Super Blue

In the past both home tracks have been heavily disliked by the other side, however that has changed in the last couple of seasons with the Rebels doing well at Foxhall in both 2015 and this year. I do believe it will be close/closer over the 2 legs with the recent resurgence of the Witches but our dislike of the OTA still remains in evidence. I'm hoping to keep it close enough from the first leg to be a real battle in Ipswich next Thursday and not like the Elite playoff final where one home advantage was massively bigger than the other. And for those detractors of the playoffs, I'm sure I would feel the same if my team had finished top but we have all known for some time that they exist and how it works. So with that in mind, had it not been for them the Witches season would have been finished months ago so I for one am glad that they do exist. (Well, this year anyway)

Baldy will probably arrange it for the park bench in his garden so he sip a lemonade or two (or something else)

Apparently Coles had bike problems in Edinburgh so has been rebuilding them ready for action on Friday.. Quite why I put Glasgow and not Edinburgh originally I have no idea, perhaps I'm thinking ahead too much and being a tad optimistic.

Just noticed on the Witches website that we've changed the riding order for Fridays first leg with the Rebels, I wonder what the reasoning is behind swapping Ben and Nico is? I'm sure it must be tactical in some way with how certain heats pan out but it means Nico rides with the reserves 3 times instead of Ben and I'm not sure how that is particularly advantageous given that Ben regularly looks out for his partner.

Will be interesting to find out who we are using at no7 on Friday, common sense says it would be to find a ringer who likes the OTA, a bit like Sheffield who found guests that love the Newcastle track as we saw the other night. It's gonna be tough to find a 3pt reserve thats likely to score a few but anything is possible.

Well I'll get back to the subject if nobody else will, although we were turned over twice back in April I'm now thinking the two sides look pretty evenly matched and both should have a decent home advantage. I believe good sized home wins are likely at both the OTA and Foxhall with the latter being a blinder if the Witches set about their task in the same way they did against Edinburgh. I know people have been disappointed by the size of the first leg lead in the Elite league playoff final but I believe our encounter with the Rebels could be a real classic going right to the wire in the 2nd leg in Ipswich on the 13th. Here's hoping anyway.

Personally Baldy I think your emoji post looks like 3 smiley faces, 5 thumbs-up and 5 jock straps or very brief undies. But it could just be the size of the screen on my phone, hey each to his own!

The place will be heaving for the banger finals it always is, I've been before and you need to get there early for a decent seat. Speaking of which, the official capacity of Foxhall used to be about 10,000 before they put the back straight stands up and they added about 1,800 so if we could get the Speedway track to be a better racing surface as promised by Chris Louis over the winter maybe Ipswich could potentially be a venue for one of the bigger individual or team tournaments in the not too distant future. Just a thought as most Speedway tracks in the uk cannot accommodate anywhere near as many people. And yes before its asked many thousands attend the big stock car events without issues. Also just read on the Elite playoff thread that even the National stadium in Manchester only holds 6,000.

Sounds like fun and great timing from the council may I say!

Actually it's pretty unusual for us to get the second leg of any cup or playoff competition, I just hope we can keep it close enough to make it to the second leg with a realistic chance of overturning any deficit. We had some pretty poor home and away performances from some riders against the Rebels earlier in the season but the team is much different now and it could well be quite close over the two legs. I certainly wouldn't expect them to turn us over at Foxhall again anyway. Here's hoping for a great semi final with the best team with Witches on their race jackets coming out on top!

I think we will just have to wait and see on the rules and regulations front till after the agm meeting of the Muppets who always screw things up in some way or another. Getting back to this season it will be interesting to see how Somerset line up for the playoff semi. If I'm reading the latest green sheet averages correctly Tungate takes over as their new number one and given his obvious dislike of the Foxhall track a strong No2 will be needed or they will struggle to score big points in Ipswich in those positions. At home they will obviously be good because his average hasn't increased for no reason. I'm sure however the possibilities will be discussed heavily when the relevant thread is started.

Is it raining up there yet ? I'm told its always damp at Armadiddlydumdump .

So do you fancy your chances on Friday then Scotsman?

Ritchie will probably find it ok if he doesn't have to ride it, I think that might have been the problem to be fair.

We always seem to struggle north of the border so what's the track really like then? Just had a look on Google earth, seems like a bit of an odd shape on the bends, would long straights and tight turns be a fair description?

I'm guessing given the lack of thread so far Edinburgh are not overly confident of overturning the deficit from the first leg at Foxhall? As has been said elsewhere it will only take 15 straight 4-2's and it's job done for the Monarch's, but is this a real possibility? I'm sure they will be up for it and with no tactical rides allowed a large home win is on the cards. However the Witches have been in good form of late and if they don't come out victorious over the 2 legs they deserve shooting. Only 2 days to go now so time for a few opinions I think. I'm going for a 50+ to 30+ point home win but not enough to win on aggregate.

It's the lull before the storm on here, I think things might go slightly ballistic if we qualify for the playoff semi's with all sorts of ludicrous ideas! Inflatable baby toys is an option Kitykat but might be a tad difficult to get hold of, we'll keep that one on the back burner for the time being I think. Making some noise for the 500cc tractor 🚜 boys will be the main priority should things go according to plan.

As far as attendances have been concerned this year apart from a couple when we were quite frankly dire I think they've held up reasonably well. And the last 2 home meetings have seen very healthy crowds indeed. Whether that's down to the success on track or the kids go free I'm not certain but if we make the playoff semi's I'm sure the numbers will be good again. Here's hoping for a productive end to the season and a Massif crowd in more ways than one!

Good girl, you know it makes sense!

I've had a novel idea, as long as all goes according to plan why don't we just watch some speedway and make a bit of noise in the playoff semi's against the cider boys? Get away from any infighting and enjoy what we go to Foxhall for. Sue, been meaning to ask you, how was your divided loyalty when we tucked up the Monarch's ? Just asking as you previously commented that they were your team in days gone by.

Well, as long as the Witches don't blow it in the second leg at Edinburgh I'll be hopeful (fitness permitting) of a return to the home of the Massif for the visit of The Rebels. And by the sounds of it I'll be seeing a few new faces given the comments of a few people on here unknown to myself. I'm really looking forward to it as long as we do the business in Scotland, I really still can't get over the size of the home victory against the Monarch's but the guys were up for it and as they say it's only half time. Let's hope I'm not being premature when I say see you soon.

I'll settle for that result, I certainly wasn't expecting quite such a big lead. If it wasn't for some mistakes and falls it could have been more as well. Some very determined riding throughout by all the Witches who were up for it big time tonight, a word on Connor Coles though, the lad can gate and I think was just trying a little too hard when in good points scoring positions. Well done though! The boys just need to make sure they don't blow it in the second leg. I know Edinburgh isn't exactly our favourite away track but hopefully we have enough of a lead to secure the semi final tie with Somerset. A great night for the Witches!

Personally I'd prefer the Witches to hit mid 50's but I'm not sure that's a realistic target. As long as we get 50 or just over it will be something to defend north of the border. But of course anything could happen on the night so time will tell.

I'll tell you guys my choice when you walk past me Thursday, I don't want anybody who looks on here thinking they are well ahead in the vote. Problem is, it's difficult when you look at the season facts and figures. Only a couple of riders have actually upped their averages this season whereas others have bought into the concept of the Massif big time. For me the jury is still out. All will be revealed in due course. I assume Macca is only banned on here and not from Foxhall?

So is the voting for the Massif " rider of the season " occurring on here or is it a last minute decision on Thursday?