PE7Panther

I made some critical comments about the long delay at our place when the lights went out - but this farce at Rye House has made me think again. In fact, I'm happy to take it all back - especially after hearing Ged tell us at the fans forum on Friday that the racing could have got underway again much quicker if Lakeside hadn't tried to pull a fast one, by refusing to ride and badgering the ref to call it off.

A fair and balanced summary by BCD - and spot on.

He talked about "scheduled" meetings at home. And it's deffo not what was said at the fans forum/meeting on Friday evening. The message coming from the platform was firmly along the lines of "we'll go to Rye House give it a good go, and hopefully we'll get through to the final" So let's give this load of b*ll*cks a rest.

Good point. How about carrying over the outstanding play-off semi and the grand final until the start of next year? It'd be a nice curtain-raiser for the new season.

Lakeside can't decide a date unilaterally. That's what happened for this meeting. Panthers weren't happy with it and, strictly speaking, were entitled to reject it. But they swallowed it, even though it'd mean a weaker team than they'd have liked. In any case, they were pretty sure what would happen... yeah, another ruling from the numpties who run the sport "in the best interests of speedway" to force Panthers to accept whatever date suits Lakeside.

you stand corrected.

Best and most sensible post so far - except for suggesting that Panthers might not run next year; Ged has categorically stated that, whatever happens, Panthers will be running next year.

Despite my comments about karma, and enjoying a bit of shadenfreude, I genuinely hope Lakeside get sorted for next season - either at an improved track/stadium at Rye House or, preferably, at a new place in Essex.

100% right. But nobody can point the finger of blame at Panthers. Ged was suspended at the time of last season's AGM.

I totally agree with everything you say here. Just calling it a day makes a lot of sense. And given the fact that somebody has to go down as "champions" in the record books, then it'd have to be Peterborough Panthers. Who else could it be, and who else would deserve it? By the way, did Cook have a hand in drawing up the fixtures? I'm sure he used to, at least. If he did, it'd make it even sweeter!

nail on head!

Yeah, but it's funny how some people suggest that the 'simplest' thing to do is something which suits Lakeside. But if a Panthers fan suggests an alternative 'simplest' solution, it's a different story. For the record, I agree that the SCB will be stuck somewhere between a rock and a hard place. And whatever their eventual ruling, one team or the other are going to be mightily pi55ed off. The one small consolation for us Panthers fans is, as BCD has mentioned, the karma thing. That's been the recurring theme behind all my posts. We still had a chance, albeit small, of pulling it back when the floodlights failed at our place. The big difference is that we got temp floodlights up and running, which were perfectly adequate - and still Lakeside tried to get it called off. Well, they can't have it both ways! Awarding it to Panthers, purely on the basis of finishing top of the league, might not accord with The Rules - but when did that ever really matter? We can all recount umpteen instances when the BSPA and/or the SCB have fiddled about with them mid-season. It usually gets justified by that esoteric catch-all rule which covers anything "in the best interests of speedway". Well, surely the whole point of having a system of play-offs at the end of the season is to keep the season alive once Sept/Oct comes around, also for the financial benefit of half-a-dozen extra meetings which might draw bigger crowds than normal. That's clearly gone by the board now. So, in these circumstances and having due regard to the calendar, state and reliability of the Rye House Stadium, the likely weather forecasts, the need (surely) to punish Lakeside for failing to ensure that they could stage a meeting to a conclusion AND for not having a qualified electrician on site - then there's a pretty good argument for turning to the idea of awarding it to the team which finished higher in the league. I rest my case m'lud.....

He might (arguably) be an annoying twerp sometimes, but he's actually a damn sight smarter than many on here who bite every time. Anyway, if he's right he's right - as he is here.

What could possibly be simpler than to award it to the team that finished top of the league, and which has a home track where they can actually stage a meeting to completion?

Yep, of course it's all unsatisfactory. And everybody - me included, believe it or not - sympathises with Lakeside. But you have to admit that we're entitled to enjoy a bit of shadenfreude, given Lakeside's antics when the floodlights failed at our place recently.

Correct on all points

But why let facts get in the way of a good story? (aimed at them, not you NEP) Cook & co are squirming and will be pinning their hopes on BSPA chums twisting the rules to suit them.

you mean twist the rules to suit?

... and which had not actually lost.

I bet Cook, Lawson & Co are now regretting squealing at the Showground and trying to pull off a fast one. Funny how they reckoned it was too dark and dangerous even though Panthers installed 3 sets of proper temporary floodlights (that were readily available on site along with a qualified electrician, please note). Whereas the best Hammers could do tonight was stick a tractor with one headlight on the track, plus a couple of vans! Oh dear..... talk about what "goes around comes around"....

good point. Where's BCD when we need him?

Surely Worky fans would prefer to face Panthers - for several reasons: Worky came out on top in both league meetings. Panthers have a patched up team and even though they'd probably get better guests for the grand final, it's not the same as having your own riders. Surely Worky fans would much prefer to travel down to the EoES for the 2nd leg rather than the horrible Rye House stadium. At least when our lights fail, we have proper temporary floodlights on site!

The boy's got a point.

Surely it'd be "in the best interests of speedway" to disqualify Lakeside and award the play-off semi to Panthers. After all, there must be serious questions about whether the ramshackle stadium that Hammers are using these days is really up to it. Does speedway really want to risk another farce, and possibly even two, down there?

Surely a better and fairer idea is to simply award the trophy to whichever team actually finished TOP OF THE THE LEAGUE. Or, given the fact that it was Lakeside's responsibility that this meeting got called off, award it to Panthers and let's lock horns with Worky next weekend. Surely it's the 'grand final' everybody really wanted.