Super Blue

Comparing the level of the lower Elite teams to that of the better Premier league teams would be quite bizarre this season . For a start the racecard format is totally different and secondly quite a few of the fast track reserves wouldn't even come close to cutting it in the Premier ! Granted that alot of the Elite 2nd string already ride Premier anyway so the only real difference is in the quality of the No1's . If you did have some kind of relegation/promotion system such that we once had what system could possibly be used ?

I just knew when I started this thread asking peoples opinions on who would make the playoffs that it had to go down the top team should be champions route at some point. As it has I will chip in with my opinion, I agree that if it's a "league" then the team who finish top should be champions. However as the playoffs have been introduced and are here to stay for the foreseeable future I think we should just go along with it in the knowledge that half the team's will still be in with a shout of achieving something. Doesn't necessarily make it right but that's how it is I'm afraid for those who don't like it.

I believe it would be good for the sport to bring big events to some of the smaller tracks just to see how some of the big track specialist countries get on . Speedway should not just be about riding huge tracks as they come in all shapes and sizes and always have done . If a country and it's riders are truly the best in the world then they should be able to adapt their riding accordingly . All big events should not be held at one type of venue !

I must admit I think alot is going to depend on these catch up meetings , if Worky get enough in I think they will comfortably make it into the playoffs along with Edinburgh ,Somerset and Berwick . That then leaves IMO Ipswich , Scunny and Peterborough to fight it out for the final 2 spots , sorry Newcastle and Redcar but I think you may struggle .

Must admit I haven't actually clocked the cut off date , what is it ?

Won because the Danes used a bloody joker , joke just about sums it up , they didn't deserve to win it !

Apart from the obvious yearly arguments about the team finishing top should crowned as league champions we all know that the playoffs are the ultimate deciding factor so who do we think is going to be involved in the final shakeup ? Personally I think Edinburgh are nailed on to finish top and Somerset are likely to be 2nd , however I believe the other 4 places are not quite so easy to predict . Here goes with my prediction in current league position order (2-8-14) , Edinburgh , nailed on Somerset , nailed on Ipswich , only possibly Scunthorpe , possibly Newcastle , unlikely Berwick , very probably Redcar , unlikely Peterborough , possibly Workington , possibly/probably Glasgow , no chance Plymouth , no chance Rye House , no chance Sheffield , no chance With a couple of teams having a massive amount of meetings in hand it is going to be difficult to accurately predict but I think the league is taking shape to have a good idea who's goingto be there or thereabouts . A few permutations to be debated ?

Can't say im sorry about the result but im glad you enjoyed your visit , believe it or not the Foxhall revamp is still far from completion . From what we are led to believe the whole of the stand on the starting straight side is set to be replaced along with the old garden bar area to really bring it up to 21st century standard . Admittedly it's pretty much all for the benefit of the stock car crowds which are much much larger but hey we speedway fans can reap the rewards as well ! I would like to think that when complete Ipswich would be in a great position to maybe host one of the bigger meetings currently held at other venues , the infrastructure certainly would be there and the stadium can hold in excess of 10,000 people so why not ?

Well , I certainly didn't expect that result and will give full credit to the team for an excellent all round performance tonight , pulling off some great passes when they didn't gate and looking full of grit and determination . Have we finally turned the corner on the form front ? Is it too late to secure a playoff place ? Time will tell , but thoroughly enjoyed tonight and well done lads !

Well another beautiful day and looking forward to this tonight. I hope it's a good meeting with a positive outcome for the Witches.

One would like to think that the relevant questions have been asked of the powers that be if Richie is set to ride ? But as was said earlier the Witches website only has a brief preview of this meeting with no mention of the potential issues surrounding our No1 whatsoever so we now have to assume we're good to go . Any ideas if we're likely to use r/r at Gino's No4 slot or do we think it would be better covered if Ritchie H filled that spot and use the r/r at No2 ? Just a thought , as if things weren't complicated enough .

Well my son has found a photo of Richie seemingly practicing at Lynn wearing his GB kevlars on Richies own facebook page . If this is so what does it mean in the grand scheme of things ?

I suppose we'll find out tomorrow when we get to Foxhall then .

Perhaps the official reserve for the World cup final isn't tied by the same rules as the riders in the team or alternatively Richie no longer fills that role , we may never know . Now that the situation appears to be clear we can look forward to the meeting without further speculation ( hopefully ) . Ultimately we just need the 3 league points from this meeting and a win by 7 points will do me fine .

No fishing rod , I just haven't got a Scooby Doo what the outcome is going to be with this one and im sure alot of locals would agree we me . Obviously we desperately need all the league points we can get but as you can tell from my previous post im not exactly full of confidence at the moment !

I think spread betting needs to be brought in to meetings at Foxhall as we have absolutely no idea which Witches are gonna turn up ! Some teams home results are pretty predictable but that certainly doesn't apply to Ipswich . Anywhere between 55-35 and 35-55 would be my best guess , im not going to try and predict anything .

Richie Worrall is the official reserve for the World cup team and we were given the impression that he would not be available to ride anywhere else until the World cup is finished. Perhaps we have been fed duff info, does anyone have a definitive answer to this?

Getting a tad off piste here. I think if we make the right choice on the guest front and the rest of the team performs like last week against the Rebels we should be ok, however with the Witches home form as erratic as it has been this season absolutely any result is possible! Should be an interesting encounter.

Having had a few issues discussed on the Ipswich 2014 thread I thought it might be worth starting this one up in its own right , a tad early I know but plenty of time for discussion may be required . It seems Richie Worrall is going to be absent as reserve for team GB in the World cup and Gino will also be absent riding for the USA on Thursday in the World cup race off . This would appear to rather devastate our top order requiring using a guest at No 1 and r/r to cover for Gino . Not an ideal situation and one we could do without whilst striving to accumulate as many points as possible to secure a playoff place . Who do we think would be best available to guest for Richie and do we think a ride each for Rohan , Ritchie H and the reserves will adequately cover for the loss of Gino ? Personally I think we might struggle to take all the league points on offer and Berwick will probably never have a better opportunity to do some damage to our plans . So , what do we reckon then ?

So what do we reckon our lineup will be against El Banditos then ? With Richie's average being so low we will be a tad limited on choice of guest . Lets also hope the reserves step up to the plate to cover for the absence of Gino .

Also being a tad on the selfish side as a Witches fan I'm looking at playoff qualification as my priority. Going into a meeting against one of the other playoff hopeful teams using a guest at 1 and r/r for another is seriously less than an ideal situation to be in! I hope we don't end up paying a heavy price for this.

Hopefully might get something from Rye and Sheffield but nowt from Somerset and I doubt anything from Peterborough . I believe we also have a league trip to Plymouth that's yet to be rearranged , a place we've had a liking for in the past so you never know .

Well Baldy , I certainly don't think we can afford to drop points at home . Scanning the league table I think the table topping team is already decided then i think its any 5 from the following to make the playoffs , only my opinion of course . Scunthorpe , Somerset , Berwick , Peterborough , Workington and of course ourselves . We also don't have too many opportunities to take points off those rivals , one or two yes but not many . 2nd place at the moment but not for long I'm afraid . I think we could struggle to get 6th !

Mind you , lets be honest here , they make the rules up as they go along so im sure it will all become as clear as mud in the next few days !

I thought you were allowed a guest if a rider was missing to attend an official FIM event which obviously this would be . Maybe Ive got it wrong though . R/R would be OK as you say if the reserves were in last Thursdays form but not if they reproduce that of the week before . I'm sure all will become clear in the coming days .