Parsloes 1928 nearly

And that's always been the case has it...: things agreed at the START of the season are never changed..?!! What would've happened if July and August had been incredibly wet and there were loads of fixtures short..? THEN it would have been extended.. Anyhow if that was the case about this set-in-stone play-off deadline why hasn't the approach taken in the EL been replicated in the NL, with semi dates for play-offs set aside.. After all Newport, Dudley and your club have known for some time that they were going to be in the P/Os: the only doubt has been over who finshes 4th. IF the play-offs start a week after the deadline then it looks like a properly organised, disciplined league and then fair enuff to have stuck to the deadline; BUT if there's not a P/O fixture until October it will look like a total shambles....

Well, no criticism of the Heathens but if this is the case and it does seem so, this makes it all the more shameful that this deadline of 12/9 is being enforced when a short extension would still allow the play-offs to start on the weekend of 1/10 - when it seems certain that's as early as they'll start in any case... Who is behind this constant state of shambles each year!!!!!

So Plymouth did lose at Perry Barr but sounds like they ran Dudley quite close... Certainly was never going to be the massacre the Buccs needed to see to overhaul Plymouth on points difference!!! Next up it's back to the Cobras looking to deny Plymouth 4th. and set a winning target for Bournemouth by winning on Saturday... The only problem for thenm is their opponents are Newport!!!

Hmm, this is indeed a possibility!! As for the P/Os not yet being arranged , this is true making the 12th. a ludicrously early cut-off date! Though I also find it amazing in the Elite that there are matches tomorrow (Thursday) which once settled will allow the successful clubs to arrange their home matches in the P/O semis on the, er, Monday...! Yes, just three days advance notice... How do they maximise publicity for such meetings under such circumstances..?!

This would indeed be sensible - particuarly when among the fixtures 'lost' because of the deadline are Rye away at Bournemouth and home to Plymouth: fixtures which would effectively decide matters..

Less pole now after a massive hammering tonite on the Island!! Would be astonished if Newport Hornets don't come away from Hoddesdon on Saturday with a win too... Noew it's over to Plymouth at Perry Barr tomorrow...: a first ever visit there... As said before that seems an unlikely place for the Devils to get the win which would all but clinch it for them. And if they come away pointless that opens it up for the Buccs to grab at least a point at KL..

Actually only fair to point out that Mildenhall did beat the Heathens at home...

Hmm, IF those other results do go in the Buccs' favour, just the one bonus point rather than a win would do, wouldn't it...

Thank you for this. This is EXACTLY what I've been arguing since the play-off were brought in.. The likes of Malcolm (who has been viciously rude every time I suggest the p/os are a flawed concept!! ) may well argue that the play-offs lead to an exciting finish to the season but the truth is that nothing would be more exciting than the sort of three way battle going on now. History shows us in all sports where they have a league, that exciting finishes develop organically: an example in the third tier of Speedway was ironically in the last season pre-introduction of the P/Os when it went down to the wire between Oxford and Wimbledon. The truth is that by having play-offs to get some excitement out of a handful of end of season matches you risk making many main season meetings less significant and less competed-for than you would do if every point counted towards the championship. One sees this vividly in Rugby League whose flawed system we appear to have copied: with the likes of certain play-off finishers St. Helen's losing massively to Bradford in mid-season coz actually it doesn't matter, what does matter is the play-offs themselves. What we have done is an absolutely classic case of 'baby and bath-water'...!

Yes -I noticed I was mistaken about Marc. As you say there's no doubt in my mind that Marc would've been the best replacement for Tai. For some reason he seems a bit frozen out by the powers that be, though... We never did to the bottom of how/why he was left out of the Under 21 qualifiers this year... And it is gutting that Jerran's injury meant he missed out..

That's true but home to Newport is nevertheless a tough fixture... Assuming the 12/9 deadkine stands the crucial fixtures are then all this week.. As I understand it current positions are: 4th. Plymouth 27 pts (pts diff: 55) 5th. Buccs 27 pts (pts diff: 33) 6th. RH 25 pts (pts diff: -3 ) Tomorrow night the Cobras are at the IoW. Can they win there..? I'd doubt it personally.. The following evening Plymouth have the hardest of all away trips: to Monmore Green to take on Dudley. The Buccs will be hoping that the 22 points points diff lead the Devils have over them (the ONLY thing separating them atm) will be wiped out by the rampant Heathens..; but I can't see that happening. Which would take us into the weekend with Plymouth counting on Rye NOT getting three points in that home match vs. the Hornets and then the next day, the Buccs NOT beating KL (or indeed picking up the bonus point from a narrow defeat...) to overhaul them.. So, it's VERY close... But how annoying is it that two of the fixtures that'll end up 'not counting' are Bournemouth Vs. Rye House and Rye House vs. Plymouth... Two fixtures which would've been hugely exciting and totaly crucial in this race for 4th...

Indeed. Was the 1975 World Final. And amazingly that was also on the same date as yesterday, September 5th.!!! 35 years older but still none the wiser!!! Bizarro posting...: what do you mean..?!!!

And Marc's on the injury list ATM isn't he. As is Brendan Johnson - seen hobbling around on Sunday on the ubiquitious crutches! As of course is the rider who deffo would've taken the unlucky Tai's place: Bren's predecessor as GB Under 18 champ, Jerran Hart.. The two Kyles were a selection mistake. Personally I believe that instead we should've gone with Jason Garrity and another Kyle, young master Howarth...

Horray! That's one thing I NEVER thought I'd hear you say. The other is: "these key rings have a life-time guarantee"...!!!

Thanfully someone must've read the riot act to the Clerk of the Course and pits staff, as the progress of races much improved from heat 11 onwards and even more so from heat 15 to the end. As they could do it then, it begs the question why on earth did they allow that shocking situation with the first ten heats. Tapes exclusions of which there were FOUR in that first period should NOT lead to the other three riders going back to the pits for five minutes!! And efforts to keep down the dust which led to 15 minutes gaps for watering simply weren't working and IMHO were just delkaying the meeting with no overall result. I have a third of the shale from the third bend in my hair right now and I have hardly any hair!! Dust, delays, virtually no passing...: not exactly a great advert for Speedway and a shame as there was a really big crowd...

I'd be astonished if it wasn't... It always is!! Not sure about chairs though...: you do know what Uncle Len has pillaged every defunct stadium in London for their seats and there's loads in the place now!!

BTW, can I put on record that my optimistic projections for Sunday were/are based on Tai riding...

Hmm, well the indications I've picked up on (could be wrong!!) are that the 12/9 deadline DOES still stand. By my reckoning that makes the following the o/s NL fixtures which are going to 'fall over the edge' of the deadline and so fail to 'count' in the play-off reckoning... Makes that double header rain off for the Buccs look terribly damaging to their p/o hopes... Also disappointing when one considers that no such hard line has ever been applied before in this division... 19/9 Bournemouth v King's Lynn 19/9 Bournemouth v Rye House 22/9 Dudley v Weymouth 25/9 Rye House v Plymouth tba King's Lynn vs. Buxton Anyone out there who can (hopefully.. ) correct me on this...!

What date is the (revised, I assume..?) cut off for the play offs..??

Fair enuff!! Have a good time!!!

Actually that is hard to understand, if in the qualifiers that rider (having faced up to all of his opponents just like the rest of the field) was to score say just nine whilst someone else gets a maximum 15... How can you then say should they win the single race that's the final that they've deserved the GP title more than that other rider..? I’ve asked the question before but if people support the concept of the GP series being all about an aggregate score over a whole series (and of course there is a merit in that even though it takes away the excitement from the progressive WC of old..) then why interfere with that logic by having the semis and final. Top scorer on night= GP winner! What’s wrong with that..?! Quite often they’ll be a tie anyhow and they’ll need a (non-GP points scoring) run-off so that would be part of it…

Come on, it is absolutely NOTHING like 11 World Finals...! In a World Final (the proper 16 rider, 5 rides each, 20 heat formula) - the person with the most points after everyone has met everyone else is - shock! horror! - the winner.. In the GP a rider can get a maximum 15 and lose in the Final to someone who scored just nine in the 20 heats... Why have the semis and Final...?!: these act against the spirit of what you said was the point of the GPs and mean there can be (and actually quite often is...)a 'GP winner' and yet another rider finishing the night on more points! That cannot be justified surely and I'd struggle to find ANY sport which would sanction such an entirely daft concept..!

Bloody hell, Jeff's been on a one man (with pen and hidden tape recorder...) crusade to upset the whole of the Speedway world since 2005... There can barely be anyone he's not dissed in one way or another by now..

Absolutely. I went to all the early White City home matches in '76 and many over '77 and '78 too and I can't recall there ever being a more dominant rider at a top division track than Gordon Kennett... He also remember came second in the Grand Prix in 1976 to Peter Collins. The GP being a series with Rounds held on all BL tracks and then a final at White City.. Kennett also won the World Pairs twice - it's simply not on to judge his second place in the 1978 individual WF as some kind of one off... Deffo top ten... Close to my top five..!!

European Champion was indeed the title bestowed on the winner of the penultimate round in the Western European part of the qualifying process up to the mid-70s... Peter Collins won the European Final in 1974 at, er, that little known ramshackle track out in the middle of nowhere called Wembley Stadium!! BTW, I still haven't heard any coherent argument actually in FAVOUR of the GP system... All its apologists do is attack what they perceive as the shortcomings (and as in several threeads above they more often than not get these wrong! ) of the previous system of worldwide QRs and a one-off Final! These people remind me of those on another part of the BSF who can only defend the Monarchy by pointing out what they perecive as the weakness in having a President! If something's good it should be able to be defended for its own merits not the demerits of alternative systems!! So come on, over to the GP brigade!!!