woofers Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Your memory doesn't fail you. But nor does it recall that Birmingham had Dan Halsey riding at No 1, and he scored only 3 pts from his rides. Yes, Brennan was making his debut, which ended in heat 2 and we had Ben Hopwood in place of Eliis Perks. Birmingham led from heat 4 through to heat 14, and it was only when Jack Smith fell in a points scoring position in Ht 14 that gave Eastbourne a life line. With hindsight it was the two 5-1's in heats 13 and 15 that saved Eastbourne. Brums reserves are stronger, and as in many speedway meetings, can make a significant impact on the result. Then again, so can r/r, which Eastbourne have utilised virtually all season (only ridden 2 NL matches with 7 riders!), something which is obviously within the rules but probably outside the spirit - but that doesn't seem to count in any sport these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sings4Speedway Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Your memory doesn't fail you. But nor does it recall that Birmingham had Dan Halsey riding at No 1, and he scored only 3 pts from his rides. Yes, Brennan was making his debut, which ended in heat 2 and we had Ben Hopwood in place of Eliis Perks. Birmingham led from heat 4 through to heat 14, and it was only when Jack Smith fell in a points scoring position in Ht 14 that gave Eastbourne a life line. With hindsight it was the two 5-1's in heats 13 and 15 that saved Eastbourne. Brums reserves are stronger, and as in many speedway meetings, can make a significant impact on the result. Then again, so can r/r, which Eastbourne have utilised virtually all season (only ridden 2 NL matches with 7 riders!), something which is obviously within the rules but probably outside the spirit - but that doesn't seem to count in any sport these days. I cannot agree strongly enough with the last sentence woofers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 With the rider replacement thing, you make it sound like an advantage but I see it as the opposite. I would rather see someone signed or at least a guest. Even at home we have only been scoring 4 or 5 with r/r so not really an advantage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_art Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 At the moment it looks as though we will be going into these matches with r/r and a guest unless Danyon Hume manages to get himself fit. Not exactly ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruckerroo Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Luckily the way brums side is set up rr is no disadvantage at all. They are clear favs to win play off and cup like theyve been since start of season. The reserves are just too good to be reserves in the nl, fair play to drury getting them on board early doors 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sings4Speedway Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 R/R can be a blessing for some teams and a curse for others. Much depends upon the strength of the teams reserves. However i would much rather see a full 1-7. Perhaps its time to amend the rules so that a guest can be used in place of a heat leader and an unattached 3 pointer / number 8 used for missing second strings / reserves? After all its supposed to be a development league and there are plenty of riders who would benefit from the extra track time even if they only got 3 rides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_martin Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 ...only ridden 2 NL matches with 7 riders!... Not exactly "in the best interests of British Speedway" is it? Oh for the good ol' days when if both teams had R/R they would promote their #8's and face each other with 2 x 7-man teams. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 Using R/R for gary cottham is almost as bad as white city doing the same with dag lovaas in1977! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWC Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 Not exactly "in the best interests of British Speedway" is it? Oh for the good ol' days when if both teams had R/R they would promote their #8's and face each other with 2 x 7-man teams. Been my gripe since Cottham first got injured seems Eastbourne are happy use this for the sole benefit of using George Wood in Ht 14! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurnTwo Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 I believe you mean heat 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hackett Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 Luckily the way brums side is set up rr is no disadvantage at all. They are clear favs to win play off and cup like theyve been since start of season. The reserves are just too good to be reserves in the nl, fair play to drury getting them on board early doors Drury has come out today and sees the reserve pairing as key to the meetings. “I certainly feel we’ve got the upper hand with the two Jacks (Parkinson-Blackburn and Smith) at reserve and a lot will depend on their performances. . ." Last time at Perry Barr the Eagles took the chequered flag on 10 occasions but lost 47-43 - They will need Tom Brennan + Luke Harris to be competitive and pick up points. If Brummies hit Eagles for 5-1s in the reserves heat. 17+5 Brummies - Eagles 1 !! A repeat of that will make it a tall order for the Eagles !! Jack Smith 10+2, Jack P Blackburn 7+3 vs Luke Harris 1, Charley Powell 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_art Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 Luckily the way brums side is set up rr is no disadvantage at all. They are clear favs to win play off and cup like theyve been since start of season. The reserves are just too good to be reserves in the nl, fair play to drury getting them on board early doors Have to disagree. Its true that we have covered for Danyon against lesser sides but I fear against Eastbourne we will come unstuck. Danyon has been head and shoulders our best rider over the last few months. I am NOT confident especially with the Eagles home track advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruckerroo Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 All i can say is brum should have murdered eastbourne at arlington earlier this season . They had them stone cold even tho the guest had a poor meeting. A novicey mistake by jack smith gave eagles the chance to nick the win that night. I just cant see eagles having any joy at reserve esp in the away legs. Brennan is improving rapidly but hes not been facing jpb or smith in gaining his points, interesting to see how he does against 2 more experienced young prospects tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazzac Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 (edited) Drury has come out today and sees the reserve pairing as key to the meetings. I certainly feel weve got the upper hand with the two Jacks (Parkinson-Blackburn and Smith) at reserve and a lot will depend on their performances. . ." Last time at Perry Barr the Eagles took the chequered flag on 10 occasions but lost 47-43 - They will need Tom Brennan + Luke Harris to be competitive and pick up points. If Brummies hit Eagles for 5-1s in the reserves heat. 17+5 Brummies - Eagles 1 !! A repeat of that will make it a tall order for the Eagles !! Jack Smith 10+2, Jack P Blackburn 7+3 vs Luke Harris 1, Charley Powell 0 Can't think Brennen and Harris will only score 1 point between them, so if the top end do the business again think it'll be a similar score. Will be quite tight at Arlington as well,but if we can restrict it to a 4 point loss again at Perry Barr, think we'll have taken a bigger lead than that to the second leg . Should be 4 cracking meetings in the 2 competitions as it's too close to call home and away. Edited October 18, 2016 by gazzac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_martin Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 (edited) A novicey mistake by jack smith gave eagles the chance to nick the win that night. That's what novices do...and that's what you have to expect in the NL. Eastbourne will do to Birmingham what Newcastle did to Birmingham in 2010. In that season, the Brummies stomped over the rest of the league, but in three two-legged match ups (Premier Trophy Final, PL KOC Final, and Play-Off's semi-final) the Diamonds stuffed the Brummies every time. The price you pay for having one team with a fair track and another with a huge home track advantage. In fact the parallels go further. Newcastle had two unstoppable heat leaders - Kenni Larsen and Rene Bach. Just as Eastbourne have Adam Ellis and Ellis Perks who are both head and shoulders above anything Birmingham have to offer. Can't see the Ellis's (Adam or Perks) dropping points so at least 6 races will be at least 3-3 if no other Eagle turns up, and two 5-1's to the Eagles in heats 13 & 15 before we start. Given that the Eagles will get at least 1 point in heat 2, then that's 29 points at Perry Barr in the bag before the other 5 riders in the team have done a thing. Now if each of those 5 riders only scores 3 points each, their 15 points plus the 29 from the combined might of the Ellis's and a reserve in heat 2, and you go to Arlington damned nearly level pegging. At Arlington, the Eagles start with a 10-point home track advantage, so it's going to be a long old slog for the young kids in the Brummies colours. Edited October 18, 2016 by uk martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_art Posted October 19, 2016 Report Share Posted October 19, 2016 I have no problem if Eastbourne win the KOC because of home track advantage (and the loss of Danyon.) That's cup competition and why there should always be a cup competition. However if we lose the league then it is a travesty. I hate play offs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hebbs Posted October 19, 2016 Report Share Posted October 19, 2016 I have no problem if Eastbourne win the KOC because of home track advantage (and the loss of Danyon.) That's cup competition and why there should always be a cup competition. However if we lose the league then it is a travesty. I hate play offs. Agree with that entirely. Having been there when the Eagles lost the first ever EL playoffs, when we had been the best team all year, left a terrible feeling of injustice. The league should be won by the team that is top at the end of the season, that's it. Playoffs are just another type of cup competition. In my view, and I suspect several other Eagles fans, Birmingham have won the league regardless of what happens next. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec Posted October 19, 2016 Report Share Posted October 19, 2016 I have no problem if Eastbourne win the KOC because of home track advantage (and the loss of Danyon.) That's cup competition and why there should always be a cup competition. However if we lose the league then it is a travesty. I hate play offs. Yep, I agree. Still hope Eastbourne win but hate play offs and dont agree with them. I was gutted for Belle Vue this year and I little bit of me will feel for Birmingham Team and Fans if we do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrscambelt Posted October 19, 2016 Report Share Posted October 19, 2016 Yep, I agree. Still hope Eastbourne win but hate play offs and dont agree with them. I was gutted for Belle Vue this year and I little bit of me will feel for Birmingham Team and Fans if we do Not a fan of the play offs but i guess its kept the league open for fans to follow other wise it was all over in August, Ask Belle Vue about the pain but it was good for the sport and good for the fans but not everyone is going to win. Looking forward to this one tonight but cant get there so will listen to it on the radio live tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazzac Posted October 19, 2016 Report Share Posted October 19, 2016 Agree with that entirely. Having been there when the Eagles lost the first ever EL playoffs, when we had been the best team all year, left a terrible feeling of injustice. The league should be won by the team that is top at the end of the season, that's it. Playoffs are just another type of cup competition. In my view, and I suspect several other Eagles fans, Birmingham have won the league regardless of what happens next. Was there that night as well and it was horrible. But as its this year's rules still hope we win it even though it seems unjust, will have only taken 14 year's to have it go the other way.It's always worst for the team who come top as it's their's to lose. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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