Capitals eyeing their place among the elite

CARLSBERG Capitals chief Scott Neil today revealed why he lodged a letter of intent which could lead to a move to Britain’s top league.

Confirmation comes only three days after Newcastle Vipers said they were quitting the British National League at the end of the season to seek a place in the Elite League.

Capitals finished third in the BNL last season, their highest-ever placing, but they have struggled for consistency this time around.

They currently sit in fifth spot in the qualifying table for the Winter Cup but are bottom of the British National League with no points from ten games.

They also prop up the Caledonia Cup table with only two points from four outings.

Capitals also have the smallest budget in the seven-strong BNL and their crowd base is the lowest in the league, but general manager Neil wants change.

The success of the National League games between BNL and Elite League clubs, which started this season, have proved the catalyst.

And Neil, who played for Sheffield Steelers after skippering Murrayfield Racers, once the most decorated club in British ice hockey, is determined to move forward.

Vipers’ owner Darryl Illingworth, who also owns Newcastle Diamonds speedway team who ride in the Premier League alongside Edinburgh Monarchs, quit the BNL to seek entry to the Elite League for the 2005-2006 season.

Illingworth’s resignation was intimated at the October BNL meeting in Edinburgh - two months after Neil’s letter of intent.

A club statement, posted on their website, revealed: "The decision was reached due to the club’s growing disappointment in how the league is being operated and the lack of direction and business plan the organisation has.

"The major factor [in the decision] being the lack of positive progress in merger talks between the BNL and the Elite League."

Neil refused to slam the BNL but revealed: "The National League games have worked out well for clubs, and it has exposed our players to a higher calibre of play.

"That is a step in the right direction and the players at Murrayfield have responded to the challenge.

"Having Coventry Blaze, Sheffield Steelers and Basingstoke Bison at our rink has brought a new interest and we have Nottingham Panthers here on Sunday.

"Hopefully, the sport will take a new impetus from what has been happening this year and we should try to make the structure stronger.

"This would have more appeal to fans and sponsors as new teams have encouraged new fans. I sense a mood for positive change in British ice hockey. We have two leagues of seven teams each which would appear wrong to anybody outside the sport.

"I can confirm that we have lodged a letter of intent with the BNL. It was lodged in August, but it is not a letter of resignation.

"We lodged it to protect our options as a club so we could move if it would benefit us. It is a letter which will allow us the option of moving to the Elite League if we decide to do so.

"There is nothing sinister in it and we just wanted to keep our options open."

He added: "This club will try, first and foremost, to conduct this in a professional manner as we want to try to take the sport forward.

"We need to find a structure which will really benefit everybody involved in the sport and we believe there should be more talking and more correspondence between the leagues to find the right structure with which to move forward.

"If you were forming a business you would put a business plan together and that’s what we need to carry this sport forward.

"It’s hard to say what we will be doing next year, but I firmly believe the structure of the sport will change and it will be a positive change."