lucifer sam

Tsunami, for once we're in comeplete agreement. Many other sports are decided by play-offs. And the reason is simple: it's exciting and gets the punters in. Blupanther's Sky argument is a bit bizarre in any case. The PL play-offs are not televised so why would Sky care how the PL is decided. It was the PL promoters who voted in play-offs, no-one else. The play-offs are here to stay to decide the Premier League Championship. All the best Rob Unless Rye House overhaul Workington or Redcar. All the best Rob

Nick Morris wanted a PL team closer to his Swindon base, so he was always Somerset-bound for 2013. Nick was out of the equation and David wanted to return. I don't think I agree with David's "heart never looked in it." More that his confidence is taking a while to rebuild after his various injuries - it's far more difficult coming back from injury when you're 31 rather than 21. He's alright around the larger Longtrack & Grasstrack tracks, but not the tightly enclosed speedway tracks. And the events of last Friday have also had an effect on him - speedway riders are human beings. David is Scunthorpe's leading all-time scorer for a reason. He was the No 1 for three years in sucession. But he's not a robot - injuries and confidence can affect everyone whether former No 1 or reserve. Maybe it was a gamble to include him in the 2013 team plans. But Scunny gambled a few times in 2012 and it paid off. Rob Godfrey never gives up - he's always looking for a way to bolster the team. What really messed our season up was not being able to strenghten up when we wanted to (when the rulebook suggested we should be able to). Nicolai Klindt came in just a little too late, after our hands were tied. But you can't win the league title every year. It's exceptionally hard to win a league title at Premier League level. Workington and Somerset still never have. We've only lost once at home in the league and many of the meetings around the EWR have been fantastic entertainment (Heat 15 against Rye House will live long in the memory - HOW did Josh do that!!!). As long as there's positive news at some point from the hospital at Hull (we're all praying for you, Ricky), I would say it's been an enjoyable season. All the best Rob

Took me a few seconds to work out the identity of The Golden Child Not sure if the Monarchs are the Champions elect, I fancy Somerset or Newcastle. Isn't the Spring Trophy supposed to take place in...well, the Spring? Maybe it's time to bring back the Super Cup (or was it the Cup-A-Soup) instead. All the best Rob

Precisely. Everyone knows the rules from day one. And the play-offs are more exiciting, contrast Glasgow's stroll to the title in 2011 with the 2012 Premier League title which Scunthorpe won on the final lap of the final race. TWK, I know you're old school. Under the old two points for a win and one point for a draw, the 2012 table would have been: Somerset 31, Scunthorpe 31,Workington 30, Leicester 30, Newcastle 29. All the best Rob

Bandits4eva, I didn't hear this one individual, but if I had, I would have pointed out to them how inappropriate it was, especially at this moment of time. Personally, my heart is in my mouth every time a rider falls at the moment - however simple the fall. Even Nicolai's Klindt's almost graceful spin before falling in Heat 7 on Thursday. Everyone is still just a bit subdued at the moment. I didn't even make much noise after Ryan's outrageous exclusion from Heat 12 - normally I would have been makiking sure the ref knew what I thought of that decision! I just want good, competitive speedway meetings in which nobody is hurt. Thursday's meeting did fit that bill. It would be good if we could get to discussing what was a good night's speedway entertainment. It was also nice to see Danny Phillips looking in a class of his own in the second half. All the best Rob

Good meeting, with some good racing, especially towards the end. The exclusion of Ryan Douglas from Heat 12 was unbelieveable - that made a huge difference because Scunny were on the up at that point, a 5-1 there could have led to a win for the Scorpions. But at least Nicolai rounded Micky Dyer in Heat 15 to make sure we got a point. Klindt, Jorgensen and Douglas all good for Scorpions, while Aaron Summers was a cut above the other 13 riders on display. All the best Rob

Mimmo, are you up at Northside on Sunday? If so, I'll bump into you there. All the best Rob

Gustix is a very hard task master, so in order to satisfy his need for the Dons team to contain names with a long association with Wimbledon, could I suggest the following for whenever the new date is: 1. Great Uncle Bulgaria 2. Tomsk 3. Orinoco 4. Bungo 5. Tobermory 6. Wellington 7. Madame Cholet No doubt that Parsloes will then be able to regal us with tales such as the time Great Uncle Bulgaria was excluded for two minutes because his goggles had misted up! All the best Rob

Oh sh*te???? All the best Rob

Well he normally makes his decisions in favour of Wimbledon, so why not? All the best Rob

IT’S CRUNCH TIME for the Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions, with promoter Rob Godfrey insisting that the team must take all three Premier League points from tonight’s encounter against the Berwick Bandits at the Eddie Wright Raceway (Friday, 7.30pm). And Godfrey is also looking for a win in an away clash at Leicester’s Beaumont Park on Saturday evening. Scunthorpe, the reigning Premier League champions, have scored the maximum three league points (awarded for a win by seven or more points) in only two out of nine home PL meetings, and have yet to register an away win this season. They have dropped 11 points at home, and gained 3 points away. Boosted by recent signing Nicolai Klindt, the Scorpions need to score maximum points from their last three home meetings, and to pick up at least two (preferably three) away wins. Godfrey said: “This is a do-or-die weekend for us. For starters, we can’t afford to drop a further home point, we need all three points off Berwick. “I’m sure the fans don’t want our season to finish early, and will get behind the boys, as we seek to gain the convincing win that we need. We have to beat Berwick well. “And then we need three or four points at Leicester. Anything else is going to leave us with a mighty mountain to climb in our remaining meetings.” After missing last Friday’s visit to Somerset, No 1 Josh Auty returns to action for the Scorpions. Auty is Mr Entertainment around the Eddie Wright Raceway. Ashley Birks (who scored paid 13 at Somerset) seems to have shrugged off any ill effects from his scaphoid injury and the Scorpions are due to be at full strength for the first time since Klindt signed for the club. Berwick are a good solid side, who themselves have an outside chance of the play-offs. No 1 Ricky Ashworth is one of the classiest performers around the Eddie Wright Raceway, although he is struggling to get back to his usual form until a lengthy spell on the sidelines earlier in the season. Admission Prices for tonight: Adult: £14.00 Student/OAP: £12.00 Child (10 - 16): £5.00 Child (0 - 9) Free (accompanied by paying adult) Family Ticket £33 (2 adults, 2 Children 10-16) Match Programme: £1.00 Teams for tonight: Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions: 1. Josh Auty, 2. Thomas Jørgensen, 3. Nicolai Klindt, 4. Ashley Birks, 5. David Howe, 6. Ryan Douglas, 7. Lewis Blackbird. Berwick Bandits: 1. Ricky Ashworth, 2. David Bellego, 3. Robin Aspegren, 4. Matthew Wethers, 5. Kozza Smith, 6. Nicki Barrett, 7. Paul Starke.

Chris Mills & Chris Schramm? Sounds like an Oxford Silver Machine Academy reunion - I always knew Parsloes liked us really Can I suggest Bryn Williams as team manager? All the best Rob

Thank you for your kind offer, but I think we can manage. All the best Rob

Tsunami, have sent you a PM to explain. All the best Rob

I didn't realise that. But the irony is that you've mentioned me by name in your post!! All the best Rob Peasley PS Just checked - and 'outing' is not mentioned in the forum rules. Personally, I prefer to know the identity of other posters.

DOUBLE DOSE OF ACTION, AS SCORPIONS COMMENCE VITAL MONTH HENDERSON INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions are involved in a weekend that promoter Rob Godfrey describes as “do-or-die”, as they start an August which will either make-or-break their Premier League play-off aspirations. The Scorpions entertain the Berwick Bandits at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday evening (7.30pm), before travelling to Leicester’s Beaumont Park on Saturday. All nine of Scunthorpe’s remaining regular Premier League fixtures - including no fewer than six away meetings - take place in a hectic August: Friday, August 2nd Scorpions v Berwick Bandits Saturday, August 3rd Leicester Lions v Scorpions Thursday, August 8th Redcar Bears v Scorpions Sunday, August 11th Workington Comets v Scorpions Friday, August 16th Scorpions v Plymouth Devils Thursday, August 22th Sheffield Tigers v Scorpions Friday, August 23rd Plymouth Devils v Scorpions Monday, August 26th Scorpions v Leicester Lions Saturday, August 31st Rye House Rockets v Scorpions The current Premier League table (with the next scheduled Premier League matches take place on Thursday, August 1st) is: M 3W 2W D L 4W 3W D 1L L F A Pts 1 Workington 16 5 1 0 2 2 2 1 1 2 783 681 34 2 Edinburgh 14 6 0 0 2 1 2 2 1 0 698 578 33 3 Redcar 16 5 1 2 1 2 1 0 2 2 733 685 32 4 Newcastle 14 3 0 2 0 2 2 1 3 1 668 590 30 5 Ipswich 13 4 1 0 1 1 1 2 3 0 626 544 28 6 Leicester 16 3 4 0 1 2 1 0 0 5 725 738 28 7 Somerset 13 5 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 2 640 546 26 8 Berwick 15 5 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 5 685 691 20 9 Scunthorpe 15 2 4 2 1 0 0 1 1 4 676 692 19 10 Plymouth 14 2 1 0 4 0 2 1 1 3 610 655 17 11 Rye House 13 2 1 1 2 0 1 0 2 4 556 607 14 12 Sheffield 12 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 1 5 498 619 7 13 Glasgow 17 0 2 1 4 0 0 0 0 10 641 913 5 It’s interesting to look at the current Premier League form guide, which assumes all teams take all three league points from their home meetings (i.e. any dropped home points are counted as points dropped, while any away points scored are counted as points gained). The teams currently stand as: Workington (+10) Edinburgh (+9) Redcar (+5) Newcastle (+15) Ipswich (+10) Leicester (+4) Somerset (+8) Berwick (-7) Scunthorpe (-8) Plymouth (-4) Rye House (-4) Sheffield (-11) Glasgow (-16) At first glance, this makes slightly grim reading for Scunthorpe fans. However, with more away meetings left than home meetings, there is an opportunity to make up the lost ground and get into the top six. Scunthorpe have 9 more home points available to them, but 24 away points. To get into the top six, the two clubs that the Scorpions are most likely going to have to overhaul are Leicester (currently 6th) and Redcar (currently third), assuming that currently seventh-placed Somerset will go on and qualify. The Scorpions, recently strengthened by the signing of Nicolai Klindt, have away trips to both Leicester and Redcar in the next fortnight. Wins at Leicester and Redcar – or a win at one of these tracks plus the bonus point for a narrow defeat (six points or less) at the other – would move the Scorpions back into contention. A real bonus would be an away win of seven points or more at either Leicester or Redcar – worth four points. At the same time, the Scorpions need to avoid dropping further home points. While scores of 46-44, 47-46 and 45-44 in the last three meetings at the Eddie Wright Raceway have made for some epic speedway encounters, the Scorpions really could do with taking all three points against Berwick (August 2nd), Plymouth (August 16th) and Leicester (August 26th). Promoter Rob Godfrey said: “It’s a do-or-die week for us. It’s a crunch weekend, we really need to start getting more points on the board if we are going to get into the top six and the play-offs. “We’re expecting to have a full team out this weekend, so we have no excuses. “We need to take all three points off Berwick at the Eddie Wright Raceway, and then pick up an away win at Leicester. “We took a point at Ipswich despite being without Ashley Birks, and nearly took a point at Somerset despite being without Josh Auty. We’ve shown we can be competitive everywhere. “But we’ve stopped looking for the losing bonus point from away meetings – we need to start taking away wins, otherwise our season will be over pretty soon. “I’m not going to pick out a single rider as a key rider, because we now have a line-up in which all seven riders are capable of going out and top scoring for us. “We need to perform collectively as a team and starting picking up the away wins, as well as not dropping home points. We can do it; we now have a strong side. “We also need a bit of luck to start going our way, but I firmly believe we can still make the championship play-offs”, concluded Godfrey. Admission Prices for Friday: Adult: £14.00 Student/OAP: £12.00 Child (10 - 16): £5.00 Child (0 - 9) Free (accompanied by paying adult) Family Ticket £33 (2 adults, 2 Children 10-16) Match Programme: £1.00 Teams for Friday (English unless stated): Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions: 1. Josh Auty, 2. Thomas Jørgensen (Denmark), 3. Nicolai Klindt (Denmark), 4. Ashley Birks, 5. David Howe, 6. Ryan Douglas (Australia), 7. Lewis Blackbird. Berwick Bandits: 1. Ricky Ashworth, 2. David Bellego (France), 3. Robin Aspegren (Sweden), 4. Matthew Wethers (Australia), 5. Kozza Smith (Australia), 6. Nicki Barrett (Denmark), 7. Paul Starke. Scorpions Info (as at 24 July 2012) Ashley Birks has now scored over 900 points for the club (904 points to date - all levels) David Howe has now moved up to 2nd in the all-time list of appearances made for the club (169 to date). Berwick Bandits at EWR Ave Ave Best Name Lge M R Pts BP (no BP) (w BP) Performance Ricky Ashworth PL 11 48 87 5 7.25 7.67 18 from 5 rides (inc 6 pts T/R (2012)) Robin Aspegren PL 4 15 21 5 5.60 6.93 11 + 1 from 6 rides (2012) Nicki Barrett DEBUT PL MEETING @ EWR David Bellego PL 3 12 10 1 3.33 3.67 5 from 4 rides (2012) Kozza Smith PL 4 22 32 1 5.82 6.00 14 from 5 rides (inc 6 pts T/R (2011)) Paul Starke DEBUT PL MEETING @ EWR Matthew Wethers PL 7 28 34 3 4.86 5.29 7 + 1 from 4 rides (2008) Other Notes Ricky Ashworth 2009 Premier League Riders' Champion. A member of Sheffield's Premier League Pairs Winning Team in 2010. Member of Sheffield's Premier League Championship, KO Cup and Young Shield Winning Teams in 2002. Member of Berwick's Premier League Fours Championship Winning Team in 2012. Robin Aspegren Member of Newport's Premier League KO Cup Winning Team in 2011. Nicki Barrett Made his Premier League debut for Berwick during the 2012 season. David Bellego Member of Glasgow's Premier League Championship Winning Team in 2011. Member of Berwick's Premier League Fours Championship Winning Team in 2012. Kozza Smith Queensland State Under-21 Champion 2006. Premier League Championship Winner with King's Lynn in 2009. Paul Starke Member of Plymouth's Conference Trophy and KO Cup Winning Teams in 2008. Member of Plymouth's National Trophy Winning Team in 2009. Also rides for Dudley in the National League. Matthew Wethers Member of Edinburgh's Premier League Championship Winning Teams in 2003, 2008 and 2010. Member of Edinburgh's Premier League Play-Off Winning Teams in 2008 and 2009. Member of Edinburgh's Premier Trophy Winning Team in 2008. Berwick Bandits' 2013 Results 30 March 2013 COTN(1) H W Berwick 47 Edinburgh 45 06 April 2013 LC H W Berwick 57 Glasgow 36 07 April 2013 LC A L Berwick 43 Glasgow 46 13 April 2013 KOC(1) H L Berwick 44 Redcar 46 18 April 2013 KOC(2) A L Berwick 44 Redcar 45 (On agg - L:- 88-91) 20 April 2013 LC H L Berwick 42 Edinburgh 48 26 April 2013 LC A L Berwick 37 Edinburgh 55 27 April 2013 PL H W Berwick 51 Sheffield 42 04 May 2013 PL H L Berwick 44 Workington 46 06 May 2013 PL A L Berwick 34 Workington 59 11 May 2013 PL H W Berwick 52 Leicester 40 21 May 2013 PL H L Berwick 41 Newcastle 49 06 June 2013 PL A L Berwick 43 Sheffield 52 08 June 2013 PL H W Berwick 48 Ipswich 45 20 June 2013 PL A L Berwick 40 Redcar 53 22 June 2013 PL H W Berwick 56 Plymouth 37 23 June 2013 PL A W Berwick 46 Glasgow 44 28 June 2013 PL A L Berwick 40 Plymouth 50 06 July 2013 PL H W Berwick 54 Scunthorpe 36 13 July 2013 PL H L Berwick 44 Redcar 45 26 July 2013 PL A L Berwick 39 Edinburgh 51 27 July 2013 PL H W Berwick 53 Glasgow 42 Berwick's Results at EWR 04 July 2008 PL L Scunthorpe 52 Berwick 41 04 September 2009 PL L Scunthorpe 51 Berwick 42 23 April 2010 PL L Scunthorpe 62 Berwick 28 25 March 2011 PL L Scunthorpe 56 Berwick 39 23 March 2012 LC L Scunthorpe 53 Berwick 40 27 July 2012 PL L Scunthorpe 48 Berwick 42 (stats courtesy of John Eyre)

Without wanting to get involved in the arguments (which were already getting boring on Friday), what did Ben Barker actually say in the Sun on Saturday? All the best Rob

When I interviewed Brian Clark for Backtrack he said: One nemesis that Clark did have was Jack Millen, a colourful character from New Zealand whose nicknames included ‘Crazy Jack’ and ‘Millen The Villain’. Brian recalls: “I had quite a few mishaps with him. “I remember one time at Stoke he put me right through the fence. I was excluded for two minutes because they had to cut me out of the fence. “We got to the second half and we met again. I couldn’t get him on the first corner, but I got him on the second. He went over the top of the fence. The crowd were jeering me, but he got up and climbed on the back of my bike and we went back to the pits together. “He was hard, but he could take it. “He was one of those people, where it didn’t matter what he did or you did, it was never a big deal. He could be dirty, but if someone did it back, he didn’t complain. Once it got to the end of the meeting, it was over. “He was actually a really nice bloke.” Millen died in a road accident in early 1978. Full interview is in Issue 56 of Backtrack, available from Retro Speedway. All the best Rob <removed - it is not up to you to give details of a posters identity>

Mimmo, no problem, Richard's report is now the top story on the Scunny website. Lots of long journies recently and things to do, so couldn't make it up yesterday, but looking forward to seeing the Northside round on August 11th, before the Workington v Scunny match on the same evening. All the best Rob

Mimmo, http://www.scunthorpescorpions.co/ Third news item down. It was added late on Thursday night and it's been there ever since. Also listed in track calendar. All the best Rob From Scunny website: YOUNGSTERS IN SPOTLIGHT AT EDDIE WRIGHT RACEWAY WITH the Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions in action away at Somerset tonight (Friday), the spotlight at the Eddie Wright Raceway this week falls on the cream of British youth. No fewer than 38 youngsters, all aged 16 or below, are set to do battle in the fourth round of the British Youth Championship on Sunday afternoon (3pm). One of the leading contenders in the 500cc class is former Scunthorpe mascot Reece Downes. There are also a host of riders from the Scunthorpe amateur meetings on display on Sunday. Scunthorpe’s Youth Co-ordinator Richard Hollingsworth said: “We are really proud to stage a round of the British Youth Championship once more. Many of the riders will be familiar to those who attend our amateur meetings here at the Eddie Wright Raceway. “The No 1 for the Scorpions, Josh Auty, was the first-ever winner of the 500cc championship in 2004. On Sunday, it’s a great chance to watch the stars of the future.” In total, there are 38 riders competing on Sunday, including 19 riders in the 125cc support races. There are 41 races (38 heats plus three finals). The cost of admission is just £5 for all adults, whilst admission is free for all accompanied children aged 16 and under. Admission Prices for Sunday: All adults: £5.00 Child (0 - 16) Free (accompanied by paying adult) Programme: 50p Sunday’s line-up: 500cc class: Luke Harris, Alex Wilson, Daniel Spiller, Kelsey Dugard, Connor Mountain, Josh Bailey, Nathan Greaves, Reece Downes, Michael Neale. 250cc class: Callum Walker, Ethan Spiller, Lewis Whitmore, Ben Woodhull, Kean Dicken, Mitchell Beckett, Luke Woodhull, Zach Wajtknecht, Saul Bulley, Daniel Miles. 12cc support races: Henry Atkins, Kai Hubbard, Sam Wright, Jamie Halder, Luke Whitehead, Joe Thompson, Jorden Jenkins, Kyle Bickley, Jack Walton, Harry Jones, Macauley Leek, Sam Stead, Dan Thompson, Joylon West, Tom Brennan, William O’Keefe, Josh Couzins, Kieran Douglas, Harry McGurk. 2013 British Youth Championships: Round 1: Leicester. Winners: Martin Neale (500cc) and Zach Wajtknecht (250cc). Round 2: Rye House. Winners: Nathan Greaves (500cc) and Lewis Whitmore (250cc). Round 3: Eastbourne. Winners: Nathan Greaves (500cc) and Zach Wajtknecht (250cc). Round 4: Scunthorpe. Sunday, July 28. Round 5: Northside (Workington). Sunday, August 11. Round 6: Iwade (Sittingbourne). Sunday, September 8.

Especially when it's an injury around either the neck/back area. You really can't be careful enough. I don't mind waiting when the delay is due to an injury- I'd rather know that the rider is 100% alright. Speedway riders is a breed apart, but sometimes they want to get charging up on their feet when that's not the best thing to do. All the best Rob

Fair enough, thanks for explaining how you saw it. I'm still not sure if Ash did anything different to Alex Davies in Heat 5, when Thomas Jorgensen was trying the outside, but had to get off the gas at one point after being squeezed. It does tight around that third bend, because the racing line is so close to the fence. I recall the TV match also containing a few incidents there. By far the most important thing is Kyle is OK - that's great news. Last year when I was team manager for a Swindon v Oxford second half, Kyle was there helping out Brendan Johnson and also came to the rescue once Ross Walter hit a few mechanical problems. He's a top lad and it's fantastic he's alright. All the best Rob

Complete garbage. Kyle was past Ash when he fell - we saw stood on the third bend and it happened right in front of us. Glad to hear Kyle is largely OK - that was a nasty tumble. Najjer, yes that's what happened. All the best Rob

He rode for Swindon at Wolves on Monday. All the best Rob

High time Scunny recorded an away win at Somerset. The Rebels are vulnerable without Doyle. Last week, Glasgow kept up in the first half, only to fade later on. The Scorpions won't be such easy meat. Bring it on!!!! Prediction: Somerset 41 Scunthorpe 49. All the best Rob