Tigerblade

I was just thinking similar myself!!!

Home win by any amount, is 3 points to the home team, an away draw is 2 points as you say.

I agree about Graversen, but it could be argued that his point in Heat 14 was crucial. Then again, I would have left him in Heat 9 bearing in mind the Comets pair were Klindt and Bickley, and then put Shanes in Heat 14, so what do I know.... Certainly a result I didn't expect given how we started - good job the Comets weren't firing on all cylinders!

Never mind newcomers... A few 40 plus years of fandoms got mixed up the other week.... Charles Wright's #5 on his race jacket was somewhat squashed and looked like a 6 from distance, and in one race where he was in red, blue was changed from #7 (James Shanes) to #6 (Jack Smith) at the last minute, and was announced as Jack Smith being in red!!! As well as the people next to me, it also confused the announcer and even with people trying to shout across, it wasn't registering at first!

Obviously it would have made much more sense to put him in the other semi final, but has he really only just found out yesterday that he is in the Sheffield semi final? He has been advertised as being in it on Sheffield's website since last Thursday.

There was definitely an Alan Stansfield second halfing on the northern tracks then, so I'd say it is him.

Jessica Ennis-Hill didn't - she was forced into it by various media because SUFC had named a stand after her after her 2012 Olympic triumph. In my opinion this was a bandwagon jumping exercise as she has never claimed to be a football fan, what else was she meant to say with the hysteria surrounding this issue at the time?? Yet she seems to be carrying the can for everyone who had an opinion about the issue. Charlie Webster did go out of her way to have her say. But I still find some of the comments and sniping at other posters on here a bit pathetic. Some fans may be interested to know how she is now.

I can't really add anything to what has already been said, Ivan was the greatest of all time in my opinion.. RIP (Ride In Peace)

I was at that meeting as well, I think we have a photo somewhere of PC watching the racing from a small way up the football floodlight racking next to the pits!! I wasn't there in 1981, but I definitely remember the illuminated elephant from the last meetings of 1977 and 1978! The 1977 one was my first ever away meeting, it was a 4TT, but not in the usual format, it featured 2 riders from 2 teams eg Sheffield v Halifax in one, BV v Hull in another, but they all raced each other in the end, if that makes sense. My novice brain thought that was the way all 4TT worked!! I seemed to go to more individual meetings there eg Dews Trophy, than anything else, and went more times when Kenny Carter wasn't world class, so to speak, but a youngster making his way up. So him being beaten there wasn't the big thing for me that it was in his later seasons there. The late, great, Doug Adams.

I began going regularly to speedway with 6 meetings left of the 1977 season. Alan Wilkinson featured in 4 of these, rather a sobering thought now, after what was to happen to him the following season. I daresay I'm not the only contributor to this topic who was at his benefit meeting in April 1979.

I think Shawn was the more serious of the two (not that that is saying a lot), although I get the impression that Kelly was the more popular nationwide. I remember very early in 1981 Shawn was given a public dressing down by Ray Glover about professionalism, or lack of it, after a meeting, but apart from that one meeting I can't really remember him giving any indication he was less than professional, at least whilst he was on the track.

It really does depend on who the ex rider though, I think. I support Sheffield, as it is Doug Wyer and Reg Wilson are there pretty much every meeting anyway, and Shawn Moran was given a great welcome a few years ago. I can understand that Jim Airey would be a big draw for some older fans if he were to come to Owlerton again, also Sean Wilson and Roman Matousek to name a couple of others, but with every respect intended, I can hardly see a rush to the turnstiles after years of not having been, to see Simon Wolstenholme or Flemming Rasmussen.

Exactly, you could see from Sean's body language that he was as cheesed off as the rest of us.

Yes, and no doubt they'll be taking them down on Boxing Day "because they're sick of the sight of them" The fireworks during the delay is an excellent suggestion with the benefit of hindsight - had just Todd's situation not occurred, they'd have got the meeting completed and the fireworks as well. I can also think of many promotions who wouldn't have made the half price offer. Now it's just a case of keeping the ticket in a safe place for 5 months

Well, I wouldn't have thought it was either, but of course it's frustrating to be waiting an hour whoever it's down to.

The fair had been advertised as being there 19th to 22nd, although it was still there Monday morning as my parents went along Penistone Road yesterday morning and saw it, they must have been packing up. I think the announcer was as fed up with the ambulance/Todd Kurtz situation as we were, by the sounds of it. To be honest I would not have gone myself due to the team make ups, had it not been the last one of the season. I know the curfew is a condition of being allowed to race and all that, but it seems a bit churlish not to be allowed a few for 5 to 10 minutes, especially when over the next two weeks people will be letting them off at all hours like it's the D Day landings because of Bonfire Night.

They've had the dogs on Saturday ever since I can remember, so I doubt they'll move their plum night for the speedway. If we stay where we are, I'd like us to keep Howarth, Bjerre, Grav if he could be at reserve, and Georgie.

Exactly - and as we know, one of them wasn't even riding for Redcar when he got injured. It's a combination of a lot of unfortunate circumstances really - this meeting has been rained off three times already this season, and as everyone knows Redcar and Ipswich are ten times harder than anyone else to rearrange, so the meetings wouldn't have been called off lightly. Then Sheffield got involved with all the play off meetings and the KOC.

Like the night we raced Workington a couple of months ago, they had Richard Lawson as guest for Craig Cook - Josh G crashed half way through the meeting and was ruled out of the next night's meeting at Redcar. Have a guess who our guest at Redcar was?

Bear in mind Sheffield will likely have r/r instead of Howarth this time though. Ben Barker's crash was horrible, best wishes to him.

He got 9 plus 2 against Newcastle in August when he guested then.

So am I, we've had our best season in years, but the first time we fail badly, people are out to complain. Not to mention all the duff meetings that have been televised over the years, yet suddenly it's all down to Sheffield if BT pull the plug. Promotion/relegation has never worked, and I can't believe the promoters agreed to it at the last conference.

Damien's brother.

I don't know if you were aware, but he did also guest for Josh G in a League meeting a few weeks ago. When Josh pulled up last week I wondered out loud if we could have Scott as guest on the Saturday at Ipswich, but I wasn't sure if the rules would allow in a play off. It's going to be a lot of money for people who want to go to all these three meetings, even more for those who are going to Leicester of course. I'm fortunate in that these days my bank balance can stand 3 home meetings in 5 days, but I'm not so sure if my sciatic nerve will

I heard it too - my guess is the promotions had verbally agreed on it before last night, but of course had to make sure last night was over and done with first.