szkocjasid

Because once teams get to the play-off final, none of the previous results matter. Whoever wins on aggregate deserves to be league champions. Now I dislike the play-offs & think top of the league should be crowned Champions. But now it's just a qualification league,finishing top doesn't mean anything more than having choice of home or away leg first! I don't necessarily agree Leicester will win it, I still think Ipswich are favourites, but if they do, they'll be deserving Champions.

Didn't say there was a need for that, just the score I expected based on the 2 sides. I'd hope every rider gave their best for the fans who paid to get in. None of this "lowering of averages" I read about on various posts.

But gets a GP wildcard!

Think Birmingham can be satisfied with that, probably expected Aces to score at least 60.

I thought that a year or two ago, he then picked up some form, seems to have lost it again though. Although that now means he's on an attractive average for 2026, so will probably get a place with someone.

I was thinking where did you get that average from, can't believe he's dropped over a point from his August average! Although technically he's Oxford's 3rd heat leader. As for Schroeck don't understand how Oxford think he's the best manager available for 3 teams!

I was thinking the same thing, Wednesday's match doesn't have much riding on it, so wether he sits it out or tried to ride & had to pull out, wouldn't really harm Poole. But following Wednesday is a much bigger match, so could aim for that if not fit enough for Oxford.

Very impressive crowd

As the final Premiership matches are on the 4th September & the play-offs start on 8th September, there's not a lot of time for clubs to advertise their matches. I'm not suggesting they do what they did last year or Bring forward the cut-off date, but why not declare which club is racing at home on the 4 available dates? Top of the table at the end of August gets first pick, let's say that'll be Ipswich, they could pick 18th of September to guarantee the second leg at home (most clubs want that). Then go from there, once the positions are finalised, they'll know the away teams.

Good effort by Plymouth to get so close, but now it's a fight with Scunthorpe to avoid the wooden spoon. I wonder if things would've been different if Klindt could be bothered to ride at home?

I see Plymouth included an insert with the correct riders for todays meeting, credit to them for that.

If Plymouth didn't allow their number one to pick & choose his meetings, they could've had a heat leader lined up at number 1 with Tobias Thomsen at 2. Then only 1 more guest needed. Feel for the injured riders, but no sympathy for the club. Get well soon Ben & Joe.

I think if the referee stopped heat 15 (as he should have) all the focus would've been on the start Marshal acting unsafely, but as the referee didn't do his job correctly the focus is on him. When it comes to the authorities that is.

A no facility (75%) guest.

I think you can blame both the BSPL for allowing such rules to exist & the Plymouth promotion for accepting it & allowing Klindt to go missing when he's riding the next day. While the Knudsen situation isn't great, he misses matches when he's riding abroad, which is in the regulations, so Oxford get a facility, different to Plymouth when they don't get a facility for Klindt at home.

I'm guessing the GP wildcard selectors haven't been watching Janowski riding for Oxford?

Missing due to illness, 7 day suspension coming then.

Excerpts from Plymouths FB page ahead of the Redcar double header Plymouth Gladiators team manager Garry May believes his side can keep their late-season playoff hopes alive as they prepare for a crucial double-header against Redcar Bears this weekend fresh from a stunning home victory over Poole Pirates. Plymouth will be boosted by the return of Danish star Nikolai Klindt for the away leg, with Tobias Thomsen stepping in as guest for Lasse on Friday before switching to guest at number one for Saturday’s home fixture. Rider Replacement (RR) will operate for the home match in Lasse’s absence. With playoff positions still within reach, May knows the importance of the weekend: “If we can pick up around 10 points from our last matches, including wins over Berwick, we might just sneak into the playoffs. It depends on other results, but we’ve got a chance. The way the lads have been riding beating Oxford and Poole recently it’s been tremendous.” He also urged fans to turn out in force for Saturday’s home meeting: “The crowd has been incredible these past few weeks. The riders have responded to it, you could feel the buzz after that last heat against Poole. If we’re going to make the playoffs, we need them behind us more than ever.” No mention of why Klindt is missing Saturday's meeting. I also find it ridiculous they keep going on about the play-offs, but won't put the strongest possible team out to help them get there.

I might not be as strict at that, but definitely think there should be a deterrent in place to stop the Gusts / Cook / Klindt situations happening. 28 day ban with no facility (75% guest) would be my preference. If clubs feel they are hard down by tough, sign a new rider! Preferably one who will turn up each week.

I honestly wouldn't have noticed Gusts missed a match for no reason. I'm so used to Cheetahs having guests in every match, I just assumed everything was as normal. Which isn't a great state for British Speedway to be in.

Yeah, that's really sad. The thought of "finally it's over" should never be in your mind as a speedway fan / rider / promoter.

Do they have to pick a play-off team? Imagine Ipswich could pick Birmingham. Leicester pick Oxford. Sheffield pick King's Lynn. Belle Vue seeded to the semi finals. Only the top 4 teams would know they're in the play-offs for sure, so there would still be something to race for. I was joking when I started writing this, but with Speedway you just never know!

Thought of another flaw with the superheat scoring. Team A vs Team B has 2 draws. Team A at home wins the superheat 7-2. Team B at home (in the second leg) wins the superheat 5-4. So team B gets the bonus point despite scoring less in their superheat win.

Have to agree with that first part, picking a very weak team & almost winning, does not mean they didn't deserve to lose. Certainly feel for the fans.

Made me laugh