cyclone

Was standing at top of terracing next to hospitality suite on bend 4 & had perfect view, and Phillips definitely swiped Coles front wheel when he dived inside. Not in a position to have a close view of what happened re Lawson's fall & whether Clegg moved at start, but the elevated ref's box does provide better sight lines of the circuit. I reckoned we needed at least a 20 point lead to stand a chance of reaching the final, given our poor away performances and Heeps failing to record a win/paid win in the previous Shield match at Brough. The bonus of having Clegg returning to reserve also strengthens the Diamonds, given he will inevitably replace Phillips in at least one of his programmed rides.

Having scrutinised the 2019 SCB Speedway Regulations, under 23 A : Penalty Guidelines for Meeting Referees, the following is stated:- "When a rider, Official or Motorcycle is unfit (including failing a drug or alcohol test), suspended, unlicensed or does not comply with the Regulations, then disqualification of the rider / Motorcycle from the Meeting may be mandatory. When a rider is disqualified from a Team Event due to failing a pre-meeting Alcohol or Drug test, or non-compliance to the Silencer, Tyre or Carburettor Regulations, then no Facility nor replacements are permitted in any Programmed rides". IMO this unambiguously means that neither r/r nor a Junior Rider replacing Howard should have been permitted for the programmed rides of the Monarchs number 3. I accept that this would have probably killed off the match as a close encounter for those, like myself, in attendance. Had Monarchs actually won, then Glasgow would have been fully justified to then appeal the result, which the SCB would have been obliged to overturn. For the record I am a Monarchs fan, without a "win at any cost" attitude.

IIRC there are non prescription over-the-counter medicines that do contain ingredients deemed as performance enhancing substances. However according to this link re Night Nurse:- http://www.theathlete.org/banned_drugs/night-nurse.html "This Product does not contain any banned substances according to the IOC, therefore this product can be taken in accordance with the Manufacturers guidelines." So it would appear that can be ruled out.

Well this comment on heat 12 in the Live Updates, imo sums up Oor Wullie's "professional" approach this Season:- "Smith passes Lawson on run in to the finish line after Lawson's bike slowed and start smoking." He seems reluctant to invest in decent equipment and Monarchs fans have to suffer watching him chugging around on his untrustworthy "bag of nails" home & away. No doubt he has ability, but appears to have zero commitment. Think we've reached the stage to call time on him, even if it means bringing in a third tier replacement such as Connor Coles.

Tigers are to be congratulated on their initiative in recruiting a potentially hot prospect, in Connor Bailey, on a 2pt GSA. I'm sure any other clubs fans, including my own, would have been excited at such a move. Such a similar move was done by the Tigers a few years back when they brought in Nick Morris, and look how well that turned out to be.

Believe it's ok @ armadale, & should still be, given greyhound racing has ceased there now. IIRC they're not allowed at Ashfield - a guy who used to take a couple of rare breed dogs a few years ago, apparently was barred for disputing this. No doubt a Tigs fan can clarify whether or not dogs are permitted. A friend used to have to keep his dog in the car when he went to Berwick, as they were banned because of an incident where a child was apparently bitten.

We should have emptied Lawson before his GSA plummeted from 4 to 3 as now, the likes of the Aussie 4 pt free agents, List & MacDonald cannot be signed as direct replacements. It was apparent from the opening matches that Oor Wullie is quite happy to turn out on crap equipment and after seeing the same thing in his late 2018 comeback, the Monarchs management still seem paralysed from making a change. Re Sedgmen, given his poor performances in the UK in 2018 and his indifferent performances in Oz during the Winter, I was surprised he was Monarchs first confirmed signing for 2019 on a starting GSA that he was/is unlikely to reach, and thereby made it difficult to track two 7+ heat leaders as most other ambitious teams have done. If it's the same team on Friday, expect Berwick to brush us aside without too much resistance.

Chessell could well pick up a point in ht 2 if Lawson is still on board the "bag of nails", "expertly" tuned by his pappa , given Danny Phillips relegated Oor Wullie to fourth in the same heat, last week Considering Starke's top scoring performance for the Tigs in the Scottish Cup at the Dale in the last home meeting of 2018, imo he is a better choice at no. 5 than Vissing. Expect Glasgow to win by more than six, with Cookie scoring a five ride max (full or paid).

Despite the optimistic propaganda appearing on the Monarchs website, on the basis of the poor performance of four of the Monarchs team on Friday, imo, the Monarchs will get thrashed by 20+ today at the EWR. Unless Wells suddenly gets in the groove and Andersson recovers from being "unwell" on Friday , it may well be Pickering & Heeps who will provide the main scoring for the Monarchs. Given Sedgmen had a couple of meetings already under his belt before Friday, he looks like a rider who is on a downward spiral. Re Lawson, it appears he has not made any significant investment in upgrading his uncompetitive 2018 kit, which was evident on Friday as he continued to lose ground to others on the straights. Given his father also is still mechanicing for him, I doubt if he is really treating riding Speedway seriously

Workington Sheffield Somerset Scunthorpe

Well based on the final NL Green Sheets for 2018 , Ruddick was 6.67 compared to Glasgow's Joe Lawlor on 6.61 I realise that averages can be misleading, but unless you were watching Ruddick riding everywhere, week in, week out, rather than trust your assumption, I'll wait & see how he actually does. Certainly HalifaxTiger on this forum rates him and he probably attended more 2018 UK domestic meetings than anyone else on the BSF.

Victor Palovaara intimated that he was keen to return to the Championship in 2019, after his short stint with Edinburgh. As far as I can see, he has not been contracted to any Polish club in 2019. Given he was decent with the Diamonds previously, might be worth a punt again.

Depends upon whether we gets a decent bike & mechanic, or else he will be plumbing the depths of unreliability again

very interesting. I believe that if a loaned rider then subsequently double/ups/down to a club in a different league, the initial club now using his services will then be entitled to a loan fee from the second club. Can you tell us if the same loan fee bands will apply? If they're the same bands, then Glasgow will have done a shrewd bit of business if a PL club now takes Cookie on.

But would smaller points money cover their costs? IMO the cost of bikes & maintaining them has spiralled and as far as I can see, the only folk making money out of speedway in the UK are equipment retailers & engine tuners etc. If it was to become an amateur league in which riding became a hobby, then fans must accept that the kit used would have to be less expensive to buy & maintain.

Wrong way round, Edinburgh won the 2010 league with 74 pts to 2nd place Newcastle's 58. Newcastle beat Sheffield in the 2010 Play - Off Final 101 - 89, and then lost the PROMOTION/ RELEGATION RACE-OFF to Ipswich 76 - 110 The magnificent Edinburgh team of 2014 went one better, as in addition to winning the League Play-Off, KO Cup, & League Cup, they also topped the League table with 74 pts, followed by Somerset on 67.

Well done to the Comets, who are worthy winners and whom I fully expect to join the select band of treble trophy winners tomorrow. Appropriate that the two sides that have had their scheduled Friday home fixtures messed up by the powers that be, more than anyone else, should contest the Championship Play-Off Final.

Congrats to Worky (and my local pal Barry who might now break into a smile ). TBH after watching them dismantle my own team in the semi, I was not surprised that they would post another 60 plus score, albeit with a "weaker" team this time round. IMO it will be an upset if they now do not complete the treble. BTW did they get the BSPA Vice Chairman to present the Cup ?

Howarth would fit in & could replace Bewley at home instead. Then with r/r for Proctor, the remaining six riders could share out his rides & if required, you could use Bickley in a tough r/r heat (ht13?), thereby allowing Campton to take 2 of KB's scheduled rides

What is the source of this information?

Both clubs have now confirmed that the 2nd leg, which replaces the then postponed leg of 30th April, will now be the final fixture at the Dale for 2018, on Friday. Tigers already hold a ten point lead from the first leg and imo will be favourites to retain the Trophy. Line ups will now doubt be confirmed in due course, but would expect guests to replace Greaves , & Andersson will be required, and either a guest or r/r for Cookie. It has also been publicised that all tickets bought for the original scheduling of this meeting are still valid.

Having been there yesterday, and I for one, never underestimated that Worky could overturn the deficit last night, as I fully expected Klindt, Bach & Proctor to fully reverse their Friday performances, together with an excellent choice of guest in Allen. Quite simply, Comets were all fully on their A game, and would have blown away whoever the opposition were. Unfortunately for the Monarchs, we were the lambs to the slaughter Congratulations to Worky, and on this form they may well win their first Championship title, together with the Shield & KO Cup of course. Good luck and lets hope more locals come through the turnstiles to fully support their magnificent team.

After the opening four heats, it looked like Monarchs would be toiling to build a decent first leg lead, and even after eight heats they had only built up an 8 point advantage. However they won every one of the remaining seven heats to add a further 20 point advantage to end up with a 28 point lead to defend at Derwent Park today. It might appear that this should be enough to progress to the Final, but it would be premature to write-off Worky yet, given that guest Jake Allen could be a game changer for the home side and the enigma that is Nicolai Klindt, could well go from zero to hero! Re yesterday's match, it did not appear that the track was overly grippy, and Jensen's third to last victory in ht1 indicated that the visitors should have been able to compete with the home big guns. Why Comets suddenly slumped in the second half of the match was a mystery, even allowing for the withdrawal of Bach, who had not been outstanding in his two rides anyway. If Bach is unfit to take his place tonight, I reckon he is currently no. 4 in the averages which would mean Allen, Jensen, & the reserves (probably Campton gaining 2 extra rides along the way), covering his rides, so this should not weaken the home side. Interesting scenario is that Bach becomes no 1 for October, so if he is still unfit, then the Comets would be able to use a guest & r/r permutation for Bach & Bewley in their Play-Off semi with Glasgow.

We look forward to seeing you arrive on your broomstick

Teams as per Official Edinburgh Website:- STAGGS BAR MONARCHS: Ricky Wells, Victor Palovaara, Josh Pickering, Richie Worrall, Erik Riss (captain), William Lawson, James Sarjeant (Guest). WORKINGTON THOMAS ARMSTRONG COMETS: Nicolai Klindt, Rasmus Jensen, Kevin Doolan (Guest), Rene Bach, Ty Proctor, Kyle Bickley, Mason Campton. Apparently this weekend will be last time that the Comets will be able to use a guest for the unlucky Dan Bewley, as the Green Sheets for October will move him down to fourth in their averages. Since the teams last met at the Dale the Monarchs are weakened at reserve by the loss of Joel Andersson who had been scoring heavily at home prior to his injury. How this match will go is anybody's guess, as Worky won 46 - 44 in the Shield and were then thrashed 65 - 25 in the League at the end of August, but Monarchs were well beaten in their last home match by Berwick. Weather forecasts for both home & away legs are good at the moment.