Woz01 3,589 Posted August 1, 2015 (edited) obviously I want Belle Vue to finish 4th, however the weather has been very unkind to us up here in the north and I don't see that changing. Swindon had a great win at Lakeside last night and bagged another 4 points and with the addition of Ward the Robins are on a roll. Whichever team gets the 4th spot will of been deserved, but me being negative or not I still think the weather will play a major part in Manchester. I'm sure Coventry will let you have a home meeting at Brandon to help you get 4th place over Swindon if needed 😂 👍 Edited August 1, 2015 by woz01 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel Smith 5,676 Posted August 1, 2015 I have to agree, they definitely look like the top 4 Coventry on 52pts and Poole on 47pts look safe. King's Lynn are on 39 and Belle Vue 31 from 20meetings whilst Swindon are on 36 with a meeting in hand. Didn't realise that both teams had caught up with King's Lynn so much. They've only been catching by meetings in hand. In fact, during this period Belle Vue have slipped with a play-off place being taken by Swindon's current form. Belle Vue will not catch us with the 8 point gap Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rudger 19 Posted August 1, 2015 I think Kings Lynn are going to be dragged into it , Swindon have had a great week leap frogging Belle Vue and now with a match in hand are just three points behind Kings Lyn , Belle Vue have the advantage of being at home for lots of the remaining , it would not surprise me if the Aces and Robins were to both make the play offs , I hope the weather does not spoil there chances , Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
g13webb 4,254 Posted August 1, 2015 ( Copied from comments I posted on another thread on the same subject) Considering the matches we have left to play, I believe Lynn will comfortably finish in the top 4. I also think the final positions will be a lot closer than it looks at the moment. Coventry have only 6 matches left and 3 of those are against Swindon. Those results will have a big bearing on the positions of the final four........ Poole could easily finish on top to have that all important choice. They have 7 matches to play with 4 of those at home. Two of those against Belle Vue, could make or break the Aces challenge..... Like I say, Too early to call Yet....... Swindon at the moment are on a roll, Darcy making all the difference. Not only is he scoring mega points but also getting better scores from other team members. I had a wee laugh to myself this week when Swindon played Poole and Darcy only score 8 pts. In a 5 day spell, Darcy has been tremendous and scored really heavy, 11+1; 12+2; 13+1; 17+2, winning 12 times in the process, But riding against Poole on Wednesday, he could only manage 8 points. Probably, he knows the Wimbourn Rd track better than any other in the world yet he fails to win a race. Makes one wonder the influence of Matty Ford. I hope I'm proved wrong, but if proved right, then Swindon don't have a chance in hell of winning the league, with or without Darcy Ward....... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theblueboy 960 Posted August 1, 2015 ( Copied from comments I posted on another thread on the same subject) Considering the matches we have left to play, I believe Lynn will comfortably finish in the top 4. I also think the final positions will be a lot closer than it looks at the moment. Coventry have only 6 matches left and 3 of those are against Swindon. Those results will have a big bearing on the positions of the final four........ Poole could easily finish on top to have that all important choice. They have 7 matches to play with 4 of those at home. Two of those against Belle Vue, could make or break the Aces challenge..... Like I say, Too early to call Yet....... Swindon at the moment are on a roll, Darcy making all the difference. Not only is he scoring mega points but also getting better scores from other team members. I had a wee laugh to myself this week when Swindon played Poole and Darcy only score 8 pts. In a 5 day spell, Darcy has been tremendous and scored really heavy, 11+1; 12+2; 13+1; 17+2, winning 12 times in the process, But riding against Poole on Wednesday, he could only manage 8 points. Probably, he knows the Wimbourn Rd track better than any other in the world yet he fails to win a race. Makes one wonder the influence of Matty Ford. I hope I'm proved wrong, but if proved right, then Swindon don't have a chance in hell of winning the league, with or without Darcy Ward....... To be fair, we had no chance of making the Play Offs until Darcy came along. Now we have a chance and I am sure if the opportunity came along for a winners medal he'd take it. I was at Wimbourne Road and apart from heat 13 when he was at the back having missed the gate completely he chased both Holder and Magic all the way in their respective heat wins and guided Batchelor home twice to ensure 5-1s. As with Stevebrum with Troy Batchelor, you can see what you want to see on the basic facts but unless you are actually there to see what happens I can't see how you make the assumption you have. So far, he has demonstrated what an absolute talent he is. I, for one, am delighted the Abbey faithful have a chance to witness his abilities and so far, in my opinion, he hasn't let us down. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foreverblue 6,113 Posted August 1, 2015 (edited) Look, everyone knows that the pokc gives us two big crowds in the rain in October and keeps the season going for the mid table sides, even I agree with that! The trouble is, the list of negatives far far outweigh those two positives. If the pokc didn't exist Ward would be at either Coventry or Poole, the interest and excitement surrounding his return would have been even further off the scale! After Poole crumbled at Belle Vue, twice losing a ten point lead, I said then that they should bring Ward back. Why do you keep going on about top spot? Had it been that important Ward would be at one of the top two, probably Poole because Coventry haven got any money to even sign the other former Belle Vue Colt. Top might be important a bit but not enough to get anyone to travel to watch a meeting so what exactly is the point? When I got to the final of the Manchester Bullion Snooker tournament it was really important but nobody came to watch! (Actually that's not true there were eight or nine people looking on while they ate their lunch in the staff room.) Speedway was on telly before the pokc and, judging by the programme sky showed when a recent meeting was postponed, it was just as good if not better, so I've no idea what your point is there? The defeatist attitude of your last paragraph just sums it up though. Sadly far too many people just look the other way and keep walking instead of trying to help, they either feel powerless to do anything or are just too frightened or timid to get involved or speak up against the majority. C'est la vie? Sorry, nearly forgot..... i think Belle Vue should be banned from the play offs as it is more likely to rain in Manchester in October than anywhere else TV control all sport, it is a fact of current life unless your plotting taking over Sky and BT. Ward would not be at Poole because we can't fit him in unless we dropped Janowski and there is no chance of us letting him go to Coventry. Personally i have never been to Belle Vue because it is quite a long way from Poole and that is unlikely to change even for a vital play off meeting and i expect i am not alone in that regard. Edited August 1, 2015 by foreverblue Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chalkie 263 Posted August 2, 2015 I think it's honestly still too close to call looking at the remaining fixtures. However looking at the fixtures and having to fit them all in, I think Swindon might just edge it. Swindon still have 3 home meetings against Coventry, King's Lynn & Leicester at home. All their home meetings are usually at home! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foreverblue 6,113 Posted August 2, 2015 ( Copied from comments I posted on another thread on the same subject) Considering the matches we have left to play, I believe Lynn will comfortably finish in the top 4. I also think the final positions will be a lot closer than it looks at the moment. Coventry have only 6 matches left and 3 of those are against Swindon. Those results will have a big bearing on the positions of the final four........ Poole could easily finish on top to have that all important choice. They have 7 matches to play with 4 of those at home. Two of those against Belle Vue, could make or break the Aces challenge..... Like I say, Too early to call Yet....... Swindon at the moment are on a roll, Darcy making all the difference. Not only is he scoring mega points but also getting better scores from other team members. I had a wee laugh to myself this week when Swindon played Poole and Darcy only score 8 pts. In a 5 day spell, Darcy has been tremendous and scored really heavy, 11+1; 12+2; 13+1; 17+2, winning 12 times in the process, But riding against Poole on Wednesday, he could only manage 8 points. Probably, he knows the Wimbourn Rd track better than any other in the world yet he fails to win a race. Makes one wonder the influence of Matty Ford. I hope I'm proved wrong, but if proved right, then Swindon don't have a chance in hell of winning the league, with or without Darcy Ward....... If swindon dont win the league it wont down to Darcy not scoring at Poole it will be because the rest of the team isnt up to it. Darcy did get a couple of paid wins by the way and he is unlikely to beat janowski at poole from the back Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YerRopes 3,009 Posted August 2, 2015 i think Belle Vue should be banned from the play offs as it is more likely to rain in Manchester in October than anywhere else Whether this is true or not I'm not sure I care, but apparently Sydney, Aus gets more rainfall a year than Manchester, UK... Sydney just get it in a couple of days though.. BTW...should Swindon finish 5th to Belle Vue's 4th, I'd almost agree with you, but then again BV will have earn't that 4th place.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stratton 1,491 Posted August 2, 2015 To be fair, we had no chance of making the Play Offs until Darcy came along. Now we have a chance and I am sure if the opportunity came along for a winners medal he'd take it. I was at Wimbourne Road and apart from heat 13 when he was at the back having missed the gate completely he chased both Holder and Magic all the way in their respective heat wins and guided Batchelor home twice to ensure 5-1s. As with Stevebrum with Troy Batchelor, you can see what you want to see on the basic facts but unless you are actually there to see what happens I can't see how you make the assumption you have. So far, he has demonstrated what an absolute talent he is. I, for one, am delighted the Abbey faithful have a chance to witness his abilities and so far, in my opinion, he hasn't let us down. For me he has led by example,has looked for his partner as well the frightening thing is he has not been at his best yet i hope he saves that for Melbourne! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikec 412 Posted August 2, 2015 It's a really tough call to make, especially as this Aces side is more than capable of beating strong Poole & Swindon sides - only to lose at lowly Wolves at the end of August! Have enjoyed watching the 2015 Aces side, entertaining, but been dogged by inconsistency from one meeting to the next. Swindon fans know what happens on the rare occasion that the full Aces team clicks together. Ward's signing is massive, and if there's any chance of Morris returning in time for mid-August, the Robins are an even more formidable proposition, especially at Kirky Lane. I feel that King's Lynn have enough to secure 3rd & I fear the "Ward factor" will see the Robins take 4th spot, just. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GregoryM 85 Posted August 3, 2015 It's a really tough call to make, especially as this Aces side is more than capable of beating strong Poole & Swindon sides - only to lose at lowly Wolves at the end of August! Have enjoyed watching the 2015 Aces side, entertaining, but been dogged by inconsistency from one meeting to the next. Swindon fans know what happens on the rare occasion that the full Aces team clicks together. Ward's signing is massive, and if there's any chance of Morris returning in time for mid-August, the Robins are an even more formidable proposition, especially at Kirky Lane. I feel that King's Lynn have enough to secure 3rd & I fear the "Ward factor" will see the Robins take 4th spot, just. Agree all the way - plus the 'manufacturing' of extra league points like Robins did at Lakeside helps. Only 17-7 down and using a Double Points Ride in a match that they'd have won 47-43 anyway!! Rewarded for being rubbish early on. Yet at Kings Lynn shortly before that Belle Vue were never enough points behind to employ the Double Point Ride and had a 48-42 scoreline (and a league point) turn into 49-41 scoreline (and 0 league points) literally yards from the line in the last race. No reward for keeping a close score all night. It may be the rules but it stinks and one reason why some folks I know don't go anymore. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DunRobin 465 Posted August 4, 2015 It could be both Belle Vue & Swindon in the top 4, the way that Kings Lynn are riding at present. Will be interesting as the Robins have Kings Lynn twice in August. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dj350z 2,266 Posted August 4, 2015 I think Belle Vue are in the driving seat at the moment, they just need to win home meetings. If Coventry finish top I think they would choose Belle Vue as the Bees record round there is excellent. Lets see after Monday night!! Did Monday night go as you expected? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Woz01 3,589 Posted August 4, 2015 Did Monday night go as you expected? For me yes I was astounded that so many predicted a Poole win. Poole's line up doesn't scream Belle Vue specialists. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
