# Hugh Porter



## MikeonaBike (11 Sep 2014)

Is Hugh Porter in a competition with Phil Liggett to be the worst commentator in cycling? Porter, in my opinion is dreadful, he makes Carlton Kirby sound brilliant! Porter's use of the non-word 'theirselves' is irritating in the extreme; why don't ITV tell the bloke to speak English? I have to watch the ToB highlights with no sound.


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## rich p (11 Sep 2014)

Mistaking Lopez for Wiggins up the Tumble was embarrassing too. His fellow commentator was cringing.


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## Rob3rt (11 Sep 2014)

He isn't the bloke that keeps saying "good job of work" is he?


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## Crackle (11 Sep 2014)

I've said elsewhere, you have to respect what he's done but his rider identification and his reading of the race is more often wrong than right.


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## Herzog (11 Sep 2014)

Rob3rt said:


> He isn't the bloke that keeps saying "good job of work" is he?


 
No that's Paul Sherwin.


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## suzeworld (11 Sep 2014)

Crackle said:


> I've said elsewhere, you have to respect what he's done but his rider identification and his reading of the race is more often wrong than right.


I thought you were exaggerating, but watching him on the ToB this week, I have to say you're NOT. 
He contradicts the other guy to say wrong stuff and can't get the name of riders or teams out properly. Surely it is time for a new voice on this job,


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## Rob3rt (11 Sep 2014)

Herzog said:


> No that's Paul Sherwin.



Daft bastard he is then, hah! It's always "an inch away from the seat of your pants" and "a good job of work".


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## jarlrmai (11 Sep 2014)

The best was when he got confused about a rider that was off the back and thought they were bridging to the leaders.


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## MikeonaBike (11 Sep 2014)

Goes to show that good sportsmen (or women) don't necessarily make good commentators. Another example (athletics) is Brendan Foster, truly awful, the master of stating the blindingly obvious. Seems that Carlton Kirby is the best we have at the moment......!!!!!

Come back David Harmon. Please.


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## MisterStan (11 Sep 2014)

I quite like Hugh Porter, I do get concerned that he's going to have a coronary every time there's a sprint finish though....


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## rich p (11 Sep 2014)

MikeonaBike said:


> Goes to show that good sportsmen (or women) don't necessarily make good commentators. Another example (athletics) is Brendan Foster, truly awful, the master of stating the blindingly obvious. Seems that Carlton Kirby is the best we have at the moment......!!!!!
> 
> Come back David Harmon. Please.


I quite like Declan Wotsisname and Robbie Hatch.


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## w00hoo_kent (11 Sep 2014)

suzeworld said:


> Surely it is time for a new voice on this job,


Isn't this what they are grooming David Millar for?


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## themosquitoking (11 Sep 2014)

Murray Walker went on for about 8 years after he stopped being able to commentate accurately.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (11 Sep 2014)

Crackle said:


> I've said elsewhere, you have to respect what he's done but his rider identification and his reading of the race is more often wrong than right.



I had to check the thread title, I thought you were on about Dave Brailsford for a minute.


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## compo (11 Sep 2014)

MikeonaBike said:


> Is Hugh Porter in a competition with Phil Liggett to be the worst commentator in cycling? Porter, in my opinion is dreadful, he makes Carlton Kirby sound brilliant! Porter's use of the non-word 'theirselves' is irritating in the extreme; why don't ITV tell the bloke to speak English? I have to watch the ToB highlights with no sound.



Am I allowed to confess to liking Carlton Kirby. It can't always be easy trying to keep an audience involved on long stretches of a stage when not a lot is happening but he manages it. My wife and I often enjoy his little asides about the countryside where the race is passing. Also he does go into some detail about what is actually happenning in the peleton, things that many people wouldn't even notice until having them pointed out. I think Carlton Kirby is maybe more apealling to people who don't have an in depth knowledge of cycle racing.


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## Crackle (11 Sep 2014)

I don't mind Carlton Kirby.


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## rich p (11 Sep 2014)

Kirby would be tolerable if he didn't start screaming about 15km from the end.
He's lit up the burners - can he hold on for 15km Sean? No, he can't you farking dickheadf


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## suzeworld (12 Sep 2014)

w00hoo_kent said:


> Isn't this what they are grooming David Millar for?


Nah, he is being groomed for being tall dark and handsome in front of the camera, a job Kristian House is doing very well on this ToB. 
I'm sure actual commentating for hours every day is really hard, but sheesh. Some basic accuracy would be good.


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## Globalti (12 Sep 2014)

Come on, the majority of viewers don't even notice. It's only committed cyclists like yourselves who notice the mistakes; a bit like when you spot a BSO with the forks on back to front.


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## youngoldbloke (12 Sep 2014)

'Race face on', 'tapping it out', every day we hear without fail, it's about time he stopped. Oh, and did you know that when the peloton starts going fast they form a long line?


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## suzeworld (12 Sep 2014)

Globalti said:


> Come on, the majority of viewers don't even notice. It's only committed cyclists like yourselves who notice the mistakes; a bit like when you spot a BSO with the forks on back to front.


So fans who understand / notice don't count?
Curious point of view.


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## 400bhp (12 Sep 2014)

compo said:


> Am I allowed to confess to liking Carlton Kirby. It can't always be easy trying to keep an audience involved on long stretches of a stage when not a lot is happening but he manages it. My wife and I often enjoy his little asides about the countryside where the race is passing. Also he does go into some detail about what is actually happenning in the peleton, things that many people wouldn't even notice until having them pointed out. I think Carlton Kirby is maybe more apealling to people who don't have an in depth knowledge of cycle racing.



I'll crawl from out of the woodwork too. I like him.


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## SWSteve (12 Sep 2014)

Quite like Carlton Kirby


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## youngoldbloke (13 Sep 2014)

HP was sooooo irritating again today. If he is still commentating next year I'm not watching. His sidekick is almost as bad too. Oh, and wasn't it a great idea to cut to ads just as the main bunch was on Ditchling Beacon.


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## Asa Post (13 Sep 2014)

I was amused to note that the incompetent commentary of the last couple of miles of today's stage had been redubbed by the time the highlights were broadcast tonight, and all the cock-ups removed.


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## themosquitoking (13 Sep 2014)

Asa Post said:


> I was amused to note that the incompetent commentary of the last couple of miles of today's stage had been redubbed by the time the highlights were broadcast tonight, and all the cock-ups removed.


They do that on MOTD too.


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## Hont (15 Sep 2014)

Globalti said:


> Come on, the majority of viewers don't even notice.



So it's OK that they're misinformed then?


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## Globalti (15 Sep 2014)

Well, yes, actually! It's really not important enough to get all indignant about! The majority find him OK and TBH I think all the commentators do a great job in pointing things out to the viewing public, getting it right most of the time. 

It's only when you become knowledgeable in a subject that you become impatient with the shortcomings of others.


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## smutchin (15 Sep 2014)

Hugh Porter is appalling. Carlton Kirby is a bit overenthusiastic at times but at least he's not senile.

I enjoyed Magnus Backstedt's ToB commentary on ES. He's great.


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## Hont (15 Sep 2014)

Globalti said:


> Well, yes, actually! It's really not important enough to get all indignant about!



I'm not indignant. I don't know why you inferred that I was.

I just think that commentators have a job to inform as well as add colour to the images. They're supposed to be experts, not just someone who can make a noise with their mouth for six hours - especially since cycling is becoming ever more popular in the UK and there are many new spectators to the sport. If they're being confused by commentators who mis-identify riders, the race situation, speculate inaccurately and miss the key points in the race, how is that beneficial to anybody? You might as well turn the sound down and listen to the archers, if you're just after irrelevant background noise. 

There are plenty of good commentators available such as Rob Hatch and David Harmon, who, for reasons which escape me, are down the pecking order but do a much better job.


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## deptfordmarmoset (15 Sep 2014)

Though David Millar was speechless at the end of his last race the other day, I really hope he does a bit more commentating: a good, articulate voice, intelligent, and very well informed. A pleasure to listen to.


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## Apollonius (15 Sep 2014)

Hugh is local to me and has whizzed past me a time or two, so I hate to be disloyal. On the other hand, I do suspect his time has gone as a commentator. He was at his most embarrassing during the Olympics when he failed to recognise any of the riders - in unfamiliar national jerseys admittedly, but there is homework to be done. I like the Kirby/Kelly combination if only for the amount Kirby's enthusiastic faux idiocy gets out of Sean, who is not always very forthcoming.
like many, would like to hear more from David Millar and have enjoyed Christian House's contributions.


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## youngoldbloke (15 Sep 2014)

Globalti said:


> Well, yes, actually! It's really not important enough to get all indignant about! The majority find him OK and TBH I think all the commentators do a great job in pointing things out to the viewing public, getting it right most of the time.
> 
> It's only when you become knowledgeable in a subject that you become impatient with the shortcomings of others.


Thing is, I reckon it's only the knowledgeable, and those who want to be, that tune in and watch on ITV4. Just how many times do we need to be told that the peloton is in a long line because they have speeded up, and that he's tapping out the rhythm with his race face on. Must have heard combinations of the above hundreds of times during their coverage, or so it seems ........ What does 'tapping out' mean anyway?


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## rich p (15 Sep 2014)

The long and the short of it is, that if there is somebody who can do the job better, (and there is) then why tolerate incompetence.


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## HF2300 (15 Sep 2014)

rich p said:


> The long and the short of it is, that if there is somebody who can do the job better, (and there is) then why tolerate incompetence.



If the standards are set by football commentary it'll soon degenerate into a string of names with an occasional noun or adjective chucked in.



youngoldbloke said:


> What does 'tapping out' mean anyway?



It's what you do when you dance on the pedals a la Liggett.

I just had a vision of the whole peloton with madly whirling legs like a Riverdance parody.


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## w00hoo_kent (16 Sep 2014)

HF2300 said:


> I just had a vision of the whole peloton with madly whirling legs like a Riverdance parody.


How are your editing skills? YouTube is full of videos with the Benny Hill theme dubbed over the top, you could start a meme.


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## jarlrmai (16 Sep 2014)

Next time you are on a long group ride, try commentating it to the guy you are riding with see how long you can go without repeating yourself


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## Brightski (22 Sep 2014)

Hugh and Phil are hard work at times, 
Hugh Porter was guest speaker and trophy giver outer at my old clubs annual dinner many years ago, nice enough gent


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## Flick of the Elbow (22 Sep 2014)

I miss David Harmon but I'm perfectly happy with Carlton Kirby, especially when teamed up with Sean K. Can't stand Paul Sherwen and I'm afraid that much as I admire Hugh Porter his commentary these days is pretty dire.


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## perplexed (24 Sep 2014)

Dave Harmon with Magnus Backstedt was a good combination.

I don't know about HP, I listen to the other side.

I also fine Carlton Kirby quite personable (and he's from my neck of the woods). However, I was going to play a drinking game whilst he was commentating, but decided against it. I was going to have a small snifter everytime he said 'incidentally', but decided that a) I couldn't afford it, and b) I'd be dead within 20 minutes...


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## oldroadman (30 Sep 2014)

Commentary by Matt Stephens has been good this season, he seems to be getting more opportunity and a good thing too. David Millar would be good alongside him, I think, and also as a presenter, although Ned Boulting does an excellent job. For me the worst presentation and commentary are on the (obviously cheap/budget) productions for BC Elite Series stuff. There the editing is not great, shot quality variable, and commentary can be monotone. Information is there and usually OK, but presentation of it works for insomnia. Which is a shame because a bit of extra work (and no doubt cash) could make some decent programmes from what are often good aggressive races. Maybe some more women's races too?


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## smutchin (28 Oct 2014)

oldroadman said:


> Ned Boulting does an excellent job.



Ned Boulting goes to show that you don't necessarily need in-depth knowledge of a subject to be a good TV presenter. Between him, Boardman, Millar and Gary Haircut, they've got what I think is a perfectly balanced mix of inside knowledge and telly skills. Just a shame about the idiots in the commentary box. I also think they should make more use of Matt Rendell.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (28 Oct 2014)

smutchin said:


> Ned Boulting goes to show that you don't necessarily need in-depth knowledge of a subject to be a good TV presenter. Between him, Boardman, Millar and Gary Haircut, they've got what I think is a perfectly balanced mix of inside knowledge and telly skills. Just a shame about the idiots in the commentary box. I also think they should make more use of Matt Rendell.



Yep, I could sit and listen to Boardman, Boulting, Imlach and Millar all day; and I agree re Rendell as well, they should use him more (but his voice is a more suited to writing books...)


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