HGould

You've hit the Rider nail on the head. If they were waiting for anything worthwhile from Aussie Championships - looks like the cupboard of anything really interesting emerging in 2020 is very bare of ones who haven't already been tried or who don't want to come over. Start looking at who IS available !

I agree, really nice lad and had more than his fair share of bad injuries.

Crazy decision and crazy logic. How do you think many will start saving? By missing a few meetings at their local tracks that's how!

Fair point Steve but couldn't they have gone and tried for Drew Kemp; Jack Thomas, Kyle Bickley; Anders Rowe etc if there had been a long term plan and will to?

This is The Championship and the League in which the majority of the brightest young prospects born bred and nurtured in the UK are racing and learning their craft. Surely Poole could and should have invested in some young emerging UK talent?

Andy Street is very much Elected Mayor of Birmingham which is part of the West Midlands in this context. Very good on jumping on bandwagons and very good at hiding when the going gets tough. Classic 21st century politician on a huge wage! Could have been worse tough as he narrowly beat Karren Brady to Tory nomination

may be a solution is Northern DL e.g having 500cc and 250 / 125 cc races so a "Development Team" can include riders of different ages / different bike Class all racing under a "Development Team banner" so creating a conveyor belt over 3-5 years.

Other than Sam Hagon and possibly Eli Meadows the 15 year old cupboard looks pretty sparse at the moment and if you look at SDL/MDL very little to frankly enthuse over from what I saw at Birmingham during MDL in 2019. Moto X may be a sensible route to go and one thing Leicester have ability to do is offer pretty much unlimited practise.

somebody mentioned Tom Brennan on Twitter not having an NDL place, would be handy for him to ride for IOW and average may fit?

Wonder if Kemp will be back for another short NDL season?

Having seen Leon at Brum last season in NDL and a few times in 2019 I would say he is already well ahead of Bickley who is poor so far on any smaller or technical track. I think it will do Leon good if he can double down at Armadale and may be as you suggest Bickley has missed a trick not trying to do the same rather than BVColts a track he already knows well and may be in his comfort zone.

Good luck to the Fixture planner getting that top 3 to ride in every Match with then riding for Friday and Saturday night CL Teams. Potent top 3 but a long tail unless someone really improves (McGurk possibly can)

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.