Grachan

It's no different to tactical substitutes in the "old" days. They, too, were to keep matches artificially close. As for the idea of 4 blokes going for it - this is a common factor I see from people who think the sport should be just that. For me, personally, if it was just that then I'd lose interest pretty quick. I love things like averages, working out team etc. That's what caught my interest in the beginning and probably plays a large part in what maintains it.

Good point.

Here's an example of why this guy's average theory doesn't work. A second division rider has an average of 4.51. This times 1.2 comes to 5.412. Rounded up, 4.51 comes to 5. And 5.412 rounded down also comes to 5. So he has an identical average in both leagues.

To put it another way. Take an 8 point rider in the second division. 8 x 1.2 = 9.60 Take a 9.60 rider in the first division. 9.6 x 0.8 = 7.68. However, using his rounding up system, a 7.68 rider would then be rounded up to 8.00 and 9.60 average rider would be rounded up to 10, 10 x 0.8 = 8.00. So maybe he is thinking it in those terms.

Well he did have a broken foot. Trust me, Swindon fans didn't feel mugged off in 2017.

It can make the last few races more interesting for supporters (well, most of them anyway). As it is now, it is of no real significance to home supporters if the away team gain a point or not if they already have their three by heat 15. Another exampke is Swindon only tended to use Jason Doyle in heat 15 if they needed him. If they had 3 points in the bag then there was no real advantage to putting him in. I'm surprised you can't see that, actually.

Do people think Rugby Union is a joke too? From Wikipedia: 4 points for winning a match 2 points for drawing a match 0 points for losing a match 1 losing bonus point for losing by 7 points (or fewer) 1 try bonus point for scoring 4 tries (or more) In this system, winning teams get 4 or 5 points; drawing teams 2 or 3 points; and losing teams 0, 1, or 2 points.

It's not a farce at all. It was a good system. The only thing wrong with it was that it no longer needed a TR to be available, but it was still available.

No, but I'd bring back 2 points for winning by less that 6 at home.

Nothing wrong with "gardening" as far as I can see. As long as riders are at the start and ready to go when the 2 minutes are up, then what's the problem? If they are still digging about when the two minutes expires then exclude them. That's all you need to do.

Does Grondal for Musielak fit? It would be interesting to see what the pre-season predictions were if that happened!

Maybe Holder was a disappointment, but if you'd kept him in the side King's Lynn would probably have been in the play-offs too instead of struggling to stay away from the bottom. The only team in the top four without a GP rider would then have been Belle Vue - who had a rider who has qualified for next year's GP.

No. Reds and greens.

My son is colour blind. Couldn't tell the difference between the red helmet and the green one.

Bit of a coincidence, though, that the two teams with GP stars ended up as the top two teams is it not? Sure, both sides made changes, but Lindgen and Doyle were vital in their success. The reason Swindon were able to make that change is because they were struggling at the bottom of the league because of the attempts to force Doyle out of the league anyway, by giving him that ridiculous average which dropped by about 4 points. For Swindon to get its first World Champion in all the time that I have been going to speedway was amazing for the supporters. If clubs need to cut their cloth then fine, just don't force other clubs to do the same. It might not be the case with all fans, but I, personally, want to see the top riders. I'm sure BT do, too, if they plan to continue coverage.

Or, to look at it another way. Keeping Jason Doyle at Swindon might not add 250 to the gate at Swindon, but getting rid of him might lose 250. Also, look at Swindon and Wolves last year. They had GP riders, and reaped the benefits of that with bigger crowds and a play-off final due to having a winning side.

How can it be a ride if the rider wasn't under starters orders? A tapes offence is a ride. A 2 minutes exclusion isn't. (Or, at least, it never used to be.) This seems more in line with a 2 minutes exclusion as the rider never made the start line.

Was that before or after he said that it was good to be riding with a full team that had no guests?

Didn't Jason Crump get in that way?

Great signing for Leicester, and one that might help keep the points limit at a reasonable level too. Good stuff.

For God's sake. It's Vaculik. He's a 9 point rider no question.

As I said, it's lower than Doyle and Lindgren, but it's higher than Morris, Bjerre, Cook & Kurtz. That's about his level, or would you disagree with that? I think, secretly, you know he is worth more than 8, hence wanting him to come in on 8.00 so that he will improve his average.

He's a 9 point rider. Anything less is an under-assesment.

Based on what?

Which would put him lower than Craig Cook, Brady Kurtz and Nick Morris. Is that the standard you believe he is? At the moment we have Doyle and Lindgren over 9. The next rider is Morris on 8,87. I'd say putting him between those two standards is about right. Looking at the averages he has to be 9.00.