JamesB

I think King has been very good and has been the number 1 we have been looking for. I would also keep Covatti for the entertainment value alone but not sure there's much upside on his average unless he can learn to gate. I have also been impressed with Morris, he has the ability to gate and at times has looked quick. We are unlikely to see Manzares unless his visa was granted for more than one year or someone arranges a nice little state championship somewhere. I don't think he's been fully fit for any length of time and on his current average would probably keep him. Tungate and Heeps would benefit from riding somewhere else for at least a season and we should get loan fees for them. I am really not sure about Nielsen as I don't think he ever looks particularly comfortable around Foxhall but maybe that's just his riding style. As to replacements, I haven't given it a great deal of thought but having Garrity and Covatti in the same team would be entertaining!! I also like Lawson and he is a tryer. Wells is also always consistent around Foxhall. Lunna looked decent the other week before running out of steam and his scores are a bit up and down, but he looked the type of kid whose got a bit about him. Finally, Riss in for Heeps - but I can't see Edinburgh letting him get away.

That's pretty different to the BBC weather site which predicts heavy rain from midnight until mid afternoon. Time will tell which prediction is most accurate.

Would just prefer to see a meeting between two teams with their own riders. If we were to lose on that basis then so be it.

Weather forecast is deteriorating.........

Lawson 14 + 2 from 6 on his last visit and I believe beat Cook at least once. Nielsen 6 + 2 from 7. On paper, probably reasonable guests. However, apart from Worrall we don't have a great record with guests this season.

Yes he is.

I am not sure about Tungate as his ban commenced on 24th July. It may depend on whether the ban started at 00:01 on the 24th or at a later time. I am sure the MC will make up the answer at some point this week after they have consulted Mr Godfrey. 😉

If I've got this correct we will be missing King, Covatti, Tungate, Nielsen and possibly Manzares. It's difficult to know where to start on the list of possible guests. For the credibility of the sport, would it not make sense to rearrange this fixture?

The website says that Gino has a suspected broken collarbone. Looks like we are really going to struggle for a few weeks with both Nico and Gino out for a while.

Oh dear, that was worse then Baldymans worst fears. Well done to Plymouth who now look as if they are well in control of the race for sixth. One heat win outside of King was never going to be good enough. I have no idea if the late arrival of Heeps and Manzares impacted on their performances but even if it didn't it is unacceptable for two professional sportsmen to rock up late for such an important meeting. If you are travelling down to the West Country for a Friday evening then you leave plenty of time to get there. Hopefully, Gino is OK.

A win at Rye and a point at Somerset, or possibly two draws?

This is an important one for both teams but the Witches play off hopes probably hinge on getting something out of the meeting. I think in King and Summers we may have a stronger top order, but it's probably all going to depend on how Gino, Cameron and the reserves perform particularly as we have r/r in place. Everybody is going to need to be on top form with no passengers.

I think tonight is what you call a six pointer. If we don't take anything from it then Plymouth probably have the upper hand. We may have to look above us towards Sheffield but that would require winning all the home matches as well as taking at least four points from Rye and Somerset away. It's going to be tight.

Pretty decent performance. Everyone contributed and a great guest appearance from Richie. I always think Stefan looks a bit uncomfortable at Foxhall but a great performance from him in both rides after the interval with Ashley's ride in 12 also being very good. Gino is definitely getting there and Cameron seems to be getting his confidence back. We just need to make the play offs now which looks 50/50 at the moment.

Lovely evening here at Foxhall. Track looks well watered. Witches by 14-18.

Unfortunately, our home performances haven't been any more perky than Workys away performances.

At this stage, I am probably more concerned about Plymouth rather than Workington pipping us for 6th although both have fairly straightforward run ins. Thursday is now a must win and something out of Friday's meeting would be very helpful.

2nd Bend Beerhut - good point well made!!

The way Summers rode around Foxhall the other week would make him preferable to Doolan for me. If I am reading the regulations correctly Tungate's average of 7.07 gets flexed by 5% for home meetings which gives 7.42 to play with. Summers is on 7.41.

What happens Thursday? With r/r already in place for Tungate, is it also r/r for Covatti or do we get a guest facility?

Clearly a guy who has given his all to British speedway. As he says himself, not a world beater but guys like David are the heart of speedway. All the best for the future.

He definitely said it would be a guest facility for Tungate.

It is clear that Tungate went after Auty post race in a similar way that Nicholls went after Sayfutdinov in the British GP a few years ago and many others have done over the years. In all probability Tungate meant to spray Auty but got it wrong. The outcome was unacceptable and Tungate was rightly referred to the disciplinary process. That process must be independent and you cannot have one of the aggrieved parties involved. If it's true that Godfrey was part of the disciplinary board then that is wrong on every level. I would think it almost certain that the board and decision would not be upheld if it was subject to legal challenge. General Melchett being head judge in Blackadders court martial for shooting his pigeon Speckled Jim springs to mind. In summary, Tungate in the wrong, correctly referred to a disciplinary process but then we descend into a banana republic justice process.

Well, that was an interesting first attempt at texting. If anybody thinks it's easy I can assure you it isn't and hats off to Sue and all the other regular texters. The Witches really were pretty poor tonight and the Diamonds fully deserved the victory out gating the Witches for the first half of the meeting. I thought Kerr was particularly impressive with solid support from the rest of the team. For the Witches, Covatti gave 100% as usual chasing around the boards whenever he was behind. I just can't make my mind up about Tungate. On the face of it a solid 11 points but never really threatening when behind. Cook was poor and struggled out of the gate all night, embarrassingly so in heat 1. Lanham contributed to a degree and unfortunately both reserves struggled and were poor. Finally, I am sure that being a team manager is not an easy job but I really didn't understand giving Lanham the T/R with Covatti and Tungate in the next heat.