Mildenhall have got to fill in behind Lambert and take full advantage of the heats he isnt in if they are to build a decent lead to defend in the second leg. Thanks for the info, gisatrack.

I take your point and did go on to say in my post that a couple of double point scores could have made the difference between one point and none for Mildenhall. Quite rightly, the Mildenhall management are taking some stick for not making use of the TR's - and hopefully it'll be a lesson learned for them. I dont think this is the first time that somewhat naive team management has cost the team points away from home this season, which is surprising given the combined Speedway experience of the Mildenhall promotion. I recall them taking some stick for not giving Cameron Heeps his full seven rides at Buxton, which duly helped the Hitmen to their first league win of the season! On a different note - best wishes to John Oliver for his recovery from his injuries.

To be honest, Mildenhall couldnt really have been expecting to get anything from today. But, 39-51 is a pretty respectable score all things considered. Given that, it is very surprising for Mildenhall to have not used either of their TR options, as there were a few Fen Tigers heat advantages in their as the meeting progressed, which could have given Mildenhall something of a chance of taking an unexpected point from this meeting.

Very strange not to see Mildenhall using the two TR's at their disposal. Obviously only a slim chance of a point from this one, but even so a couple of double points scores could have made the difference between one point and none.

According to the Fen Tigers website, Stoke's Jamie Pickard guests at number one for Mildenhall in this match. Strange choice, IMO. Jamie only scored 4 at West Row for Stoke.

Interesting choice of guest. Not amongst the heat-leaders people had been hoping for, although I think Ben has scored about 25 points in two visits to West Row this season, so hopefully he can get double figures again. Hopefully the Jacobs-Blackbird pairing will improve Mildenhall's middle order strength, especially away from home. Will be a tough meeting against a solid looking Scun-field side. Mildenhall will need to be at their very best to win this one and keep their play-off push on course.

Jay would be my choice, too. If Jon and/or Jerran are options for Mildenhall, then they are very good ones too. I'd not considered them when I was thinking of suitable options. However, if Barrie is available, given that he lives locally and Mildenhall were keen to have him in the team this year, albeit he'd already committed to Hackey, then I dont think they'll look any further than him.

To be fair, so are Scunny, given that they've already beaten Mildenhall to one of the better riders available for that average. Sure the Scunny fans who have expressed opposition to Aussies in the NL arent too fussed that their team hasnt opted for a British-born guest!! Still could be three good options out there for Mildenhall though, subject to availability, two of whom are on Superstar1's shortlist. Personally I wouldnt choose Allott, who hasnt always ridden West Row very well. If Barrie is available, I'm sure he'd be the most likely choice for the promotion and may well have been their first choice anyway. It could be if the top two or three choices arent available, then R/R may still be an option. Should be a close meeting, with Scunfield a solid side from 1-7. Mildenhall will miss Heeps' points, so hopefully they'll get a proven quality heatleader as guest from the limited options available.

Indeed, Mildenhall were really struggling to find a rider good enough to fill the number seven berth and score any sort of points before Heeps' arrival. There was Nick Laurence and before him Danny Stoneman (who to be fair seems to be scoring a few more points for Dudley), then briefly, Adam Portwood. This suggests that there arent exactly loads of British youngsters with genuine potential waiting on reserve berths in the NL, which is why, IMO, more needs to be done to improve the quality and frequency of training schools. Mildenhall are making the effort to host training schools and are putting on second half racing again this season, something that has been problematic at West Row in the past. To that end, I'm sure Mildenhall are hoping to recruit local youngsters to the sport and have some very experienced figures within the promotion to help with their progression. Hopefully, this'll lead to an increased choice of local youngsters for the Fen Tigers in the NL. Hopefully they'll take a leaf out of the Aussie book by instilling a bit more of a fearless attitude into youngsters, so that they can turn up and get on with riding any track they come across.

I think the NL rules over rider eligibility do a pretty good job in attempting to strike a balance that is required by all the different categories of rider who compete in it. That said, any method that is implemented is never going to be ideal for absolutely everyone. I think the flaws in any sort of time restriction in terms of the number of seasons a rider be permitted to compete in the third tier are immediately obvious, given the number of riders it would force out of the sport. The third tier does have a fair record of producing riders that go on to compete at the higher levels of the sport. I think I'm right in saying that every member of this season's GB World Cup squad had ridden in the third tier. When you get these Aussies that come over and start off at reserve in the NL, they stand out because they appear to be a lot more promising than some of the British youngsters (no disrespect intended). They have a more fearless attitude to racing, you dont hear them saying, 'I dont like this track' or 'I don't like riding in these conditions.' They dont have a league structure over there, but they do have lots of tracks that help to develop the talent of young riders. We have very few clubs who run structured training schools and second half events to develop that talent. Rye House are an example of a club that have such a structure, largely thanks to the fact that the promoter owns the stadium. As a result, they have gone out and recruited local youngsters and developed their Speedway abilities and produced a large number of riders who have done well in the third tier and gone on to higher levels of the sport. As a result, their PL sides are made up mostly of riders who have come through the third tier, and they use very few foreign imports, compared to other PL clubs.

Will be R/R for Baseby then. With all six riders eligible to take his rides, I'm sure his absence will be covered comfortably. This should be a very good meeting. If Mildenhall are riding close to their best, I think they'll have enough to beat Stoke, but it'll be very close.

What on earth might that be, I wonder?!

Following the updates on line, I couldnt understand why he wasnt given the full quota of rides. Very unsual to see someone scoring as well as he is at reserve not being used to the fullest to replace under-performing team-mates. It certainly looks like it lead to points dropped by Mildenhall. Seems to me that Mildenhall's top five are inconsistent performers away from home, so if they are to pick up any more away wins, Heeps will need to have seven rides per meeting while he's at reserve (which wont be for very long!).

Rye have always had a significant home track advantage (although PL teams seem to have got used to Rye now and you do get a few away wins these days), but as you suggest, the down-side to that and a contributory factor to what has often been a marked contrast in their away form (certainly since they moved back to Hoddesdon in 2000) seems to have been that they do struggle to adapt to a grippy track away from home.

Good to see Mildenhall getting another win, albeit the margin was obviously effected by the absence of one Hackey reserve after heat 2. This gives Mildenhall a decent lead to defend in the second leg. However, the opposition will be a much tougher proposition around Rye House and with Mildenhall struggling away from home, it could still be quite tight as to who goes through in the tie. I cant help thinking that you wouldnt have had the same opinion if the exclusion had gone the other way!!

A tad disappointing, if not surprising that Mildenhall weren't able to take any points from this meeting. Michael Lee did say, prior to the start of the season, that the promotion were building a team that could win its home matches, first and foremost, and that is what they have got. Unfortunately, though, going by last night's scores and those at Belle Vue in the previoius away match, it seems it is a side that is always liable to be exposed as lacking in depth away from home, with inconsistency throughout. It seems to me, though, that the National League this season will be one where most of the teams will win at home consistently, with away points being at even more of a premium than they have been in previous seasons. However, I'm sure that all connected with Mildenhall would like to see them become more competitive away from home.