Ben91

Barker is capable of putting a point on his average, he'll be hot property this winter, would take him at Rye if we got the chance.

Rather have Olly Greenwood back, give Ayres a go or go with a Watjknecht/Spiller. The other reserve needs to be someone who can score home and away.

Bit of a pointless argument really, all boils down to who you chose to believe, Len Silver in his book or the defunct banger track website or whatever it's called. Either could be right and the other wrong, or alternatively they could both be wrong.

One swallow doesn't make a summer IMO, Couzins spent the majority of the season in the main team because he did better than the other three pointers, he looked a good little rider when he was at reserve, of course being in the main team for the majority of the season is no easy task. Verge has been about quite a while and just doesn't look to have any killer instinct in him, relying on his gating too much. Kingston seems to have gone stale at Mildenhall, he looked a good prospect when he was a King, would seem beneficial to both parties for him to return if the chance arises.

He's not a Brit though, so he shouldn't be part of the draft, shouldn't have been in the NL this year either that being the case but that's another can of worms all together.

Mark Baseby on 5.33 would be a better bet than his brother on just shy of seven. Will the Kings go with two three point reserves again after their long tail cost them dearly this year? Thomas is nailed on, of the three main three pointers from this season Couzins is the only one who looks like he will be able to build on a three point average next year. Shanes, Ayres, Chessell, M.Baseby, Thomas and Couzins would leave just over six points for a final rider.

Think it was possible to drop Hawkins or Bowen to get Boxall back in, instead Doyle went. Of course it could be said hindsight is a wonderful thing seeing as Doyle is now a GP rider but he was an out and out PL number one back then too. I'm sure we ended that year with James Brundle racing for us too...

Despite putting nearly a point on his average? That's the purpose of the NL for a club like Rye, for their riders to learn. From watching him early in the season compared to how he was going at the end he has been learning and improving. All speedway riders are dangerous if they come off, it's a dangerous sport.

We declared a team way under the points limit, Boxall was injured pre-season (I won't go into the details) and Doyle was drafted in, naturally making the team far better than the one that we had originally declared. Doyle was scoring well and as Boxall was nearing a return we could have dropped a second string/reserve for Boxall if I recall correctly, meaning Doyle could stay and we would have Boxall back too as a second string/reserve as opposed to a heat leader. Anyway, Len dropped Doyle and Boxall came back to revert to the original 1-7 that we declared way under the points limit, then to rub salt into the fans' wounds he went on the mic before a meeting basically telling the fans it was his team and he could do what he liked with it. I think a lot of fans stayed away after that, it has certainly made me stop making as many trips to Rye since.

We have to be thankful for the good things Len did, I wasn't around for the first spell, but bringing the club back to Rye, building two Premier League winning sides and giving us a list of riders we can all fondly look back on watching. Those who went on to bigger things, Woffinden, Kennett, Danny King (all started at reserve), Sundstrom. Those who had potential but ultimately never fulfilled it unfortunately, Haines, Roynon, Nelson, Boxall even. Then there was Robbo (Stuart), probably my favourite rider, a true entertainer and one who suffered horrific injuries racing for Rye House. Signing Jason Doyle from nowhere when Boxall was injured at the start of a season was a masterstroke too, unfortunately that was the start of the decline when Doyle made way for Boxall's return despite the fact he seemed willing to do a whole season at Rye. Things have gone stale since that time, there can be no doubting or denying that, a seeming inability on Len's part to move with the times and change his principles on team building have seen us plummet down the table when arguably we should have been one of the dominant forces in the league. Personally I thank Len for the good times, but I'm glad to see the club has an opportunity to move in a new and hopefully positive direction from this point. If the new promotion can build a good team, engage with their fan base and promote the sport in the local area then there is no reason we cannot see the Rockets on top of the Premier League again. I sincerely hope the Raiders run again next season too, we have three prospects in the side already showing great potential, being able to produce your own riders is a great thing. As for Len, I hope being able to commit 100% to Kent now will re-invigorate him, he will relish the fresh challenge and hopefully give the fans there a side that can challenge for honours too.

Carr D. Spiller Greaves Ayres Smith Parkinson-Blackburn E. Spiller Totals 38.02, hopefully Liam Carr's average will have dropped by at least 0.02 by the time the final averages are published.

Clegg and Branford, while both only averaging just over three have actually averaged that figure rather than being below it and rounded up to three. Shows what you can do if you persist. Makes me laugh that some people are happy to watch riders who come in on an assessed seven point averages originally and drop three to four points off of them but won't give a Brit a chance on a three who will make a good effort at maintaining or bettering their assessed figure.

So the likes of Olly Greenwood, who has had an average over three is ineligible for a number seven spot too?

Might even wait til April if nobody breaks the tapes til then!

Put Konopka, Stichauer or Dilger in the NL and they wouldn't average any more than the likes of Morley, Branford etc. Reserves still play a big part if other riders are underperforming, if you line up with two three pointers then there's always the chance they'll both struggle and then you're buggered. There are enough riders for a two tiered reserve draft system, the bullet should have been bitten and it implemented with a 36.5 limit for top fives.

I don't see why someone can't work out what the draft riders EL averages are without the reserve races included. That would have been a sensible thing to have kept track of across the season, a shame nobody seemed to foresee this happening at the end of the year.

It seems like the light has been seen regarding the EL race format being rubbish and drawing riders' averages towards six a piece and they'll hopefully be reverting to the old format. The wording of the press release could be open to different interpretations, is someone like Adam Ellis on a four plus figure eligible to be a number seven because he is still eligible for the NL, and if so this seems to mean he'll start on a three point average? If the number seven has to be a three point rider then Ellis, along with Branford and Clegg who are just above three each may be casualties of the new system?

Two title winning teams since the Rockets' return to the Premier League in 2002 have to be applauded, we've had more success than a lot of teams have in the last ten years and seen riders such as Tai and Linus Sundstrom come through the club. Things had started to go stale though and many will see the dropping of Jason Doyle for Steve Boxall as a turning point, along with the rant on the mic that went with it. Hopefully the new broom being swept through will reinvigorate our speedway team and Kent will benefit from having Len's full attention. Time will tell.

There's absolutely no reason Kent couldn't be accommodated still, however it appears it's NL only for the Kings then.

The points limit is the same, having a NL rider at reserve rather than a Dilger/Davey/Maassen/Konopka won't make things any cheaper for fans but it is better for the sport in Britain. Imagine having to watch a British prospect improve across the year rather than a poor foreign import go through the motions in his 14th spell in the PL on a 'bargain' average.

The problem with the draft has been that reserves have been protected, riders aren't going to improve if they're only racing other draft riders and second strings, the majority of whom they race week in week out in the PL. Bringing Brits through is good but there was no need to change the race format to do so. Newman/Garrity etc are not good enough to be EL second strings yet, they should be starting at reserve again next year with the provision that the race format returns to the one used in the PL and NL still and once they get averages they move up the riding order if their averages dictate that they should. If they are replaced they must be replaced by another young Brit however much they are averaging at the time.

You can dislike something that your own promotion do/have done, if it was Russell saying it then it would be ironic perhaps.

Points scored at the start of the season are just as important as those scored at the end in the league when there are no play offs. Think it's doing Birmingham a disservice to say they only won the league because of the time Zach spent at reserve, especially when the Eagles have had Spiller at reserve for a spell too.

Expect to see Parkinson-Blackburn at Buxton, if the Brummies line up with him and Smith at reserve though then that's probably the best reserve pairing in the league for next season.

Yes, the basic product on track is great, the way it is served up isn't in the majority and that is what drives fans away. Of course it can, a speedway race can be spectacular, people don't get bored of the racing they get bored of the drawn out meetings, poor presentation and constant delays for no real reason. Why do riders need two minutes to get ready for something that takes less than a minute? As long as there are no legitimate hold ups or riders facing back to back rides then there should be a one minutes time allowance for riders to get to tapes as soon as those in the previous heat have left the track.