New team in ENL1 next season?
Looks like the Wight Link Raiders are heading our way....

http://www.wightlinkraiders.com/

I followed the link and read it very carefully. It appears to me that they expect to come straight into ED1 and bring most of their existing squad with them (I understand that Luke Reynolds is planning a year in Australia-so he won't be there!).

Whatever they call it, they are yet another club who pay, at least some players, to play. That will make three clubs in ED1 who do this and it will surely result in a two-tier league of those who have money and those who don't.

Whatever, it looks like next year, it will be a very tough league!

Chelmsford who dropped out of the EPL were made to go into ED2 last season and win promotion, why should IOW be any different, but not to sure about the Vectis Tigers situation as i believe you can`t` have two teams from the same club in the same division.
Also with Bracknell Bees future looking in doubt that could boost the Hornets with any Bees they can pick up.

Further digging on Wightlinks forum revealed two facts. Although Wightlink and Vectis are separate organisations they are working together on this issue and "Our plan is to have one ENL1 team and one ENL2 team" -Geoff Underwood.

They believe that with the influx of teams into ED2 the amount of teams in the leagues will have to be "levelled up" and regardless of the result of the playoffs, Haringey will probably stay in ED1 and one of the IoW teams will be appointed to ED1. They assume, as I said earlier, it will all be sorted out at the AGM in June.

Interestingly, they also assume that this summer there will be some kind of official rationalisation between the ENL and EPL.

Looks like Wight Link are taking it seriously too - they have appointed Jermey Cornish as player/coach. He was in the Elite league with Basingstoke last season, and also spent time with London Racers, so at least he'll recognise Lee Valley (if they do end up in ENL2)!

(Edited for typos!)

So yet another team has signed a hard man. I know Cornish is a quality player and as player coach, he won't wish to take too many bans, but do I see teams taking a certain mutual direction?

I believed last year that we were lacking in the physical side of the game. I thought the intimidation by Peterborough, and Pope, at Cardiff, showed we needed a minder, to negate that sort of gamesmanship. In my personal opinion we will need one, even more, next season.

I like your choices of names from the past, but you forgot David Smith! Though I believe he has retired. The rules didn't suit his fiery style of play and I felt that the refs were over hard on him, but now the rules have changed he would be ideal.

I can tell you that Bryan Wells is married with teenage daughters and is a well respected minor league coach in the US. I wouldn't like to be the boy who upset one of his daughters!

Richard Hardy did toy with the idea of signing for us last year, he even attended trials, but in the end he decided not. He has said that maybe he will play for us again, sometime.

I'm sure Jim Johnson has retired, but he can often be seen down the rink at weekends, teaching his son to skate. I understand that uncle Joe got him his first Redskin shirt for his last birthday. I suspect there may well be another generation of Johnsons wearing the red white and black, in a few years.

Someone else will have to tell you about Darren Derkson and Mark Salisbury. I do remember that for a nice guy, Mark was a good skater and 'hell on wheels' with his fists.

In Sunderland once, when Mark was on a ban, we were watching the Redskins V Sunderland, from the bar and a Sunderland fan joined us. He didn't recognise Mark and was outspoken about "That Goon Salisbury who isn't playing today." Me, being me, I introduced them! His face was a picture, but I understand they ended up firm friends. They certainly chatted together, about hockey, all through the game. :lol:

I'm sure other people can come up with more names of a potential minder for the Redskins.

What about Jamie Burt he would put Pope in his place?????

FACT:
We got no chane of signing Wiggins !