Sings4Speedway

If Leicester go up (or more likely stay put) i still think it will be the end of the Cubs. The Thompsons won't feature any more within it and it was generated again solely for their development. Throw in the forced double headers that Leicester didn't like and that it will be a tiny league if there is no Brum or Eastie, Royals will be doubts and you can't count Mildenhall multiple times to boost the numbers.

You said that this year Plymouth are obviously trying to make some early waves and the current signings are based on form rather than reputation which makes a lot more sense. There are a lot of inflated averages at present (although final greensheets may change that) so will need a shrewd mind and deep pockets to get the bargain riders. Much will also depend upon how much value can be achieved against the visa riders vs UK based talent.

Battle for 3rd place commences with guests on either side both who have kept the race rust at bay on the vetoed IOW this year and would be nice to see that acknowledged. Whilst the power trio of Gilkes, Kinsley and Mulford may be too hot at home for the colts the tail gets ever longer and Coles plus the two Jacks have had decent meetings around Central Park in the past. The weather is predicted to be fair and the price is right so hopefully the Royals can go out on a positive.

Of the 56 starting declared riders there have been 12 retirements from Speedway that i have seen (yes amongst those are Knight and Dugard who have had multiple retirements across their years). There are also a few released riders that remain status unknown. Whilst natural attrition will always occur thats a figure approaching 25%. In the case of the NDL in its current form will it be a case of anyone with bikes gets signed next season rather than those who are sufficiently capable?

Grasstrack commitments may mean a couple of missed meetings but otherwise a shrewd signing. The Berwick promotion showing they are well in the know regarding the decisions being made for the 2022 season.

Much depends upon the team building averages but if mooted low limits and 2 x RS then mathematically all riders 'should' see an increase. 'If' the team building plans are then held the same for 2023 it will means some riders have to move up or move out whilst making way for the next progressive riders to take their place.....in theory great but in practice the riders coming in will be the better of a weakened NDL, the riders moving up will be the better of a weakened CL and those remaining will be middle of the road riders but by 2024 they will be heat leaders and the process repeats. Constantly weakening the product at lower levels will only filter into 'the top tier' eventually the current route is just delaying the inevitable.

Adding onto that as this is a CL section where are the new rising stars coming from? Take a good look at the number of rising stars that retired this year. Then look at the few who have improved remotely enough to get near the CL next season. Mulford...then its gets harder. Ablitt and Hagon have had their progress hampered by lack of meetings, McGurks & Freeman are very much the best of the rest but still early for both. The rest are yet to be solid NL riders let alone CL but its time to reap whats been sown.

Id argue that losing two teams throughout a season that started with only 8 sides is pretty disconcerting, throw in that only one stand alone team remains and they have very little say in their sole product certainly makes it hard to imagine why any new promotions would want to apply. I loved the product previously and the level was such that riders did genuinely make good strides in their progress and move into the higher tiers a more complete product. Looking at this seasons performances there are riders who were already competing at a higher level and are dramatically better than the opposition they face, once some of those are removed from next season how will the teams look? A mix of eternal NL riders and rookies with little or no credentials. The ethos of riders who want to get out there and get on with it has always been present but riding on slick 2nd half tracks is teaching them little and in some cases will end riders careers before they have barely begun.

Spot on, take a look at the NDL which is now on its knees due to the lowered points limit. The CL side above "appears" respectable because it has a few "names" on false averages. One team will get the British champ on a sub 8 ave, Heeps is sub 5 because he was injured/tripe and Clouting is struggling for points in the weakened NL. The PL team again looks better because of names rather than current form. Batch, Crump and Covatti are not the riders they one were, Kurtz is not the rider he should have become and so on. Lowering the bar to make riders Prem / Champ or even NL level isn't the way to help the sport short, medium or long term.

Congrats to Mildenhall for getting their hands on the NDL title. A team built with all riders improving their averages (as they should with the points limit) and a little bit of fortune when Ablitt became available. In truth the current side looks like it should have won far more comfortably and perhaps were it not for Edwards lack of fixtures early on and an inconsistent home surface they would have. However they have prospered as the remaining stand alone team against the other doubling up sides who called most of the shots. A bigger winter than ever now approaches for the NDL and some uncomfortable times ahead for all those who participated in it this year.

Probably depends whats cheaper the fine to not complete fixtures or the costs of a dead rubber elsewhere?

I thought the GEMS team personally was a good indicator of what can be achieved in the NDL. In my view understrength but it was a team who had decent local connections, home track knowledge and featured riders who had come through 2nd halves and could benefit from more experienced riders being around them. The benchmark of success can vary but the ethos certainly seemed right at Newcastle (and probably would have been even better with a higher points limit to help out) .

In all honesty the most reliable out of that list is Mountain

You are quite right that the NL of a few years back wasn't perfect but it was thriving. There was pay disparity between some teams but that exists across all the leagues. What did exist was a widespread league which offered opportunities to new and developing riders. Whats more is that there was often a development league running after the meetings putting riders on show, offering precious track time and supplying a genuine conveyor belt of talent. The conveyor belt being that you had to be good enough to get a NL place, reserve spots didn't come easy and were even harder to hold on to but that meant that those who did were of sufficient standard to boost the league. As plenty could see at the start of the 2020 season the NDL had been pushed down as it was far too much of a competitive and viable product compared to the higher tiers and rather than take this approach on board and really embrace it the Board decided to squash the threat to their own businesses with the narrow minded viewpoint that they would get the few riders they needed through the diminishing youth rounds and could continue to ship in overseas riders to bolster the rest. The genuine board held belief that for a sport to thrive the top tiers must take priority is simply short sighted, narrow minded and selfish. For any sport to stand a chance in the short, medium and long term it needs to be built from grass roots up rather than the current approach of letting the (insert expletive here) roll down hill.

agreed but still didn't stop plenty of clubs telling riders they couldn't. Fortunately there was enough either unattached or brave enough to ride there anyway.

Really couldn't make it up, Leicester who were one of many clubs to deny riders permission to compete on the IOW have booked two riders who both completed meetings there this season. Danno might just surprise a few to be fair as he has had more competitive meetings than some of the Royals on show. Still should be whitewash to keep the home faithful's league hopes alive.

I believe Iwade is a Nora track these days... hilarious if it was used for an NDL fixture. Whatever the venue its going to hit Kent financially and might all be for nothing anyways.

So as it stands Kent have to use a neutral venue against Armadale if they want to complete thier fixtures. I guess off setting the fine for non completion vs hire of another venue is one thing but still going to hurt the Kent club finacially (limited benefit to Edinburgh too as they would have to pay away costs etc) All likely to be held after the Royals have got through the challenges of Leicester and Mildenhall at home first as a slip up in either of those and the Armadale match is rendered a little bit pointless.

Not sure on the stats of other teams but Kent had 6 home rain offs pre-October and sadly the CL meetings bumped the NL meetings down the priority order. Its fortunate in some respects that a KOC run or the CL play offs weren't reached as it wouldn't then be remotely possible to fulfil the fixtures. As much as it could be the end of the NDL i can't see Kent entering again next year (or potentially being allowed to enter) and same applies to any club unless they are standalone or can run double headers. The whole sport needs to start looking at end of September being the cut off rather than dark wet October.

What track would be crazy enough to host it without any home interest? No idea of the financials of this but either Kent and Mildenhall are splitting the costs or Kent have handed a home meeting to Mildenhall because they are desperate for any chance of a title. Sadly for whoever wins overall it will be remembered as the year the NDL was on its knees and not for any achievements on track.

Fingers crossed. Id be delighted to see the one remaining standalone team win the league this year.

Whilst you are probably right that the numbers coming through is probably a little bit down (even basic maths of less tracks, less track time equals less riders developing through the sport) lowering the bar certainly hasn't and shouldn't be the answer. Riders need to be good enough to achieve team places not gain them because they are "young with potential" how about young and proven or just proven to be at a higher ability. Making concessions for age and lowering team averages has done immense harm to the league this year yet there are still riders who haven't improved upon the base signing 3.00 despite the lower limit meaning that natural inflation should have occurred across the board.

Obviously at a later stage in the season and due to recent misadventures Foord is running with one bike (there was a time when even NL promotors demanded riders turn up with two). As covered the others were struggling with equipment also, the shale and moisture plays havoc with the basic electrics these machines run on so no surprise they didn't want to play. I have seen some comments of not wanting to dirty other bikes but given the sheer amount of hours it takes to prepare each machine and the knowledge that it will be for one more ride on a track nobody was enjoying it feels like a fairly easy choice. In all honesty the way the NDL has been treated/regarded this season its hard to expect the riders to treat it seriously when nobody else does.

how many times has that been written this season? the lad clearly has speed BUT how sustainable is the sport with that level of attrition on equipment?

Ok Berwick have an aversion to travelling full stop (due to costings) and there were no other available Tuesdays prior to the end of October which is the season cut off so even if it was held in November it wouldn't count. That said i hope the Bullets hang on to the title now as they have defied the odds, snapped up the more dependable newbies and gone unbeaten at home