SURPRISE APPLICATION TO JOIN 2011 PREMIER LEAGUE - posted 22 July 2010
There has been a suprise application to join the Premier League next season. East Newport officials have confirmed to spokesman-online that they have formally applied to join the league.
"The club meets all the requirements to join this prestigious league" said club Welfare Officer Kerry Bennett. "With work still ongoing, putting in new drainage and flood lights, the Go Ride/Clubmark club hope their application will be accepted" she added.
Editor's Note - East Newport and Sandwell have already declared their hand to join the Premier League next season. Are you club going to apply? If so, please drop us a line as the usual email address.
PREMIER LEAGUE IS BREEDING OPTIMISM - posted 6 July 2010
There appears to be a new theme around the Premier League this season. An exciting, optimistic theme, something that the sport has been crying out for, something that bodes well for the future, and in the more short term, something that bodes well for the Brits attack on Poland and the European Championships; young riders being given their chance in the Premier League.
The standard of racing is as good as ever, but teams are starting to realise there is no need to fly Polish riders in, when you’ve got young, hungry riders snapping at the chance to test themselves against the country’s best. Beharrell and Radcliffe at Wednesfield, the Smith brothers at Sheffield, Mark Carmichael as a permanent fixture in Horspath’s top six, Poole’s plethora of youngsters that continue to spring surprises upon the country’s best teams, whilst Norwich continue their policy of promoting their youngsters into the first team with Solomon, Chambers and Osborne all being given a fair crack of the whip this season. Birmingham continue to rely upon Heard, Timms, Groves and this season’s new addition, Mould, whilst Jarvis and Stephenson continue to excel for Leicester.
The league has been duly shook up by the emergence of these young, unknown quantities and if you take a moment to look back to the Spokesman’s Premier League preview then you will see that the predictions have been off the mark. With Poole predicted to come bottom of the pile, and Birmingham second, you can see what a random and exciting league it has been this season - so far.
The one constant though, has been Horspath’s excellence. The power house of the sport over the past few seasons, they continue to wrack up win after win led by the frankly astounding Steve Harris. Unlike most riders, he continues to get faster with age and not only does he keep on top of things on the track, but off it too. He is a valuable asset to have in any club, passing on his experience to the younger riders and keeping the hot heads cool in pressure situations. At this stage of the season it seems inconceivable that any other team could pip the Oxford based heavy weights. Unless…
Leicester have battled through a lot of tight matches this season, winning their first two meetings by four points on each occasion against Wednesfield and Birmingham respectively. However, they lost, crucially, at home to Horspath in their third match of the season and that has perhaps killed their title chances, unless they can go to Horspath and pull off an incredible win. It seems unlikely but a second placed finish appears to be on the cards. There may be deeper issues to worry about for Leicester though. With stronger rumours emerging about Ipswich re applying for the Premier League, it appears likely they will lose their talisman Dan Pike, as well as this year’s new signings Josh Brooke and potentially Adam Peck and Jason Ashford too. They will be left with quite a weak side.
Never write off Wednesfield. Year after year they churn out teams and results that you may not necessarily predict. Led by the most driven rider of his generation, Lee Aris and managed by the best management duo in the league, Roger Ellis and Aris Senior, you should never doubt them. The new additions of Radcliffe and Beharrel have been vital, particularly Beharrell who has banged out some very impressive scores (19 against Poole) and shown he has a bright future ahead of him, if he can continue to juggle his rugby commitments with his cycling ones. Add all this together and a third placed finish seems likely at this point especially after their recent two point victory over Birmingham.
It could have been very easy to write Sheffield off this season after losing a lot of their star Polish riders but it would have been wrong to do that. The Spokesman preview suggested they may struggle early on this season, but with Pete Dalley masterminding the race strategies, Andy Angell beating anyone and everyone, Pilas inspiring his troops and the new singings Matt and Lee Smith flying out of the gates, Sheffield are there to mix it with anyone. The young yet experienced duo of Jamie Brown and Ryan Hoyland continue their progress and with a settled team, Sheffield look likely to take the fourth spot.
The biggest disappointment of the season has been Birmingham’s lack of form. Last season’s surprise package haven’t managed to capitalise upon that and find themselves stranded in mid table. With arguably their best rider, Chris Timms, losing his love for the sport and debating retiring, you have to wonder if they are only going to get weaker this year. Paul Heard continues to ride well, but with Ben Mould and Nathan Groves struggling to find a bit of form in the big matches, Birmingham will need to re group before next season and look to push on up the table again, as they clearly have the talent to do so; 5th for them.
Poole are perhaps rather harshly shunned into sixth place as they have impressed a lot of people this season with their mix of youngsters and experience. With Chris Roberts back alongside the impressive Pete Young representing the experience, Tom Reed, Leyton Glover, Jake Williams, Sam Hearn and Aaron Morgan are representing the youngsters and it shows a bright future ahead for the South Coast club. Chuck in Tom Colling, Gavin Wheeler and a couple of Poles to call upon should they need them then Poole look strong this year despite potentially being weak early on this year. A few more wins could see them move up the table, but for now a sixth place looks likely.
Finally, we come to Norwich. Perhaps the Spokesman put the curse on it when they predicted a fifth place finish for this season as at the half way stage they are yet to record a win. Their home form has been strong and consistent, pushing teams close, and the first win of the season doesn’t appear to be far away, but the away form has been poor. However the team is starting to settle down with consistent selection of the same riders and with Lee and Ian Grange on top form, captain Dave Solomon scoring consistent points and Dan Chambers in the form of his life, a strong end to the season could maybe take place. Until they record that first confidence boosting win though, the wooden spoon looks likely to be heading back to Norfolk.
SURPRISE APPLICANT FOR 2011 PREMIER LEAGUE - posted 6 July 2010
With the deadline fast approaching for entries to the 2011 Premier League, speculation is already mounting about the make-up of next year's competition. Will Ipswich and Stoke re-apply? Will this be a season too far for Norwich? Will Leicester riders face a mass exodus back to Suffolk? The questions are coming thick and fast.
But one team have already made their intentions clear. Sandwell will definitely be applying to re-join the league in 2011. The club confirmed their decision at a recent committee meeting.
Said a club spokesman "It's time to give our up and coming young riders the chance to show what they are made of by riding for their own club instead of racing on secondary licence for other Premier clubs. We thank the secondary clubs that have given our riders the opportunity to race in the top league but feel in the long run it could be detrimental to our survival if we don't have first class racing at home. We cannot afford to lose anymore riders transferring to Premier clubs. It may even encourage one or two riders to come and race on secondary licence Sandwell.
"Some Premier clubs have a few too many riders who are not all are getting regular racing so this would give them the opportunity to prove their worth with us but we are not in the game to steal riders from other clubs just for the glory just to compete at the top level. This is what our lads deserve and we want to keep the Lions at Sandwell."
Applications to join the league close on 1 August.
PL CLUBS AND COMMISSION ON COLLISION COURSE - posted 31 May 2010
Premier League clubs and the Cycle Speedway Commission appear to be on a collision course - after the governing body suggested scrapping the Premier Combination League next season. The Commission's initiative has angered some Premier clubs, so much to that one has canvassed the views of its rivals, concluding that the majority of clubs are in favour of keeping the Combination division.
"We conducted our own survey" said Leicester club secretary Tim Jarvis. "Five clubs were against the idea, one was undecided and one was not contacted, although it is thought they would be in favour of scrapping the Premier Combination.
"It makes me wonder why the Commission didn''t do something similar before suggesting scrapping it! I would like to think, that regardless of Commisisoners' personal opinions, the views of the majority of clubs will be taken into account" added Jarvis.
"We're more than confident after our 'against the odds' result at Norwich last weekend" said team manager Pete Barnes (pictured). "But facing the 2010 favourites, bolstered by more off season captures, will be a severe challenge despite being on home territory. Even without Thomas Reed, who will be absent due to a long standing family holiday commitment, we are again very optimistic that our highly successful 'home grown' junior and youth policy will pay dividends" added Barnes confidentally.
After missing last week's match against Wednesfield. Dave Carmichael wil again be missing for Horspath due to a back injury, while Mark Boaler is nursing a leg injury sustained playing football last Saturday. Although they have a strong squad to choose from, Horspath expect a tough match. They have a great record at Poole, having won there every year since 2001 but Comets are on a high - so if anyone wants to see the very best of British Premier League racing, Harbourside Park on Sunday is the place to be.
SURPRISE SPECTATOR - posted 31 March 2010
Surprise spectator at the Norwich v Poole match was Premier League manager Dave Flemming.
Author of the recently published criteria for league entry, Dave hopes to get to as many matches as possible this year, despite problems with his health.
The league supremo must have been well satisfied with what he saw - a cracking match featuring two committed teams, sprinkled with home-spun youngsters, producing competitive racing. That's what the Premier League is all about.
PREMIER SEASON BURSTS INTO LIFE - posted 27 March 2010
The 2010 Premier League explodes into life on Sunday with three exciting matches to whet the appetite for the long season ahead.
Defending champions Horspath expect to get their campaign of to a convincing start when they entertain Wednesfield at the Village. They have the same squad as last season, bolstered by the return of the Osborne brothers, Chris and Lewis, so on paper at least, they look to have an even stronger squad than they did in 2009. Horspath regulars Steve Harris, Mark Boaler and Mike Morgans form the nucleus of the squad, augmented by a sprinkling of Polish imports. What ever combination of riders they field on Sunday, they should comfortably account for Wednesfield.
The Aces have virtually the same squad 2009, plus new signing Matt Beharrell, one of the country's top juniors, who came in from Hull during the closed season. At the top end, the pedigree of Lee Aris and Chris Jewkes is not in doubt. It's further down the order that the Aces will have to up their game if they are to improve on last year's performances. Still, in Mick Aris and Roger Ellis, the Clough and Taylor of the cycling world, they have the best managerial team in the game and if anyone can tease out the best in riders it's this duo. Tough start though, reigning champions away from home. Even Clough and Taylor would do well to get anything out of this one.
Last year's runners-up, Sheffield, have a much different team this time round. Minus their Polish stars, the Yorkshire side will rely more than ever on home grown talent which will place added responsibity on the young shoulders of local riders Ryan Hoyland and Jamie Brown. Surprisingly for a team of their quality, Sheffield have no real star names in their line-up. They face a tough opener against Birmingham who, inspired by pre-season training session with coaching guru Jim Varnish, have made a whirlwind start to the season in the Midland League.
As a team in a rich vein of form, it's hardly surprising that Birmingham are being widely tipped as champions-elect. The Midlanders took the league by storm last season finishing third and will be looking to improve on that in 2010. With new signings Ben Mould and Russ Evans keen to impress and the likes of Paul Heard, Nathan Groves and Chris Timms edging towards the peak of their careers, combined with the experience of Marcus Wadhams, Dominic Rycharski and Garry Pearce, Birmingham should get off to a flying start by easily accounting for Sheffield.
Match of the day is the clash between Norwich and seasoned PL campaigners Poole. After last year's disappointing campaign when they finished bottom of the league, much is expected of Norwich this year. Certainly the club's management are confident of a better year as their young talents, boasted by winter signings Leon Mower and Dan Osborne, start to mature.
Newly appointed team manager Gary Colby needs to instil more discipline into his squad. Too many times last year, especially at home at Eaton Park, they gave away simple points which cost them matches. Colby is introducing a new pre-match regime, demanding all riders are in the changing room two hours before the match for team talks and unity bonding.
Norwich comfortably won the corresponding match last season and will be looking for a repeat performance. However any match against Poole is always tough. With former national champions Gavin Wheeler and Pete Young providing a formidable spearhead and support from Pawel Cegielski and Chris Shylock, the Dorset side will be a tough nut to crack. The outcome could be decided by the presence or absence of Tom Reed who may not make the long journey from his Exeter home to Norfolk.
So three great matches to look forward to on Sunday to kick start the 2010 Premier League season. All meetings start at 2pm and are followed by combination matches.
PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH RACE CHAMPIONSHIP LAUNCHED - posted 25 March 2010
An exciting new competition has been launched - the Premier League Match Race Championship.
The new event kicks off at Horspath on Sunday, immediately after the Horspath v Wednesfield league match, when Horspath's top scorer will take on reigning British champion Lee Aris in a one-off match race. The new competition is the brain-child of cycle speedway legend Roger Ellis who has offered to sponsor the event by providing a trophy.
"I do think it will be a big feature of Premier League club matches down the season. Hopefully the match race can play a big part of the Premier League in 2010, a good attraction for all to see" Roger told spokesman-online.
The race will take place five minutes after the last heat of the first match and will be overseen by the league match referee. The winner will take the trophy to the next Premier League meeting, much in the style of the old Golden Helmet speedway competition.
PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW SPECIAL - posted 17 March 2010
With less than two weeks to go before the country's top league blasts into action, spokesman-online has put together our season predictions...
First - Horspath Hammers The reigining champions will no doubt defend their title from last season. They have the same squad as last season but bolstered by the return of the Osborne brothers, the village outfit will be led by the entertaining Mark Boaler who will no doubt be backed up by the evergreen Steve Harris, whilst also been able to call on a number of Polish stars. We can see this team going through the league unbeaten.
Second - Birmingham Monarchs A close one to call with possibly two Midland sides battling for the runners up spot. We have put our neck on the line and gone for the Birmingham Monarchs. With Marcus Wadhams at the helm, closely backed up by Chris Timms and Paul Heard, they have a very strong top three. They will no doubt feel the loss of the Stoke contingent of which only Garry Pearce remains for this season. The signing of Ben Mould could be a real coup if he continues his rise up the cycle speedway ladder.
Third - Leicester Monarchs The East Midlanders will be there mixing it, week in week out. Led by gentleman Polish star Lukasz Nowacki and backed up by Dan Pike and Adam Peck (pictured right) this team will be a real handful. They have a strong team spirit which is instilled in them by captain Kevin Burns who always gets his riders going. Craig Marchant is the key to this team. If he rides like he can, they will take some stopping.
Fourth - Wednesfield Aces Led by the living legend that is Lee Aris this team has potential but is yet to be seen how they will develop. Terry Norman, Mark Griffiths and Chris Jewkes are all capable of big scores on a weekly basis. Add to this wily youngster Matt Beharrell, they have the potential to go all the way, but as in the past they have struggled to put out a consistent team, with key riders missing meetings to often.
Fifth - Norwich Stars With possibly the biggest squad ever assembled for a Premier League team, we feel this will be the club's season to avoid the wooden spoon. They have the best young talent of East Anglia to call upon and will have the addition of Phil Howells again for this season. Ian Grange runs the club as a real professional outfit and they seem to get stronger season by season.
Sixth - Sheffield Stars The Team from the North get the nod for the second from bottom spot. Sheffield are rumoured to be missing alot of there Polish contingent this year, which leaves new signing Andy Angell and Darius Pilas to lead the team. They will be backed up by some very good young riders in Ryan Hoyland, Jamie Brown and Lee Smith but they may struggle a little early on but we are sure that they will be mixing it with the best by the end of the season. If results do not go the right way though, rest assured the Wosskow Brown private jet could be landing at Wroclaw to pick up the services of a number of Polish riders.
Seventh - Poole Comets Unfortunately someone has to get the wooden spoon, and this time we are giving our prediction to the Dorset based club. They have excellent fire power in Gavin Wheeler, Chris Roberts and Thomas Reed, but the team whilst tracking a couple of Poles never seem to have a settled eight-man team through either injury or work commitments......
Whatever the outcome, we know most of you out there will have their own opinion on who will do what - but one thing is for sure, we are gonna see some spectacular racing once again in 2010. Bring it on!!!
Editor's Note - Agree or disagree with our pundit? Who will be champions? Have you entered our reader poll yet?
PREMIER LEAGUE LAUNCH BLUE-PRINT FOR THE FUTURE - posted 17 March 2010
Following wide-spread criticism earlier this season about the Premier League entry process which resulted in three clubs withdrawing their applications and the league contracting to just seven clubs, the Cycle Speedway Commission has acted quickly to address the problem in future years.
British Cycling has produced a comprehensive 20 page report setting out the aims of the Premier League, standards and criteria for membership and an exit strategy for 2010.
In introducing the paper, Premier League Manager Dave Flemming points out that team strengths are not the principal criteria and that greater emphasise will be placed on developing healthy clubs with solid memberships and first class facilities.
"The Premier League was set up to provide the sport with a competition that had promotional opportunities for clubs that wish to achieve the highest in the sport" said Flemming.
"To find the clubs that could achieve this, the Cycle Speedway Commission has always placed importance on standards and not team strength as it was more essential to build healthier clubs, rather than just a team. The Commission has always specified a limit of eight clubs for the Premier League so as not to affect Regional racing programmes which are the bread and butter of the sport" he added.
"Membership is for clubs that are well managed and wish to achieve the promotion of cycle speedway at the highest level. The Premier League will be the showcase league team event of the sport and therefore will look for television coverage to promote the sport on regular basis" the report goes on to say.
Under the new regulations, all clubs must have Go-Ride in place at least nine months in advance of their application. By 1 August 2013 all must have Clubmark status. Every year all applicants will be scored on a variety of factors including support for national competitions, club membership levels, admin and publicity, facilities and match day reports from referees.
Surprisingly the new criteria does not take into account competition excellence. As a consequence, the reigning league champions could find themselves 'relegated' if they do not score sufficient qualifying points.
Flemming has also called for greater transparency in the selection process.
"The members of the Cycle Speedway Commission are often also members of Premier League clubs. I therefore believe that the system for entry and exit to the Premier League needs to be transparent so there can be no misunderstandings. It would therefore be preferable that any voting on Premier League matters should not be carried out by Commission Officers who are members of a Premier League club. This would reflect the impartiality of the Commission."
Two years ago Flemming found himself at odds with the Commission over the inclusion of Birmingham in the Premier League, a decision which ultimately led to his resignation. The new arrangements aim to ensure there is no repeat.
NEW CRITERIA PRESENTS CHALLENGES - posted 17 March 2010
Not everyone has given unqualified support to the new Premier League proposals. Writing in the Norwich match day programme this week, scribe T C McIntyre warned that the new requirements are too strict and regimented and called for organisers to consider a second tier of racing, a Second Division, with a mimimum of six clubs, to act as a safety net for those falling out of the top level.
"Yes, there has to be certain criteria, we would all agree with that, but does it have to be so strict and regimental?" is the question posed by the programme's author. "Here's a thought. If there were not so many rules and regulations, then perhaps, just perhaps, more clubs would apply for Premier League membership each year. With a bit of forward thinking and not too much negativity from the powers that be, then a second Division could actually happen" predicted McIntyre.
Although the programme points out that these views are not necessarily those of the club, the new requirements may leave clubs like Norwich vulnerable. With close on 20% of points being scored on facilities, those without changing rooms, toilets, showers, spectator seating, a club house, mains electricity and floodlights, will be significantly disadvantaged. Some may even have to consider moving to new locations where these facilities can be developed.
STOKE EXPLAIN PREMIER LEAGUE U-TURN - posted 6 February 2010
Stoke's decision to withdraw their application for Premier League membership came as a real surprise to many cycle speedway followers.
After their initial application was turned down by the Cycle Speedway Commission, the shock withdrawal of Great Blakenham appeared to throw Stoke a lifeline. Club representatives were asked to attend today's Commission meeting in Birmingham where they were expected to put their case to join the league. Then in a surprise u-turn, Stoke withdraw their application.
In an exclusive statement to spokesman-online, released this evening, Stoke officials explained the reasons for their surprise decision.
Stoke's withdrawal of their application from the Premier League came after much discussion, thought and soul searching. It had to be a club decision, based on what was best for and most practical for the club as a whole. Whilst we have enough riders perfectly capable of competing at the highest level of the Premier League, we had already had our initial application to the PL refused.
Once that had happened, we had made decisions and committments for the club to build on our base stock of local riders and encourage more new riders into the sport through Go-Ride and with the co-operation of our local council. With our new facilities situated in a local park already used by young and old cyclists alike, and the Council's encouragement of cycling facilities in the area, we are poised to take advantage of the situation.
When the opportunity again arose to apply to enter the PL, of course, our first thoughts were "go for it". On wider reflection, we decided as a club that it may be better to, as planned, stay concentrating on strengthening our club, building its membership and looking to the future: 2011 and beyond, when we will be in an even stronger position than we are now.
SHOCK AS STOKE WITHDRAW PL APPLICATION - posted 5 February 2010
Stoke have sensationally withdrawn their Premier League application.
The news comes just hours ahead of tomorrow's Cycle Speedway Commission meeting when Stoke were scheduled to make a formal presentation to the national committeee in support of their PL bid.
The reasons for Stoke's surprise u-turn are emerging this evening. We'll bring you more news when we have it.
TOUGH DECISION FOR IPSWICH - posted 21 January 2010
Ipswich cycle speedway club have confirmed that they will not be joining the Premier League this season.
Speaking exclusively to spokesman-online, club secretary Dave Hill explained that it was a tough decision, one club officials didn't take lightly.
"For the last few years Ipswich have been planning to enter a team in the Premier League. This year, with a number of our senior riders showing an interest in riding for their home team at top level and having the basis of a very strong combination side, we felt that 2010 was the ideal time to take the big step and bring Premier League racing to Ipswich.
"With our application in November being turned down, the last minute withdrawal of Gt Blakenham and the other Premier teams wanting their line ups settled before Christmas, all our top riders have now agreed to ride for other teams. This left us with the dilemma of "do we get the riders to break their promises" which would have been unfair on the other teams, or "do we go with a very young team"? which would have been unfair on the younger riders as they are not yet ready to ride at this level on a regular basis.
"After a meeting on Sunday, with everybody in attendance, we made the difficult decision to withdraw our application to join the Premier League for 2010. Our senior riders have all shown commitment to Ipswich and will continue to compete for their home team at local level as we start to prepare our application to join the Premier League in 2011.
"As for the coming season, it will be business as usual. We will be competing in all local competitions, the British Youth & Junior League where we would like to defend our title, all seven rounds of the British Club Championship and for the first time in a number of years we will be
competing in the British team championships.
"On behalf of all at Ipswich, we would like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a successful 2010 season" added Dave.
IPSWICH PULL OUT OF PREMIER LEAGUE RACE - posted 19 January 2010
Ipswich CSC have pulled out of the race to join the Premier League next season. The news was confirmed by British Cycling earlier today, leaving Stoke as the only applicant to replace Great Blakenham.
The matter will be considered at the next Commission meeting when Stoke will be asked to present their case, the principal decision being whether or not to include Stoke or continue with seven teams only.
NO IMMINENT DECISION ON PREMIER LEAGUE - posted 16 January 2010
The make-up of the 2010 Premier League is unlikely to be settled for another three weeks.
It is widely expected that Ipswich's and Stoke's applications will be reconsidered at a specially convened Commission meeting in Birmingham on 6 February. It is thought both clubs will be asked to make formal presentations in support of their applications.
STOKE HOT FAVOURITES TO REPLACE BLAKENHAM - posted 15 January 2010
Stoke are emerging as red-hot favourites to replace Great Blakenham in the 2010 Premier League.
Officials at British Cycling's headquarters in Manchester are considering the next steps but Stoke appear to be ticking all the boxes and have soared ahead of Ipswich in the race to cycle speedway's top tier of racing.
Ipswich's hopes have been dashed with the news that Dan Pike and Leon Yelland have committed to Leicester again this year. To compound matters, Leicester are expected to announce the signing of Adam Peck in the next few hours and Josh Brooke is widely rumoured to follow the well trodden path between Suffolk and the East Midlands. Lewis Osborne is also expected to return to Horspath.
With little prospect of signing Suffolk's top stars, Ipswich would be low on quality, so much so that the Whitton club may no longer be interested in Premier League racing.
An announcement about Stoke's inclusion may be delayed because of red tape. Lewis Bates, Garry Pearce and Errol Thaw all rode for Birmingham last season and it is not clear if the Stoke trio have already signed for Birmingham this year. If they have, British Cycling may be asked to 'unpick' the registrations.
That would leave a massive gap in Birmingham's line-up although Russ Evans is expected to continue with the club on a full-time basis in 2010.
Editor's Note - Are you aware of any other transfer news or rumours? If so email them to us at editor@spokesman-online.co.uk
BLAKENHAM PULL OUT OF PREMIER LEAGUE - posted 13 January 2010
Great Blakenham have bowed to the inevitable and pulled out of the Premier League.
The announcment will come as no real surprise as the Suffolk club struggled to field competitive teams towards to end of last season. To compound matters, an acute rider shortage forced the club to use first team riders in the Combination Division, sacrifcing score of points in the process.
It was a tough decision for club officials. "We didn't want to start the season and find ourselves with the same problems we had last year" said a club representative.
The club now faces the prospect of a year in regional league racing. They will concentrate their efforts on the South-East League and hope to rebuild their membership base by encouraging more youngsters into the club.
Blakenham's exit could now pave the way for Ipswich or Stoke to step up to PL racing. Bitterly disppointed to be left out of the 2010 set-up, Stoke could now be given a life-line after lodging an official appeal with British Cycling.
Ironically Blakenham's loss could be Ipswich's gain. One of the main reasons for not including Ipswich was concern that there are insufficent quality riders in Suffolk to justify both club's inclusion.
Premier League management will want to maintain the tried and tested eight club formula, so a late replacement for Blakenham looks a foregone certainty.
We hope to bring you more comment shortly.
STOKE APPEAL AGAINST PREMIER LEAGUE DECISION - posted 2 December 2009
Stoke CSC have appealed against the decision to exclude them from the Premier League.
Still reeling from the Commission's decision, Stoke have lodged a formal appeal with Commission chairman Colin Docker. Stoke officials argue that as there was no proper entry or exit strategy, then applications should not have been considered until such time as regulations were in place. Club officials contend that this was inheritently unfair and favoured existing Premier League clubs.
Stoke have requested that further Premier League planning, including fixture confirmation, is put on hold until the appeal is heard.
PREMIER LEAGUE DECISION EXPECTED AT THE WEEKEND - posted 17 November 2009
A decision on the composition on the 2010 Premier League is expected to be made on Sunday. Delegates attending the regional conference at Birmingham will hear the Commission's proposals for its showcase competition.
It is looking increasingly likely that organisers will resist the temptation to expand the league and will continue with the eight team formula that proved so effective this year. However the compositon of the league is almost certain to change.
The Commission will also unveil the name of the new Premier League Manager. Although officials remain tight-lipped, a dramatic return by former manager Dave Flemming cannot be ruled out.
PREMIER LEAGUE DILEMMA - posted 8 November 2009
Top officials Tim Metcalfe and Pete Ward face a real dilemma in the coming days - deciding which clubs should complete in the 2010 Premier League.
All eight Premier League teams have re-applied together with Ipswich and Stoke. Both newcomers meet the Go-Ride qualification criteria, so officials now have to make the tough decision whether to admit both clubs, taking the total number to ten - or enter into a selection process.
Historically the sport's top brass have limited Premier status to eight teams, arguing that more than this would impact on the race calendar, adversely affecting regional leagues and development competitions. It appears the only way ten teams can be accommodated would be to utilise more Saturday dates which again officials have been reluctant to do in the past.
Of the two potential newboys, Stoke look the stronger candidiate. The Northern League champions have moved to a brand new track at Etruria Park and appear to tick all the boxes. Ipswich on the other hand have one of the best tracks and back-up facilities in the country. They may not match Stoke for top-end rider strength but certainly have one of the best youth policies in the country, a crucial factor as the league looks more and more to a holistic approach, placing increasing emphasis on Combination racing.
So if both Ipswich and Stoke are real league contenders, who would make way for them? After finishing bottom of the league this season, Norwich may look the more vunerable. However Norwich are seen as the model Premier Legue club, utilising mainly home-grown riders and developing their youngsters through Combination racing.
Great Blakenham managed to avoid the wooden-spoon but really struggled towards the end of the season. Far too often they have had to rely on first team riders to fill gaps in the Combination section. Whether Suffolk can maintain two Premier League clubs is a real bone of contention. With clubs in close geographical proximity, Suffolk riders have a history of moving club - so two Premier League teams in such close proximity may be a unstabling influence, not in the best long term interests of the sport.
On the basis that the Commission will be extremely reluctant to increase the size of the league beyond the present eight clubs, the smart money perms any eight from ten. Who that they will be is anyone's guess. And there's the dilemma for Tim Metcalfe and Pete Ward. It's a tough decision that is bound to lead to disappointment for two clubs at least.
We'll bring you news of the final line-up as soon as we get it.
RESULTS CHART 2009
PREMIER
Birm
Blaken
Hors
Leic
Norw
Poole
Sheff
Wednes
Birmingham
107-69
91-88
90-86
101-75
89-84
81-93
97-80
Blakenham
81-93
71-105
90-83
86-91
83-96
88-88
92-83
Horspath
88-86
87-82
86-83
103-72
94-81
85-85
101-72
Leicester
83-93
94-81
78-96
97-81
81-93
87-86
96-82
Norwich
83-93
87-83
87-88
85-86
94-82
82-90
82-92
Poole
90-87
82-92
81-97
93-84
94-81
88-90
101-77
Sheffield
94-85
90-86
98-81
97-78
100-79
94-85
99-79
Wednesfield
89-87
98-78
84-92
81-95
110-68
103-69
96-80
PREMIER LEAGUE BLOW AS TOP OFFICIALS STAND DOWN - posted 9 October 2009
As reported earlier in the week, the Premier League has been rocked by the 'resignation' of two of its top officials. League manager Tim Metcalfe and Referees Coordinator Mike Hack have both decided not to continue in their posts next season. It will be a big blow to the league as both officials have dedicated a lot of time and effort in contributing to the league's best-ever season.
League manager Tim Metcalfe told spokesman-online
"When I stepped in to replace John Whiting it was never my intention to do the PL manager role long term. This year has been very difficult personally for me and as I start out on a new career something has had to give. I intend to work closely with the incoming manager to ensure a smooth transition and then help to develop the league with them as part of my continued role on the Commission.
"I would like to thank Mike Hack for his sterling efforts to find referees each week, something not made easy by the number of withdrawals throughout the season. There are a number of reviews needed as we close Project 2010 and hopefully all start to look forward for the good of the sport as a whole rather than continue to be so single issue and backward looking" added Metcalfe.
Workload has been the main reason for Mike Hack's decision.
"The reason that I have stepped down from appointing Premier League referees is purely down to workload" Mike told Spokesman. "For the past three seasons, the PL referees had been appointed by the PL manager, Dave Flemming. Dave resigned last winter and was replaced by John Whiting. However, John quickly resigned as well. As a consequence, Tim Metcalfe agreed to become the Premier League Manager, in addition to his duties as Development Officer. Tim then asked me to appoint the referees for PL matches, which I agreed to do, in addition to my established duties as Referees' Manager.
"I have done the job for the whole of this season, but it has proved to be one job too many, on top of all my other commitments as a volunteer within the sport, ie Referees' Manager on the Cycle Speedway Commission, Cycle Speedway representative on the Commissaires & Referees Commission; member of the Cycle Speedway Coaching Workgroup, Referee, Manchester League Press Officer, Astley & Tyldesley Club Secretary, Team Manager and Press Officer.
"I am remaining in all my other existing posts, but the allocation of PL referees has proved to be one job too many, purely in terms of workload" said Mike.
Third - Leicester Monarchs
