uk_martin

Doesn't one of those have Chris Harris's name on it though, like in previous years?

What a great way to turn other forum members into Stal Gorzow fans, just to be as distantly separated as possible from the Mickey Mouse troll.

My thoughts exactly.

Of course you will because the play-off's are where it's all decided and over two legs, Eastbourne will always have the advantage. It's like having an extra 10 points in the bag, every time. Don't forget to mint some medals to the track designer, and track curator.

9 hours to go and it's all quiet. Not even Brummies_cut_&_paste has been here to post the team line-ups. Is the meeting still on?

Trolls and the abstinence of nutrition spring to mind.

Well blow me down with a feather. Happy days! Well done, the kids.

Birmingham have been in several finals of all sorts of league play-offs and trophies since 2007 thank you very much, Life lessons learned include not being over-optimistic as it leads to greater disappointment when we lose (as we do more often than not). I'd rather be realistic and overjoyed if we win, without risking being overly disappointed if we lose.

I wouldn't hold much stall with yesterday's result. The relative strengths of Kent & Coventry are like chalk and cheese. As I said the other day, for Kent to lose they will have to press more self-destruct buttons than the Brummies did in the 1st leg. All 3 trophies this year will be divided between Kent & Eastbourne, in my opinion, so here's hoping that now I've said that I put a jinx on it too.

You can put Uncle Tom Cobley in as replacement, you'll still win by more than 4 points. The only way that the Brummies stand a chance is if Kent press more self-destruct buttons than the Brummies managed to press last night.

Wow...not even Brummies_Cut_n_Paste has made an appearance on this thread...

Maybe the average Brummies fan is a bit too long in the tooth or a bit too web-weary to take part in forums any more. Things ain't what they used to be. Just be grateful that they still turn up through the gate on the night.

You always hear of riders having their "favourite" engine...and maybe this is inevitable. I know engines are produced to standard tollerances, but can any engineering /production process guarantee that all engines are produced absolutely equally? You can seal them up in whatever plastic bag you like when they come off the production line, but some, I think, will still be more powerful than others. Is the suggestion really then that a speedway riders fortunes should depend on the luck of the draw on which engine he is given? Would YOU go to work with your weekly salary being decided by some kind of lottery. I'm sure you'd be keen on that wouldn't you?

How about the teams doing what happens in MotoGP - i.e. the teams employ their own tuners / mechanics? Take the cost of this out of the retainers that the riders get paid, then pay the riders per point scored only. Just a thought. One slight concern about all bikes being the same...do you mean the same within the team, or the same throughout the country? If it's per team, you can see that the Peterborough bikes will be different to the Plymouth bikes, with the consequent impact on competitiveness when these teams meet. If it's the same throughout the country, then you have to ask at what level the commonality is set. Some tracks demand a high revving engine, which could be dangerous at another track. Conversely, some tracks need a detuned engine that digs in a bit more, that will be useless when the revs are needed. Some riders prefer long stroke some short stroke, some large bore, others etc etc...you can see the complications.

I gather that there's another signing on the horizon...

Who will Buxton's next signing be? Or more to the point, how British will Buxton's next signing be?

Not sure if this should go on this thread or on the Speedway Betting pages...however anyone who is interested in going to the 2nd leg of the Polish play-off final on 25th September, can take advantage of some stunning flight prices... currently £31 return - Birmingham to & from Poznan with Billy Whizz Air. Gorzow, Zielona Gora Torun and Grudziadz are all well within range of Poznan... So £31 today, or somewhere in the area of £100 nearer to the date....a bit of a gamble. Who are the brave?

Full details, if somewhat garbled by Google's Translation Service, here - http://sportowefakty.wp.pl/zuzel/607346/poznalismy-sklady-na-polska-rosja-mecz-na-zywo-w-telewizji TV coverage from Krakow will be on TVP Sport. Decent admission prices and decent teams, despite absences forced upon Poland by the GP Qualifiers. I guess it will all hinge on whether the Russians turn up or not. Let's hope that this bit of promotion of the sport in Krakow helps to give the sport a higher profile in that city. Best wishes to those involved.

Why is there a fake 30-minute countdown built into the video? You can by-pass the countdown by scrolling forward on the time line...so what's that all about? Sorry, was someone trying to create an impression of professionalism with this video clip? FAIL!

Interesting what such an independent person earns too... http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14786414/nfl-commissioner-roger-goodell-earned-341-million-compensation-2014-calendar-year Something tells me that speedway won't have the sort of spare change to afford that kind of independent administration.

Great idea. All the debate, discussion, slanging matches, campaigning, character assassination and general nastiness can happen right here on BSF, right? And after all is said and done, it'll end up with Poole fans voting for one thing and everyone else voting differently I suppose?

Lots of questions. One day when someone has lots of answers we might be able to make progress.

Who in their right minds would want to serve on it? What would they get for their time and "expertise"? (or has some fairy godmother suggested that they all do it for nothing?) Who would appoint the successful candidates to their posts? And who would pay them? And how would the person who pays the piper NOT be calling the tune? Who would have the power to sack any of this new independent board? I'm assuming that anyone supporting the idea that speedway promoters who invest their cash into their clubs should give up their rights to say how their sport is governed, would similarly go to work, and hand over their weekly / monthly pay to an independent third party to run their households, and for someone else to decide what the money they earn is spent on, when you can and can't have a holiday, or a new car, etc?

Someone called "Speedway Ukraine" used to post Polish league matches in full, but now seems not only to have stopped doing that, but has also withdrawn those videos that he had previously posted. Shame, because his were all in HD. He's kept his SGP videos on though, so maybe the tap on his shoulder came specifically from the Polish authorities and not from BSI?

Not forgetting the "jumpers for goalposts", and the thing that will forever differentiate the mans game from the women's game - those "shirts v skins" matches.