Sings4Speedway

Its clear that Cradley could have put a side together featuring a selection from Knight, Greenwood, Hunter , Bowtell, Boxall, Compton, Hazelden etc as it is they have gone for Dwyer as their sole unattached rider. As a non Cradley fan id be happy to see a selection from the above arrive and entertain but as a Cradley fan would they still have the same appeal? Its been much debated about the morality of the Cradley choices but if it keeps "them" on track so be it even if i think they will fall short yet again.

Eastbourne Mildenhall Birmingham Kent Belle Vue Coventry IOW Stoke Plymouth Buxton

The sad part about Butcher is i feel its becoming age over ability. He's 17, thats what all promoters want and he has decent machinery.....bonus. Time will tell when he goes into competitive action especially up against the other weaker reserves in the league at Stoke, Buxton & Belle Vue. As for JJ probably shouldn't be throwing those stones around his glass house

I do find it staggering that its "too far". I bet if Glasgow came knocking it would be a different story.

I guess the decision for Gilkes is does he sign up full time for a team once his exams are over and risk getting an average or wait until next year when he can come in at the start on a 3.00? He could "do a Spooner" and remain unattached all season taking whatever bookings he fancies as nobody seems to be bothered on issuing averages to unattached riders.

Geographically Buxton always suffer difficulties attracting riders however the opportunities are there. Do riders want a team place and the chance to put themselves in the window for future seasons or sit on the sidelines getting rusty and hope for something closer to pop up mid season? Not directed at Shane btw just unemployed riders in general. Hope he does get fixed up somewhere though, be great to see him back.

9th April Leicester away. Vaculik vs Killer. Yes Please. Oh heck im excited about potentially going to Leicester

In fairness with the soft side of the National Trophy group you are right. Plenty of matches for him to sharpen up and if he can get a few MDL fixtures in too that will also help his cause. Its a shame that the Trophy has basically become competitive practice but with Cradley select making a mockery of it, it is very hard to view it any other way.

I don't wish the personal issues Chris is having on anyone and perhaps he is better to publicly step back for X weeks rather than ride half hearted and damage his already fragile reputation. Killer being a temporary replacement is debatable at best for legality / morality BUT he is box office viewing and i know which rider id rather watch every time. You never know P.K may think harder about a full term return to the UK? Will actually make me check the fixture list now to see if there is a Poole away day where i can see him in action.

Always thought Arran has looked reasonable / average on the grass but his speedway is very different. From any times ive seen him he makes the likes of Dicken look like a world beater. Think any points will be from retirements / falls but he may have upped his game over the winter? Either way he is facing 3 rides and being swapped out of heat 8 consistently. I can only imagine Roberts is struggling on his return from injury as on previous viewings he is far the superior rider.

Whilst the away matches may end up in heavy defeats for the Diamonds its the home ones id be most concerned about. Berwick, Scunny & Redcar would normally be regarded as comfy home points on the board but looks far less than certain now especially with the return of Mr Worrall. However bottom with few / no points after the first month is going to cause a lot of unrest among any group of supporters.

Walker could be a very strong acquisition at home, seems to be excellent at some tracks and below average at others but if he finds some consistency......still looks the bargain of riders with established averages. Big year for Cupitt, can he kick on finally of tail off again? Flint i think could hit Bickley levels or better? I think these are the two to watch out for over the years as they could go on to excel on the world stage,

JPB - dont bite the hand that feeds you. Moving on be very interesting to see just how close Flint is to the heat leaders & how the number 7 trials work out?

Definitely more to it than the press release. Mutual agreement is basically you don't want to be here and we don't want you either or vice versa. However given the track record Mr Barker has.......im sure the dirt will come out eventually so why not make the statement at least a little more honest.

Which makes the decision to get rid of the 2nd line more stupid. The riders were supposed to have their front wheel spindle over line 2 so they were all in the same place and not pulled back, now its gone so rolling room is created again. Shorter riders are disadvantaged from rut preparation but less likely to get their helmets peaks caught on the tapes so the ideal speedway rider of the future will have long legs and a short body Ultimately every rider is out to get the best advantage they can get and starts of this nature will never be perfect

Shame P&P plus the opener is off was looking forward to my first speedway fix of the year. Have things changed with the stock cars? I don't recall there being many publicised track issues in the past? Although the weather present & forecast doesn't help.

Jack Thomas signs for Glasgow. Great for him and his progression tough on the Kings as they will have first call on fixture clashes

JPB replaced by both teams on the same day he walks.........don't let the door hit you on the @rse on your way out

Managed alright on one league last year and its not like he is going to be short of points with Rye as a home track........providing he saves his pennies for the away days

If the conversion is 1.3 it can only be for Barker or Robson ? Unless multiple changes are afoot.........

Looks like a swift and excellent resolution to the issue from Coventry. From what i have seen Connor is far more professionally setup than JPB was and i feel will provide more consistent results from the number 1 jacket. Add in that he is familiar with riding alongside Armstrong & Ruddick from his Mildenhall days and i feel that this move will actually make Coventry stronger in the long term.

Very limited options unless a double change? Team needs a boxall but could end up with a hurry?

For the P&P im purely guessing that Central Park is unavailable on Sundays? For the SDL i guess it makes a little more sense to use a weekend track and is possibly cheaper to run as Kent had to charge for the SDL double headers they hosted last season although as there are still medical requirements, officials and referees to be paid for i suspect there might be a similar arrangement at Iwade?

Its certainly not help by the jumps between the leagues and that the Brum third tier number 1 for example is also riding in the top division. There is certainly the argument that both the lower 2 tier of speedway are development leagues as surely the aim is to reach the top level and therefore develop as a rider in each? It could also be said that the majority of riders new to league racing enter through the National League so should it be named the National Entry League? The league serves many purposes as entry & early career development for riders along with being a standalone entertainment business for many clubs also. The true juggling act is ensuring both sides prosper as focusing solely on either will see the venture fail.