Playoff Predictions

[4thbender]

It's getting to that point in the season when we supporters start to weigh up our chances in the playoffs. My money is on the following:

Finishing positions:

1) Ippo

2) Tigers

3) Leicester

4) Aces

This probably means that my Sheffield team will draw the Lions in the semis; they've been our bogey team all season and will probably give us a thrashing. Ipswich will make mincemeat of the Aces in the other semi, meaning it's an Ipswich v Leicester final. My money is on Leicester becoming playoff champs, and I reluctantly have to concede they thoroughly deserve it.

Any contrary views?

[ouch]

Sheffield will pick The Aces again. 

[spin king]

For me the top 4 will finish as the following;

 

(1) Ipswich

(2) Leicester

(3) Sheffield 

(4) Belle Vue

As far as I understand it teams don't pick their opponents.

Its 1st v4th

and 2nd v 3rd.

If this is the case then I believe the following happens.

 

Ipswich will beat Belle Vue

Leicester will beat Sheffield.

A final of Ipswich v Leicester could go either way, I am sitting on the fence for that one.

 

[SJA]

I think Leicester can go it if they hold onto RR for the rest of the season. If Becker riders in Poland this weekend, then does not ride for Leicester on Monday and a medical certificate is not produce he is banned for 28 days and Leicester get a facility. This would cover the first week of the playoffs. Then its up for grabs if he makes a comeback for the final if Leicester were to be in it. Again if he with holds his services he get a 28 day ban that would run out before the end of the 2025 sseason so he can start 2026 afresh. 

I suspect every Leicester fan is hoping for a long hot dry end to the summer that covers all of September while the fans of the other play off teams will be doing a rain dance as whenever I see Leicester on a wet track they underperform.

[szkocjasid]

5 hours ago, SJA said:

I think Leicester can go it if they hold onto RR for the rest of the season. If Becker riders in Poland this weekend, then does not ride for Leicester on Monday and a medical certificate is not produce he is banned for 28 days and Leicester get a facility. This would cover the first week of the playoffs. Then its up for grabs if he makes a comeback for the final if Leicester were to be in it. Again if he with holds his services he get a 28 day ban that would run out before the end of the 2025 season so he can start 2026 afresh. 

Last year when riders raced in Poland while being injured in Britain, the wording was after 28 days they have to return or be replaced, clubs wouldn't get a second 28 day facility.

Assuming that's the case this season, if Becker didn't return, Leicester would only be able to use a 75% guest, as they can't replace him.

[Daniel Smith]

7 hours ago, ouch said:

Sheffield will pick The Aces again. 

Sheffield won't finish top so have no choice.

Ipswich will 100% pick Belle Vue

[Steve Irving]

12 hours ago, 4thbender said:

It's getting to that point in the season when we supporters start to weigh up our chances in the playoffs. My money is on the following:

Finishing positions:

1) Ippo

2) Tigers

3) Leicester

4) Aces

This probably means that my Sheffield team will draw the Lions in the semis; they've been our bogey team all season and will probably give us a thrashing. Ipswich will make mincemeat of the Aces in the other semi, meaning it's an Ipswich v Leicester final. My money is on Leicester becoming playoff champs, and I reluctantly have to concede they thoroughly deserve it.

Any contrary views?

Why is that exactly?

The team that finishes top “deserve it” and that won’t be Leicester.

[PhilTheAce]

for the best interest of british speedway, belle vue will face sheffield and ipswich leicester, to leave a belle vue and leicester final again with belle vue winning easily again, all in the best interest of british speedway

[TTT]

Whoever finishes top will pick BV because they're terrible away from the NSS.

Ipswich v Leicester Final imo with Ipswich winning a close one on aggregate.

[PhilTheAce]

.

there is no picking FFS, how many times do people need telling

 

1st v 4th

2nd v 3rd

 

although they were the rules last year also

[Aries]

As has been said, 1st meets 4th, second v third. (Unless commercial reasons come in to play 🙄). Nobody picks anybody anymore. 
 

Pretty sure we’ll finish top. Can afford defeats at Sheffield and Leicester and still finish top by winning our remaining home fixtures. But as we know, that counts for nothing. Barring an 18/20 point defeat at Leicester in our upcoming fixture, we’d have taken the aggregate bonus in both rounds of fixtures against them this year. But again, that counts for nothing and the only two legged affair that counts is next month in the play offs.

If we can get there injury free, I remain confident we’ll see the job through. 

[ShanoXtra]

People talking as if Leicester are the team to beat, they lost the first round to Ipswich and in round 2 of fixtures they are 18 points down so I’m confident we can do a job on them in play offs, Leicester needed Brennan to win the trophy as he rode so well for them but it just shows he can ride their track very well. It’s ours to lose, but this is us so we probably will throw it away!

[AceBelle]

9 hours ago, Daniel Smith said:

Sheffield won't finish top so have no choice.

Ipswich will 100% pick Belle Vue

No one picks anyone it's 1st v4th 2nd v 3rd 

[Steve Irving]

1 hour ago, ShanoXtra said:

People talking as if Leicester are the team to beat, they lost the first round to Ipswich and in round 2 of fixtures they are 18 points down so I’m confident we can do a job on them in play offs, Leicester needed Brennan to win the trophy as he rode so well for them but it just shows he can ride their track very well. It’s ours to lose, but this is us so we probably will throw it away!

Bit harsh that. If Ipswich didn’t have bad luck in recent years they’d have no luck at all. They’ve had the best team on paper three years running now and had the gods go against them last two years. A country mile ahead at the top of the table before losing Sayfoootinov on top of Doyle last year, and the year before the weather gods were against them. 18 points up from the home leg and in the return, the heavens opened and made it a complete farce. Riders were being wheeled out for races before the riders from the previous race had even left the track. It was a lottery which Sheffield eventually won. If the rain hadn’t arrived there’s no doubt in my mind Ipswich would have held on. People may disagree but that season on three previous visits there, Ipswich lost by 6, and 12 on two occasions. 

Ipswich again have the best team on paper and if they don’t win it this time, then they can rightly be labelled failures. If they go in to to the play off with a full 1-7, then there will be nowhere to hide and no excuses.

Nothing against any of the four teams involved, but I personally hope Ipswich win it because Louis deserves it for consistently putting the best team together in recent years. Anyone else without a horse in the race should be rooting for them too. (Except for Lynn fans  probably 😉)

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Steve Irving

[Petecc]

The playoffs draw will be decided by whichever teams the the mickey mouse tv channel wants them in.

[Manifesto]

1 hour ago, Steve Irving said:

Bit harsh that. If Ipswich didn’t have bad luck in recent years they’d have no luck at all. They’ve had the best team on paper three years running now and had the gods go against them last two years. A country mile ahead at the top of the table before losing Sayfoootinov on top of Doyle last year, and the year before the weather gods were against them. 18 points up from the home leg and in the return, the heavens opened and made it a complete farce. Riders were being wheeled out for races before the riders from the previous race had even left the track. It was a lottery which Sheffield eventually won. If the rain hadn’t arrived there’s no doubt in my mind Ipswich would have held on. People may disagree but that season on three previous visits there, Ipswich lost by 6, and 12 on two occasions. 

Ipswich again have the best team on paper and if they don’t win it this time, then they can rightly be labelled failures. If they go in to to the play off with a full 1-7, then there will be nowhere to hide and no excuses.

Nothing against any of the four teams involved, but I personally hope Ipswich win it because Louis deserves it for consistently putting the best team together in recent years. Anyone else without a horse in the race should be rooting for them too. (Except for Lynn fans  probably 😉)

 

Where can I buy some of those rose tinted glasses? Sheffield thumped Ipswich in that second leg the weather didn’t effect the track at all… Leicester would beat the other 3 teams on current form 

[Manifesto]

1 hour ago, Steve Irving said:

Bit harsh that. If Ipswich didn’t have bad luck in recent years they’d have no luck at all. They’ve had the best team on paper three years running now and had the gods go against them last two years. A country mile ahead at the top of the table before losing Sayfoootinov on top of Doyle last year, and the year before the weather gods were against them. 18 points up from the home leg and in the return, the heavens opened and made it a complete farce. Riders were being wheeled out for races before the riders from the previous race had even left the track. It was a lottery which Sheffield eventually won. If the rain hadn’t arrived there’s no doubt in my mind Ipswich would have held on. People may disagree but that season on three previous visits there, Ipswich lost by 6, and 12 on two occasions. 

Ipswich again have the best team on paper and if they don’t win it this time, then they can rightly be labelled failures. If they go in to to the play off with a full 1-7, then there will be nowhere to hide and no excuses.

Nothing against any of the four teams involved, but I personally hope Ipswich win it because Louis deserves it for consistently putting the best team together in recent years. Anyone else without a horse in the race should be rooting for them too. (Except for Lynn fans  probably 😉)

 

Double post 

Edited 2 hours ago by Manifesto
Double post

[ShanoXtra]

1 hour ago, Steve Irving said:

Bit harsh that. If Ipswich didn’t have bad luck in recent years they’d have no luck at all. They’ve had the best team on paper three years running now and had the gods go against them last two years. A country mile ahead at the top of the table before losing Sayfoootinov on top of Doyle last year, and the year before the weather gods were against them. 18 points up from the home leg and in the return, the heavens opened and made it a complete farce. Riders were being wheeled out for races before the riders from the previous race had even left the track. It was a lottery which Sheffield eventually won. If the rain hadn’t arrived there’s no doubt in my mind Ipswich would have held on. People may disagree but that season on three previous visits there, Ipswich lost by 6, and 12 on two occasions. 

Ipswich again have the best team on paper and if they don’t win it this time, then they can rightly be labelled failures. If they go in to to the play off with a full 1-7, then there will be nowhere to hide and no excuses.

Nothing against any of the four teams involved, but I personally hope Ipswich win it because Louis deserves it for consistently putting the best team together in recent years. Anyone else without a horse in the race should be rooting for them too. (Except for Lynn fans  probably 😉)

 

My comment about probably throwing it away was focused on this years Cup semi final against Lynn, not the previous years.