HGould

Shield should allow both of the European boys chance to settle in and probably one or both a reserve after initial Green Sheets hopefully Promotion and Fans will be patient. We are in a tough Shield Group though in terms of Away matches so be important for them to get grips of Perry Barr quickly.

I think the "novelty" of moving up will last most of the season and negate any concerns about the strength and depth of the Team. Getting Rider assets in will be a key economic point as that means the "Retained List" is no so much of an issue. I think we will be solid enough at home to win more than we lose (just), Away looks more difficult for us. The Team has a number of potential improvers especially Zac and James and I think Ashley Morris could really bloom this season with plenty of PL experience. It'll be form of Ulrick and Newman that will win or lose matches especially at home. Our marker in terms of progress on and off the Track will be Eastbourne as we have both moved up, they have the early advantage in having access to some Lakeside assets - especially Lawson; Kennett (who has ability to dominate the league) and 2 very solid reserves moving up from NL. I don't think we'll make play-offs but neither do I think we;ll be bottom if we can finish above Eagles will have won that private battle.

Read with interest the Planning Application in detail (old job) and my honest impartial assessment is that there is very little chance of LA changing minds without substantial new evidence and with a significant change in attitude from local residents and Councillors who seem very set. The problem with a scenario like this as an applicant is the danger of erosion of current permissions if appeals become frivolous. The LA seem to be prepared for 2 hours on a Monday or 2 1/2 hours on a Friday and nothing else.

Hopefully my Club Birmingham will be a breath of fresh air too and if we could see likes of Kent; Plymouth and Mildenhall try to venture up too in next few years and no one else lave it could be a cracking League. Mighty impressed by what's happening at Eastbourne though.

I think standout will be Tom Brennan and Drew Kemp, can't split those pair on evidence of 2018 as Kemp had benefit of being reserve for 3 months, Brennan heat leader all season. Kemp did well in few matches for Ipswich in CL and Brennan is a few rides at Swindon in PL. Looking at their NL battles very evenly matched. Saw a lot of Leon Flint last year, think he is a half season / season (experience) behind Kemp and Brennan but may be as good if not better prospect in long term and will get benefit of riding tracks he knows more in CL than NL. I don't think Bickley is on same page as Brennan or Kemp and results tend to prove it, loss of Workington can't do him any good and he seemed to struggle compared to Wajknecht and Brennan on trip to Australia. Henry Atkins will surprise a few a slow burner who is improving rapidly and others who may show notable improvement would be Jordan Stewart; Jack Smith (now focusing on one League) and Alfie Bowtell.

not sure BW-D will fit average wise ? (for a month anyway )

I am going down for the Good Friday meeting / weekend and went on to the Eastbourne Speedway website and sent a message in one of the reply boxes and got a speedy polite reply back saying they would have a list of recommended hotels on their website by middle of February.

Very competitive, hard to compare with my Team (Brummies) as we have Tickets for 15 meetings. Guess at Perry Barr I'm expected to decide to pay for Challenge Fixtures or hope we progress in Cup / Shield / Play Off. Free Programme at Arlington a very nice touch also for ST Holders. £16 Adult and £14 concession at Arlington is lowest I can see in CL (few others at £16 - Brummies £16.50). My wife will want to come to Arlington (doh) women 60-65 OAP Concession (massive BRAVO to whoever decided that!).

There is a bit says you are making a new signing on Friday. Already got 1-7??? any idea who it might be?

I don't think I'm missing the point, with the current scenario with fixtures (Prem & Champ) you get 2 things: 1. Riders not having enough meetings with ONE TEAM & therefore having to double up or down. 2. Supporters without their regular weekly speedway fix - loose interest, find other things to do or simply get out of the habit! What I think we can all agree on is Speedway in the U.K. needs a major overhaul........... I have been watching Aston Villa for 30 years, never been every week, on average it alternates. I am a Member at Warwickshire for 5 years, it alternates home and away I like to go Horse Racing at Cheltenham, there are 6-8 Fixtures a season. i dont walk away from those because they dont run every week; encourages me more! Why then should we expect a Speedway Team to only thrive if it runs weekly. I agree with what Buttons says in many ways. If Team have a stable Home / Away Ratio, min 2 max 3 meetings per month the fans will soon get used to it and accommodate it. as Buttons says better than nothing. In any sport if you can't make a full time living out of it, you have to be more flexible. In our sport riders need to be flexible but also need help with costs. I do agree about Adult Admission Rates, I think £15-£16 is as much as you can charge but as an OAP now any Club that gives me even a few bob off will have my support. I also like to see Clubs encouraging young fans too so more that do zero or low rate entry for children the better.

Ghosty will max respect i think you are totally missing the point here. demise of Workington and Lakeside is I think related to cash-flow, look too Mildenhall who we nearly lost too. Too many CL / NL matches end of last season crammed in October to cover wet start, mis-management of Fixtures by BSPA in hot soccer obsessed summer then some weird wonderful decisions especially affecting Lakeside and Workington (like the decision to make Lakeside re run Peterborough at Rye House). FANS talk with their pocket, structure of 2 max 3 home meetings a month affordable to far more than 6 or 7 meetings in month like some CL/NL Clubs had last October, more matches means more fixed costs like stadium rent / paramedic cover / programmes etc. All adds up. think days of Speedway every Wednesday (in our teams cases) for 26-28 weeks mid March to mid October gone, if not forever for immediate future. If way to go is home and away alternates like soccer 15 matches in 24 - 30 weeks to save speedway has to be better than more Clubs going to the wall. At moment almost all seem to be in "survival mode" only a few emitting any kind of positivity, like Poole (as ever) Eastbourne (new Management) IOW (excellent innovators) ; Kent (bankrolled by Len but for how long); Sheffield (seem to have got their act together again). Good Luck in 2019 to all

Understood Steve, I was more referring to KOC. I also noted that BSPA had shown Leicester in Group with Birmingham; Eastbourne; Somerset (on Speedway GB website prior to Fixtures) but at 11th hour they have been moved North. The Borders Group which was 3 Teams (missing Workington) has now been boosted to 4 Clubs? Call me cynical but seems to favour the "old guard" with an extra meeting conveniently disadvantaging the 3 new boys - Somerset from PL and Birmingham and Eastbourne from NL. I suppose many will say "we have to pay our dues LOL" so will take it on the chin! Good Luck for the coming season.

Nice to have the Fixtures out, a bit frustrating for both us and Eagles I suppose to be drawn in same Shield Group and KOC; although David won't have far to go for his first 2 away matches (ahem LOL). I would think a few might look at BW-D not in the least Eastbourne themselves, but I think you really have to give declared 1-7's their chance as it does not seem ethical to me to chop/change before they have had a chance to turn a wheel. Opposite reaction from me to some in that I can't wait for the season to start and planning some nice Away trips already.

On an initial look, and I can't remember too much about the old one to be frank, so it must have been average that new one looks like it has raised the bar for everyone. The TV part (Eagles TV) alone looks like it is packed with some great archive film. Good to see that the new Management down there are having a real go, on and off the track. Our Brummies website is fine, a bit functional but not on a par now with what you have got now.

Re Big Al, Some NL riders coming up full time or for full season will be a big asset and could easily double (or better) their averages, Drew Kemp / Tom Brennan / Leon Flint would in my opinion all be capable of an average in excess of 6 in the Championship by the end of the season. There are the likes of Connor Mountain, Georgie Wood; James Shanes who will need to "kick on" with them having some more CL experience than the out and out newcomers. It has to be great for the sport to see so many moving up and gaining experience, the cream will rise to the top, the remainder will either find a level and become solid performers, a few will find it too much (either too soon or for now). Very interesting season ahead.

I hope it does work but Poland and Sweden have very different models. Poland has average crowds in 5 figures, many 10 x what most PL / CL Teams get and TV Funding at least 10 x what PL Teams get and a fixed race day (Sunday occasional Friday) that lends itself to home/away very much like soccer and that mentality is ingrained in Polish supporters. Sweden is very similar with crowds closer to 3-5000 but largely fixed night home/away model UK remains a 7 day a week and home meeting every week mentality for so many fans, rightly or wrongly is personal opinion. I'd rather my team ride 13-15 matches and make money / break even that run 20-25 and lose a stack on 10 of them. I think a 1 League with 16 teams would suit more . Best of luck to The Pirates in 2019, Speedway is more important to me than any tribal issues.

Arch Stanton - that's bang on in my humble opinion as a non Witch. I think both Ipswich and Peterborough would be better in CL; especially when you consider the more competitive CL set up, which despite losing Workington (sadly) has 2 new and positive recruits in my team Birmingham and also Eastbourne. My views are-: The thought of a 14 team CL with Ipswich and Peterborough in it and with Workington still going plus the 2 newcomers would be as near as "salivating in anticipation" as we have had in League Speedway for a decade or so. I can't help and think and fear that a 7 team PL is simply not going to work, I just hope BT Sport stick around though as surely the penny has got to click at some point - a 16 - 18 Team League (combining CL and PL) home and away once each with 40 point limit, no doubling up and telling the Poles and Swedes that we will be racing 7 days a week so that Sunday / Tuesday tracks can be part of a BRITISH LEAGUE. Who knows we may even get some decent Sponsors back!

Thank you for clarifying MD. Good Luck. Seems to be a lot of good and positive news coming out of Eastbourne at the moment.

I am a bit confused? I remember reading Martin Dugard and his son Connor were stepping down to look after the stadium. Then a new Management Team was announced around Christmas time to look after the Speedway part of the business. This announcement seems to be about the Stadium and not the Speedway Team? Is John Cook managing the stadium and the team?

Birmingham - Wednesday Wolverhampton - Monday (Cradley Heath at Wolverhampton also Monday)

Reading article in this week's Speedway Star, it certainly looks like the guys at Arlington mean business on and off the track with a decent looking 1-7, new Sponsors and a Community programme that looks the kind of template a few more Clubs can follow and similar to that done so well by Isle of Wight. It will be interesting to see on and off the track how my Brummies and our old rivals The Eagles fare in moving up, bold decisions by both and fingers crossed both succeed, they deserve too for effort and boldness.

Read the detailed article in The Speedway Star this week, a very sad outcome but hard to see what Management could have done any differently. The comments from riders and Management about care taken to notify 2019 team is very heart-warming, although as suggested some of the unpaid 2018 riders may not feel the same. Really hope a solution can be found for 20202.

Brummies fan interested in your battles v Planning as we have had many a similar joust with bureaucrats. Be interested to know what impact you think switch to Saturday's might have on your crowds? Always looked decent by NL standards to me what would your average be on a Monday night and what do you think it might be on a Saturday night? I've always thought that Saturday's in summer have too many counter-attractions, especially by the sea, would it actually boost your crowds?

Not sure where Bickley is going to get a ride now Workington have closed and struggled for much of 2018. Best of the NL guys coming up and most likely to progress imho are Kemp and Brennan and Flint. I am fearful some NL to CL are sacrificial lambs to just fill a slot. Looking at those with some CL experience Shanes ; Mountain and Bowtell should improve average considerably.

I totally agree, would it not be better to have the Logo of the Club(s) with all the others and the "disclaimer" next to it.?? "subject to final approval by BSPA" I read somewhere before Christmas referring to Brummies that the "Bond" had to be negotiated and paid before 1 March 2019, it may be that is the case for Brummies (and Eagles), and seems totally unfair to those Clubs if they have this "limbo" until 1 March; they are treated in this way. Is it BSPA though or BSPA Press Office which is separate isn't it? I saw an announcement from Eastbourne (on BSPA website) of 2 big new Sponsors, good luck to them, but if i was considering sponsoring Birmingham (or Eastbourne) right now and saw that wording I would be waiting, again, not fair to Brummies if this is the case and delay is with BSPA. I have read in Speedway Star about Workington and problems there, so why are they not taken off the page until that is sorted??, feels one rule for the old and another for the new.