EnglishRoundabout

Yeah but the meetings tomorrow;)

Maybe the Rebels fans prefer to let their team do the talking on the track? There are plenty of us who post on here and believe me, the majority are quietly confident that we will come through the challenge at Foxhall tomorrow evening. The Rebels team this season have plenty of balls that's for sure. So I expect not only a Somerset team that fight hard to defend their lead, but knowing this side, they will be looking for the win.

And where did you form that pearl of wisdom from?

The massif is dismantling before our very eyes!

This was a terrific contest. The meeting had everything. Very hard racing, good crowd (although surprisingly only a handful of Ipswich fans), a well prepared racing circuit with several lines, and a some pit gate handbags at dawn! The Witches were good value with King, Risager, Barker and to a lesser extent Covatti always have n the mix. Some tremendous races notably a hair raising scraping the boards clash between Covatti and Wright with the Argentinian the eventual winner. He showed incredible courage to come back hard at Wright and simply never gave an inch. The races between Tungate and King were superb. In heat 15, Tungate whilst leading, clipped the back straight fence which reared him in a straight line at speed heading for the 3rd bend fence and probably certain injury. He somehow managed to control his machine narrowly missing the 4th bend fence, and all this whilst still under pressure from the British Champion, he corrected himself and held on for the win. Jake Allen was most impressive and arguably should have been out in heat 15. He showed real speed all evening and was gating as fast as I've seen him. What an inspired signing he has been. The altercation at the pit gate was because the Somerset skipper complained bitterly to Barker about 'turning left' on him during heat 15. It resulted in a brief scuffle, and unlike the UKIP equivalent, no punches were thrown! Barker is always the pantomime villain at the OTA. He even gave an interview in the bar afterwards in front of a packed clubhouse and before a partisan Somerset gathering. When asked about the reception he gets, he stated, "I couldn't care less". Thick skinned is Mr Barker.... This tie is not over, and the Rebels will need to be at the top of their game for the second leg at Foxhall.

I'm not privy to how the club has been run/promoted in recent years, but without doubt there is an appetite for speedway in Plymouth. Only 3 seasons ago, I attended the Devils home match against a poor Glasgow side. The only real attraction really was Joe Screen who was in the twilight of his career. Amazingly the crowd looked huge. Certainly there were queues outside waiting to get in. Plymouth were below mid table, as were the Tigers. Having reflected, I do remember it being Mikel B Jensen's debut, so that was probably the reason for the big crowd. Nevertheless, the potential is definitely there. As others have said, a great little track to watch speedway racing. Best of British to the fans and the club itself.

How do you work out that Somerset are 'heavy favourites'? This is going to be very tight. Probably tighter at the OTA than it will be at Foxhall. As I posted on another thread, Ipswich have hit form just at the right time. And the Rebels have been hit by an injury to a vital member of the team and another has lost a bit of form. In my opinion this evens the whole contest out. As ever, one thing is for certain, the racing tonight will be brilliant.

I don't agree. Shov generally posts some good stuff. Provocative? Yes! On the wind up? Without a doubt. A slight blue tint to his posts? Definitely! He often catches more than a tiddler in that big fishing net of his too. Shov is very knowledgeable about this sport. But he loves getting under people's skin. Trust me, I've known him since he was a teenager!!

Superbly smooth rider. His 'armchair' style is reminiscent to that of former Robins legend Leigh Adams. The Wolves have been very fortunate indeed to have such a class rider in their ranks for so many years. A fitting end to a brilliant British speedway career.

He come not Smerset Lewy?

You gracing the OTA on Friday Blu?

A 30 point advantage? Maybe with a fully fit team and an Ipswich side of a couple of years ago. This is a completely different scenario with a Witches side that have run into form at just at the right time and a Rebels team that have been dealt a severe blow losing the irreplaceable BWD and to a lesser extent young Zach who unlike almost all the other guests at number 7 Somerset have had at the OTA, was good for at least a couple of points. Ipswich are a different proposition nowadays at the OTA. They really pushed the Rebels hard earlier this season. This will be a cracker of a match. Always good to have the pantomime villain Ben Barker back in the West Country too!

Trouble is though, the side that he's put together even without Andersen in it will progress through to the final. As much as many people want it to happen, Wolves will not prevail as they simply do not have the firepower to win on aggregate. Like him or loathe him, Ford is a masterful promoter. You can bet your life he will have his 2017 team in his mind already, probably with a back up of riders who could slot in where necessary, and that includes next season's play off's. Winning is everything to Matt Ford. And to be fair, it's winning that brings the pundits through the turnstiles.

I take it you are being ironic when referring to the smudger nickname?

It will be built. My guess is that it will be a huge challenge to have it built for March/April 2017.

Good spot Yer Ropes. Brenda is a great sport. She sits/stands with several generations of her family. A great supporter of Somerset speedway.

That's no way to talk about Shov

Can't we do a Poole and fit in former GP reserve Jurica Pavlic (lakeside track specialist) for the final meeting? There surely must be a small loophole somewhere?

Same as the EL championship winning season then. We win the league at Poole in October, but don't see the trophy until the following March.

You should check out the BSF massif thread on the PL section!!!

Evertonians get your irony mate.

Gone are the days when people queued to get into the back straight bogs. They have such a fearsome reputation, I've seen grown men having a slash against the outside of the bog walls through utter fear of going inside. A couple of years ago I did see Shov in there trying to avoid the splash back on his open toed sandles. The bogs will be missed. Never again will there be such a stench.

Sadly, this will be the end of Swindon's campaign this season. Doyle apart, the Lakeside track will be a bridge too far for the rest of the side. Tungate may be amongst the points as he enjoys the slicker tracks, but I can only see 12 point defeat.