Al Stewart

So many posts on this thread were based on the absolute certainty that Douglas would ride in Poland, eg ‘Scunthorpe should not get a facility’. Bit of a wasted thread really.

As a wise Edinburgh supporter once said, every injured rider will have a point when he is injured one day and not injured the next. Also the recent ruling not to allow IRR for a pre-existing injury is a definite incentive to delay returning from injury. It's always been the privilege of an injured rider to decide when to return. There's no doubt Ryan Douglas has been injured. I'd be more inclined to ask why a facility is given for the European Pairs, a dud of a competition which other riders could have been selected for.

I have heard from Clean Cut now and it was!

Can anyone tell me if the NDL Pairs was filmed for DVD? I'm trying to contact Clean Cut but haven't heard back from them yet.

Ipswich are not all that great but they have Doyle.

You in turn are forgetting heats 8 and 9. Heat 11, yes also.

I have no doubt of that.

Visiting riders at nos. 1 and 5 tend to score seemingly poorly at Armadale because they meet Masters and Pickering so often. It's different when they are on the Edinburgh side. That maybe suggests that Steve Worrall was the right man but I know that Edinburgh have appreciated Richard Lawson's efforts when he has guested this season. It's going to be a tough match anyway.

I've never been in favour of the two minute clocks, the reason being that I like the ref to be able to give a bit of leeway. I want to see the four riders in the race, and if one of them takes 2 mins 1 sec to get ready then I am not bothered. The 2-minute rule is poorly written, needless to say. I think it should have a full stop in the middle. It also doesn't really spell out exactly what constitutes being 'ready' though you might say that is obvious. I remember at one time the rider only had to be on track heading towards the start. Here's how the rule is worded now: The Referee must indicate the start of a 2 minute allowance by means of a warning horn or bell audible in the pit area together with the flashing amber lights if all of the riders are not in the starting area at the same time this warning shall apply to all riders and can be given only once

The insurmountable problem of trying to split two pairs in a head-to-head heat. All that matters is who comes last, which is why Doyle slowed just as Morris was checking who was behind. Could have been a nasty one. It would have been much better if heat 15 had been the decider with Belle Vue as top point scorers being winners on the night.

BSN Coverage pretty chaotic so far. Bike noise drowning out the commentary and the caption writer must be drunk, he hasn't got anything right yet. They should surely have it sussed by now?

But the difference between this and other situations you might believe to be similar, is that there is absolutely no doubt that Sam is injured. He has a broken bone in his foot. He is trying to miss as few meetings as possible. If he was not injured, he would not have missed any matches.

The Armadale Stellar Devils welcome to their side new signings Lee Complin and Elliot Kelly for Friday night's visit by the Kent Royals, and believe that they can break their duck of victories for the season. The match will be Live Streamed. Details on www.edinburghmonarchs.co.uk TEAMS FOR FRIDAY'S MATCH: Friday 15th July: Armadale Devils v Kent Royals (National Development League), Armadale, 7:30pm STELLAR DEVILS: Lee Complin, Josh Embleton, Tom Woolley (capt.), Elliot Kelly, Danny Phillips, Gregor Millar, Lewis Millar ROYALS: Alfie Bowtell, Jamie Halder r/r, Danno Verge (capt.), Connor King, Ben Morley, Chris Watts, Kyran Lyden

I was looking at his record for the program. He started in 2011 but has missed several seasons. Certainly impressive.

But Harris is missing isn't he? Is that not the real staffing issue?

It's not like Wolves to have something like this happen. Damaging for everyone.

OK so at least I've learnt how to edit a topic title.

WTF MONARCHS: Sam Masters (capt.), rider replacement for Lasse Fredriksen, Kye Thomson, Paco Castagna, Josh Pickering, Jacob Hook, Dillon Ruml (guest). ALLIED VEHICLES TIGERS: Craig Cook, Connor Bailey, Ulrich Ostergaard, Benjamin Basso, Tom Brennan, Danyon Hume, Broc Nicol Friday’s Knockout Cup match will be Live Streamed. Details on www.edinburghmonarchs.co.uk

Is it likely that Vissing will be coming back some time or is this the latest Championship permanent guest facility alongside Auty, Kennett, Wilson-Dean?

The Edinburgh meeting this afternoon is being Live Streamed. 30 races in 4 classes. Details on the Edinburgh website. Cost is £4.99

Casting aside the club's problems for the moment, Friday's match at Armadale could be close in spite of Birmingham's pretty bad showing at home on Wednesday. The absence of James Sarjeant is a hard one to cover. Friday 27th May: Edinburgh Monarchs v Birmingham Brummies (Championship), Armadale, 7:30pm WTF MONARCHS: Sam Masters (capt.), Lasse Fredriksen, Kye Thomson, Paco Castagna, Josh Pickering, Jacob Hook, Greg Blair (guest). CURTIS-SPORT BRUMMIES: Claus Vissing, Stefan Nielsen, Justin Sedgmen, Ashley Morris (capt.), Tom Brennan (guest), James Shanes, James Pearson Saturday 28th May: British Youth Championship 2nd round at Armadale, 2:30pm. 30 heats of action in competitions at 125cc, 250cc and 500cc level featuring the stars of the future and including some Monarchs Academy prospects. Even though Speedway Star doesn't say so, BOTH of these meetings will be Live Streamed by Edinburgh (as will every Armadale meeting this season). It might seem mad to have two streams - BSN are also there on Friday - but Edinburgh have their own regular customers who we want to keep faith with.

Yes I know but it seemed to fit in this topic. I always liked the name.

There was a pre-war rider, South African I think, called Cecil de la Porte.

Drizzling, scheduled to go off. I am pretty certain it will go ahead having talked to riders and track men. Forecast ok.

Tough one for the Devils tonight. STELLAR DEVILS: Danny Phillips, Josh Embleton, Tom Woolley (capt.), George Rothery r/r, William Lawson, Gregor Millar, Lewis Millar CHARGERS: Jordan Jenkins (capt.), Ace Pijper (guest), Ben Hopwood, Jacob Clouting, Nathan Stoneman, Arran Butcher, Sam Woods Available on Live Stream for £7.99 from the Edinburgh Monarchs website.