dontforgetthefueltapsbruv

Absolutely agree - hence my comnent re needing the LC to get himself sorted. Patience is a virtue as they say.

Tungate did indeed look awesome. Morten also confident and quick. Worrall was in the mix but seemed to have a few gremlins and slowed as the races progressed. Hawkins determined as ever.(hope Tay is ok after their tumble as he looked in a bit of pain post meeting) Manzares was very on the pace which was encouraging - just needs to not give up those precious yards from the start. Heeps the one real concern if there is a need to highlight any.Didnt look on the pace and it wasnt machine as Louis was using his for the match races and was quick enough. Still early days for his recovery though so confident he will come good.The LC should sort him out. Just as well he hasnt signed for Somerset though! lol

Will I need a £600 motorised dish to get this!? (wink)

Yeah my youthful good looks fool many! lol

Isnt the visa backed by the sponsoring club? New club - new visa application required?

Happy 18th Adam - seems like just yesterday since my own even though this year will be the 25th anniversary of it! Have a good one fella.

RocketBen is gonna love this so far! Will wait until after Saturday to give my real prediction.

Again WK? Surely this is just a statement of fact - there is no hint of pleasure in the words.

Witches by 20! lol

The carrot crunchers from Compost Corner may be enjoying their time in the the sun at the moment but after so many years in the shadow of the mighty Witches they are still as pale as a snowmans ghost!

So Athletics are wasting their money with the technology then when a sharp eyed middle aged man will do just fine! And what happens when you have a ref with eyesight about as sharp as custard?

The problem is that Speedway has no mechanism to distinguish between the rolling cheat and that perfect start. In Athletics for example the blocks are wired to the timimg and a start better than what is considered humanly possible is a false start even if after the gun.

I find it very hard to believe Sayfutdinov cannot afford to compete. He is pretty much nailed on to make at least a semi in at least half of the rounds even if he does poorly. That would be £50k+ in prize money in addition to the annual upfront fee. Id be confident to say he must pick up some decent sponsorship even if it is less than for the euro comp. If if cant at least break even on those figures Id be surprised. Finances are a smokescreen IMO.

A tough question as I believe you should always aim to be at the highest level possible but at this time yes I feel the PL is best league for the Witches. The last 3 years have been far more entertaining than the preceeding 3 in the Elite IMO. Over the years I think we have been lucky to see some great entertaining riders in our ranks in both leagues. I grew up with Sanders Sigalos Cook etc but still loved Moggo Norris etc just as much. Then how could anyone complain to see Ricko Loram Gollob and Scotty? Barker was superb to watch last year and to see new talent like Cam and Adam has been a pleasure.

Agree that the lack of real local rivals has certainly been a negative for the Witches in the PL. IMO aside from that there are no others that jump out. Peterborough joining will be a boost to that end. As mentioned though we are starting to build some healthy rivalries with those further afield like Worky and the Moanarchs. These will only intensify over time. Weve had superb battles with the likes of Somerset and Newcastle inparticular too. Ive been more than happy with the choice.

so long as bruv doesnt forget the fueltaps!!

Good post Paulco with your point about evenly matched teams being spot on Id say.There are some posts on the Ipswich thread that are vocal about missing the EL but IMO in the main they are hankering for something that no longer exists.

Certainly confident that we will be competitive - would be very disappointed not to make the play offs. Lots of good solid sides this year so any team will have earned it if they make it. Would be great to see all/any of those really kick on - just a shame the 2 Brits are not assets as well

Seems to be concensus that Worky Pboro and Scunny will be favourites and Plymouth will be adrift. (Paulco aside!!)

You could try getting a journo pass via your updates position.

Put a lanyard round your neck, carry a clipboard and a tape measure. Stride in with confidence pretending to be a council official - I reckon youd get away with that!

What does everyone think as to the riding order? Worrall Manzares Heeps Risager Tungate Ellis Hawkins That would be my pick.

would make a great human interest story - old man chooses condemned section of stadium as new home declaring "anything is better than Sunderland" Sorry WK couldnt resist!!

No thanks -he is an Aussie and has ridden for Aussie so should remain an Aussie. The strength or otherwise of the current crop of Brits should not influence this. Also I dont think he should ride in British Final or qualifiers for the same reason as stated above.