Hawk127

Yep done and dusted. As some have said, they the witches are just not good enough and wholesale changes are needed starting with the manager and then five of the seven riders. Start from scratch in 2020 assuming they come to the tapes.

Totally agree with you.

All as expected. Danny King and most of the team are past their best at this level and you read Danny’s articles about passion for Ipswich. Total crap. Well done Robins. Deserved Champions and why bother with Thursday.

Confirmed that Witches are on the slippery slide to oblivion. Oh well always next year. You just have to ask yourself when did you last see an Ipswich team with real fight in it. Not since the glory year with Gollob etc.

A rider leans in as some comes up the inside and knows that his opponent is going to get excluded particularly where he has enough racing room to bail out and snare the other rider. Very clever.

Perhaps to make it more of a competition the final should with the top four finishers in a four team tournament over the four legs and that way you have the league winners and then the championship winners. That should pack out the stadiums.

Cannot see this being the witches year. Unlike Swindon who see up for it Ipswich by comparison are along for the ride but that is it. No fire in their belly and sadly the underdogs tag is spot on. If they get a home win they will at least save some face but without a good kick up the backside this team will let the town and County down.

Subscribe and yes it is good value for money plus it is delivered to your door and while it sometimes is a day late 90%+ of the time it arrives on a Thursday. Keeps you going through the winter with reports from Australia, Argentina and the Ice Speedway. it is a decent read. I wholeheartedly recommend it to the non readership fraternity.

Unlike Poole who thought they had won it before they even got to Foxhall for the second leg, Swindon will not be so complacent and with Ipswich being discounted and by some and not worthy of being finalists before a wheel has turned, all critics should wait and see, this speedway and nothing is certain. The witches are in the final and you have to be in it to win it unlike those on the south coast who will get another chance next season (assuming both are in the same league). Both finalist have a chance and let the real talking be done on the track. Whatever the result, one thing for sure, the sport needs wholesale changes and a serious inward look at itself to decide where it is going. Failure to have a condensed season over four/five months and regular weekly meetings means you end up with meetings like Wolves had and others that have gone before. No excuses, it is a summer sport and the main programme of league racing should be conducted in those months with other meetings before and after. One other point to consider, would racing be different if riders had been taking part in ‘Filler meetings’ to keep racing fit. Perhaps individual meetings and challenge matches do have some value afterall.

It is no excuse but to have such long gaps between finishing the league and the play offs with little or no racing in between and then have the rain affected conditions etc. ( rain being no one’s fault except the the organisation which is piss poor and down to the BSPA having no back bone) will inevitably lead to poor meetings such as those witnessed over the last two nights. When will the powers that be recognise the fact that the season should run from May until August and the finals in September. Build teams with riders who can commit to that schedule. I feel sorry for the Wolves fans who have been badly let down but these circumstances could be avoided if only things were organised better. Having said that Swindon had a job to do and you can only race what is in front of you. Good luck to both teams next week and let’s hope for some close racing. Runaway meetings does nothing for the sport.

Now number 10 in the Hardback non fiction according to the Times on Saturday. Does not state how many sold but the fact that it is in the chart is something

Both sides contributed in their own way and whatever anyone thinks it was nip and tuck whether by design or otherwise and i will admit that I thought the witches had let themselves, the supporters and the town down on Thursday and based on the hype and Poole’s ability to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat most including me expected Poole to take it on aggregate. Ipswich take a bow for what was achieved last night and hearty commiserations to Poole who fought throughout the season and deservedly finished top of the league. All teams know the score and whilst Ipswich may be the first to knock out the team at the head of the leader board and it may be a bitter pill for Poole to swallow, it is what it is and hopefully both teams will come to the tapes in 2020 and live to fight another day. Many a supporter who have lost their teams despite the success can but envy what both the pirates and the witches have achieved. Good luck to Ipswich in the final and we look forward to welcoming Poole to Foxhall next year.

A disgrace but modern day Witches riders have no conviction. Go back to the days when it was an honour to represent Ipswich and tonight would never have happened. That lead would have seen them through.Shame on all who think they did a good job. Poole deserve to be in the final.

Unfortunately the Witches have capitulated. Hawkins is not up to the job and of they want any success going forward he should be fired. The riders also need to think on there feet. Shame to give away such a lead but that is Ipswich for you only they could cock it up and will stand no chance if they make the final.

Totally agree. An awesome race with eight riders going from two gates. A great shame and frankly it really did not matter if it was not top draw riders it was the spectacle of those eight riders. Those were the days. I am sure you could get the riders to compete but maybe not those currently in this league who probably think it is beneath them. I know one or two who would put in some prize money of say £250 to £500 for the winner but it is probably not enough with the gate money to make attractive. Another part of the sport consigned to history.

You mean he will not be going for glory in the 16 Lapper or has that now been cancelled so Thursday is the last meeting? I guess you always have next year if they survive the winter of discontent. Long live the witches but no as we know them!!

Are you aware of the reasons it has been pulled from the schedules? Having looked a couple of the TV listings produced by the weekend papers they show the match as being on BT sport. It is bad enough the promoters/BSPA regularly don’t give a fig about the paying public but to have your main broadcaster jump on the bandwagon is taking the. P.... I guess this sums up the state of things, the punter really does not count at any level and you pays your money and it is a gamble what you get in return.

NKI did his job but the rest seem to be lacking in certain quarters. Oh well always next year and history repeats itself. The glory days really have fled the heath and no matter what CL tries on the track the aspirations are thwarted by mediocrity and also rans and I am not referring solely to tonight but over the season where the likes of CH should have been shown the door but perhaps he has a ‘golden handcuffs ‘ clause in his contract. Either way, apart from a miracle, the witches have shot themselves in the foot. Still we always have the 16 Lapper unless they bottle that one as well. Where has it all gone so badly wrong both in terms of status as well as meetings.

Is the manager really that clueless? Why oh why does Louis (supposedly in charge) not do what any right minded individual would do? A sad indictment of how a great name like Ipswich has plummeted in a once decent sport which unfortunately has little credibility left and partly because of one mans ambition to keep a third rate higher division going at any cost. Speedway in this country is not on the same level as most overseas nations and should by now have learnt to plough its own furrow. Each club suffers from irregular weekly speedway which affects the form of many riders (albeit double up helps but also raises the risk profile for a team) fixed race nights are a failure as far as numbers through the gate is concerned (you have the odd exception) and more often than not each meeting is a team of either six men plus Mr R/R thereby short changing the paying public or you have rider select. Little wonder even the stalwarts are walking away. Also rans is how to sum up the witches and they might just as well have a clear out now as they have little else to commend the continuation in the current league structure. Buy in an overseas rider by all means but get rid of the dead wood in the team.

Agree but not if they are currently in the GP series. Qualify on your current form or forego and go through the challenge series the following year if you do not make it. It seems failure is to be awarded. No wonder success no longer has any credibility and you see the same old faces. Hence the one off finals gave everyone a chance but today you can be piss poor and get two bites of the cherry. Everyone has an opinion and I respect yours but i do not share your view.

Cannot be any worse than having the same old faces who are never going to make it. Might just as well have Harris in it and a few others who are well passed the sell by date. Mix it up and put some new names in the frame. Zagar and Iversen have had the chances and do not deserve the back door route. Doyle is a different issue but in general the whole system is flawed. It needs a revamp to have the greatest number of riders eligible to make to the worlds number one and give hope to new talent no just the slap rans.

Perhaps it is time to change the format with a pool of riders selected to ride in say four GPs each then the top scorers from those GPs go on to compete in a qualifier for the final. This give the opportunity to include more riders not just the 8 plus the hand picked excuses and then with a revised format they can then be whittled them down based on form to a final sixteen where the points scoring is changed to say 4,3,2,0. Anything that gets more riders competing not just the same old names has to be good . Leon Madsen is a case in point.

I totally agree. It seems a nonsense that those performing poorly in the GP can do so with the comfort of knowing that the back door is still ajar. No rider in the GP should be allowed in the GP challenge and should only be allowed in the following year if they cannot qualify on merit in the then current GP campaign. No wonder the sport is not taken seriously.

Joint favourites, Brian Foote and Ted Hubbard particularly when both rode for the Rockets.

The GB manager adds nothing and BT sport are doing the paying punter (those now having to pay more to watch the BT sports channel) a disservice by having him sit in on a GP. Past his sell by date and an irritant to all genuine speedway supporters. Anyone with current riding experience and a personality would be better. Perhaps this is a sign that next year we will not have the BT coverage.