Arch Stanton

You could argue King was a far worse signing, dropped a point and a half off his. I don’t have a problem with Batch personally. He hasn’t pulled up any trees but he’s had his moments this season and improved his average albeit not by much. Maybe some had unrealistic expectations

He was, he’s upped his. Not by much granted but he wasn’t a poor signing in that regard. I get the frustration with him though.

He’s flaky we all know that. Can be decent for a few weeks then crap for a few. Gotta expect that from a 5 pointer, which people forget he is. Wouldn’t surprise me though to see him score well in the play offs.

Major issue at reserve at the moment. If we don’t have Starke and Hume back, and not just back but properly fit, then we’ll have no chance.

Not great is it.

Kemp and Lambert guest for Panthers, R/R for Palm toft so everyone eligible for a ride.

What wasn’t fair about it? Peterborough didn’t lose their point for the “draw”. If their point was taken away I’d agree with you. The scoring system for this superheat isn’t flawless as much as I like the concept of it. Speedway has more of a home advantage than other sports as we all know, because of track knowledge and machine set ups etc. home sides will always have an advantage which is why in my opinion they got the scoring spot on for a draw, 1 point for the home side (you can’t give a team nothing for not losing the match) and 2 points for an away draw as it’s definitely a better result for an away team than a home team. This is where the discrepancy comes in for the superheat point scoring. We effectively gained an extra point for winning the superheat, turning a 2 point “draw” in to a 3 point win. Whereas if Peterborough had won the superheat, they’d have gained an extra 2 points instead of one. Not sure that can be right so it’s certainly not perfect. Or have I completely lost my marbles and got the old point scoring for a draw wrong? It was 1 for a home draw and 2 for an away draw wasn’t it?

You have no way of knowing if it’s a popular rule or not. A few loud voices on the BSF isn’t a true representation of whether it’s favoured by a majority or minority of match/meeting going supporters. Only a survey at the gates of stadiums would give a true reflection and it would be interesting to do and see the results actually.

Absolutely. Wasn’t the best we’ve seen last night, but when it’s good there, it’s very very good. Will be an incredibly sad loss.

Agree Badge he looked short on pace again. Just when he starts to find a bit of form and you think he’s back on it, he then goes back in to reverse. Just been a poor year for him by the standards he set last year. Still time though. If he comes alive in the play offs and helps us to success then none of that will matter from our point of view.

Didn’t have to. Aim was to collect 3 points, mission accomplished, as per the current rules. All this b0llocks will soon die down in a few years when people eventually get used to it, just like the play off format that caused uproar at the time. Is it fair that a team that finishes top over a season, isn’t champions, yet a team who could finish 4th out of 6 possibly takes the trophy? No not really but everyone knows before a wheel is turned what needs to be done to become champions. But sure, let’s do away with a new rule that creates euphoric scenes like we saw last night, can’t be having any of that added excitement in this sport! Just good old gentleman’s handshakes all round for a well fought draw is the order of the day.

It’s as if you and others didn’t watch the superheat. It’s nothing like a drawn match in the way it creates the drama. The after heat euphoria as Phil rightly says, was as if they’ve just won the title. Louis puffing out his cheeks just before the tapes went up in the superheat you could see the nervousness and tension in him, just like every fan whether that be Ipswich or Peterborough. I’ve NEVER witnessed scenes like we saw at Foxhall for the superheat earlier this season, for any drawn match in the past, never. You’re over complicating things here by saying why not an extra heat if you’re a couple of points behind to try and get a draw. If you’re a couple of points behind there’s no need for an extra heat because you’ve lost the meeting, pure and simple. The rule is very clear and nobody can claim to be disadvantaged, a draw isn’t good enough. if you want to gain 3 points, either win the meeting or if you can’t do that, get a second bite of the cherry and win the superheat. We came out on the right side this time, but if this rule stays, I guarantee will come out on the wrong side at some point, and I’ll still claim it’s a great addition. I’m sorry but nobody will convince me that it doesn’t create huge drama and excitement and I find comments like “pointless and adds nothing” baffling to be honest. We had this debate after the Foxhall superheat and at the end of the day, neither of us are going to change our minds on the matter.

That would take some of the excitement out of it for me. Surely you want to be seeing the four best riders on show? That’s why we all look forward to heat 15. Would a superheat to decide the points on the night be as keenly anticipated if last night it was King, Summers, Nicholls and Lambert with all due respect to them, as apposed to Doyle, Pickering etc? I think they have it spot on personally. That last heat was superb viewing and not just because my side ended up winning.

Good effort from Summers there by the way. Paid 7 after failing to score in his first ride was good going in the main body of the team. Vital contribution.

We didn’t have. We’ve been strong at top and tail, but inconsistent in the middle. But currently I agree with you, Rowe and an unfit/struggling Starke isn’t going to cut it in the play offs against Belle Vue especially.

You could, but that would always benefit teams like us who have far and away the best rider in the league. At least by packing in second and third it’s more a team effort to get the points. That was a cracking superheat that created the drama that it was brought in for. I accept it’s going to always split opinion and I respect others opinion’s who don’t like it. But personally I hope it’s here to stay.

Totally disagree. The superheat at Foxhall earlier in the season generated the best atmosphere I’ve experienced for many many years and is my lasting memory of this entire season. Random people were high fiving complete strangers. You didn’t get that kind of emotion when securing a draw do you? Plenty have liked your post so maybe I’m in the minority but there’s a lot of traditionalists out there that just don’t like change.

LOL

Totally blameless tonight he couldn’t have expected Rowe to plough in to him but he does seem to hit the ground fairly often and doesn’t have much luck. Carrying a shoulder injury is clearly also affecting his confidence which is a shame. Will cost us in the long run more than likely.

Witches terribly weak at reserve. Rowe doesn’t offer anywhere near what Hume does and Starke is a walking wounded, just isn’t fit and hasn’t been for a while.

Mid track I’d say rather than outside. Doyle looked quicker than Pickering until he tried the wide outside so disagree.

Doyle trying everything out wide and losing so much ground.

Harris still sticking to the inside as there just isn’t an outside line at all.

Boring so far it has to be said.

Huge blow that. Time for Anders to step up and make a worthwhile contribution.