Paulco

Here's hoping on both counts

Well it seems all the East Midlands meteorological experts on here got their information about the expected rainfall in the west of Scotland ridiculously wrong last night , as it poured from the heavens all evening . Still I suppose our pact with the rain God, so we could get the second leg at home , has been delivered so far . Whether he stays away from Leicester today is up to him , but at least there wont be the same paranoia aimed at the Lions from us . Granted there was the usual , predictable , rhetoric from the likes of Blobby and Jenga everytime they perceive Glasgow are up to something , that kind of fixation takes years to nurture and develop . So here's hoping we get a meeting tonight , all riders come out of it safe, all fans get royally entertained and it's left in the balance for Tuesday night's decider at the Citadel of Speed .

Get to my age and the seasons from years ago merge into one lol

A nice idea in principle , but as Jenga alluded to , the authorities dont let that happen . Cast your mind back to 2005 .Lower ranked riders were rated A ,B and C . You could choose your reserves to be an A and a C or have two B rated riders . They were to stay at reserve all season . Rye House's A reserve was Steve Boxall . Who improved from the previous season immensely and started banging in double figure scores home and away as Rye House swept all before them . Similarly at a slightly less productive level Jon Armstrong was doing the same at either Mildenhall or Stoke ( I canny remember which ) . Mid season the authorities decided this couldn't be allowed to continue , so both Boxall and Armstrong were ordered into the main body of their respective teams . So it's a nice idea , but as soon as a reserve starts getting heat leader scores, it gets changed .

We helped Ellesmere Port's cause by beating Middlesborough in an early November meeting at Blantyre 2

Good post , and the double header was a brilliant evening . And on you're last point , I'm completely with you there , there is a lot more to a night at the speedway than just the racing .

You're going to love the championship then lol , better pack plenty of tissues cause Swindon is south of the equator to us . If it's any consolation , with yourselves , Eastbourne , Plymouth , Brum , the cider drinkers and Leicester in the Championship . If Buster's Bundesliga survives and we dont have one big league , it's not outwith the realms of possibility that we might have a north/south split in the Championship .

Aye it's not quite as north as those other tracks

And Plymouth reportedly joining us again too , plenty of south coast derbies for the Pirates too . While I'm not entirely convinced this will actually happen , the more teams in our league , the better . But where does this leave the Buster Bundisliga ?

Exactly , who wants a meeting over and done with in under an hour ? Certainly not me

What disappointed you about Glasgow ? Sorry I misunderstood you , you meant our performance at Sheffield . Yes that was probably our worst of the season , particularly after we drew there in the cup

It's also an English word for grab . Very strange that it cant be used properly in a sentence on here

Been a very good year at Glasgow . Watching the likes of Craig Cook and Rasmus Jensen is a joy to behold and the track has produced some of the best racing we've seen at Ashfield in years . Capping the season off with the title would be the icing on the cake .

Is S.N.A.T.C.H an iffy word on here ? Wont let me post the word . I know what it is another name for , but its proper meaning is in the dictionary lol

Leicester away was the meeting we managed to grab defeat from the jaws of victory . Both league matches were close affairs , here's hoping the weather plays ball and doesn't spoil things

Daftness like that isn't unprecedented though . Glasgow v Newcastle in the KO Cup in 2017 . Ricky Wells guessed for Glasgow in the first leg , and guested for Newcastle in the 2nd leg .

Thanks for the clarification . Seems a bit bizarre , but then nobody does bizarre quite like speedway

I only wondered as you cant use a guest from another play off side during the play offs . I just wondered if that stretched to guests used by other play off sides during the play offs ? It's a complicated old sport at times

Can a side in the play offs use a guest which has been used previously by another side in the play offs ?

The politics is the biggest turn off for many of us . Still the best sporting spectacle when it's done properly , which compensates for the few who strangle the sport with self interest .

Sorry we got bogged down in the discussion whether having a big hitter at number 1 brought any increase in attendances and was it financially viable . Whether that is the case or not , I bet a huge percentage of the Monarchs faithful will have Masters down as the first name they wanted in their 2020 septet , financially viable or not .

Tuesdays were always going to be poor crowds , that had nothing to do with who was riding at number 1

Ok how much did the Workington crowd dwindle once Stoney hung up his kevlars ? I know from my own eyes that the crowds at Glasgow were healthier watching number ones like Parker and Cook than they were with Kevin Wolbert impersonating a number 1

Cant put an exact figure on it , but most meetings ( outwith the Tuesday night ones we were forced to do ) I would say possibly nearly double

Talking out your arse again Jenga old boy . Of course having a big hitter at number 1 pulls in more bodies to the track . Masters , Cook , King etc , our league would be a far poorer place without that calibre of rider