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Playoffs/shootouts/etc. have their place in sports where there are a large number of competitors. In football, it has had the impact of keeping more teams in with a shout of promotion towards the end of the season. This means there are a lot less 'dead rubbers' so it keeps the crowd numbers up and benefits the clubs financially. In F1 stock car racing, we had the issue of the 'national points championship' often being decided with 2 months of the season still to go, meaning numbers on both sides of the fence tended to drop off after the World Championship in September. By bringing in an end of season shootout, the battle for the silver roof goes to the final meeting of the season, and the crowd numbers for the 12 shootout rounds are far higher than they would have been in previous years. The difference is though, that in football the top 25% in each division are in with a chance of promotion, in stockcars you are looking at 16 out of over 100 drivers can win the silver roof. To have a season long tournament where 60-80% of the competitors can still win at the end of the season, irrespective of how far behind they might be does seem very farcical.

Never a fan of the p.offs, they were an invention so that TV could be at the meetings that decided the “league champions” over a 2 legged winner takes all final. with no tv and few teams they are just there to give a few extra fixtures in a PL season that looks to struggle to last more than a couple of months. Still stuck with the 15 heat formula for every meeting , maybe they might get a little more inventive and use different race formulae for the B and C fixtures ?

He does look class act on the bike.

Totally understand that, my thought process would always be to run a league with no play offs, the reason the play offs bring in additional income is due to it basically being a mini tournament for the winners of the league, thus making the rest of the season void once you enter the play offs 100%. If you scrap the play offs, people surely would go the league meetings as every single match is one step closer to winning / losing the title. If a team runs away with it the supporters and other teams should just respect the fact they deserve to win it and no other team deserves a second chance (play offs) to try and it away from the most dominant team over the season.

Agreed eye watering risk level and even if there is someone willing to risk dropping £100-£200k on one season . The other big question is who will they actually get to ride for them given from the handful of top riders that rode in the UK this year Emil, Woffy, Doyle have all said they aren't coming back. So you could end up risking six figures on an unknown venture with a Birmingham like team plus if to believed no tv money either to offset part of the loss.

Having three rounds of fixtures, plus playoffs will test the patience of the most ardent fans. If I miss a match, it will be a case of 'oh well, they're here again in a few weeks'. What if the 'third round' had a different race format with six or five rider teams with no guests allowed? At least it would bring a little more interest as we get to the peak spectator time of July / August.

Opps

Watched him in the pits at derwent park when with scunny he was as high as a kite told grandson to p***off when asking for an autograph,be good if he sorts himself out just keep away from our family sport !

Announced Round 1 Zielona Gora Round 3 Rzeszow

You said that on Saturday

Dont sit on the fence say who u mean!

Me too. This has been done before and it’s not popular with the top team as they miss out on a lucrative semi final. That is all the play offs are about, creating welcome extra income for a few teams at the top. It goes some way to balancing the books due to the lack of interest/attendance for the qualifiers. For the teams not in the play offs, it’s tough and they just have to suck up the losses created by the implementation of the play offs.

I completely agree, I think the 2nd v 3rd to face 1st system would work better.

Surely if there are only five teams you could only do either of the two options, run the league as a championship so the final standing are the results and scrap play offs. Or if they are hell bent on some kind of play offs at least lessen it so for example 1st position gets automatically placed into the final and gets to choose where to have the first/second leg, and only 2nd vs 3rd races for a chance to play the winners of the league. I see no point in 1st-4th being placed in a play offs, personal opinion which may be an unpopular one, I don’t know everyone else’s feeling.

They will indeed. If Belle Vue retain Kurtz, Lidsey will be squeezed out. Lawson seems another, as does Becker. That’s without picking the bones out of Oxford and Birmingham although not many stand out granted. Musielak, Rew, Janowski maybe. So even a team that hasn’t even started to team build yet whether that be Ipswich or a mythical team that nobody knows about, could still build a competitive team almost by default.

Yep I think thats thr crux of it, Lawson or NKI would have meant a very long tail. Personally I think an injury free season for Cook and he can improve on 6.whatever he is on but we shall see.

To be pedantic knife point. It was the Probation Service who kept him out of jail when he first set out in Speedway. He had such potential that he was given his first second chance with the cooperation of Chris Morton and David Gordon who both interfaced with that service on a regular basis. Keeping him clean and out of trouble was their challenge that went horribly wrong when they were kicked in the knackers by another club that pinched him from Belle Vue. Once at the other club there was no control so it was only a matter of time before he would need his second second chance. This man has had many second chances both in and out of Speedway not many have been brought to the attention of the public.

Hope he keeps it upright ,ausie champs a good test

Think everyone would take Lawson over Cook, but that would have taken Lynn over the limit if my maths isn’t off (usually is tbf). A few will be squeezed out due to a 37 limit instead of 40 for top 6.

I think it’s high time everyone stopped using the word “potential” regarding Ben Cook. He’s 28 years old, not some up and coming teenager. Nobody would use the word potential with Adam Ellis any longer and he’s only a year older. Cook has reached his level.

Lawson a lot less likely to injure himself plastering than Cook bowing to his Polish paymasters imo.

Don’t think anyone will be particularly bothered who wins next year. Stewart Dickson said in the SS a few weeks ago that he doesn’t really want next season to be a sticking plaster, but I’m afraid that’s exactly what it’s going to be. It’s a case of just limping along, keeping the wheels moving at tracks and hope that something better is in the works for 2027 when the league can be taken more seriously.

He came back at the end of the season riding very well, if he continues then he has a lot of scope for improvement. He is reliable and found riding in Poland easier than here with the injury he had.

Glasgow will be top 4 with their seven. Hagon will soften the blow of losing Nagel. Big improvement in Flint's average and top two will be tough to dethrone around Ashfield.

I’ve only heard a rumour that was swirling around at football on Boxing Day when stood in the away end at Millwall. Not sure sure I believe it as it would be very left field