HGould

Sadly Birmingham is run by an elected mayor called Andy Street who must rank as the worst politician of any Party in the UK and a City Council who are completely useless. Between them they could not shell a pea. The Commonwealth Games - Village and various sites, may in the long term be to the benefit of Brummies in their current location but certainly for 2020 / 2021 / 2022 season won't do us any favours. As for Wheels, it's in an awful location and was never really developed along lines intended. It is a shame that the council have screwed over the stock car, kart and other promotions/businesses working there as they all did good jobs.

agreed...Redcar top 3 the best top 3 and Leicester top 5 the best top 5

pretty good assessment..Adam could average 9.5; King should hold his average, Worrall could go either way one with more to prove. Neilsen and McDonald though don't inspire great confidence so a No 4 who can add a few points and a decent No 7 will be crucial. Ben Morley would be a decent no 7 as for Bjerre the blokes a liability in my opinion.

I think they are working on solutions based on the article but as things stand could lose 3 Clubs I guess?

Piffle At Birmingham in 2018 we had Tom Bacon / James Shanes / Danyon Hume with likes of Sheldon Davies and Aaron Butcher. Were you there then??? I don't think anyone of right mind would argue that is a MUCH bigger disparity than anything at Plymouth next season (Bowtell/Stoneman and Atkins nowhere near ability of Bacon/Shanes/Hume) with same 2 reserves who are probably better now than in 2018; in what many argue was the high point of the NL with 5-6 excellent Teams in 2018.

Seems clear from Speedway Star that NDL - National Development League will look a lot different in 2021 with no stand alone Clubs and probably more on model of SDL/MDL/NorthernDL?

Kent Crusaders

Danyon really deserves a chance and again disappointed Brummies didn't find a place for him More of a racer than Bowtell and might be better suited to Team too. Likely Danyon will again lead Leicester NDL side to help keep confidence up. Would be great signing for Pirates

I always felt Adam was holding a bit back in his matches for Brummies at times but understandable as Swindon's season evolved. Has the ability to be a 10 point average rider in the CL in 2020 and to challenge Cook and Wright and Masters as CL No 1.

Why would any Promoter trust Wood to turn up after he let IOW down so badly last year and had knock on effect on his CL Club. Len wouldn't stand for that kind of nonsense and probably far more trustworthy alternatives. You can't score double points sat at home after all.

I believe Morley would sneak in if that's the case? Others would not.

Phil, purely down to number of times I saw Thompsons and improvement i saw..nothing against Palin other than when I did see him once (at Leicester) he looked a bit of a gater on a track Thompsons passed on that night..hopefully all 3 will get NDL berths too and improve

after a lot of deliberation and changing positions here is my final guess.. 1 Redcar - excellent and retained top 5. Wright and Riss can possibly still improve average and if he stays fully fit so can MPT. Second strings look potential improvers too and if reserves can pick up 3-4 points per meeting between them, top 5 will ensure big advantages in key races. 2 Leicester - very solid top 5, expect Douglas and Perks to increase averages again. Very solid then with Morris / Howarth and Proctor. Fitness of those 3 who are prone to niggly issues could determine the season. Seen a lot of Thompson twins in 2019, don't underestimate either of them, will be as good as many with far more experience. 3 Poole - if we assume Ellis is in then very strong top 3 although Worrall has to prove still he is the rider he was pre 2018 early season injury. Neilsen is another who could add a few points or get crocked again. Not sure about McDonald so may be a team to factor up or down depending on final 2 signed with Ellis. 4 Birmingham - assured of strong reserves all season and Jack Thomas could be an inspired signing. I expect Shanes and Castagna to add a point plus per match, if Garrity stays focused could be no 1 and Jonasson could be CL steal of the season starting with everyone else and not playing catch up. Only niggle I have is with such a team of racers we'll need some dirt and to avoid injuries. 5 Glasgow - Cook will dominate the Team and Nichol is a very shrewd addition but has to improve dramatically on some away tracks, especially the bigger ones. Wells and Sedgeman both "marmite" riders who can blow very hot and cold. Bailey showed promise last year and Ulrich could be a trump card if they invest in his bikes. Sam Jensen I know little about and will need to deliver quite quickly to help them gel. 6 Eastbourne - Strong top 3 with Kennett on a truer average. Lawson and Kerr both excellent at Home and this has to be the season for Kyle Newman to finally deliver. The fact they again go all British and keep faith in Brennan and Edwards to be very much applauded. The signing of the season could be Drew Kemp, knows the track, starts at reserve and Eagles are likely to be far more loyal to him than Sheffield. Could pick up a few more Away points and no one will want to go there in any 2 leg Competition/Decider 7 Edinburgh - Rival Redcar with that top 3 and in Josh Pickering i predict probably the biggest upwardly mobile improver in the CL. Thomson and Frederickson complete unknowns to me but Lawson and Sargeant both capable of winning races at home and away. Could be a dark horse Team if it all gels. 8 Berwick - I think Leon Flint could be the next big British charger to follow Lambert and Bewley and his Away form looks sure to improve as he has more experience now of CL Tracks. Bickley seems to promise a lot but surprised Glasgow let him go so not sure if there is an attitude problem. Won't lose many at Home and Doolan you feel is just waiting to come back in should the need arise. If Pickering is the tider I expect to improve most in CL Etheridge is not far behind. If Gappmeier and Garcia improve away by a point would be top 6 material. 9 Somerset - weakest team I have seen from them in ages and can only assume that having overspent in 2018 they did the same in 2019 with a top heavy team. Anders Rowe was markedly improved in 2019 and looks real deal. Barker and Bates and Wilson-Dean - that trio can go either way, massive points or directly to A+E and whilst they will be entertaining, you'd be watching them with fingers crossed. Know little about Zac Cook but Stoneman is a charger who just needs better support and kit to possibly double his average. 10 Scunthorpe - as said elsewhere a typical Rob Godfrey side. They will steamroller a few when they all click but equally likely to suffer a few thrashings away. Jake Allen stand out performer and could become one of best 4-5 in the Division. Ayers will hope to continue where he left off and the mercurial Lambert will either score shedloads or nothing Jordan Palin may struggle unless he gets NDL rides to bolster confidence. 11 Newcastle - great to see them back and wish them all the best. James Wright is a rider a few Clubs may regret not signing if he clicks back to form and Clegg and Mountain could both become solid 6 point men in engine room. Vissing always struck me as good Heat Leader but can be very suspect under pressure and I'm not sure no 1 fits his persona, we shall see. 12 Kent - Scott will be their talisman but not sure if age or recently disclosed personal issues will have an impact on him. Heeps and Starke are good additions and Tom Bacon is another who really does deserve some luck and can put a few points on if staying fit. Gilkes is an outstanding prospect, Ledwith remains the most baffling of picks with likes of Morley and Wood sat twiddling thumbs in the South East. Hopefully the curfew won't be such an issue for them in better quality league.

I'd rate Sam Masters as superior to Charlie and Craig....just.

It's a League where you cant rule anyone out I don't think. I think Leicester are very strong and don't under-estimate those Thompson Twins! Glasgow don't look as strong to me and I agree with concerns about Sedgeman in particular I don't think Somerset are as strong either but REDCAR look to me to be the ones to beat at the moment. I naturally think Brummies will have a much better season but a niggle that when we go away all opponents will need is a slick track to beat us but we could be dark horses. Scunthorpe look very weak to me and I'm not sure about Kent especially at reserve. Edinburgh / Berwick / Eastbourne have all got sides who should be very tough to beat at home. Edinburgh have big hitters away, Eastbourne have 2-3 who could markedly improve their average but Berwick may struggle again away, although I think Leon Flint (with Drew Kemp) the probably BIG British improvers in 2020. Wait to see about Newcastle. As for Poole, very welcome and be very interesting to see what remainder of Team is. I'll make a 1 - 12 prediction one we know full line up's but at moment would have REDCAR on top and SCUNTHORPE on bottom. Dark horses Brummies and Edinburgh.

Jordan Jenkins looked decent prospect in few outings for Brummies and he and Lawlor won't be passengers. Very strong top 5 easily best top 3 in League in Wright / Riss and MP-T Stewart looks a bit wild but a lot of people who know a lot more than me rate him highly. Some very strong top 5's in the League this year could come down to Reserves. Brummies look very strong in that department!

As wonderful and worthwhile as the whole concept of the BEN Fund is I've never understood the rush to get this meeting on so early. Often affected by weather, fans put off from travelling so early in the season. Would like to think that all Promoters could agree and support a set day that was suitable and a central location in middle of the season. What about day before (replacing CLPairs) or day after Cardiff GP at Swindon or Somerset to get biggest possible crowd and best possible UK based field?

I'm lucky to support a team in a nice stadia, nice amenities and OK refreshments and I can park close to stadium on a proper car park. There are a few stadia like that, but others in desperate need of repair/renovation or in some cases basically "glorified fields". I don't go to speedway though to sit in a glass fronted stand, to do my oblutions in a pristine environment or to eat prawn sandwiches, I go to watch speedway racing in its pure form. I spent between £16 - £18.50 to get in to various Championship matches last season, my money, my choice and if I didn't feel it was good value, I would not go. Compared to all other major Sports with the excitement available and fellowship of decent and friendly fans and few if any thugs or inebriated people, I think it is excellent value. If someone thinks not, vote with your feet but don't please attack us who do go and who will keep going.

Any idea when we will know Fixtures?

very good point as so many Teams have to rent stadia and have limited access and also little of no income from food and drink outlets. How many Championship Clubs actually own stadia they race in? Glasgow Leicester Scunthorpe Somerset are these owned by Speedway Clubs? or have I missed any out?

Top 5 looks very strong to me only concern would be how the racers (Covatti and Starke) handle to gaters paradise of Central Park, may be Len will invest in some shale? Kent could surprise a few Away though with that top 5. Ledwith really seems to be a "sponsors pick" and have read he came back in NDL at request of main sponsor Touch Tec. There are certainly better options as Turn Two points out, all ditched from CL in recent months who could have done a good job instead of Ledwith.

The devil will be in the detail. It could become a similar scenario to F1 where organisers try "new locations" Would do GP Speedway no harm to cement a part of the series that could be run in our winter (say late Jan and February) in Australia / NZ / USA and may be time to take Speedway to the "bike crazy" Spain and also a Far Eastern stop over. All you need is a suitable medium sized 30-40,000 capacity stadia or showground to get it on. That may even suit the Poles as could elongate the GP season and mean fewer clashes in summer when Poles may want fewer GP weekends??..so GP stretches Feb - November more like F1 and not all crammed in to May - October period.

Don't think Rye House is one of those planning to run in NDL Heard it's a northern team but don't know which one, as in north east or Scottish

Eastbourne gave us Brummies fans free entry to the rearranged League match at Arlington at end of September as compensation for having to rearrange initial staging as they had been told to rearrange a Cup match to get it in by a set deadline. Good initiative which reading all Press seems to have been instigated by Debbie Hancock and backed by the other Clubs involved.

Better idea... bin Pipe and bring in Barry Bishop, he knows the NDL inside out and also SDL and best marketing man in Speedway by miles. Let him develop a blueprint to keep standalone Clubs in business and also cater for those that want to run 2 teams. Pipe achieved exactly what is Speedway?