Double Up

Nathan Greaves back to Cradley. Only one to go now.

You know it makes sense Rob I thought Nathan lived in Yorkshire?

Mildenhall have the strongest top 3 in the league. according to Kevin Jolly :-)

in short, no. An employer wishing to employ foreign nationals has to be approved by the UKBA. The BSPA aren't an employer and would never be approved. As far as I know you can only apply in your home country. That's always been the procedure in the past.

Danny Phillips to Cradley

I've lost count of the number of times I've seen speedway accused of being unprofessional and living in the dark ages. It's difficult to keep the sport in the media during the close season and the best way to do that is to drip feed the rider signings. Seven riders means seven exclusives. It keeps the club in the papers and encourages fans to visit the website. These factors are all important factors when talking to sponsors etc. Before you say 'we're only in the National League though' that surely is no reason why the club shouldn't be run as professionally as possible. I agree that it's frustrating and I'm as impatient as the next when it comes to wanting information but I can also see that this is far and away the best strategy. We're just going to have to live with it because I can't see it changing anytime soon.

A sponsors certificate (visa) can be issued anything from one to three years, I think. Last year Sam Masters was unsuccessful in getting his sponsors certificate because his previous one had expired. A new regulation meant that he then had to wait 12 months before being able to re-apply. This new rule only came to light when Sam made his application. Any riders who had a sponsors certificate that has already expired before applying for a new one may now be similarly affected. Given that most certificates expire either at the end of the season or the end of the year it would be impossible for some riders to apply for a new certificate if they haven't signed for a club. An application by a rider has to be endorsed by a sponsor here. If a rider doesn't know where he's riding how can he apply? I've seen elsewhere that Alex Davies has also got problems.

Darren Mallet confirmed at Kings Lynn.

Sounds like a bit of spin from Uncle Len. The National League would be stronger with more teams. 8 must be seen as the bare minimum. Let's hope all is not lost for the Island to make a late entry but where they would ever find the riders to put together a competitive team God only knows. I'd wager that any thoughts of a return for the Raiders receded after the idea to subsidise NL teams from a share of the TV money was dropped, hence the reference to sponsorship not being forthcoming.

Certainly pulled a rabbit out of the hat in getting Ben Wilson in but there has to be a worry where the heat leaders are coming from at the likes of Buxton and Plymouth with so many riders, Boxall, Blackbird, Morris, Ellis etc, unable to ride NL this coming season.

In an ideal world you would do both, without a doubt. We have two reserve spots available and maybe that's possible. In four years back we have acquired just 3 assets, two of whom started as reserves, but I'm sure that's not for the want of trying. Others that have ridden for us have either done so on loan from other clubs or stay as free agents, such as Dan Greenwod and Nathan have done. Whilst the likes of Scunthorpe, who don't even have an NL team, et al are able to run training schools every week they are always going to sign up the majority of the good young talent, where possible, way before they have even progressed to a level that they are ready to ride NL .That's undoubtedly a situation that would change if and when we are successful in finding a site to build a new track just as it would affect the clubs income stream and facilitate a move into the professional ranks. Ironically the new rules in force mean that it is probably more economic to compete in the Elite league than the Premier league now!! It's no coincidence that most of the riders coming into the NL either do so as Scunthorpe assets or attached to their local clubs. Rob Godfrey has got it spot on at Scunny and should be proud of the number of riders that owe their introduction to the sport to him. So I guess we'll continue with the ethos that has served us well over the past four years. That is to put together the best team we can from the riders that are available and, if possible, sign a rider or two to the asset base, where possible. The best team will be a mix of assets and loaned riders. We can rest assured that whoever the club do sign will give absolutely everything to the cause of riding for the Heathens. As Stevie Worrall said it's the club that everyone wants to ride for!! Here's to a successful and prosperous 2014 for all Heathens, on and off the track. #Ommerum

Nigel Pearson has tweeted that his column in the Sheffield Star has the latest on the Tigers future and is 'worth a read'.

This is a sound philosophy but as a stand alone club don't our promotion have to concentrate on putting together the best team that they can first and foremost. If the choice was between an asset or a better rider you'd take the better rider, wouldn't you?