pointsmeanplayoffs

So he can't be banned then?

The playoff are here to stay, they happen in most sports where there is not promotion/relegation. Let's face it, without the threat of relegation, and with no play-offs, half of the teams in the league would have NOTHING to ride for after May/June time!!! Personally, I hope Lynn get through to the grand final, no sane speedway fan can deny them that. As for who wins, it looks unlikely that without our top 2 (in a team built around having a strong top 2) that Stars will get over the line but I still have hope. If Swindon end up winning it, then fair play, they have had their own problems at reserve this year and have 2 exciting riders as heat leaders who are bang in form. They are also backed up by the strongest 2nd string in the league on current form and are the best team to ride at Lynn this season IMO. Bringing in North and firing up Gustafsson show Roscoe has earnt his money again this season.

I hope WE don't 'bottle it'

I'm quite sure Cov will beat Poole on Monday, Andersen and Harris will be too strong for the Pirates guests and the Bees reserves will easily cover Newman and whoever is Poole's other FTD. Stars are gonna wrap it up on Tuesday night.

Tell me about it, Having Niels meant we pretty much won any heat 1, 13 and 15 no matter where we were. None of those guys listed are anywhere near him. Poole are in the same boat don't get me wrong but they're missing their top man because is he got pi55ed and not through an unfortunate injury. If only Matej Zagar would guest : ) Best away rider around Lynn this season for me, inc. Piotr. Just hope Kenny continues his recent good form.

Stars have a full team, and it's looking increasingly likely that any kind of win here will clinch the top of the table spot (providing Bees beat Poole on Monday night). A Kenneth Bjerre maximum is on the cards...

Can riders be sacked after the 'transfer deadline'? Just worried that if Lions do sack Mads, he will be ineligible to guest for anyone in the play-offs as he will be club-less. It's looking increasingly likely that in the play-offs Lynn and Poole will be 'battling' for guests such as Bjarne, Bridger, Watt, Nicholls, Cook and lets face it Poole will get whoever they want as they'll pay more.

Looking forward to seeing what form Mads is in ahead him guesting for us in the play-offs. Stars to win by 2 with Lewis Kerr and Nicklas Porsing scoring 20 points between them.

Nice to see Bomber guesting for Stars on Thursday, we MAY even see an overtaking at Leicester!!!

Lebedev will be back at Lynn I'd imagine.

Do you work for the Coventry Bees promotion?

Regarding that Horton statement, Coventry riders certainly did show their class, especially Bomber. Best team on the night won for sure. As for the Promotion who can't plan ahead well enough to get a FTD on the list in time before the start of the month, the manager who talks nonsense and the group of fans who don't understand the rules and who cheer when their own former rider falls off, well, 'classy' isn't the word I'd use.

Yes I do get it. If you think that rain offs and the heat 10 rule are the main reason why the sport is dying then YOU don't get it. It's merely symptomatic of a sport in trouble and NOT the cause. How many meetings are honestly affected like the ones last night? We had BV last season, a couple involving Swindon this, and last night. Not bad for a weather dependent sport in country with an inconsistent at best climate. Bigger problems IMO are blatant rule breaking regarding team building, poorly prepared tracks even in good conditions, poor promoting, poor 'theatre' on race nights, SOME mercenary riders, the increasing importance of engine tuners and a perception of over pricing. That's what destroying the sport we love. Get those sorted and punters won't mind the odd weather affected meeting.

I think Trees has it nailed. It's heat 10 for a reason and that is it gives the cash strapped promoters the best chance of getting some cash in. Ht 10 is OK with me, but over a 2 leg match, something like cricket's Duckworth-Lewis scoring method needs to be bought it to make it fair on the home team.

This has all the makings of a giant farce with half the riders missing, a sparse crowd, and a track which is so dusty you cannot see the racing anyway. The imminent cut off date means though that this meeting HAS to go on, with both team needing points to cement play off positions which (and I'm going to get pelted for this...) is pretty much all that matters at this stage of the season as far as promoters are concerned. You only have to look at Lakeside last night and Belle Vue last season - all about the result NOT the entertainment. The SWC break is such a hinderance to the EL season with no matches able to run at would be a seasonal peak.

Get Mads in, at least we'll still have a KL heart to our team. Nobody would question his commitment to the cause, an accusation which is often levelled at guests.He'd love to win it for his buddy Niels.

Read online that Niels is out for 6 months, destroyed his cruciate ligament which is awful news. He had better get a wildcard for the SGP next season. With him at 1, the best rider in the Elite League this season (look at the stats), the Stars had a real chance to win it all this season. Now, well the stuffing has been knocked out of it all to be honest. Depressing. Cant bring in a replacement now either. Swindon's to lose now.

Lambert has ridden well versus and at Poole this season. A good move. Hope Lewis Rose is back for next season, he was in the form of his life before this latest set-back.

That's completely different, letting a teammate passed in a tactical scenario is more akin to team riding. Don't be so ridiculous. PK was not racing, he would not have made it to the end of the race without Dak lapping him. Besides, any protest should have been made on the night before the next race started.

But the race in question was stopped, and when it was stopped, PK was not racing.

He came in on a 3.00 av which allowed us to have 2 GP riders. The fact he is riding to 5.49 shows he's doing his job. And he doesn't score double figures often. As his average suggests. Nor does Schlein really. Had Lambert been at FTD he would be out scoring Kerr, Garrity, Worrall etc.

He's not the next Michael Lee nor Darcy Ward. He's Robert Lambert and he's 16 FFS. Sure, he can't gate for toffee but my god he can mix it up. Lucky to have a talent like him at KL.

Poole can only use a guest for Darcy for 30 days right? What if no replacement is made today? Come playoffs time in October, Poole won't be able to use a guest then what? A 6pt NL rider?

I think Berntsson is lined up for Wolves in 2015, pretty sure I read that he was approached to ride for Wolves this season but delayed until next season.

A lot of talk on the Swindon match thread about team changes, especially Porsing who has had a bad couple of weeks. Thing is, IF team changes are to be made, they need to made definitively i.e. to win the Grand Final and. There is no point in making a change here or there just for changes sake. I'd rather keep with the 1-7 we have and go out in a blaze of glory taking the moral high ground than make little tweaks to the team. Our 1-7 won at Poole remember, and Coventry, and Wolves, and Lakeside. The team spirit looked awful last night, we snuck a win in the end but there was no celebration, during ht 15 the Lamberts were standing chatting on the infield whilst a sad looking Porsing was sitting on the floor, Rob was elsewhere as with Buster. It didn't look like a happy camp - am I reading too much into it? Are changes inevitable. On the subject of changes, lots of talk about Lebedev who on a 4.5 average could come in for Porsing but that would mean we lose a whole 1pt from the averages, surely we'd have to make use of this 1pt and replace another rider also? When you say muscles, do you mean wallet? Any big name changes will not come cheap.