lucifer sam

Yes, I did see it before it went EC and Villers are right - any arguments are pointless. It does show that the National League does need to get its house in order, and sort out what exactly it is about (IMO a training league), and there also needs to be better protection towards the teams that have developed their own riders. All the best Rob

Yeah right. Jealous? What of? What have you won? This is a thread about Scunthorpe Saints, so please can all the gloating Dudley fans please vacate it, before I say something I might regret at a later date. All the best Rob

Well Malcolm, I'm sure one of the teams in question wouldn't be daft enough to announce the signing on the very same day that the Saints announce their withdrawal... or would they? All the best Rob

That's the crux of the matter, isn't it? What is the purpose of the National League? For me, it is a stepping stone to bigger things. It's there to produce riders for the Premier League and Elite League. Where things go wrong is when clubs start to push up the costs to going all-out to win. The way to win the National League is by developing your own riders; not to take them from elsewhere. All the best Rob

Talk about missing the point. The National League is a training league. If each team is bringing in two new 3.00 riders each season, the points limit is about right, although I'd like to see it reduced to 36 or 38. The top riders in the NL should be moving into the PL each season, leaving the bottom five in the team plus two new youngsters for the following year. The National League is first and foremost a training ground. Any team success is just a bonus. All the best Rob

That's a rather condescending post. All the best Rob

The point being it is the final race of the night (Heat 19 in total), so the track had lost much of its bite, but it doesn't stop Ryan Douglas on a borrowed bike having a bit of a charge around the outside. All the best Rob

I saw Ryan Douglas ride in a Swindon v Oxford second half last year (although as the Oxford team manager, I would have preferred he hadn't, because thanks to him, Swindon beat us ). He came in at late notice for Swindon, I think he was on a borrowed bike, and he scored 11 points out of 12, dropping his only point whilst taking his fourth ride in 4 races. He nearly went around Brendan Johnson with a brave move in Heat 4. He looked fast, with plenty of courage, which is ideal for riding at Scunny. All the best Rob

Not long now to find out the complete team of the defending Premier League Champions. All the best Rob

FULL 2013 SCORPIONS LINE-UP TO BE ANNOUNCED TONIGHT HENDERSON INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions, the defending Premier League Champions, will announce their full team for the 2013 season this evening (Sunday, November 18th). The Scorpions were going to announce one name, but are now in a position to reveal the whole septet. Promoter Rob Godfrey said: “I don’t wish to give the game away and ruin the big announcement this evening. “But I think our supporters are going to be delighted once they see our 2013 line-up, as we strive to become the first ever team to retain the Premier League trophy.” The full Scorpions team will appear on the official Scunthorpe Speedway website (www.scunthorpescorpions.co) at 9pm this evening.

Great to see Edinburgh saved for 2013. All the best Rob

Just quoting that one for future reference All the best Rob

Jarek Hampel in 2008 & 2009, and Darcy Ward in 2012? Not that I necessarily agree with the White Knight, but there's two answers to your question. All the best Rob

Erm... surely we don't have any speedway at all if you do that. All the best Rob

Forget young master Crump was also in the 1996 line-up. Make that nine world champions. All the best Rob

Take a look at the line-up circa 1995 and 1996. Much stronger: Nielsen Rickardsson Ermolenko Hamill Hancock Havelock Loram Gollob EIGHT World Champions, for starters. And that's before you mention Knudsen, Louis, Gustafsson and Screen. Much weaker line-up these days. All the best Rob

I'd like to see: * Minimum of 4 British / Commonwealth riders per team (raising to 5 in 2014 and 6 in 2015). * Tactical subs (6 or more behind) instead of tactical rides. Also a team six points or more behind can swap gates (1&3 instead of 2&4 or vice versa). * Maintain current scoring system, but also have aggregate point. * Pits telephone calls to ref to be broadcast over the PA - keep the crowd informed and entertained. * Keep points limit of 42.50. * Reserves at 6&7, but rest of team can line-up as team manager wishes. * Foreign riders cannot drop under initial average. * Assessed averages on new foreign riders to be increased. * Double points for Heat 15 - more last heat deciders. * Go straight into league matches - split into northern and southern conferences, teams meet other teams in same conference twice, teams from other conference once. Top 4 into play-off semi-finals. * Award the Young Shield to the team that tops the league table, so they've got something to show for their efforts (similiar to Rugby League's minor). * Scrap the League Cup and PCT. * KO Cup matches over one leg until the semi-finals. KO Cup dates reserved, with final in mid-August. * Play-off semi-finals and final to be televised. Play-off final in final week of September. All the best Rob

He's a Scunny asset. Hopefully Cov will give him a team place - it was a shame he missed out this year. All the best Rob

1. your teams top rider? I can't choose one. All of them. 2. your teams most improved rider? Michael Palm Toft - it all clicked for him around mid-season. Fantastic 21 point-max against Workington. 3. best match witnessed? In terms of sheer drama, the play-off final. In terms of racing, Scunny vs Leicester in August - Nick Morris was scary but thrilling in that one. 4. worst match witnessed? Away to Rye House - a frustrating night. 5. did your team do better or worse than expected? Er, well as league champions I'd say we did OK!! 6. best fans to visit your track? Somerset - very vocal in the final (I could hear them and was located in the pits) 7. best track( other than your own team) Well of course the Eddie Wright Raceway IS the best track. But Somerset is second best. 8. worst points of the season? Lee Richardson's accident All the best Rob

TWK, the trophy that Scunthorpe were presented on Monday looked like the "Premier League Championship" trophy - that's what it said on it. Total league points scored: Scunthorpe 50+7=57 Newcastle 51+5=56 Somerset 48+8=56 I'm not counting the final where no league points were actually scored (as it decided on aggregate), but from 28 matches heading into the final, the top team across all matches were Scunthorpe Scorpions. So whether you go by the play-off final or by league points, Scunny edge it both ways. It's 2012 - and the play-offs are here to stay, whether you like it or not. Monday night was top entertainment - compare it to the way the 2011 season fizzled out with championship obviously heading to Glasgow with a couple of months still to go. Had Newcastle won the league, I would have been amongst the first to congratulate them. It's a pity that you can't do the same and congratulate the Scorpions. Come on TWK, I know you're a bigger man than that. All the best Rob

Davidj, is it that difficult to post "Well done Scunthorpe Scorpions on winning the 2012 Premier League"? Let me show you how it's done. Well done Workington Comets on winning the Premier League pairs this season. See - it's easy. It you're finding it difficult, then spend 12 months practising, so that you can congratulate Scunny when we win the 2013 Premier League. All the best Rob

Footage courtesy of Clean Cut Sports (can't wait for the DVD): http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/Video-added-Scunthorpe-Scorpions-make-point-lift/story-17197636-detail/story.html All the best Rob

Delighted for you Rob. You've put together a stadium and track that serves up the best speedway entertainment in the country. The track staff are just incredible - nothing is beyond them. Last night was just unbelievable - including that so tense final race. And there's a basis there for a successful team for many years to come - after David's injury, the eldest of Scunny regular riders was Gary Irving at just 23 years old. Congrats on that first PL honour (and what a first honour to get - the league title!!!) and fingers crossed it's the first of many. PL title in only the fifth year in the league is brilliant. And there then's there the NL team, amateur meetings, etc as well - all a credit to Scunthorpe Speedway. It's been a pleasure to get involved at Scunny this year. I realise I'm very biased, but IMO yourself and Richard are the best management team in the sport, backed up by a lot of other fabulous people. All the best Rob P

I think you'll find the winner of the play-offs win the Premier League. Those being the rules subscribed to, by all 13 teams. The play-offs are here to stay. Compare last night's extreme excitement (Heat 15 was almost more than I could bear) with last year's stroll in the park for Glasgow. However, rugby awards a "minor" to the team who tops the table. Maybe we should do this in speedway - what about the Young Shield? The table-topping team then, at least, gets some silverware. That would be seem fair to me. All the best Rob

Absolutely brillinat meeting. All the best Rob