Sings4Speedway

Think this side is fairly close especially the 1-5 although i think Bowtell would benefit with a different track to progress. Everyone wants Jenkins and i would be surprised if he was at Mildenhall, Bebee will feature during the season but im not sure he will be in from the start. I expect Ruddick to feature again despite no improvement over the past 2 seasons with the other berth going to Parker or Spooner.

They can ride just on high averages. Tbh i think its best if Hurry keeps away from the shale and i think Mear is treating grasstracks as his priority. Waj, Morley & Branford are all possibilities but Kingston would be a huge liability if included in the side.

Completely agree with you regarding the clueless promotion. The riders that scored points were already at the level already and the new blood all have a very poor speedway schooling and were in no way ready for the NL.

Not surprising but still disappointing. Perhaps the amateur racing points towards a MDL side? Otherwise all the statements about developing new riders is just PR guff.

Great team if Hunter + 3 pointer scored well at reserve & Brennan/Jenkins scored well in the main body of the team. IMO to have a side that is strong all season you need to either keep your good reserves at reserve or have two riders who will drop down and score equally well.

Don't get me wrong Birmingham do have facilities & links / advice for riders that also assists with getting riders signed but they have also been able to pay higher points money (along with several other clubs) to lure riders in also. I know one rider was offered double what he was offered by other clubs. It would be nice to see if Brum could unearth / give opportunities to unknown riders but there are plenty of other clubs who are equally guilty.

Whilst i subscribe to it being the National Development League i do not believe that the opportunities have to be limited to young riders solely. Its for new riders into league racing, enhancing the skills of more established riders as they work their way up the leagues & the continued learning of track craft for all. If the more experienced riders are able to assist with this in any way (which i know they do) then they are welcome any time as far as i am concerned.

It was more a proposed team for Brum however with that line up i wouldn't be looking forward to their visits to Central Park. That said its not like Brum actually discovered any of the riders anyway or gave any a chance when no others would. They just assemble a team of riders with proven potential and are able to attract them with financial muscle & assistance that other teams cannot / do not provide.

1. Bacon - 7.83 2. Kinsley - 5.97 3. JPB - 6.74 4. Smith - 6.09 5. Hume - 7.33 6. Lawlor - 3.00 7. Jenkins - 3.00 Strong flavour of Brum from 2016 but with new youthful additions.

From the outside i suspect that line up will most likely form the spine of your team. Other factors that may scupper it are that Knight, Perks & Wood could all find themselves in the running for PL reserve berths?

Much will depend on the team building averages. If The additional teams join and fewer drop out i suspect the averages will have to come down. Several teams struggled to build a side near the limit last year due to the limited available riders with established averages. For that reason i think Powell might get a place but i would be highly surprised if it was at Eastbourne. It would rely on him not only being at number 2 and improving his average but improving it enough that it keeps Brennan at reserve to maximise his potential. My gut feeling is that the other Eastbourne reserve will be a NL newbie.

Makes sense to me and i like it. Gives those that have a season at PL and take find time their feet another chance on a more attractive lower average but also makes it feasible to include new riders stepping up.

I hope not. I don't think there would be enough riders to go around even if it was 6 a side given the number of PL riders that are currently in the EL also. Add in the number that don't bother as they wouldn't be able to do it full time with only one UK team. It would only open the floodgates to questionable imports & ensure non-progressing journeymen kept their places also.

Very true although the NL pay structure is following the higher leagues and growing rapidly. However still sustainable at £20-40 a point and i think Lakeside could attract a very useful NL side if it went down that route, line up some potentially spicy local derbies and provide very entertaining racing.

and yet for that figure you could pay an entire NL 1-7 after a decent win.

Zach was having a solid but unspectacular year before it was brought to a close by injury. Dropped a point off his starting average and given the progress of several others i suspect they will be in higher demand to stay than Waj.

Shocking news for all the lakeside fans. Fingers crossed it is confirmed that the Hammers run in the PL or NL soon. Definitely best for the club to continue running at whatever level. Best wishes to all the supporters & remember things can always be worse.

JPB was outstanding and fully deserves all the credit he gets. Was very impressed with Brennan also, a much more aggressive performance than i expected and equally feel Tom Bacon rode far better than his points suggested, led Adam Ellis for 3 1/2 laps which is no mean feat.

Yet again two sides are squabbling and battling through the finer details of the rule book however the greater issue is that once again those who suffered most are the fans. As a neutral i figured i would treat myself to one last fix of speedway before the season ended between the top 2 sides in the NL this season. Instead after paying my hard earned cash i get treated to a match of 6 vs 5 that included 4 heats with only three riders coming to the tapes, a long drawn out affair due to a combination of RR and lack of urgency from anybody at the track and a very bitter taste left in my mouth (and not just because of the stupid flares). Ive seen NL speedway at its very best and worst this season and now have a long winter ahead with only negatives as my most recent memories. i strongly suspect i will be a lot more choosy about the meetings i attend next year and even more choosy about who's pockets im prepared to line.

The problem is the current tyres do not last long enough to just run on one edge. I saw a tyre ripped through to the cords after 5 rides on one edge at Scunthorpe and it wasn't a PL level rider. The fact is that clubs can only run against what they bring in. Its time to stop paying the mega bucks to average riders. Either put them on a pay per performance structure or better set the limit and see who will sign? Yes some riders won't be interested at first but they might be when they don't have a team place. If things don't change it won't be teams looking for riders as there won't be any teams left.

Personally i would suspect Jenkins is Brum bound. However with Brennan @ Eastie, Jenkins @ Brum, Bickley @ Belle Vue (if they run) and Atkins @ Cradley it would create a good spread of the top 3 pointers. many many ifs in there though.

Perhaps but it says a lot when an asset & friend is farmed out to another club. Phillips is one of those riders that can do it but has yet to live up to his potential and is now being swallowed up but other riders coming through. In all honesty im surprised he got & kept the Newcastle gig this season & would be very surprised if he wasn't the poorest performing rider of the 13 drafted. There are a lot of 2 pointers available to clubs and picking the right one will be crucial to every teams season.

Much will depend upon the structure of teams, points limits & can double uppers continue? If not then i suspect no Kennett in the EL next season. Asset or not i can't see Ellis leaving Poole Ditto Starke & Somerset who are also a Friday night track Lawson is a must on his average. Strong rumours linking Nicholls & Lakeside? At a guess Jonsson - 8.45 Lawson - 5.74 Nilson - 6.88 Bech - 6.26 Nicholls - 6.59 Branford - 3.00 Morley - 3.00 Total 39.92

Perhaps. Id agree that it was fairly predictable who would cope and who would struggle although there are a few exceptions and would say Bailey, Perks & Hume would fair better at other tracks / had more time. However how many of these riders would have definitely got a PL place if the rule wasn't introduced? Its a better than 1 in 3 strike rate and surely any success has to be counted as a success when it comes to the development of British riders.

On that basis my side with plenty of room for improvement is 1. R. Wells - 7.71 2. T.Kurtz - 5.76 3. K.Doolan - 6.99 4. L.Bjerre - 6.65 5. Howarth - 7.18 6. M.Clegg - 4.04 7. T.Bacon - 2.00 Total 4.033