yellow and black

Really hope it is on but weather is poor at the moment. Even if it is I think we are up against it now Barker has been "Persuaded" to change teams on the night, and a wedding guest is allowed. Can see Peterborough wanting to be top and pulling out all the stops to do so, but let Edinburgh in at your peril! If they do slip in the back door they will probably win it in my opinion.

Providing Berwick dont get 4 points at Edinburgh, the Comets will be in the top 4 IF they beat Peterborough.

No, Rene is there I hope! By top three I meant using the current green sheet averages (Nicolai 7.35, Ty 6.92, and Dan 6.77) Rene has a current green sheet average of 6.55.

With a poor forecast for tomorrow, and a depleted side at Newcastle, (Without our top 3), I do hope the failure to run this meeting doesn't cost Workington a place in the play-offs. Edinburgh will be rubbing their hands more than anybody if we don't get those vital 3 points against Peterborough.

Ben wasn't guesting last week, he was riding for his own Team, Redcar. 8 Day rule only applies to guest appearances on the same track

Maybe there have been a few Scottish Fivers added as well LOL ( Only Joking Edinburgh fans!)

Entirely his choice of course, but going by the local paper, earlier in the week, he was reported to be guesting for Workington. Asset or no asset, he is riding for the Panthers now, so something changed!

Team news from the Peterborough perspective anyhow http://www.peterboroughpanthers.co/news.php?extend.3472 Seems like our lined-up guest has jumped ship! It was reported locally that Ben Barker was guesting for WORKINGTON on Friday. Now he is at number 1 for the Panthers!

Think we can use a Championship guest as it is a re-arranged meeting. Could do a lot worse than getting our Friday night guest if Nicolai is in Poland.

Additionally, the Workington v Lakeside meeting could well have given Workington a chance to to finish top, and of course have the choice of opponents in the Semi-Final. No-one will fancy Edinburgh in the Semi, so finishing top is a prize well worth fighting for. Edinburgh could well finish top themselves of course due to the failure to agree a date for this fixture. As far as apportioning "Blame " to the failure I guess we will never know whether Workington offered any dates or not, especially if they didn't! It could be a "Fast-One" from either club, depending on how you look at things lol!

Fully agree in normal circumstances, and being a Workington fan it could quite easily apply to my team. The only outstanding fixture to be arranged in the whole league is the Workington v Lakeside one. As we all know this was abandoned when Dan Bewley was injured on August 25th. (Originally planned for Friday August 17th but pulled from the fixture list) Of course blame is easy to dish out, but it may be the away side that have refused to come, leaving the home side without any chance of staging the meeting. I know it isn't easy at all re-arranging fixtures, but with play-off places at stake, I wonder if Lakeside were offered any alternative dates ( Sept 8th for example, seeing as they were already at Edinburgh on the 7th), as part of a double header, thus moving the Redcar fixture to Sept 15th. If Workington have offered any dates to Lakeside and they have refused to come, then blame can't entirely be put at Workington's door, but if they haven't been offered any, and Workington do fail to qualify for the play-offs, then your statement will hold some truth I suppose.

On July 31st 2004, the Comets hosted Newcastle in the then Premier League. Upon lining up for heat 15, the scores were Workington 65 Newcastle 23 (4 extra points due to a ht 9 six pointer from Jason Lyons and a ht 12 extra point from R.Juul) Heat 15 Finished 4 2 in Comets favour (Stead, LYONS, Stonehewer, Juul), so making the final score Workngton 69 Newcastle 25. As you say, that Jason Lyons second place finish stopped Workington from scoring 70pts on the day. Very well remembered indeed Lord Lucan!

Prior to the season starting, the August fixtures were agreed in full by both Home and away teams with NO protests from any other club. If objections had arisen, then those fixtures would no doubt have been changed until agreement was reached. The decision to be "Behind" on the fixtures as you call it, was made to ensure regular weekly speedway at Derwent Park throughout the summer. Some teams sorted their fixtures earlier than others to suit themselves I presume, whilst Workington had a full fixture list agreed at the start. With the reduced number of Home fixtures each club would arrange their fixtures to suit their own individual needs, as Workington did at the time. The whole point of the argument is that these fixtures were pulled from the calendar well after they were agreed and arrangements put in place to race them. If the fixtures had been culled in say March or April, they would have had a "Chance" to do something about it, albeit maybe an impossible one due to stadium or rider availability, although however small, at least a chance. If the fixtures had been culled in say June (When they were still on the Speedway GB fixture list by the way), then they would have needed a time machine to go back and run those meetings in April or May. If those fixtures had been culled at the start, then I fully agree that arrangements for earlier fixtures could have been made, but to get three months down the line before it happened means an early season home fixture bonanza in the likes of Scunny, Sheffield, Redcar, Berwick, and Peterborough would have been impossible. Does anyone actually know when the fixtures were "Officially" pulled?

Yeah and to rub salt in the wounds, three of the "Scrapped" fixtures at Home v Peterborough (August 3rd), Newcastle (August 10th), and Lakeside (August 17th) are still to be run when they as per early season agreement could have been done and dusted by now, leaving Workington to complete their League campaign as of now with one home and one away fixture. Now of course, as it is looking like there will be no date for the Lakeside home meeting before the cut-off, the Comets could be denied a chance of a top 4 place due to that Friday night decision. Additionally Lakeside, another club forced to cancel some Friday night fixtures, are also in the same boat.

Ben isn't guesting when he visits with Redcar. The rule only applies to two guest appearances at the same track.

Who knows if Steve Worrall has recovered or not? I hope he has, but to be honest if he withdrew last night then he isn't gonna be 100 per cent. Like any meeting, you don't know who is going to turn up till you get there!

Thinking that myself, but who knows? The article mentions the later start, so must be up-to date

According to the Lakeside website, Steve Worrall is replacing Richard Lawson tonight. http://www.lakesidehammers.co/workington-v-hammers-preview/

That must explain why the Ipswich v Glasgow meeting is now on September 13th. With both teams strong play-off contenders the cut-off must have been moved.

With this meeting now being on Thursday Sept 13th, has the cut-off date for top 4 qualification been moved back from Sept 9th, or is it simply impossible to get it in before the 9th?

The thread title refers to Workington v Sheffield and this IS a re-arranged fixture. Originally this was to be run on June 9th, but the Stadium Landlords prevented Workington running then as there was a music event at the stadium. The Newcastle v Workington Championship fixture definitely ISN'T a re-arranged fixture as this was in place at the start of the season. Ironically, the Workington v Newcastle Championship fixture was also in place at the start of the season for tonight Friday Aug 10th, but was removed. We would have had Dan Bewley available had the "Committee" not removed it their quest to put us out of business!

Should have been run on July 13th until it was unceremoniously removed from the fixture list. Wonder what will happen now?? Despite winning the away leg they will probably award the tie to Newcastle unless we run it before July 31st lol!

What was the first one then?... Agreeing to postpone the League Meeting on May 19th, but then cancelling five of their home meetings in a futile attempt to reach the top 4? They have certainly paid the price for the May 19th episode, what price has been put on favour number 2??

Now Jason Garrity is possibly injured, the "Management Committee" may now decide to also cancel the Aug 5th Meeting v Scunthorpe as well. After all, looking at the teams that are not racing that night ( Berwick, Edinburgh, Redcar and Sheffield), the choice of guests may mean another postponement is looming. Could have raced the Championship meeting v Newcastle this weekend instead of the KOC. With every possibility that we won't get the Championship fixtures in, surely it would have made sense to do so. All this b******s about having to get the KOC quarter finals raced before July 31st doesn't apply to the Peterborough and Lakeside meetings. Granted they also were told they couldn't run on the intended date, like Workington (July 13th).

No, but that one man acts like the Pied Piper, closely followed by his trusty fellow friends from nearby. FACT. Cannot come to any other conclusion I'm afraid. What vested interest would those fine upstanding citizens of the Committee have in destroying a previously agreed set of fixtures, and potentially Workington's whole existence as a club other than agreeing with the ringleader(s)?? Nothing was said when the fixtures were agreed and everyone thought that Workington were no-hopers. Now they have won a few meetings away from home, and certain clubs need a miracle to get in the top 4, the only way to stop Workington qualifying is to curtail their home meetings. FACT