smod

Who do we thank for this wonderful news? Are there people from the rump of the old promotion still involved, or is the new consortium formed by new people? The BSPA's help is being praised -- which is good to see, they get too much blame for other stuff, often outwith their control -- but what exactly have they done to bring the Devils back to the tapes?

Good luck to the lad, but at exactly which other team do you think he'd get a gig at No 7, ahead of whoever's already there?

How about: 2-4-6-8.... Sunday is our speedway date! Showground will be looking pretty But Panthers' team is looking sh1tty Top six finish? Touch-and-go... But we still trust the club's Supremo!

Grannie only gets him an Ancestry Visa, which means he isn't as restricted as the full visa guys, but (according to Rob Godfrey in the Star) he still will not drop below a 5.00 in the averages. Some time ago, the Star said his name rhymed with Tai. If he's as good, Edinburgh have surely pulled a bunny out their hat.

A 3-pointer needed, plus one more to be named. What points are available for the vital last man?

Actually, he might.

Well I can't see you in the play-offs with Gjedde leading the line. Not because of his deceitfulness at Berwick however fraudulent it was, that's in the past. Just that he's old and hasn't raced for a while. Newman, or even Holder will quickly have to take over No 1 duties. Otherwise -- good team!

As opposed to Plymouth, at 207m? Not that much of a difference.

Everyone else did.

This NSW meeting will be a pretty strange fruit. The meeting is spread over two days, with at least 135 races in all sorts of age groups, bike types and engines. Masters and Tungate are opting to go to a "proper" speedway meeting in Adelaide. The Tamworth show will possible throw up a few unexpected names. One (fairly) local name who will be pretty keen to qualify would be Kozza Smith, who lost out up in the Queensland title event through an engine failure.

So where are the seven places available, and for how many points?

But he is El Supremo, isn't he?

I rather thought the need to remain on five was for re-entry to the country, not domestic competition. Meaning, as I see it, a newcomer on a 5 will see his average rise and fall as previously, but when he is coming back for the following season he will be reverted to the 5 (if he hasn't bettered it during the year). Otherwise (perish the thought) such a rider, however inept, could be artificially kept in the 1-5, and a super-performong reserve could stay there, despite his average rising to (say) 4.99 in the early part of the season.

I might hazard a guess that, of all the PL 3-pointers signed, only Liam Carr at Berwick's priority will be to the PL club. He is Berwick asset, I don't know of any others who are at their parent club (although there may be some). Otherwise, I'd be pretty sure the NL clubs will have priority. They most certainly should, IMO.

Reference loan fees, there is an agreed sliding scale between clubs, depending on the rider's CMA. In short, if you are tracking a rider, you know what you'll have to pay before a deal is done, the parent club has no say in the amount. Unless, like Redcar, they refuse a loan and demand a full transfer. Regarding long-tracking, Theo Pijper missed far fewer meetings for Glasgow and Scunthorpe while long-tracking than Richard Hall did while at Berwick. Pijper tends to fly to the long-tracks and will miss practice if he has a UK match, while Hall would go off for days at a time on his continental jaunts.

Something to bear in mind is that when the-then new Glasgow owner made a reasoned and well-presented application to the AGM for a change to Friday nights two years ago, the proposal was considered and voted on by the entire Premier League. The vote went one vote for and thirteen against. Setting any protest by Edinburgh aside, do we really think the change would get better support by the other clubs this time around?

Despite Tai winning the title, I think the people in Melbourne will put on a show and get, at the least, a break-even attendance. Giving them a platform to build next year's event on, maybe with one of the Aussies still in contention for the title.

The attendances, on TV and live in the PL, are so much higher than any regular meetings that the question is answered. Play-offs are good. Create big crowds. Make money. Keep clubs afloat. Next question, please?

Aw, c'mon......

Theo Pijper is riding at Berwick on Saturday night.

Good points there. I would add that Alexander Edberg's average had him in the 1-5 as of tomorrow, had he been retained. He really can't have been as bad as some people are saying. But congratulations to the Bandits' promotion for making a positive change at this time, offering their public a fresh face to cheer.

Best man in the league at what he does?

Not being there, I can only go on what I observe (from updates, and comments on here) and the track can hardly be blamed for any the injuries, can it? Cook chomped half a second off the track record, and times were amazingly fast all night -- credit to those who reportedly spent a lot of time during the "down time" without a meeting to get in the way of their efforts. Did Cook really spurn Doolan's offer of a handshake after he was passed on the last bend of a race? Oh dear. Berwick clearly unlucky to lose Carr and Thornblom through no fault of their own and therefore have to face late races with one rider or the No 8. Had there been no two- or three-rider races, they would clearly have drawn, perhaps (probably) won. It sounds as if it was pretty gripping stuff.

Why? A night at speedway is a social gathering, an evening of entertainment in the company of friends and a chance to watch young men risking their lives by doing amazing things on motorcycles. You won't go because the riders in one team might not win? How sad you are.

The PL fixture list was too thin, yet this was a direct result of a torrent of abuse from people who didn't like the extra fixtures which were inserted to beef up last season's schedule. This summer there have been considerably less rain-offs, despite it being pretty cold and wet, so clubs have found big gaps appearing. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.......