Jackal

I notice your comment about a lack of passing in last nights meeting, tell me were you there my friend??? Its not our fault at Ipswich if your riders are uncapable of passing any Witches riders but to my knowledge the Witches made passes in about half the races on various Comets riders, which in my book makes a pretty contented home fan anywhere

Hope the Witches do not take it for granted with a 20 point lead as Im sure the Comets will come back fighting hard. Brill news to hear Ben is fit to ride. Whats the forecast like in your area Workington fans tomorrow? Its not good here in Suffolk so hopes its better there and should be a very competitive meeting if on.

Superb meeting on a fantastic grippy track and must rate as the Witches best performance since entering the premier league. A 20 point lead going into the 2nd leg is more than anyone dared hope for and against a very strong looking Workington side into the bargain. A big pat on the back here for the best trackman in speedway for preparing such a wonderful track Bob Ellis. Doyle was simply fantastic with his manoeuvres from the back and looks a very classy rider these days and certainly lived up to my comment of being the best rider in the premier league. Tungate was gating like a dream and looks to have found his way again since also joining Poole (a thank you to Middleditch and co). Lanham dependable as ever these days to get a decent score since moving to no5 in the team. Heeps was flying and made a few passes that bode well for the future. Ellis when getting the gate looks majestic and very fast indeed but needs to calm down a bit when chasing as he often gets out of shape and falls. Hawkins did wonderfully well with paid 6 on his comback to speedway and was so so important at no2 to actually get some points from that position. Risager had his customary start with 3 very ordinary races pootling around the white line but then went berserk and actually went for grip wide and come home behind Ellis. A very solid team performance and Witches with Hawkins in place of the non-scoring Makinen look so much better. But the news of Bens injury at Sheffield is not good and I wish him luck on a speedy recovery. So Jason it looks like Foxhall time for you and who's complaining about that,certainly not me.

Yes the Witches picked the best rider possible and in my opinion the best rider riding in the premier league. My point was, Cook replacing Lawson was an astute move and makes Workington much stronger!

Cook replacing Lawson is a superb choice of guest and will strengthen Workington and along with Bachs liking for the foxhall track it looks like being a very hard meeting for the Witches to get any sizeable lead. Nielsen at reserve is also another good move and might nullify our reserves somewhat, so its set for a cracker, now all we want is a dry warm night

Very interesting to see how this match pans out, Workington look quite handy but not world beaters and should not cause the Witches too much trouble in my opinion. Jason Doyle has looked almost unbeatable when riding for his home track around foxhall and lets hope for a repeat of that form when riding for the Witches. Ritchie Hawkins will take time on his comeback and we must not expect to much from him. Witches strength at reserve is there for all to see and they will surely score very well again. Lanham and Tungate can be relied on to score their customary points but Risager continues to be an enigma. Why in heavens name he is so reluctant to move off the white line is very puzzling indeed, as he gets passed over and over again taking that line home and away. CL saying he will rival Ben for the no1 spot, must be the most hilarious comment of all time and will come back to haunt CL many times in the future.

Well a great result which I do not think anyone really expected (Ive now eaten half that pie ). The team are really starting to pull together and its showing in the results but CL must get rid of that useless makinen who is no good to man or beast. He apparently has family problems back home, my advice is go back home and get yourself sorted out mate and give us fans a break from your permanent ducks. Enough of that to much better things. As soon as Ben finds his Plymouth form, surely the Witches will be hard to beat on this form but as we all know form can fluctuate from meeting to meeting. What we need is consistency that has been sadly lacking in recent seasons and perhaps just perhaps that could return this season but Im not banking on it.

A huge win here for Scunthorpe is my prediction with Makinens 3 ride duck and most of the Witches struggling. Prove me wrong riders and I will eat humble pie willingly.

Have you forgotten last season when this EXACT same thing happened and the same comments were made about the same management team??

It seems to me we see these comments oh so often about meetings being cancelled due to a little rain at foxhall! Fans wasting their hard earned cash on petrol and being let in to the stadium to see nothing being done to get the meeting on by staff. Its certainly happened more often recently without a doubt, I couldn't imagine a meeting being off in the great John Berrys days with just this small amount of rain. Customer relations by the management do not seem to exist once the season has started, yes all cosy before the season starts holding meet the riders night to get fans in the mood and spend their money (if on) through the turnstiles. Not good at all and its another night where speedway shoots itself in the foot, yet again.

Oh yes wise to all those little tricks now, us regular fans know all of them now

Sorry super blue but when has the foxhall management ever treated their few fans with respect??? Its no surprise to me fans were let in knowing the meeting would probably be off, its happened many times before and will undoubtedly happen many more times. Customer relations do not exist Im afraid once the season has started. Luckily enough I was only half way to the track when I knew the meeting was off, so could turn round and head home and drive the missus mad

Its raining with thunder and lightening and completely overcast where I live so its reached Ipswich by now I would guess

I think the year may have been 1998, Im afraid after that great season with the great Magda's influential input, things have rapidly gone all down hill since! Now languishing in the premier league, the only heart-warming thing is, we still have speedway to watch many have not. But the gates are falling away with last weeks one of the lowest I can remember, it just goes to show most fans want Elite League racing with a competitive team, not premier!!

Looks to be a difficult meeting for the Witches and could be very close. Hopefully Bens 14 points at Plymouth will kick start his season but the continued presence of the novice Makinen in the side is a huge worry! What do it take at Ipswich for a rider to be dropped I ask myself, he must rank as the worst rider ever to don a Witches race jacket. Anyway even allowing for his 3 ride duck this should be an exciting meeting and please a dry warmer evening.

You are totally spot-on there baldyman, thats the forte of this present management team at foxhall.

A great result at Plymouth and to be honest certainly not expected by any realist Witches fan. Ben at long last rode like the true no 1 he genuingly is and along with Camerons continued good form and Adams sudden surge of form, it bodes well for the future. But there are worrying aspects of the present team none more so than the terrible Makinen!! It will not be long before he is at reserve and then it will be a great worry with only one reserve scoring. I have no idea whatsoever what CL see in him, he looks little better than a novice and is scoring no points at all and needs replacing pronto, not when its too late and all the damage is done. There must be much better 5 point riders out there than him especially perhaps in Denmark, Sweden or even Germany and as suggested Sedgman must be a better option than this novice!

If the meeting goes ahead lets hope its the Witches team of last night that turns up and Ben returning to his old track inspires him to a return of last seasons form. Makinen apart (he needs to go) lets hope all the riders score well and who knows might come away with a point or two, well I can dream can't I.

Well well what a surprise, I must admit that I was wrong with my predictions. It was mostly a very good team effort with 5 riders pulling their weight and it was so so refreshing to see this and well done to those who made a good win possible. The cause for concern is Ben Barker and Makinen. Whats happened to Ben this season since coming to the Witches??? Is he the same rider with near a 10 average of last season, as he looks a pale shadow of that rider. He takes terrible lines right near the fence where there is no grip and was passed in nearly all his races and at times looked awfully slow. Makinen has to go, what the hell CL see in him is beyond me and there must be another 5 point rider out there who can do a better job than 2 points out of 39 I believe. Looks like a novice and has no speed at all, so please CL admit you were wrong and look for a more capable rider at 2. But all in all a very good performance and lets hope this is the spur needed to kick start our season.

Well its not easy being an optimist when being a Witches fan is it? Season after season now for too many years to remember, the Witches teams have been put together with very little imagination and real knowledge of what a good team is and so therefore have floundered in the lower reaches of the elite league and now the premier league. On paper it looks like a hiding coming up tonight and personally thats exactly what I expect. If thats being a pessimist so be it but in actual fact its just being realistic.

Not a worthy point made here because if CL had signed Dak on at Witches way before Boro' came in for him, there would have been no problem at all. He was available a long time and after a good season at Foxhall last season, he could not understand not being signed by CL, just check out twitter for these facts. He would have fitted nicely, in place of the never going to improve Risager and made the Witches look so much more competitive.

Just been watching the sky match tonight and seeing Dak North beating elite league riders for fun. I wonder what CL is thinking watching the Witches riders struggling to beat anyone from the premier league when he could have had Dak in his side???

Totally agree there Roland, can only see a rebels win but the weather might be the only winner, as forecast is not good with rain all day. I wonder with us Witches fans mostly all realising this Witches team is just not good enough, if Chris Louis in his wisdom is now thinking the same thing or is he going to be dogmatic as always and just say riders will improve? This attitude has caused the Witches dear ever since joining the premier league and will again I fear, what do you fellow Witches fans think?

Hello baldyman, well Im definitely not one of those who wear "rose coloured" glasses and I could see as soon as this team was put together it was simply going to win nothing and struggle in fact to make the top 6. Im very sorry to say that the management at foxhall do not seem to have that extra knowledge thats needed like many other teams management such as Somersets, when putting teams together and get carried away in their own fantasy world of belief. It looks like another long arduous season coming up to me and it remains to be seen how much longer the Witches fans will put up with it and will not drift away, it was bad enough this happening season after season in the Elite league but now its happening in the Premier league it may just be what breaks the camels back.

Sorry to say it looks like another long arduous season coming up for the long suffering Witches fans but will changes be made to an obviously under strength team, I for one very much doubt it until its to late to make any difference as that has always been the way of things that happen at foxhall. Real shame we are talking like this after only 3 matches as the Witches look destined for a lower half finish yet again