GeneralMelchett

I hope he does as I want to see some races between him and Emil! This could be the vfirst home win when i have attended this season for the Witches too!

I had this down as Ipswich either just squeezing into the playoffs or missing out by a point - it hinges really on Leicester and them winning at Peterborough and beating either Sheffield or Wolves at home! Given their performance at Wolves last night i still think they will just manage it - but whilst it is possible then the Witches need to go all out and try to qualify. I think Sheffield will win enough home matches to see them through - although I hadn't considered they wouldnt finish all the fixtures in time before the cut off.

I do want to go to the NSS - however for me it would involve going through the snake on a Monday night and hitting the Glossop and traffic as you head up to the M67 - its always a bottleneck and every time i have thought about it i cant face doing it! It theory it is an hour door to door for me but i would have to be out of work sharpish to get there. What was the crowd? The Grandstand holds 3700 it says - and it was what half full, maybe 60% full? That's approaching 2k people with a decent number down the back straight - so the crowd was 2500 maybe more? In these times thats not too bad an attendance. I the two times i have been the Owlerton this season the crowds have probably been about the same - possibly higher. There was one or two races that would have been great to see live, particularly heats 13 and 15.

As I was watching the match on TV I was not watching the updates site I was only getting updates every 4 heats or so - its far to say at the halfway stage i was beginning to think the Wiches might have blown it but they didn't!

Conversely however what a night for Erik

sorry i got the fixture the wrong way round - i think Wolves will win tonight

Thanks - yes they do seem to cover them on the local radio - I listended in to the first match was seems a lifetime ago in late March

No Tarasenko would mean a weaker Panthers for sure - reckon you are right for either scenario - if Witches win it at least keeps the pressure on Sheffield and Leicester - Sheffield likely to lose - Leicester probable win, but witches need them to lose this to keep the hope alive!

Glorious sunshine this side of the Pennines this AM lets hope its the same over the dark side! Looking forward to this tonight - think Belle Vue will secure the win

The old NL fours was one of the highlights of the season - I also remember going to the Pairs at Hackney sometime in the late 80s as well Arena who were never really in it for the league title (until the T Russell era) at least punched above our weight in the fours coming 2nd a couple of times and also winning in 1992

It has - years ago country cricket was dying in its backside so they came up with new versions - it’s irritated and lost some of the purists however but gained a new generation of followers - sadly lot more money in cricket! Speedway has - to be fair - made many technical changes and also other ‘innovations’ over the years - just last year the golden heat caused much debate - many in here seemed dead against it - but when I witnessed one of these in front of about 2000 people at Foxhall it was a massive hit! same with the playoffs they merely followed the trend of other sports - again many are not a fan of them yet they are the most dramatic and well attended meetings of the entire season

I still maintain (as someone who has watched a lot of other sports live) that a decent speedway race is still, for me, the best and most exciting thing! This thrill of seeing another rider chase down and pass another at 60mph is still exhilarating! I feel lucky that at both Foxhall and Owlerton this season I have seen a fair few decent passes like that.

To be fair I wil be making my way to Owlerton to see him ride - its just annoying that next week (Thurs 10th) I am at Ipswich weather permitting! I actually remember his debut!

Still weren't gonna come last tho was he!

If i recall that one Kurtz (the wee stinker) popped out of the gate in heat 15 and stayed there - the track had dried out badly and if Doyle and Emil can't reel you in then no one could have! Given him his due that was a captains ride!

There is undoubted truth in that too - I had a team mate at football once - you could have given him 10 comments over a game - 9 would be entirely positive one negative yet he would home in on the negative and react to it!

Pipe down you (Joke obvs!)

He raises a good point tho - I recall attending a football match once - one fan sat behind me spent the entire game moaning - 'yer effing Shi8E Wednesday' according to him the ref was bent in both meanings of the word, the opposition were cheats - he left five minutes before the end and missed his sides winning goal from a penalty in the last minute - it had actually been a decent game ending in a 3-2 win for his side - My takeaway from that game was why the heck did you go if it caused you so much stress! Some people are just never happy - as i often say some would complain if there was owt to complain about!

except he usually doesnt! from memory he has won it twice this season - just dont let reality get in the way of having a pop at either Hawkins or King

Hope so its been a real pleasure witnessing his skill this season. In relation to the other point - last season Doyle also passed up heat 15 on a few occasions for a variety of reasons if ther meeting was won - I know one was he'd burst an eardrum and didn't feel like taking the extra ride. Maybe Emil likes to gives others the chance to have another ride and earn more money.

dont do it you'll never make it!! oh ok! anyhoo well done witches - reserves did their job as well and so good to see Erik getting a few points

yep! He admitted himself when younger he was the worse for not loking after himself - drinking etc during the off season - at elite level weeks and months of training often only result in small (ish) incremental differences in performance but that is often all it takes to elevate you to the top tier!

I bet he did -:)

One thing Tai was i think instrumental in setting up was proper fitness regimes for the uk squad - it’s clear that many riders at the top level are fitter and healthier than many from the 80s-2010 era - fitness for elite athletes does involves a slow resting heat rate but a much higher one when at peak levels of performance- that only comes through conditioning! It’s always interesting to see what they are on the start gate in the SWC I think the highest records was about 192bpm which is high - lowest was about 150-160ish

I’d be interested in that it is as they overtake someone! Or when they expect incoming contact!