DaveWayne

Wasn't there so can't comment on the actual performance. Just saying that you can't assume that Sheffield would have finished top. Anything could have happened last night that could have affected performances today. It just seems that every season, supposed supporters of speedway seem to want to spend the whole time ripping it to pieces and finding fault with it rather than enjoying what we have. The table is what it is, the playoffs are what they are. Whether you agree with them or not, that is how the sport functions now. Better to embrace it than vilify it. Speedway is a secondary sport to me as I was brought up on 4 wheeled motorsport and spend my weekends travelling the country watching stock car racing. By the same token as many on here say about speedway, stock car racing is nowhere near the sport it was in the 70s and 80s, but you can either let that get you down and moan about it, or you can enjoy what you have while it is still there. I have said for a while that stock car racing has 10-15 years left as either environmentalists or H&S will bring it to an end. I don't want to be sat there when it is all gone wishing I had done more, I would much rather get the most out of what is on offer while I still can.

But had Sheffield won the home leg, then maybe the Ipswich riders would have been a bit more up for it tonight and wouldn't have lost, so the table would still have looked the same as it does now.

This aged well. 😉

Home advantage in play offs ?

In all honesty, probably not, but as we can still mathematically finish 2nd it is not a nothing meeting.

But the rain off was in August, so even if that was the last fixture there would still be an issue now !! I watch stock car racing regularly and I distinctly remember one 'summer' where I got drenched on all 5 Saturday's in August. No matter when you run the season there will be meetings postponed.

Hard chargers like a couple of the Sheffield team ? Bit harsh when you have Doyle !! It might be a 'nothing meeting' to you, but the result of this will decide 2nd and 3rd in the table, which impacts on home advantage for the 2nd leg of our playoff.

That would be the same meeting when Doyle stepped up onto the podium to collect his loser's medal and gave double middle fingers to the whole watching crowd just because he got a few boos ? Did any Ipswich fans include that in their emails of complaint ? Or did you only complain about the rider you don't like ? I guess it's possible you had all taken Tai at his word and not hung around for the presentations. 😉

In which case everyone gets a refund, and they allow season ticket holders free admission to the play off semi. Not difficult really.

Maybe they are hanging fire till after next Thursday ? If Sheffield lose at Ipswich then this meeting won't influence who meets who in the playoffs, so it can be 'cancelled' and remove the need to delay the start of the playoffs.

Posted on the Sheffield website around 10pm last night : If anyone has difficulty in attending the restaging date, supporters should e-mail re-admission ticket details and bank details to office@sheffield-speedway.com and refunds will be issued once it is confirmed and announced.

The thing is that people are looking at it from a spectator's mentality, not a rider's. They are adrenalin junkies and don't have the same concerns as the average person, otherwise they wouldn't race at all. Having raced on various tracks up and down the country (on 4 wheels, not 2), I can assure you that Sheffield is without doubt a challenging track, but also very exhilarating to race on. Yes, the riders will admit it is 'dangerous' but once they are out there that goes out of their mind, and getting a win at Sheffield will give any rider a kick.

I'm pretty sure there is. 😉

I believe the rain started some time between 6 and 6.30, so the turnstiles were already open. Are you suggesting that once it started to rain heavily they should have close the gates and leave people standing in the rain ? Everyone will have a readmission ticket which can either be used for the rearranged fixture or refunded so it's not as if the club have gained by opening the turnstiles. The only winners last night are the stadium owners who would have gained rental income and sold food and drinks to the punters.

So you are just looking at Thursday's when Sheffield didn't ride ? Moving any one of their other fixtures to one of these dates would then have a knock on effect on other teams fixtures as well. I was looking at when this match could have been run sooner and the options were far more limited, as Ipswich were already riding on 4 of those dates. 1st May can be knocked off your list as that was British Semi Final night. There were no matches at all on 8th or 29th May - was this specified by British Speedway for some reason ? Last week in July was set aside at the start of the season for KO Cup Finals so no league meetings programmed.

When do you suggest they should have run it then ? Looking at both team's fixtures, either one or both were riding every Thursday from the start of April to today, other than May 8th and May 29th when there were no Premiership matches at all. Didn't Lynn also get dog's abuse for calling off a meeting the day before and all the experts on here saying the forecast rain didn't come and the track would have been perfect ? The forecast for Sheffield in the late afternoon was for light rain and none after about 6pm so in theory the meeting could have gone ahead. There was a torrential downpour just after 6 which made the track unrideable and the track staff did everything they could but not all the riders were happy to race so the ref called it off. How is any of this the fault of the Sheffield promotion ? How long is the journey from Ipswich to Sheffield ? 3.5 to 4 hours on a good run ? Assuming nobody wants to risk getting there at the last minute, I would guess most fans would be setting off between 2pm and 3pm. Do you expect them to be psychic and call it off 3 hours before it has even rained ? I would say that it is likely it won't need to be run anyway. If Ipswich win at home next Thursday then the playoffs will be sorted without this match.

Why a couple of strange results ? Surely all it needs is Sheffield to win at Ipswich ? They would be favourites to win their other 2 wouldn't they ? Admittedly it's very unlikely that Ipswich will lose at home, but maybe the lure of an 'easier' semi against Belle Vue could inspire the Tigers. 😉

The stadium situation is I think down to a 2+2=5 assumption based on stock cars no longer racing there. The reason for that is quite simply that they only raced there 3/4 times a year, and the pit space they require has been utilised for solar generators which will generate income 365 days a year. A complete no brainer from a business point of view, but no impact on speedway

I asked this on another thread several weeks ago but you ignored it, so I will try again. You keep mentioning 'doubts over Sheffield' but with no detail or substance. Can you please us what you think you know as you seem to be the only person mentioning it ?

A good night's racing and a confidence booster for the Tigers with the play-offs looming and Leicester looking the likely opponents in the semis. Embarrassing comments in this thread about Steady though. His record as manager of both Sheffield and Great Britain is pretty decent with Championship, Premiership and KO Cup, plus 2 SON titles. Just imagine what he could have achieved if he knew what he was doing !!

Obviously I don't see Bewley as often as BV fans do, but I have always felt this is the area where he is lacking. Fantastic individual rider, but rarely seems to give any assistance to his riding partner. Before I am accused of bias, I will say that I have the same criticism of Jack Holder, although it is an area where he seems to be improving. By comparison, the way we saw Tai working with the lower order riders when he returned to Sheffield in 2023 was a different level. Constantly looking for them, letting them past and then giving protection. Chris Holder also very good at this, so maybe it is something that comes with age.

Even if you did manage all those results, which is unlikely, that would put you on 32 points. Wins for Sheffield away at Birmingham and Oxford will take them to 32. Are you confident that Sheffield will lose home and away to Ipswich and Belle Vue, and home to Leicester ?

And many that aren't.

If you're looking for riders to maintain their average, then maybe don't sign a 35 year old. 😉

It may have slipped your mind, but just in case it passed you by, a quick reminder that one of our contracted heat leaders nearly died a few days before our first match of the season, forcing us into some quick team changes. These haven't worked out and it is fairly obvious that our existing 1-7 were not likely to beat any of the other playoff teams over 2 legs. Therefore, as per the regulations, a couple of changes have been made to strengthen the side.