COBRAS BREAK TRANSFER RECORD 

 

Cradley Heath have pulled off a major signing whilst also breaking their transfer record as England International and current British Champion Mark Jolly joins from Coalville Kings for £600,000.

The 29 year old swaps the East Midlands for the West and joins with an 8.84 average as last years apprentice Samuel Moore goes in the opposite direction as part of the deal. 

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Cobras promoter Carl Hadlington is pleased to of got the deal over the line as a number of other clubs were interested once they knew of Mark's availability but within a few hours our bid was accepted and we are delighted to welcome Mark to the club. We would like to thank Alan for the easiness of the deal.

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Mark began his career as an apprentice with Fen Drayton Force before first  moving to the Midlands with Willenhall and then Beechwood during a three year spell. Jolly then moved to Leeds where he struggled for first team action before moving to Coalville in SL21. Overall Mark made 270 league appearances over an eight year period for the Kings helping them to promotion back to the top flight on two occasions and becoming a key part of their squad which has finished in the top half of Division One in the last three years. He also showed his qualitites on the world stage by finishing 5th in the GP Series in SL26. 

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Everyone at Cradley Heath would like to welcome Mark to the club and we look forward to working with him going forward. 

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NEW RESERVES FOR CRADLEY

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The Cobras have signed a new reserve partnership for the upcoming season with both Jack Rodgers and Craig Dunwell joining the club. 

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Rodgers 22, joins on loan for the season from Earley Gravediggers after breaking into their team during last season where he made 12 league appearances. Jack comes into the squad with a 3.35 average and will be looking to maintain that as he races in division one for the first time. He will also join up with the clubs academy squad to begin the season. We would like to thank David at Earley for agreeing the deal and look forward to seeing how Jack progresses at the club.

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The second rider to fill one of the reserve positions is the returning Craig Dunwell. Craig rejoins the club from Kelso Kestrels for £20,000 and will begin the season on a 3.07 average. The club were looking to add some experience at the bottom end of the team following the retirement of James Chaplin at the end of last season and Craig definitely fit the bill. Dunwell now 29 left the Cobras for Devon in SL21 and spent four years there helping the club to promotion to Division 2 whilst also returning the highest average of his career of 6.10 in SL23. He later spent a year at both Iwade and Bolsover before joining Kelso in SL27. We welcome Craig back to the club and look forward to seeing him back at the Silverthorne Arena. 

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YOUNGSTERS COMPLETE LOAN MOVES

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Cradley Heath youngsters Owen Quinn and Yerek Pavlovsky have both completed loan moves away from the club for the upcoming season. 

Both riders will race in Division 3 as Owen moves across the Midlands to Coventry Bohemians whereas Yerek joins up with the Bolsover Tigers.

 

For Quinn it's a first move away from the club since joining as an apprentice in SL23 and is mainly down to team building requirements. We all know speedway is a numbers game at the beginning of each season and unfortunately Owens average of 5.26 didn't fit into the septet this season said promoter Carl Hadlington. 

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Pavlovsky will once again race in the third tier of British Speedway after spending last season with Calderwood in which he helped them to promotion. This time around he will join up with Bolsover and begin the season in the middle of their team on an 6.87 average. Yerek made good progress last season but we feel another year in Division 3 will be very beneficial for him going forward. 

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Thanks to both Jon and Kev for the deals and we wish both riders good luck for the new season. 

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SL29 DEPARTURES 

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This season as with any other sees riders depart the club on a permanent basis. 

The highest profile rider leaving the club is Finnish International Mika Jaakkola. Mika joined the club from Wentworth during last season but unfortunately failed to settle in the Midlands and as a result has joined Kelso Kestrels in Division 3. The club accepted a £125,000 bid from the Scottish club as he looks to reignite his British career. 

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Also leaving the club is Slovenian Damjan Vrecic. The 32 year old joined from the Unattached list during last season and played a key role at reserve as the club maintained their first division status. Unfortunately his average of 5.13 made it difficult for him to remain a club asset and he moves on to Normanton Wallers in a deal worth £25,000. 

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The other rider not to return is James Chaplin. Unfortunately James decided to hang up his kevlars at the end of last season after struggling for form. 

 

We would like to wish all three riders the best in their future endeavours.  

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COBRAS RING THE CHANGES

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The Cradley Heath management have decided to add to the squad with the club sitting just one point and one place above the relegation zone. We welcome three new faces in total with the club also making a change at the top of the team.

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The first rider to join the club is 31 year old Slovenian, Damjan Vrecic. He joins from the unattached list for £15,009 and has three International caps. Damjan has previously rode on these shores for the now defunct Burnham Bombers making 42 appearances during SL25-26. He spent last season in the European League with Pila before riding twice for Wentworth Trappers in division three earlier this year. Vrecic has spent the majority of his career in his homeland but is determined to succeed in British Speedway. He joins on a 6.17 average. 

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The second rider joining the club is 34 year old James Chaplin. The experienced Scotsman arrives for £20,000 from Coventry Bohemians after finding it tough to get regular racing. He began his career as a 16 year old at Eastbourne Seagulls where he spent nine years before taking a hiatus for two years. He returned to the sport with Kelso Kestrels in SL21 where he spent six years before riding for Bolsover Tigers last season. We feel that we need more experience down at reserve and once James was made available he ticked all the boxes. He joins on a 4.00 average and has made two appearances for Coventry this year. 

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The final change sees the club splash the cash in acquiring the services of 31 year old Finnish rider Mika Jaakkola for £250,000 from Wentworth Trappers. As a result Magnar Sobczak has ended his loan spell at the club and has returned to his parent club Coalville Kings. Mika is a rider we have been monitoring throughout the season and with Wentworth having an identical track to what we have at the Silverthorne Arena we decided to make an offer having seen that they were looking to make changes. Jaakkola raced mainly in his homeland before trying his luck in the European League with both Prague and Pori. He spent last season with Dudley Tigers in division two before joining the Trappers in pre-season. 

He are excited with the signing and looking forward to seeing Mika make the step up to racing in the top flight of British Speedway. 

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In a dramatic late twist, Wentworth have now agreed a fee to sign Magnar Sobczak from Coalville Kings. Thanks to all the promoters who made the deals possible. 

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PRE-SEASON DEPARTURES

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It`s that time of the year again as deals have been completed for a number of riders to move on to pastures new. The biggest name leaving the club this time around is Zakis Ljung. The experienced Swede played a major role in helping the club gain promotion back to Division One as he was an ever present finishing with figures of 7.38. Ljung joins Kelso in the third tier of the British League for a fee of £35,000. 

Joining him at Kelso will be Italian Filippo Terzi. The 22 year old spent last season on loan at the Kestrels but makes the move permanent this time around in the hunt for regular racing. He also spent time with Linlithgow, Iwade and Swindon during his time with the club. 

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In perhaps the surprise transfer of the off season, Fiske Wahlquist has agreed to join Wimbledon after the club accepted a substantial offer of £300,000 for his services. The Young Swede spent last season with Paull in the third division and leaves having only rode 13 times for the club. 

The talented Russian Yerik Pavlovsky was this seasons victim of the numbers game as he joins Gorleston on loan for the season in Division Two. Thanks to their promoter Tom Naylor for the deal as I`m sure he will learn a lot from his time their this season under an experienced promoter. 

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The Academy side sees two riders move on as both Joe Jordan and Daniel Pennington both feel they need first team speedway at his stage in their careers. Jordan 23, is a former apprentice and moves across the Midlands to join Coventry after eight years at the club. Pennington 22, joins up with Bolsover after spending two years here in the clubs academy. Good luck to all the riders on the next step of their speedway careers and thank you for your efforts during your time with the club.

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COBRAS WIN THE RACE FOR DUCKWORTH

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We are pleased to announce that the club have completed the signing of 16 year old William Duckworth from the unattached list. The Kent based youngster found himself without a club after the closure of Iwade Colts and the Cobras moved quickly to seal his signature. William (right) joins for a fee of £100,000 and was much sought after but we are very pleased to add him to our asset base. Duckworth was also recommended to the club by his former promoter Terry Meech and after looking at his performances in the Champion Apprentice last season it`s easy to see why he is rated so highly. Duckworth finished third in the final at Eastbourne and joint second overall with 100 points. William will go into the academy squad upon his arrival and is looking to relocate to the area in the not so distant future. We look forward to working with him and seeing how he progresses this season. 

 

 

TWO NEW FACES FOR CRADLEY

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The club have completed their first team plans for SL28 with the captures of Polish rider Magnar Sobczak and Australian Joseph Clarke. Magnar joins on a season long loan from Coalville Kings whilst Joseph joins on a permanent deal from Verwood Vipers.

 

Sobczak 27, signed for Coalville last season having spent two and a half years at Lublin in the European League. He made twelve league appearances in Division One last year and impressed during the clubs Golden Cobra Individual meeting scoring 10 points as he finished fourth. We look forward to helping Magnar (pictured, top) continue his growth in British Speedway as he begins the season on a 6.97 average. 

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Clarke (pictured, bottom) joins the club for £10,000 after being made available by Verwood due to a lack of team opportunities. The 21 year old will be given the chance to earn a team spot during pre-season as he comes in on a 3.00 average. He first came to British Speedway as a 17 year old when he rode for the now defunct New Way Nighthawks making 44 appearances over a two year period. He later joined Dudley Tigers for a season before joining Verwood last season making just two appearances. 

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We would like to give both riders a big Cradley welcome and look forward to working with them as the new season approaches. 

 

 

HOMEGROWN TRIO RETURN 

 

The Cobras management can tonight confirm the returns of local trio Nathan Greenwood, Owen Quinn and Thomas Murphy as part of their SL28 team plans. The former apprentices will continue their careers with the club with Nathan (pictured) set to start in the difficult number two position on a 5.00 average with Owen starting in one of the reserve spots on 4.59. Thomas will also be looking to begin the season at reserve on a 3 point average. Promoter Carl Hadlington said: We have several options at reserve but right now Thomas is in pole position to begin the season in the septet. He added: Last time around in division one we did the same type of thing and Owen took his chance with both hands and has become a first team regular ever since. Thomas deserves his chance at this level and we look forward to seeing how things progress as the season goes on.  The remaining team members will be announced in due course.  

 

 

COBRAS READY FOR TOP FLIGHT RETURN

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Cradley Heath Cobras promoter Carl Hadlington has completed the clubs transfer business as he prepares his squad for their return to the top level of British Speedway in SL28. The club achieved promotion back to division one at the first attempt by finishing second place in the middle tier last season and have moved quickly to build their squad for the new season. Having only used nine riders last season, the majority of this years team picked itself and we only really had to decide who would be loaned out between the bottom order riders added Hadlington as we all know speedway is a numbers game at the beginning of each season. 

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We can now confirm that our top three from last season have all agreed terms to return for the new season. The club will be captained by Matthew McGowan (pictured,right) for the second successive year whilst Andreas Magnus and Andrejs Bleidilis will return in the top two positions. We felt continuity was a very important part to build the team around and are delighted our top three will again be pulling on the red white and green colours of Cradley Heath for the upcoming season. Magnus and Bleidilis will be making their debuts in division one and we look forward to seeing them shine at the top level. More signings will be announced soon.

 

 

COBRAS TAKE THE FISKE

 

Cradley Heath have moved to fill the void created in their squad by signing Swedish hotshot Fiske Wahlquist from Third division side Cork Crusaders. The 18 year old joins for a fee of £160,000 and will join up with the squad immediately. Fiske will be advised by mentor and former Cobra, Christian Hamberg who rode for the club during their promotion season to the top flight back in SL19. 

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Promoter Carl Hadlington: Firstly, we would like to thank Big Dave at Cork for the deal to bring Fiske to the club. We are delighted to of signed a rider who we believe has a great future in the sport and has shown lots of promise already in the British League in Division Three. With the unfortunate injury to Matthew Marshall recently we had to move quickly to find a replacement and Fiske ticked all the boxes and we did a deal fairly quickly to bring him in. 

Wahlquist will be put through his paces behind closed doors to get himself familiar with the Silverthorne Arena circuit this week ready for his debut against Iwade Colts in our next meeting. We look forward to working with Fiske and hope the fans give him a warm welcome to the club. 

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CRADLEY ADD TO ACADEMY

 

The Cobras have added to their academy squad with the signing of 18 year old Dominic Browne from the Unattached list. Dominic (pictured right) who hails from Exeter joins the club for a fee of £20,000 and found himself without a club following the closure of Devon Demons where he spent the first three years of his speedway career. 

Promoter Hadlington said: We are delighted to of been able to bring Dominic to the club. He is a rider who`s progress we have watched for a couple of seasons and comes highly recommended by former Devon promoter Scott 'Tank' Hooper.

Browne made 106 appearances at academy level for the Demons, increasing his average each season. He was an ever present last season, finishing with figures of 6.40 from 42 matches. He also made one senior appearance for Devon. 

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We look forward to working with Dominic, and believe he has all the attributes to be successful with the club. 

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COBRAS HIT WITH INJURY BLOW

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The Cradley Heath Cobras have been hit with the news that Australian Matthew Marshall with miss the next two months of the season after sustaining a broken collarbone in heat 10 of the home league meeting against Eastbourne Seagulls.

First and foremost we would like to wish Matthew a speedy recovery from everyone at the club. It`s definitely an untimely injury for both rider and team as Matthew was just beginning to find his feet within the main body of the side and with his current average below what`s required to use a guest or R/R then we will have to look at all our options going forward as a team. Marshall has had an operation to repair the collarbone and will shortly fly home to his native Australia to spend the festive season with family.

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Get well soon Matthew, from all at the Cobras. 

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PROMOTER TALKS SL26

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Cobras boss Carl Hadlington talks all things SL26:

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We were pleased with how the season went overall last season and hope to continue to build on that this season. We finished fifth place in division one for the second time but achieved our highest points total of 53, only eight behind eventual winners, Stowmarket. 

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We have made one new signing for the first team for the upcoming campaign as 18 year old Russian Yerik Pavlovsky joins the club having rode for Keswick Crusaders last season.

He joins from Swindon Serpents who he was allocated to in the close season after Keswick`s closure and will slot into the team at number 2 on his 4.97 average.

The new season sees some familiar faces back at the Silverthorne Arena as club leading points scorer Gavin Moss will again captain the team and is joined by record appearance holder Matthew McGowan who finished last year in tenth place in the GP Series. New Zealander Marc Thompson returns for his second season with the club and takes the third heatleader position. Matthew Marshall completes the main body of the team after arriving from Malmo last season. Team building numbers meant the 23 year old Aussie was only used in the challenge league but did enough during these meetings to earn a place for the new season. I believe we have a good mixture of experience and youth in the top five so look forward to seeing how things go early doors. 

Nathan Greenwood begins the season at reserve and we believe he will be very important to us with his previous experience in this position and above. He will be partnered at reserve to begin with by Joe Jordan. Joe impressed us the most during his appearances with the first ream during pre-season and gets the nod just ahead of Thomas Murphy who will start as the clubs number 8. 

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Off the track we have also been busy and have continued to add to the capacity of the stadium which can now hold 10,000 people on matchdays. We have also improved kiosks around the stadium, added executive boxes and touched afew things up as the new season approaches. Hopefully we will have a good season on track and can challenge for honours. 

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Look forward to seeing you all soon

Carl Hadlington

Cradley Heath Cobras 

Promoter

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DEPARTURES

 

As always, every season riders depart from the club and this season is no different. With the club keeping the majority of the squad that finished last season the following riders have left for pastures new as the SL26 is almost upon us: 

MARK BUTCHER:

The 29 year old Scotsman was a victim of the dreaded numbers game in the sport and joins Division Three returnees Swindon Serpents on loan for the coming season.  His average of 8.10 just didn`t fit into the team building process and we hope he enjoys his time away from the club as he looks to get back to his best this season albeit at a lower level.

 

FILIPPO TERZI:

The young Italian will spend this season at fellow Division One side Iwade Colts. Both parties thought a loan spell away from the club would be the best option for Filippo at this point in his career and when Iwade offered to take him on loan the deal was done almost immediately. We look forward to seeing him back at the club later this season. 

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KASPER LUSTU:

Kasper joined us early on last season from Kelso Kestrels but failed to make the required average to keep his work permit for this season. He finished with figures of 4.14 which is low for his standards and a rider of his experience. Hopefully we will see him back in British Speedway at a later date.

 

ASHLEY POWER:

The 25 year old has joined Swindon Serpents in Division Three in the hope of finding regular first team speedway now that he is no longer able to race at academy level. He leaves after spending four years with us and captaining the team to the academy league title last season. We would like to thank Ashley for his efforts during his time with us and wish him well in the future. 

 

NATHAN HAYWARD:

Nathan leaves us having spent six years in our academy side and is another who needs first team speedway at this stage of his career. He joins newcomers Paull Wanderers in Division Three after being part of the title winning academy team last year and hopes to use this opportunity to his show what he can do given the chance at reserve. Good luck Nathan.

 

GEORGE DALY:

George leaves the club after just a season with us and will be joining the newly renamed Brighton Badgers in Division Two. He will initially join their academy team in the hope of getting some first team appearances. Daly was part of last years title winning  academy squad having rode 23 times for an average of 6.09. The travelling did become a factor to George and we are happy to of helped him find a new club closer to home. 
 

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MARSHALL LOOKING AHEAD

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Matthew Marshall is looking forward to the season ahead after being handed a team place for SL26. The 23 year old Australian joined the club just after the halfway mark last season but due to averages is yet to make a league appearance. He gets his chance after impressing in the challenge league averaging 7.05 from five matches and is keen to make up for lost time. Matthew said: I`m looking forward to the season, i feel really comfortable around our home track so if I can get dialled in away from home and continue to learn from the more experienced guys in the team then i believe i can maintain my starting average. 

Marshall joined the club from Malmo for a fee of £32,000 and has appeared on these shores before having rode for Earley Gravediggers and Iwade Colts (on loan). He is also a former World Under 21 finalist having finished 9th in SL23.  

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RUSSIAN STAR COMPLETES THE TEAM

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The Cobras completed their team building for the coming season by signing 18 year old Russian youngster Yerek Pavlovsky. He joins for a fee of £225,000 from the returning Swindon Serpents after spending the end of last season at the now defunct Keswick Crusaders. 

Yerek has only rode seven matches in British Speedway in which he achieved an average of 4.97 and will start the season in the difficult number 2 position. 

Promoter Hadlington said: We are delighted to of signed Yerik and although the transfer fee may raise afew eyebrows I`ve seen what he can do whilst with the Russian National team and he definitely has talent in abundance so i`m looking forward to working with him more closely and seeing what he can contribute to the team. Pavlovsky showed glimpses of his talent last season by finishing 9th in the World Under 21 final at just 17 years of age. 

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As part of the deal, Mark Butcher moves to Swindon on loan for the season after becoming a victim of the dreaded numbers game in the sport whilst Ashley Power also joins the third division side but his move is permanent. We would like to thank Matt at Swindon for the easiness of the deal and wish his team well on their return to the sport. 

 

 

 

LONG JOINS COLTS

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The Cobras can confirm that the club have agreed a deal with the Iwade Colts for the sale of Hayden Long.

 

The 32 year old Englishman (right) joins up with the Kent based club after Iwade promoter Terry Meech admitted he needed to add experience to his ranks and Hayden fitted the bill perfectly.
Long will cost the Colts £5,000 and made club captain on his arrival in the coming week. Hayden spent just a season with us here at Cradley Heath and did a decent job at reserve after starting last season in the difficult number two position.
He will begin the season on a 3.22 average.

We would like to thank Hayden for his efforts at the club and wish him well at Iwade and look forward to seeing him back as a visiting rider later on in the campaign.