cyclone

Congratulations to Rebels on reaching KO Cup Final. After the mauling the Monarchs got on Wednesday, only the super optimist would have believed we were likely to claw back a 26 point deficit. Somerset did enough to ensure a comfortable passage with Nick Morris once again being one of the best visitors to Armadale this season. For the Monarchs Jozsef Tabaka was outstanding and until getting caught up in traffic in ht 15, Cookie was his usual self. However if Monarchs are to make an impression in the Play_Offs , Sneddon, Pijper, and most notably Vissing, will have to up their game both home and away. Good visiting support again, who gave enthusiastic support to their team.

The recent away results at Leicester, Glasgow, Ipswich, Newcastle, and tonight's mauling at Somerset, indicate that apart from Cookie, the rest of the Monarchs have gone off the boil. Worky are still a formidable force at home, and even missing Morris, should still comfortably win both matches by more than six points per fixture.

Re credibility, why is a fit again Barker not replacing Risager as Ipswich's representative ? He is bang in form and would be one the title favourites. His avoidable absence short changes the paying public this Sunday, especially any Ippo fans making the journey.

Well done Somerset on an impressive display tonight which makes the second leg a formality for them. The astute deadline signing of Charles Wright has further strengthened an already power packed formation. They are now the best team in the league without doubt and barring injuries, will complete a league and cup double.

Would it have not been possible for Newcastle to race Redcar on Monday 23/9 and then Somerset on Sunday 6/10 to avoid EL clashes for double uppers ?

Apart from the development of safer fences, body protection worn by the riders should also be continually researched and designs enhanced. We now have various types of body armour, neck braces and air jackets, but it appears that they are not universally accepted by all riders for various reasons. For instance I spoke to one rider who has now discarded his air jacket because the inflation only occurred after he had cracked his ribs and in his opinion, exacerbated his injury.

Agree and would add that none of the six clubs involved should be written off, as they all have demonstrated during the Season that they can produce excellent performances home and away.

Not sure if AGM minutes will be in the public domain, but suggest you contact the Leicester Promoter (Dave Hemsley) as I would expect him to have a copy of the documentation and he may be willing to disclose the required information to you.

The great gate 2 vs gate 4 myth:- Actual results hts 1 -14 : Winners gate 2: Barker ht6 Cook ht 13 Winners gate 4: Risager ht 4 Cook ht 5 (equal track record) Points scored (removing doubling tr points) : gate 2 - 18 gate 4 - 18 Those who were there & accurately recorded the results, recheck for themselves. So on what basis do you reckon Tabaka was off the worst gate ? As you have previously stated you not buy a programme, do you record the gate stats by some other means and if so, on what basis did you conclude that gate 2 was the better option ?

Fisher or possibly Hougaard could come in at no. 1 for Ippo.

As Somerset vs Edinburgh was logged in the Official fixtures first, would expect Rebels have priority for Doyle's services on Wednesday.

Paulco is correct, it was changed this year, hence why newcomers remained on assessed averages until they had completed 4 home + 4 away matches at league level.

Never too late to point out the error of their ways to the Suffolk Sinners and send them on the path to righteousness

Apart from Cook, who by all accounts was a class above anyone else on display and won from both gates 2 & 4, there was only one winner from gate 4 (Risager ht 4) and one winner from gate 2 (Barker ht 6). So we have to endure more inane rubbish from some that Cook was given the favoured choice between gates 2 & 4. Some Ippo fans have previous in deriding Cook's efforts. There was a concerted campaign on here of falsely accusing Cook of causing the Bellego, Tungate crash in the PL 4s, which Chris Louis joined in on. When video evidence & trackside photos conclusively proved otherwise, very few of the accusers had the decency to acknowledge they were wrong and that Monarchs were deserved PL 4 Champs. The attitude of some Ipswich fans on here smacks of jealousy towards Craig, and rather than recognise a magnificent 18 point maximum and equalling track record, they concoct a bogus reason to belittle his splendid effort.

Quite often riders are signed up by PL clubs before an EL club subsequently takes them on as double ups. Furthermore EL clubs are now changing their double ups during the season for strategic reasons (e.g. Howarth from Poole to Swindon) or injury replacements (e.g. Screen for Roynon @ Coventry). Therefore you cannot always know in advance who will end up registered for both a PL and an EL club. The previous arrangement where PL fixtures always took precedence, meant the likes of Monday's Somerset vs Ipswich staffing farce would not occur. It has been suggested the new arrangement of double ups fixture priority was put in place as part of an agreement to ensure that those riding in Danish & Swedish leagues would honour their UK commitments over re-arranged Scandinavian matches and vice versa. IMO the EL have benefited at the expense of the PL, and the PL clubs should insist on a return to the 2012 system next year.

As Birmingham and Swindon are already scheduled for Monday fixtures, does this mean they would have first dibs on double-uppers Barker, Doyle, and Morris, if Somerset vs Ipswich was subsequently restaged on the same Monday ?

No problem with Cookie's efforts tonight, as once more he reaffirmed his position as the PL's undisputed number one Was not expecting the PL Fours Champs to pick up any match points at Foxhall Heath, so the end result was no surprise.

The current weather forecasts for Sunday & Monday certainly are gloomy for Monarchs last two away matches at Newcastle & Workington respectively, so it's looking academic whether or not Vissing will be in the UK over the weekend. If the meteorologists are correct, then Somerset & Ipswich will be the top two at the cut-off. At the end of the day the choice of group opponents, imo, might only provide a negligible advantage, as I suspect neither Somerset or Ippo would choose Diamonds or Monarchs as their first pick.

Well the "Sky Track Expert" spent about 30 minutes on the track analysing the terrain from half six, with his manservant, Jeeves Simmons, hanging over the fence admiring his Master's diligence. Looks like this pre-match managerial charade failed miserably

Updated to reflect current events

Not a fan of the Play-Offs, but the actual league matches are meaningful as all teams should be targeting a top six finish in order to qualify for the the tournament that decides who will be PL Champions for the Season.

Bringing in Rosen has proved a master stroke by Newcastle and barring further injuries, I remain convinced they will wipe the floor with all the other play-off contenders over two legs. Re Chris Gay, he has previous for incorrectly penalising "certain" riders for alleged rolling starts. He also has a tendency to hold the tapes far too long, which appears to be an attempt to induce tape touching/breaking.

Comparing to the quality of signings, not whether Sheffield should have been specifically signing Rosen, as you ineptly implied. If you had bothered to check Maassen's racing record this season, perhaps you would have noticed it is mediocre and would have questioned why Sheffield decided to sign a rider who would struggle to score points at NL level.

Not you sure there still is an automatic 7 day ban ? I recall being told that if a rider satsifies the on-site medics or has been formally signed off earlier than the seven days, he can then ride. Suppose it might be depend on the severity of the concussion, being in the range from mild to long term that can last several weeks. I agree it is best to err on the cautious side on health matters, I was just puzzled that he had a decent performance on Wednesday and is now deemed unfit.

Maassen's results in Germany this season have been mediocre, whereas Anton Rosen has been posting decent scores in the top tier in Sweden. Look's like one Promotion did their homework and the other has not.