Ommer Mon

Far more eloquently put than I could have done Halifaxtiger. I think you have hit the nail on the head.

Have to say that my experience of following Dudley / Cradley to away tracks is that we are welcomed with open arms due to the number of fans we take with us.

I totally agree with you that youngsters should be given their chance at all levels and I was a supporter of what the Elite League have done this year. Equally I have said what a great job Scunny have done in the past in bringing the likes of the Worralls, Birks, Cleggy and Woofy etc through. Having said that there are 'development' competitions around. I think the NL is a competitive League and should be respected as such. I agree that having the points limit set before they joined the League would have hampered them in terms of getting riders but once a League has been established it has to be credible and that means having a credible level of competition. I would not be proposing something like a 34 point lower limit but enough to ensure that there are some experienced riders in the team who can put up a show and be an 'on track' role model for the youngsters. Perhaps a 30 point lower limit. If you can't track a competitive team then you can always run Challenge matches. At least there should be no shortage of riders next year even if the 40 point limit is retained with the cricket scores flying around at the moment.

21-69! Congratulations to Sam Chapman for making a single handed fight of it and to the Heathens for taking it seriously for 15 races. Is this really what a competitive National League is all about? Lord knows how Promoters are supposed to sell this to their fans when Scunny are in town. If you have a maximum points limit, I think its time to introduce a lower points limit too for the credibility of the sport.

and just to prove everyone right.................... Stoke have announced that their match is cancelled due to the state of the track!

It was only Saturday, as I watched the NZ GP, that I thought how fitting it would have been for Ivan to present the trophy. I was aware that he had stepped back from public life but I had no idea what he has been suffering from. Very sad to hear that. As a Cradley fan I've had the privilege to watch and to some extent be involved with five great World Champions but Ivan will always stand out to me as the greatest rider of all time. He took professionalism to a new standard and set the mark for all of the greats who have followed him. I always remember one quote "If you get everything else right, riding the bike is the easy bit" and that is a philosophy I've always tries to take with me in my own career - not that that involves racing bikes! My best moment was seeing him mess a start up at Wolverhampton and stare up at the Ref for at least 10 seconds by which time Tom Leadbitter and the rest were going into turn 3. Needless to say he got going and passed the lot. My thoughts are with him.

Not many takers for a Heathens win then! I'm a tad more optimistic but I hope Scunny don't mess about and use it as an opportunity to get their averages down. Picking up June's point on the excellent record that Rob and the team have in producing good prospects (and a World Champ in the making no less)he has my full admiration on what he has achieved and British Speedway is now seing the benefit of his foresight and effort. This season, I would have liked to have seen a bit more experience in there. Whatever happens at 'home' affects no one but there are going to be some very difficult nights when they go on their travels. Good luck to them and I hope for an accident free afternoon.

Well, after the Heathens magnificent display against Kings Lynn last night, what do you think the prospects are for this one?

Did I say a 14 point win - I really meant 40! To be serious though, I didn't see that coming. If I can say one thing in defence of the Young Stars it would be that five of the Heathens have already benefited from riding a number of fixtures at a higher level and that really seems to have rubbed off. Perhaps some of the Young Stars are still a bit rusty after the winter and will improve as they get more fixures in. I certainly hope so. Josh Bailey in particular shouldn't be disappointed. He looks a promising prospect. I think we could see quite a gap emerging in the NL between the riders who are doubling up and those who are not. The Heathens were 'awesome' from 1-7 last night and you can't argue that they are not worthy of places in the Elite League draft. I am sure that some of these lads will be Elite League regulars in a couple of years. Roll on Scunthorpe on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think that meeting could prove an embarassment for the sport. Anybody need a calculator?

With the Heathens at full strength I'm hoping for a 14 point lead to take to the Far East. As Ommer Um says it could well be close over the two legs as we aim to make it four Shields in a row. Hope Greavsie has a good night. He had wretched luck last week against the Storm. Whatever he does tonight I do expect him to score well at Lynn as the track suits his style much better. PS Hope Darryl will be on the mend soon. I was so sorry to hear about his accident last week. Fingers crossed for a quick and full recovery.

I have no idea if he would be interested but what about former Heathen Mark Robinson. He rode in a challenge match for Dudley a couple of years ago and scored 7+2 from 3 completed rides against a pretty experienced Birmingham Bulls septet including Garrity, Pickard, Priest and Sarjeant. He made some enquiries about a comeback at ther time and was told be would be saddled with his old BJL average of 9+. I'm sure he would not claim to be a points machine but I'm sure he would be a big help to the youngsters and that is what counts. Hope that may be helpful.

Some of these may be unrealistic, as I don't know the circumstances of the lads concerned, but here are a few thoughts in addition to Islander 15's above. Gary Irving, Byron Bekker, Danny Warwick, Rob Branford (if he is coming back), Jake Knight, Mark Baseby,Tony Atkin (if he can be talked back) , Luke Priest, Danny Warwick, Mark Baseby - any of them would be competitive and give the youngsters a role model out there on the track. In terms of a youngster I would like to see given another go I would suggest Nathan Stoneman who I reated quite highly on the occasions I have seen him. Still it's not my team and I'm no team manager but I hope Rob and colleagues will consider any sensible additions they are aware of. They may well have the next Woffy in there but the current spectacle at away tracks will not be attractive and will do little to promote the National League as a competition.

No idea but, if it is, take a calculator judging on the Scunny scores so far. Coventry are a very good team - as demonstrated at Monmore Wood on Tuesday. I think the 70 point mark could be threatened unless something is done to add experience to the line up.

Like it martin t! Thinking about it, I didn't get my usual parking space so perhaps I was too overzealous! Seriously though, it looks like it could be another good season for the lads.

What made it for me was the form of our reserves Matt and Danny. They both had excellent home debuts and were mixing it with riders who have had much more experience. Well done to the Storm on making it a competitive encounter. Luke Crang was particularly impressive and looks a very good prospect. 'Sarge' got stuck in against us, as he always does, and it was good to see Dan Greenwood picking up a win late on. Great track preparation, no problems with the lights, excellent new programme and a very good crowd. We even got Porky to deliver a Cradley war cry without the need for medical assistance. What wasn't to like?

Can't believe this topic hasn't been started yet! A new season, a new name, a new team, a new programme and it's all systems go for the start of a new Mommore Wood campaign. Two big questions. How do you think we will get on against the Storm and can we tempt Porky into a war cry that starts 'Give me a C...........'?

I am a great fan of what Rob Godfrey has done at Scunthorpe and his record speaks for itself.His move on admission prices for kids has to be applauded and I hope others will follow suit. The school leaving age is 18 now so the increased costs for the 16 - 18 category fall on the already hard pressed Moms and Dads and that might be enough to mean that some have to stay away. Excellent move. Having said that, I am concerned at the strength of the Stags team. I'm all in favour of bringing the kids on and applauded the Elite League changes for this year but you have to be fair to the paying public when the Stags go away from home so I think they should look to include a couple of more experienced riders. Its great that the youngsters are being given the opportunity to race but you don't learn much if you are getting thumped and there are no role models in the team to look up to and learn from on the track. The experience could be quite disheartening and have a detrimental effect.

Good luck to the 'bog moggies' with this petition. I have signed it and there are now over 4000 signatures on there. Come on everybody sign up. It is virtually impossible to find locations to reintroduce speedway stadia when they are lost but to now have a situation where current venues can be closed by a couple of objectors who deny they knew about the Stadium (in spite of living only 400 yards from it) will see our sport (and plenty of other leisure persuits) disappear at a rate of knots. Whatever happened to 'due diligence' and 'buyer beware'.

I had the privilege of meeting Matt Williamson and his parents a few days back. Smashing lad who has already spent a lot of time practising this year at any track that can give him some time. He has also invested heavily in equipment. I think he will raise a few eyebrows this season and I can see him adding substantially to his starting average and climbing out of the reserve berths pretty quickly. Dedication and hard work deserve their rewards and I hope he has a great season. Welcome to the home of the Champions Matt!

What about Porky at Monmore Green (Wood). Boy is there going to be a funny moment this season when the has to shout give me a 'C' now that the Heathens are Cradley again! As a lifelong Wolf I think we will need the St Johns standing by. Great entertainer and he makes the night whatever team is out there.

Wow, now that is a serious Cradley challenger to my Finn Jensen!!!

Rob Lambert & Lewis Kerr? Cleggy and Greavsie?

Good question Heathen 1984. Personally I would have been keen to have Nathan Greaves at reserve so I would have liked to have seen Liam Carr in the side with Dan Greenwood. This would also have meant no room for Starkie (and I wouldn't have been very happy with that either!!!). To get back on thread, I think Liam Carr could go well this year for the Hitmen. Suffice to say I am happy with the team we've got and a strong top two is always a good point to start from Penhall/ Gundersen, Hamill/Hancock etc etc.

I think 21 CH nailed it with Dan Greenwood. I think Cradley could have dropped a clanger letting him go (and I know he was in their first choice septet). Dan was brilliant at the end of last season but he does need to keep his self belief up. If he does that he could be an 8 pointer by the end of the year. Good luck to him.

Thanks for the contributions. Some great examples of why many Speedway fans have so little hair - having torn it out frequently over the years! Here is another one to consider - Bengt Andersson. He rode for Cradley in the early 70s and also had spells with Exeter and Wolves if I remember correctly. Without doubt the fastest gater I have ever seen. I recall him beating Mauger and Bengt Jansson to the 30 yard mark. Problem was he couldn't take the bends at Dudley Wood and appeared to ride out to the fence before turning the bike round and setting off in pursuit. I think he may still live in the area and I may have spotted him at Monmore Wood last year. A very clever and astute businessman who I think had his own engineering business. He did well at Coventry I think on what was widely viewed at the time as a gater's paradise.