False dawn

The latest guests at the last two Nuneaton Speedway Supporters Club meetings, Neil Vatcher, Rob Lyon and Dale Allitt expanded on the rules governing number 8's and the PJL. As someone said earlier, what we've always called a number 8 is in fact an additional rider and the rules there are unchanged. The new number 8 position is a kind of squad member. If a RS is injured a team must use the no.8 as a replacement. I'm still not clear if this can happen part way through a meeting though. However, a team manager has the option to swap his RS and no.8 in his named team ahead of a meeting. Hence the squad concept. I did ask the question about the prospect of no.8's sitting in the pits all night without getting a ride. The answer was that no.8's will automatically be in the PJL team, so should get rides in the second half. As to PJL, teams will comprise 4 riders with a maximum combined RS star rating of 8. The league will be regionalised (I think, 2 times 3 teams). It is clear that riders can ride in the NDL, the CL and be a no.8. My conclusion is that such riders will actually be riding in 4 leagues since they will also be automatically included in their PJL team. Well that's my latest understanding. Please don't kill the messenger.

I think it is likely that the Russians will be suspended from the GP series. In the short term at least. It is very sad, for sure. But many sports are already lining up to exclude Russian competitors. Should the FIM try to sidestep this issue, there will be widespread criticism despite the niche nature of our sport. We have to remember that the FIM is also the governing body of several high profile sports, so speedway is likely to treated the same as them. Of course, the upshot will be that Jack Holder and Dan Bewley will then be promoted into the GP series full time.

I was with Rob Lyon last night. No, I'm not name dropping, he was one of the guest speakers at the Nuneaton Speedway Supporters Club meeting (along with Dale Allitt). I showed Rob your analysis and it sparked quite a lengthy discussion. I did point out that if Peterborough win the league again this year, Bomber will hold the record for the number of league titles, at 6, on his own. I did caution Rob though, that he had the rider with the most wooden spoons in his team. That particular stat set us thinking as to which teams and in which years Scott achieved that unenviable stat. Can you enlighten us all with the details of those 6 wooden spoons please?

Am I the only one not able to load this page?

And a reasonable piece it was. 2 or 3 minutes in the sports update on the half hour. I assume it will be repeated today on the BBC News channel if you want to see it.

And he tweeted, "and currently uncomfortable" and "I’m sorry I haven’t been online or responsive". I think we'll forgive him, eh? With that list of injuries, let's hope that none of those horrendous list of injuries are life changing. Get well soon.

Amen to that. I enjoy my trips to the Coliseum. Mind you, it's a long way to travel twice. Can you arrange a double header please? Isn't this a bit wrong? Any centurion who ended up a gladiator, back in the day, had done something wrong!

2018 - 5.63 is the information I have.

I thought it was a bit like H2G2. You know, the fifth book in the trilogy. I remember people trying to build a hypothetical 7 man team all called Owen, back in the day. Could we not have a Thompson septet?

All I can say is that I'm stunned. Steve was a good mate,

Are there three twins now? Oo err.

This is a great discussion. Riders individual achievements, British Finals, World Championships and so on, are known by many and have been written about endlessly. But team players are really only lauded by their team's supporters. To take up your point with regard to Jason Crump, from the outside he fell into the "I've scored a maximum but the team lost" category. I don't think I've seen a rider consistently finish so far ahead of the field. But in this context, Greg was a quality individual performer but for Bees fans we remember the H&H days with great fondness.

In a sport where team events are seen as the primary "form of the sport", it always amuses me when we talk about the greatest that we focus only on individual achievement; numbers of world championships and so on. I would go further. Many of the names mentioned here were involved with successfully teams. However, I would ask the question, "were they great team players?". Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed watching some great riders achieve outstanding individual success. But as I look back over the decades, my fondest memories are of those riders that have lead my team to success. I've watched those that score a 15 point maximum and ask what more they could have done when the team are defeated. That didn't thrill me much. And so, in that context I would nominate Ole Olsen, not as number 6, but as number 1.

Look like the same averages as we already have i.e. still contain the Eastbourne numbers

It seems to me that there are two, not necessarily linked, issues with regard to the Eastbourne fixtures. 1. The Eastbourne match results are logically removed from the league tables, no argument. 2. The points scored by riders in the Eastbourne fixtures should, in my opinion, stand for the purposes of calculating averages. Those rides were seriously contested at that time and represent the ability of those riders at that moment. Therefore they should contribute to averages going forward. For sure, it would make the calculation of all riders averages a damn sight simpler.

It was a play on words. But it's not funny if you have to explain it, I guess

I'd have thought that mentioning Poole and Cheetahs in the same sentence, is inviting some interesting comments!

I think it's more a case of not giving us a second thought rather than secrecy as such. I wish, for once, someone up there would give some recognition to the paying public and treat us with a little respect. What could be more interesting just now, than knowing or speculating who will be riding for your club next year? Give us the numbers and we can construct all sorts of fantasy sides.

Wouldn't it be nice if we had a list of riders and their official, team building average? I've looked on the speedwaygb website but I can't seem to find it. I assume the team declaration figures include the Eastbourne numbers and people have suggested they need to removed. Is that right?

Scott is worth 2 points more than his average for his work with the riders in the pits. I'd have him back at Leicester in a heartbeat.

"The club have informed Hans Andersen, Zaine Kennedy and Ryan Douglas that they are not part of next year’s plans." I guess Dougie is moving onwards and upwards. Hans may have been too expensive and Zaine may just not fit with Connor Mountain already having been signed and the twins almost certainly remaining. I thought Zaine did a good job especially joining mid season when expectations were high. Hans was solid. The biggest disappointment is Dougie. He could be a bit and down, but was exciting to watch. I, for one, will miss him.

Two laser beams. One at the back of the bikes to prevent backing off.

Is the database available to view?

Thank you. I did just find the relevant information on the Glasgow website....... TEST MATCH – FAQS October 19, 2021 Tomorrow sees us host one of the biggest ties to ever take place in Glasgow and we can’t wait to welcome you all to Ashfield for what is sure to be an incredible night! Naturally, we have been inundated with messages and questions and whilst we are trying our best to answer them all, we thought we’d provide this article to cover the most popular questions we’ve had. This is also a page you can send to anyone who you know who is looking for clarity on any of the points below. How can I buy tickets? Will they be available on the gate? Ticket sales have been incredible so far and you can buy tickets online here. The seated section of the stadium has already sold out but there are still some general admission (standing) tickets available online. If there are any remaining tickets left over, then tickets will be sold on the gate. We would advise to avoid disappointment, booking online. Is there a stream? Yes! We didn’t post any news about the stream as we were exploring a few options but we are delighted to confirm that the match will be streamed live via TigersTV. It will be available in both English and Polish. The English stream will feature Nigel Pearson, Stephen Craigan and Michael Max. The Polish stream will be covered by Tomasz Lorek. I want to watch the stream but can’t watch it live, can I watch on catch-up? Yes you can. The match will be available from an hour or so after the match has finished to watch on catch-up and can be watched until Monday 25th at 9AM.

Does anyone know if the stream is only shown live, or can you watch a replay tomorrow, say?