False dawn

You. my friend, prove why I still go to speedway after nearly 50 years. A true fan who acknowledges good racing, real sportsmanship and real speedway when he sees it. Tonight saw two quality sides go head-to-head for the trophy we all want. Leicester won, of course, but the real winner was all of us. Even "watching" on updates was nail biting. So as a Leicester fan (till the Bees return) can I say, "Well done to Glasgow".

Leicester x2 barring accidents

A testament to an all round side. A solid performance in both legs but how fitting was it that Ellis Perks, on his way to 3 leagues titles, should not only seal the deal in heat 14, but also be the Lions top scorer. Well done to the whole team for their fighting performance, tonight and throughout the season.

Not a bad idea. But come the day someone on 10 points wins the final with second on 16, there will be complaints aplenty. The winner may not even be in the final. Not a good intuitive result and terrible tv.

Not one for the new generation of fans? But for those of us of over 30 () a welcome distraction. Thanks.

Bit of a strange late season signing if that's true. No offence, but as a neutral I viewed his signing as a means to make something of the season at a a very late stage. I guess making the final is a measure of success but has NKI really sparkled? Last time I saw him ride, he made the final in the GP in Torun alongside the best three in the world.

As they used to say in exam questions..... Compare: 1. A league final in the top league in the land, with the best riders available, including two GP riders. Oh, and it was on TV. and 2. A league semi final in the second tier. 1. you know about. 2. was the match at Leicester last Saturday, where the 2nd leg between the Lions and the Redcar Bears took place. This was a real thriller that was hard fought by 14 riders that went down to the last race. Would have made excellent TV. And people say Leicester is a poor circuit?

We'll get Greg back next year to act as a judge. He was always quoting that phrase and the CO did get a real large boned lady to sing at the end of his testimonial at Brandon more a few years ago.

Oh well. As long as you can sing!

You're not trying to say you're........ I'm too much of a gentleman to say it. But I agree with the sentiment. It ain't over till it's over.

For sure, NKI was unlucky to lose points on the back of race stoppages. But Jason Doyle apart, I expected him to dominant proceedings. That was an average performance by his standards. I like him and want to see him excel. But I was disappointed tonight.

Am I allowed? This is in the Premiership section and I currently support a Championship team (and a NDL team). For Leicester I would keep Ellis Perks and Connor Mountain. And when we release Scotty, I would sign him back. Oh alright, I know that's cheating

Even if you think the result is a foregone conclusion, we can all hope for some good racing, even if it's only for pride. A few good fights, good runs from the back, surprising heat wins, whatever, could make for good television even if Swindon have a hand (and a half) on the trophy.

I think the biggest disappointment is that Thursday is unlikely to be a great advert for the sport to the neutrals, let alone any stray new supporters. I hope I'm wrong and we don't get a rerun of the semi at the Abbey.

Heads it was Poole and tails it wasn't Wolves.....

Why? Did someone do that in the semis and live to regret it?

As mentioned more than once on the TV tonight, you have to admire the tenacity of Ellis Perks. Having followed his progress with both Leicester teams this year, I know him as one of those riders that rides hard for 4 laps in every race. 3 league titles in a single year is still very much on the cards. As I asked previously, would this be a first?

I have to say that I was particularly impressed with Luke Becker's performance. He made a nonsense of the track conditions against Troy Batchelor and again later in the meeting. I'm not saying the track condition was not bad. Clearly it was horrible. But the decision was to run the meeting. Be it the crowd, the TV or the lateness in the season, it was going ahead. Congratulations to all those riders who just said to themselves, "Let's go".

We could have a system whereby if you get two last places and that's your night over. Hang on, wait a minute, we tried that and didn't Andy Smith go to Oz for two races once? For me, having a system where every race has significance cannot be improved upon. Oh I know we get the occasional GP winner who wasn't the top scorer on the night. But so what? A GP first is an accolade but we are, after all, trying to determine who is the WC. I don't for a minute think that Mark Loram cared about not winning GPs when he became WC. I know the scoring system was different then, but you see what I mean. There was considerable interest (for me anyway) in the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th YTD competition on Saturday. And every point counted. I think things might have been different if two key players hadn't already booked their places, but that's a different discussion. Every point, every race counts. Right from the off in the 1st GP to the final final. A great idea. I have the means to follow progress race by race on my own spreadsheet programme. Maybe the big screens and TV could make more of the significance of scoring throughout the field.

I guess he's "Happy"

A young rider being upset by a crash he is involved in. Not a case to say he should "toughen up" but any competitor has to face that possibility, many times. A young rider being excluded (sorry disqualified) unfairly. Get used to it, it won't be the last time. An official being fined for some unspecified offence. Not acceptable. A statement stating the offence, in detail, the reasoning, the regulations that were contravened and the logic behind the punishment are requiremed of any governing body. We saw recently an appeal by Craig Cook upheld and the punishment revised without any satisfactory explanation. The SCB adopt an independent oversight of the sport (unlike the BSPA). They rule, because it's necessary to have such a body, but they're not a dictatorship. They have a rule book by which we all abide, fans included. It is published and open to scrutiny. By the same token, the application of those rules, must be open, transparent and consistent. We, of the social media community, are quite capable of making up all sorts of conspiracies in the absence of irrefutable facts. Mr (or Mrs) SCB, sit in splendid isolation and hand down your pronouncements, without explanation, at your peril.

My immediate reaction to the news about next year's wildcards was that the choices seem to lack imagination. The substitutes do, however, seem to redress the balance, a little, at least.

Well we can't call it Holdergate can we? We've already had one of those. How about Toegate?

Just give them the trophy if they finish top. Hang on, that's how it used to be.

Don't lie down if you're the pilot?