szkocjasid

Agree with all of that.

Good point!

Now I've seen the final I can understand why the ref made the call he did. Riss pulled a slight locker but nothing major that gave Kerr nowhere to go. Kerr did drift out a little, had to stayed on the line & collected Riss I would've excluded Riss as he would've had "nowhere to go". That being said I think it was close enough to be a 50/50, that whatever decision the ref made, someone will feel hard done by. In this instance think an all four call would be totally acceptable (especially for a pairs event).

I've not seen the Cook / Barker incident, but had the ref excluded Barker both teams would still have made the semi final.

It seems odd to complain about riders trying, but I keep reading on the updates the rider in 2nd in a 5-4 heat advantage, passed the rider in 1st (during the last 3 heats) and I think why bother? Hope they didn't take any risks doing so.

I don't think Ipswich think they've got it all sown up, maybe some fans do & not just Witches fans. Despite lasts nights score, I still feel Ipswich are the strongest team by far, they look like the type of team that can win away without being at thier best. However anything can happen over two legs in the play-offs. So Witches (baring injuries) are massive favourites to top the table, doesn't mean they're guaranteed to win the league.

While Birmingham had ridden two matches, neither were on a track remotely like Owlerton. Sheffield scored more than I expected, but don't think of it as a major shock as when Birmingham are bad they are very bad.

Used to be able to do that at Arena-Essex with the "bridge" over the pits. I say the Division 2 Pairs there in 1994 won by Swindon. Kinda sad looking back & realising how many tracks & teams are no longer running. So Workington opening back up & a new stadium no less is awesome. I'll need to get down sometime.

A couple of points below Cook, would there be a double change? 4.00 rider coming in for Dayle Wood? Would be very harsh on Dayle, similar to Scunthorpe dropping Joe T when Zaine Kennedy got injured pre-season.

Really? I think it's entirely believable

If Riss scores 20 but Oxford still lose, how are they gonna win a match?

Oxford doing better than I expected so far. Riss on form.

Totally agree with that. If Berwick explained their predicament they would come out looking like the "innocent party" staying silent seems to serve no purpose

Nope I've not seen him at Berwick, just thinking of unsigned heat leaders from last year.

See I don't mind replies like this, pointing out why my suggestion isn't a good one. Rather than someone suggesting I'm clueless. Although so far, no one has been able to suggest a better replacement than MPT (except a 75% guest) if MPT is such a bad suggestion, it should be easy for people to name stronger (realistic) signings right?

Based on Plymouth last year, I'd guess they'll get a 28 day facility

I don't understand why people can be so anti MPT, he has a near 8 point average. It's not like I'm suggesting a reserve to replace Cook.

MPT would be worth a shout imo

This has to be worrying for Berwick supporters Confirmation that your R.E.D Bandits, powered by STS, will be represented by Drew Kemp and skipper Danyon Hume in Saturday’s Championship Pairs at Workington, 3pm. With winter signing Peter Kildemand still sidelined under the concussion protocol following his spill at Oxford last week and Craig Cook unavailable at this time the baton passes to a couple of last season’s standout performers.

Possibly the teams where Monarchs had a number one on an assessed average they couldn't get near to (Nermark, Moller & Correy) but it's far too early to say if this is the weakest team as the "unknowns" could become good.

I think people would agree Edinburgh don't have a strong spearhead, but that's not what will make the team successful. If the new / returning riders can adapt to Britain, that's what could help them win meetings.

My thoughts are as follows, if it is such a big loophole, why has it not been closed for 30+ years? The alternatives are either less value for money for the fans (3 rider races) or create more unnecessary cost (travel costs for an 8th rider who may not ride all season). When a rule is brought it to "fix" a problem the same rule can cause another problem. For example the 7 day suspension for missing a match due to a non speedway injury was brought in to stop riders say miss an Exeter away match, but carry on riding elsewhere, by saying they weren't well on the day. But that causes 2 problems, 1) riders who are genuinely ill for one day miss a week's worth of fixtures, 2) could lead to a rider riding when not well to avoid this, then causing a crash as they weren't strong enough to hold on? Same thing could happen if the RS couldn't be replaced, would they go out when not fit if it was the difference between winning the league or not. Anyway looks like we're not gonna see eye to eye on this one, which is fine, would be a boring forum if we all agreed all the time.

Yeah, I'm not sure why such a fuss is being made here. Even before the rising star rule was introduced, anytime a weaker reserve got injured before completing 3 rides his team benefits. It doesn't happen often enough for their to be any conspiracy about cheating imo, plus like you say, they need to be signed off by a doctor.

The more I look at Tigers top end, think I fancy them for the win now, will Paco & Sedgmen be able to score double figures against Glasgow's top 4? Maybe my previous prediction was based more on hope as I'd love the Monarchs to win this one.

I assure you the Monarchs & Tigers fans will care & love to get one over on their arch rivals. The management may decide it's more valuable to give all the riders 4 rides each, but that doesn't mean the Scottish Cup means nothing. I'm not sure there such a thing as a "friendly" when it comes to Edinburgh & Glasgow lol!