TheWellBehavedWorrall

It’s a massive testament to Glasgow that this is even crossing anyone’s mind, as the side who won the league outright and were unbeaten from July to October prepare to host the second leg of the grand final.

Those statistics don’t look great, do they? I don’t think you can underestimate momentum, though. Poole earned the right to Group A in the play-offs which was essentially a spa weekend. Meanwhile, Glasgow put a marker down against Oxford during the final league fixture, then again in the play-offs and I believe that showed last night. Make no mistake about it, Glagsow rag-dolled Poole last night and even in a more tame second half of the meeting, Chris Harris set the tone by playing with Lawson, Worrall and Ben Cook in front of the BSN cameras before doing all three. You can’t quantify momentum, but it’s definitely with Glasgow because Poole’s top boys were made to look a bit silly last night.

If Harris, Brennan, Vissing, Complin and Pijper, plus Richie Escobar as a guest, can score 37 points at Poole in August, then a Glasgow side including Basso and Tarasenko can win the meeting. I’m genuinely buzzing to watch this tomorrow night, but I just hope some people are exaggerating how poor Wimborne Road can be. It’s the grand final; people want to be entertained, like last night.

I love the attempted reverse psychology on this forum and it’s coming from both parties here. You better hope neither sets of riders visits this place for inspiration because all they’ll find is their own fans writing them off.

It probably did. I’m not sure there can be a great deal of argument against his exclusion from heat two. The frustration should come from the fact that he was clearly quicker than Pijper, so would almost inevitably have passed him, had he not clipped him.

Perfectly summarised.

That would make sense because by f*ck was he poor. He went from smoking the Pirates to being slapped about by them. It was bizarre. What happened to his first bike? I saw him out doing a practice lap after heat fifteen and before the parade which is unusual.

I know, I’ve just said that.

He also beat Tarasenko which he can be delighted about, but I just found a few things he did to be frustrating.

Newman came third in heat twelve, I think. Thompson came last in heats five, six and fourteen; one was a retirement and in another, he threw in the towel. I don’t understand young riders who do this. Keep chasing; anything can happen. Who cares if you’re chasing what looks like a losing battle.

You and I don’t see eye-to-eye, but I couldn’t agree more with this observation. Harris, especially in heats ten and fifteen, showed a hunger and ability beyond anything I saw all evening. He had Ben Cook, then Lawson and Worrall on toast. Then there’s Basso in heat fifteen; basically following Worrall with no actual attack strategy.

Hopefully this goes ahead on Wednesday as I’m getting my nails done on Thursday night. Who knows what will happen? Based on previous encounters at Wimborne Road, I think it would be wise to assume Glasgow will have zero reliance on Complin or Pijper, so it’s all on Harris, Basso, Tarasenko and Brennan to acquire at least 39 points between them. When was the last time a team won the league with a 16 year-old in the side from the start of the season? I know he’s 17 now, but Pijper seeing-out the full season is an incredible achievement, especially if they win the league. A bit of research has shown that a certain Tai Woffinden did it in 2007 with Rye House.

I’m laughing at it this morning, but that Joe Thompson did my nut in last night. He took out Pijper, but didn’t as much as acknowledge him as he passed him on his return to the pits. He the retired in heat six, but didn’t actually leave the track; he just casually leaned his bike on the inside of the back straight. He then chucked the towel in while in last in fourteen; something no young rider should do. Trivial this morning, but I was a bit like “what the f*ck?” last night. To be fair, I did tell four colleagues who I encouraged to attend last night that I thought Joe Thompson was highly regarded during the parade - I’d never seen him ride, but heard good things - so my observation wasn’t exactly justified by his performance.

Also, I’m only a month or so back at speedway, so didn’t see Glasgow’s last encounter at Poole, but I did see the result on Speedway Updates and it made for an interesting read. Compared to that fixture, Glasgow will now have Tarasenko and Basso which significantly strengthens them.

Not long home; a great result for Glasgow, but a big missed opportunity to finish the tie. You’d have bitten someone’s hand off for a fourteen point win before the meeting, but that Poole side were rattled and there for the taking at the mid-point, so Glasgow will be somewhat disappointed not to have stretched their lead. Harris was unreal, but Cami Brown must be hugely disappointed by Tarasenko and Basso’s collapse in the second half of the meeting. Brown’s inclusion of Pijper in heat twelve was gross mismanagement. He did it last week, but to make the same mistake repeatedly with so much at stake was criminal. Ian Steel lost his job for less. I’d like to add that these experiences will do Pijper wonders. I don’t agree with his inclusion in heat twelve, but I have huge admiration for Glasgow’s commitment to investing in youth; to afford a 16 or 17 year-old a full-time role in the team and make the grand final is a credit to the club.

I’m of the opinion that the for the sake of the sport’s long-term prospects in this country, the BSPA must insist on a Premiership and Championship merger. I don’t see how “leagues” consisting of six and eight teams is a viable product. ”Let’s move Birmingham here” and “hopefully Workington step up” is the sporting equivalent to running around your house a few days before payday, looking for a lost fiver or some pound coins down the side of the couch to pay the bills. It’ll work, but it isn’t sustainable. Imagine you’re a Sheffield fan, for example, and you’re looking at next season’s fixture list. You only have five other opponents. Five. Zero variety; that will drive fans away. Merging both leagues creates a bit of excitement and significantly more variety than the current set-up which, again, I don’t believe is sustainable.

Buzzing for this tonight. I’m out on the coast, but a friend said it’s raining on the outskirts of Glasgow. Regardless, the forecast is positive, so here’s hoping.

I wouldn’t pay much attention to Poole’s website; it says Danny King is their captain. Tacky kevlars and an out-of-date website. It’ll be a miracle if they win this grand final.

Do you blame them? The term ‘beggars can’t be choosers’ is highly applicable to British Speedway.

I can’t remember what the exact scenario was - my memory is suggesting it happened at Berwick - but I’m almost certain Ian Steel lost his job at Glasgow for a decision he made at Shielfield Park in 2004 or 2005. I’m not suggesting Cami Brown should lose his job; he’s on the brink of a league title, but in a sinister way, he was lucky Pijper crashed in heat twelve. If he hadn’t, I’m fairly confident Oxford would have shared that heat which wouldn’t only have impacted the momentum of the meeting, but the result too. A baffling decison.

I was wondering the same. I’ve never witnessed a rider appear to be in so much pain.

Absolutely. It would be difficult, but I feel it’s necessary. The Championship was a depleted version of its former self in 2023, never mind the Premiership, so I feel like the entire system requires rejuvenated. With Wolves and Peterborough, at least, exiting British speedway, then I feel a two-league merger is necessary.

If the BSPA proposes and is supported in the implementation of a single league set-up, then Poole’s preference would be redundant while Leicester’s preferred race night may be irrelevant. If a practical racing schedule accommodated 21 teams in 1995, I’m confident it could be done with 14.

I’d like to see one big league, like 1995, albeit significantly smaller. There were 21 clubs back then which is incredible to think. I appreciate I’m not privy to the costs and challenges associated with a one-league merger, but I feel it would be the best move for British Speedway as a product. I mean, Wolves and Peterborough are out of 2024, right? Posts above suggests Leicester may join them, so that leaves the Premiership with four or five sides, if I’m not mistaken. As a Glasgow fan, I found it strange that more sides qualified for the Championship play-offs than didn’t; that renders qualification hardly a novelty, so I can even imagine what being a Premiership side and/or fan must feel like; zero variety. I’m amazed and sad that Speedway in the UK is struggling, having left Ashfield on Tuesday night with nothing but optimism for the sport.

I still can’t get over that pop from the crowd when Complin took Kerr wide and allowed Brennan through for a heat fourteen 5-1. I thought those atmospheres were saved for Ibrox and Celtic Park in Glasgow.