PotteringAround

Ah, just a Peterborough newspaper's incorrect guess then.

Where have you got that from? Doesn't seem correct.

Peterborough picked Wolves. The "meeting of whoever" decided that Peterborough were strong favourites to finish top of the league, so Peterborough were given choice.... and they chose Wolves. Wolves were bullied into saying that if they finished top they would want to pick Peterborough. (Of course they wouldn't have wanted to pick Peterborough, but this was done on the basis that Wolves were unlikely to finish top anyway. But if somehow they had done, I'd guess their fans wouldn't have been too happy).

Just a bit of practice for Sheffield. It keeps the momentum going, and I see them building up enough of a lead on Thursday against a Belle Vue side who haven't ridden for about 3 weeks, to make a second leg comeback impossible for the Aces.

I can see Wolves getting a decent lead of around 12 points tonight, and that will be enough for the second leg to see them into a final against Sheffield. Bet365 seem to be predicting Wolves 47 Peterborough 43. I think Wolves will do a lot better than that.

Clearly the decisions have been made on the assumption that Peterborough are going to finish top of the league, and have been given choice, because this is clearly their choice. Peterborough wouldn't want to pick Belle Vue who beat them at home both times, and wouldn't fancy Sheffield after being turned over by them too. Picking Wolves makes sense, and going there for the first leg with Andersen still at reserve also makes sense. Having the second leg at home is usually the best idea. But no way can you convince me that this was also Wolves' choice. No way would they pick Peterborough, and no way would they want the first leg at home. Wolves would 100% pick Belle Vue and have the second leg at home. That should be a fairly easy passage to the final where they would most likely come up against Peterborough with Andersen no longer at reserve.

If Wolves finish on top they could pick Belle Vue. That should get them to the final, but they'll face bogey team Peterborough in the final. Alternatively, they could pick Sheffield, which also gets them to the final, and then they may well face Belle Vue which would be easier for Wolves. If Peterborough finish top they could pick Sheffield, which gets them into the final where they would likely face Wolves, (but with Andersen no longer at reserve in the final). Alternatively, they could gamble and pick wolves for the semi while they still have Andersen at reserve, but then they would likely face Belle Vue in the final. I reckon semis will be Peterborough v Sheffield Wolves v Belle Vue.

That's 100% not the rule. Of course you're welcome to quote this rule that you think exists.... but it doesn't. A 28 day contract is for a maximum of 28 days, just as the other riders are on season-long contracts until 31 October, but they can still be changed during the season.

They could. It's for a maximum of 28 days. Not 28 days exactly

Richie Worrall made his comeback with Edinburgh on Friday and rode Friday, Saturday, Sunday. (he's also due to ride Wednesday). As Belle Vue would probably have had to declare tonight's team before he rode on Friday, they probably thought it might be too big a risk to ask him to ride 4 days on the trot (and 5 days out of 6). They're perfectly entitled to use temporary signing Busk Jakobsen for anything up to 28 days, so probably thought it was the safest option to give Richie Worrall a breather tonight and have him back fresh for the play-offs. (Having said that, it seems like it's been a bit of a pain with NBJ getting injured, then guest Aaron Summers retiring... they're down to Theo Pijper now). (They could have brought Worrall back in the side tonight if they'd wanted. There's nothing in the rules that says an injury replacement has to stay in the side for 28 days. But once they'd decided to stick with the injury replacement for tonight, they can't go back just because Summers pulled out, they have to stick with it and find a new guest)

With the demise of Newcastle, the NDL was down to 7 clubs. So there's only 42 matches to be staged in total. Of course with BoJo delaying the easing out of lockdown from June to July, some fixtures got pushed back a bit, but so far the NDL has completed 20 of its 42 fixtures, so I don't see any problem. 22 fixtures still to go averages out at each club having to stage roughly 3 meetings, and there's half of August and all of September and October to do it. Be nice to see some NDL individual meetings (e.g. NDLRC) or challenges if there's time.

Did they just play Tchaikovsky's piano concerto No.1 for Laguta on top of the rostrum instead of the Russian national anthem?

They never confirm anything until the signing is officially ratified and accepted by the BSP Office. (Obviously others know about forthcoming signings in advance but aren't supposed to say anything until it's official. But some just can't resist)

Unless Danny King gets a call to guest for him...

He didn't say that. Why don't you read what he actually said? See? He said he gets £50 more for winning a race in England than he gets for start money in Poland. So if he gets (say) £150 per point in England, and £400 per start in Poland, he would be correct.

a. They weren't 2/1 to win. b. They lost anyway.

Yes. But the extra 5% only applies for home matches, so Worrall was OK to guest n the home match, but he's too high for an away match.

Average too high for an away match.

Is it the Alex Spooner for Rob Ledwith change that we're waiting for someone to blab? Or is that common knowledge?

To be fair, you've also misspelt Nigel Hinchliffe's name.

What exactly is the Wolverhampton mascot these days? "Rory the Roadkill"?

I wouldn't write Ipswich off here. Though the BV fans would want to see Crump, Cook is a better rider and strengthens them. Similarly Heeps is nothing special around the NSS, but Summers has had his moments and offers more potentially. Allen and the reserves taking RR will way outscore any odd point Stewart would have picked up. King and Allen both like the NSS, and Rowe and Kemp are very good around there and capable of big scores.

No, it was Harris' spare tyre. Would explain the difficulty zipping up his kevlars.

Belle Vue 5 points Peterborough 2. Two meetings in one day seemed to be too much for Dad's Army. Still I reckon they'd have taken 2 points if offered this morning.

I'm afraid you're talking nonsense here. Kirky Lane referred to a glut of young riders being ready to come in. And obviously due to the points limit they have come in. But the new riders are coming in at 3.00 so therefore in the main come in as reserves. You're trying to misrepresent it by listing existing riders who are second strings, and pretending they've been brought in because of the lower limit. Which they haven't. they were already there. The 35.00 limit was clearly made to bring new 3.00 riders. That's what it's done. And the likes of Rothery, Watson, Freeman, Smith, McGurk, McGurk, and Trigger have done very well so far. And others who haven't ridden yet also have plenty of promise.