21st century heathen

I don't know for a fact if there's anything in that, but I've lived close to Monmore all my life and I can't remember ever having heard of Wolves having problems with the Council or noise issues, certainly not in my adult life. It could be that the Council only gave permission for an additional 16 meetings, but this has never been communicated to the fans. This is the first we're hearing of a relatively low maximum number of meetings. Even when fans have discussed potential moves into the PL or EL it has never been mentioned that this is simply not an option at Monmore. If I have missed something that was mentioned by the club with regard to this I apologise for the oversight. I can't see that Ladbrokes are the 'problem'. It has Wednesday reserved for speedway as Wolves' off-night but it's not used. It would make sense for the stadium to be used as often as possible.

Only fair for me to come back here to acknowledge the response - Only 16 dates available so that is why we're not taking on the Trophy as well. And if we don't progress fair enough in the League and Cup for the fans to get more than 11 meetings then the club will put on at least one more meeting to ensure fans that have bought a season ticket aren't short-changed. I got this from a quick-fire reply on the Cradley Forum by Nigel Pearson himself. In response I've asked if we could not share Wolves' off-night, Wednesday, as it's reserved for speedway but almost never used. I can't remember the last time there was a Wednesday meeting at Monmore. -------------------------------- The doggies run on a Monday, so I fail to see that they interfere with our schedule.

There may have been more than a hint of sarcasm in that line mate. I can't see it happening either. It would be interesting to see what happened if anyone challenged it though. Quite clearly anyone that already has a season ticket has been mis-sold it.

Sorry that this will sound self-centred but my original post was an idea for the Heathens to get extra home meetings. With the crowds we get it can be afforded, and I didn't mean for us to race away at the PL club as well. There would be little point in that really. Even the worst PL team should run away with a big win against the best of the NL on their own shale. At Monmore 'Wood' I think there are teams that we could give a good meeting, and for the like of Tom, Ash and Darryl in particular it will be a good test of where they are now and where they need to get to in the next couple of years. It will also give Roynon extra meetings at that level. -------------------------------------- For speed and ease I'll just copy and paste what I've posted on the Cradley forum this morning. So, the press release is out on the BSPA website. Briefly... 8 teams confirmed. 40 point limit confirmed and will remain in place until at least 2014 (incl). Top 4 into the PO's. New National Trophy competition for clubs that want extra meetings - We are NOT competing. (Bux, IOW, Mil, St) We face Mildenhall to defend the National Shield at the start of the season. We have been drawn against Bux in the 1st round KOC. Pairs @ Mil Fours @ St NLRC @ Rye U21 Semi @ St U21 Final @ Monmore Wood http://www.speedwayg...hp?extend.14311 ------------------------------ What strikes me immediately is that in the press release it states the new Trophy is for some 'stand-alone' clubs that want more meetings. By implication that means the Heathens don't want more meetings. Also it's confirmed on the Dudley Heathens website that this means a minimum of 11 meetings, despite the fact that the website clearly states that the 2012 season ticket is being sold on the basis of a minimum of 12 meetings. Season tickets are rarely good value anyway, and after the way Cov fans got screwed over last season and my general feeling of animosity towards the way the BSPA seems to go about its business most of the time I changed my mind and decided I wouldn't get one this season after originally deciding last year that I would. Looks a good move at face value. It would be nice for the club to make a statement that explains why we've not entered the Trophy and presumably to confirm that those that have already paid for a season ticket will be offered their money back. From the website this morning. 2012 SEASON TICKET PRICES Adults - £120.00 Concessions - £80.00 Children (aged 15 and under) - £25 CLICK HERE to download a 2012 season ticket form. Please note these figures are based on a minimum of 12 home meetings. and Chairman Nigel Pearson said: “Our season ticket holders have a minimum of 11 home meetings where their passes are valid which represents great value.

That's fine by me mate. We finished top a couple of years ago and flopped in the PO's. Visa versa this season will suit me just fine!

Keep it. We've got bigger fish to fry when the league starts!

I've suggested something similar a few times. I think all NL teams should name a number 8, and he should have an average no greater than 3.00. I would give the second half to the 5th member of your top 5 plus the reserves and the number 8. Typically those riders in your main team with be the ones that might get pulled out of a ride in the main meeting, and you will be giving your number 8 regular outings. I would also stipulate that no tactical changes can be made in these heats. Every rider takes his programmed riders unless a rider is ruled out through injury (certified by the doctor). In that case any rider with a lesser average than the injured rider comes in. In the even that it's the number 8 that's injured then only the lowest averaging rider can replace him. This differs just slightly from what you've suggested as I don't necessarily think the lowest scorer on the night is someone that really needs extra rides. It could be a vastly experienced rider that's just had one of 'those' nights. I would rather someone starting out on a 3-point average gets a couple of rides. You could even, in a few cases, see a rider deliberately throw his last ride in the main meeting to get himself into the second half to gain another couple of rides.

It's fair comment to say that very few have had the severe burns mentioned earlier, thankfully. But I would then turn that back around to you say equally then that moving forward there would be equally few, or less in my opinion, similar incidents in future. I think that we would agree that speedway is a fundamentally dangerous sport where injury to a greater or lesser extent is virtually guaranteed. Any attempt to improve safety is okay by me, and I'm just standing on the terrace watching on. As for rear spoilers - they seem a good idea to me and should be used. I understand there were some potential issues with using them at the front though when the dirt hits them side-on?

Well, first of all let's hope there are 10 teams and it's not a problem. But if there are only 8 teams then my preference is 2H & 2A league. I appreciate that may not be feasible for all clubs though, and this is where it gets understandably difficult. There are some very promising riders in the NL and they desperately need as much competitive action as possible. A mere handful of meetings is simply not enough for the like of Darryl Ritchings, as just one example that springs to mind. I hate the idea of some clubs racing each other twice but not all, as per the EL. It makes an even bigger farce of what is already a bad joke because the play off's have turned the league into a glorified cup competition. So if I had my way that idea wouldn't even be tabled. But then we run the risk of having some random, doesn't really mean anything, mini cup competition being dreamt up. I don't like that idea either. I think if it came to it I would prefer to see the Heathens take on some of the expected bottom PL teams. It would give the lads that are looking to make the step up PL level some idea of where they are in comparison. Okay, so we would almost certainly lose but at home and on form we have a few lads that should give some of the lower order PL teams something to think about. As an alternative to that a mini GP style competition would be good. Apart from anything else it could be run over however many rounds we need to make up a decent number of fixtures. The 7 Heathens plus 9 top NL stars invited (and 2 reserves) competing over 7 rounds (for example) would give the lads some experience of that style of individual racing alongside their team racing. This could even be extended by running a few rounds at each of the stand alone clubs if they're all looking to make up the fixtures. It would be a lot more meaningful than the Staffordshire Cup we're starting with against Stoke. We're not even in Staffordshire!

I'm not saying you'e wrong, but surely with point is that the risk of getting anything 'sucked in' has been reduced as there is far less room between the guard and the tyre? I assume that there is a gap sort of to the side of the tyre rather than dead centre, and it's if you got your fingers caught in there that they would dragged under the bottom edge of the guard? If that's right could this be solved by extending the guard sides so that its bottom edge is level with the wheel rim rather than at a higher level? Or perhaps it's needs to be a more 'chunky' design with rounded edges? I wasn't comparing them as riders. My point was that these riders have had really severe burn injuries to their arm/leg (delete as appropriate). It doesn't matter who they are or at what level they race. As I stated, I'm not suggesting it's easy. It's not, if it were we would all be doing it, but where in the 'brochure' did it say being a speedway rider is a walk in the park? If I had money to burn I would happily help out young Brits, and I suspect a great many supporters feel exactly the same. But at the end of the day the fact that we pay 'x' in travel costs, £10 to get in (NL), couple of quid for a programme (although I don't), probably at least a few quid for drinks/food, and perhaps 'x' at the track shop on DVD's, programme boards etcetera is the only reason that riders are getting anything back. I accept Dean's word that the guards still present an injury risk. Although it may not be perfect surely it's an improvement and in a fundamentally dangerous sport any baby steps towards safety has to be welcomed with open arms in my opinion. More importantly, it should be welcomed at all levels. Any suggestion that the NL should not benefit from any safety improvement is a nonsense as the safety of Ben Morley is every bit as important as that of Jason Crump et al. Perhaps I am wrong, and only time will tell. But I still think that with a smaller gap the chances of any body part, whether it be a finger or a leg, getting caught in the first place must be reduced. It's easy to say that someone could lose a finger against the new guard, but could it not be argued that you could more easily lose a finger by getting one caught in the chain or between the spokes? These are far more open, but riders aren't losing fingers all over the track. In fact before Morten Risager's injury last season how long has it been since a rider lost a finger/thumb? Perhaps because they are relatively freak accidents and they don't think it would happen again? Perhaps they just don't like them? Perhaps they have a stock of 'old' style to use rather than just bin? I have no idea. Life long fan that finally had a crack at Scunny back in Dec last year. I ride on the road so every single reflex and reaction was completely wrong. The result? I fell off five times in less than fours hours, and everything hurt for a week afterwards! I got a unique insight into Claus Vissing's life as a speedway rider. Quote trimmed due to length. Excellent post. They can't give you what they haven't got. It's swings and roundabouts. Everyone is crying out for riders to be paid more, and I wouldn't deny them a penny of it, but on the flip side there is a strict pay structure in place so even the clubs that get better crowds (thinking of the Heathens as the most obvious example) and could afford to pay riders more aren't allowed to. If the Heathens could pay riders the most it could afford I bet you fans of other clubs would be moaning that we were getting all the best riders because we can pay more, it's not fair, they're buying the league (paying more is no guarantee of success I hasten to add) etcetera. How many would be saying at least that's 7 lads getting more money which is better than none?

Poole tried it, but apparently Matt Ford couldn't make it pay for itself. Coventry often have a 'proper' second half of one type or another, but then its curfew seems somewhat more flexible than others. Who, if there, could forget the 23:15 finish for the GP Challenge a few years ago?! Wolves often have a number of amateurs/kids (whoever they are) waiting for a spin after the meeting, but they do give preference to their own riders if they need to test something. That's quite right as the EL team is their business, and there are virtually no opportunities to test anything with strict regulations in place in this country. However, it does eat into the time that the others have available, especially with a strict deadline in place. As MM states, the cost is always going to be a major factor too. Paying riders at this level is probably relatively affordable compared to the medical and insurance (plus other necessary) costs. Any more detail on this? I'm over there most weeks so will have to try to convince someone to stand out in the cold a little longer with me. I don't think there's been anything on the Cov website about this, which is a shame (taken at face value - I accept there could be good reason).

Are there any other young riders based in the south-west that would consider a van share, if the logistics could be ironed out. Splitting all the running costs, and where necessary travelling together, would cut costs. The other thing that springs immediately to mind is a big one and may come across as disingenuous, but nothing could be further from the truth. Have you considered moving? Basing yourself in the Midlands would immediately slash your travel costs, and depending on the area you live now and the area you were to move to you may be able to raise money from the sale of your home. ----------------------------------------- I think there are ways in which the costs could be cut quite significantly in the NL, but many riders seem to want to emulate the EL/GP stars and have all the latest bling. Kids today are like magpies. If it's shiny they want one! One NL rider posted on FB just recently that he's had a load of parts anodised. Is there any real need for that? Perhaps he can afford it but it's just an example that springs to mind. How many NL riders have a number of painted helmets rather than a couple and helmet covers? I don't know the answer to that but I bet there are a number. Likewise I can't answer this but are the majority of NL riders cheeky enough to ask if there are any odds and sods that an EL rider is about to bin that he can either have or buy at a fraction of the cost of buying new?

While I would accept that it may not be easy for some there are a couple of things that strike me. Firstly, everyone knew about the regulation changes for the bikes ages ago. Everyone should have long-since had a plan in place (by which I mean save the extra few hundred instead of going out on the pop or buying the latest phone/trainers/jeans/sunglasses or going on a winter holiday etc. It's been about 3 years since we knew the new silencers were on the way and a year for the mudguards. We're only talking about having to save a few pounds a week. Ask the like of Pedersen, Crump and Nicholls what they think about the 'health and safety brigade'. The new style mudguard would have most likely saved all of them from severe injury. Nobody said being a professional sportsman was going to be easy! All of that said, I do think there should be more meetings where possible at NL level. An old fashioned second half with 4-man teams featuring the number 2, 6, 7 & 8 (or if you don't have a No. 8 signed use an unattached 3-pointer) is something I've suggested before and is something that would give extra rides to some of the lads that don't have the PL as well, and an extra half a dozen heats for the fans.

If/when I get a chance I am going to consolidate all of the websites that have been added in the opening post. In the meantime please feel free to add any that have not been mentioned, or add updated links where applicable.

Thoughts? *edit* Oops, disabled replies by mistake.

I'm sure you realise that my comment was very much a light-hearted one. What every team needs is strength in depth and average improvement throughout the team, or at the very least from the majority in the key positions. We have that potential and shouldn't need to place unrealistic expectations on Dan. We should only need solid contributions in the reserves' heat and the odd points against his opposite number. Anything else will be a bonus. I've got my eye on a £40m pay out tomorrow evening. I'll let you know if it comes off.

Cheers mate. So from those meetings his average was 4.20. Take out the nightmare night at BV, which looks/sounds like one of 'those' nights, and it was 5.33. If we split the difference I would be happy if he was averaging around 4.75 at the end of the season. So there you go Dan, I've set an unofficial average target for you. Will - Loving the profile picture. Two Heathens legendary Team Managers.

I spotted this news announced on the Updates FB feed alongside Dan being confirmed for us. It's disappointing in the extreme. Such a shame a sponsor couldn't have been found to cover the costs for this season.

Thanks both. The gist of it sounds very promising indeed, but I suspect the club will have to just keep on eye open for potential gremlins unless he can secure some solid backing.

Do you have his scores by any chance?

Only one NL team has completed it's 1-7 so far, so I wouldn't say he's been overlooked just yet.

Correct. Former British U15 champ, took some time out, returned to racing last Sept and got the bug back. All the press release states regarding his time away was that he appeared lost to the sport when he quit for personal reasons in the winter of 2007/8.

Good enough for me!! I retract my previous. We're gonna win everything.

I don't use it on a daily basis so you're not alone. Personally I think clubs miss a trick by taking this seemingly annually accepted approach. If it were me I would get all the riders signed up before Christmas (where possible - odd occasions may have stumbling blocks). I would announce all 7 Christmas Eve morning. Most people are about to have time off and will see friends and family more than most of the year, so plenty of time to have a chat about what they think of the team, and more time available for those that use forums, Facebook and/or Twitter. A week later, on New Years' Eve morning, announce your pricing for the forthcoming season. Hopefully this is before everyone spends their Christmas money as the sales haven't gotten into full swing yet. At face value you could argue there is then nothing to say for 3 months before the NL season starts. Well, yes, if you don't think outside the box and take the same old tired approach. How much effort would it take for the club to collate career data and personal (to an extent) information on rider and post a rider profile on a weekly basis, which would be sent to local press in the hope that they print it too? Included in this should be some rider comments, even if it's just a few sound bites from some of the more shy and or younger riders (the club should be helping the lads with the off track stuff from a young age too anyway). Start that in the middle of January, and if you have a number 8 (which I think we, and every other club, should have) that takes you to the middle of March. Two weeks to go so pre-season thoughts from the Team Manager, followed by (or visa versa I s'pose) pre-season thoughts of the Promoter. Welcome on board to Dan. I can't really comment on whether he's a good, bad or indifferent signing. Our team is packed with potential average improvement. If that's realised we'll have had a much better overall season than 2011, but it's a little early to suggest we can go one better than 2010. There are an awful lot of blanks in the team line-ups at the moment. But of those named we look competitive. Stoke also look good to me.

More hits for the website = more page views for advertisers. Club's FB feed says 8am announcement.