No Phil Liggett??

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Tin Pot

Guru
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Mmm, i wonder what his BMI is? :scratch:

Looks like he's eaten a frame.
 

suzeworld

Veteran
Location
helsby
I didn't mind the Phil and Paul commentating as much as some in here. The commentary we got on bunch sprints in the past was usually very good, whihc Ned certainly is not (yet?) and tbh, what ARE you going to talk about for five hours a day, peddling through the scenery?

But I really love the quiet authority David brings to the airwaves. He knows these people inside out and his recent experience really enlivens the commentary, so all in all, yay. :okay:
We were certainly due a change to in the old guard and this team is a really good one.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Presumably, when Paul Sherwen retired from racing and started doing commentary, he was in the same position. It has a shelf-life.
Well, here's 1990 (Ch4 not ITV, contrary the title) and skip forwards to 11mins for some not-so-insightful early Sherwening, unless you like watching Phil being Gary at the start and end, Gary being Ned at about 7mins 30, or Paul being Matt at 22mins:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahtBc8h05Ew

Already some of the clichés like over-use of "jump away" and "back in the front" were appearing, but he sounds much more Northern than he does now.

I suspect that David Millar might keep up-to-date for longer because he seems quite a fan of cycling beyond being an ex-pro, so might be similar to Chris Boardman, who doesn't yet seem to have fallen into foolishness.
 
Location
Hampshire
David Millar cycled past us on a fold up (wasn't a Brompton) near the finish of stage 2 on Sunday morning, I said 'alright Dave' but I don't think he heard me.....err that's it really.
Oh, whilst Ned B is still learning the ropes to some extent he's a vast improvement on Phil L.
 

al-fresco

Growing older but not up...
Location
Shropshire
I miss Phil Liggett, but don't miss Paul "The thing is Phil, he's got a big diesel engine" Sherwen. Phil could get things spectacularly wrong but he'd always re-tape them for the highlight show! David Millar is, I think, brilliant - knowledgeable, witty and full of insight. Ned, on the other hand, doesn't know when to shut up, is prone to cliches and, damningly, has a tendency to talk over Millar. He's not a terrible commentator (better than the Eurosport crew) but I don't think he'll ever make a great one. Liggett and Millar might make an interesting combination.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Radio 5's coverage is a disgrace. They pushed back the start of broadcast coverage by an hour today and then as soon as the stage finished they were quick to cut to dead air and then a recorded loop!
And again today, another half-hour delay to the start of broadcasting. This time neither EPG or BBC web schedule updated until after the start :wacko:
 

User269

Guest
We thought Phil & Paul were great, even though they went off the boil over the past few years.

Whether live or during the edited highlights program we liked their conversation and most importantly the discussion and interpretation of the action, in preference to the uninteresting Boulting commentary about nothing important happening with regard to the riders positions.

ITV4 continue to put together a very good, professional, highlights programme, but we look forward to returning home next week to our live pause and record sat TV, and fast forwarding through the ads; we only have live sat here, and find it almost unwatchable, with barely 7 mins of program, then 5 mins of ads. They really are taking the piss, and this ratio of ads makes for a very poor quality viewing experience.

Dave & Ned doing quite a good job though, although Ned should stop asking me "will they catch the breakaway?" "Who will win the stage today?" and so on. I was rather hoping he would tell us.

Dave's commentary, and interpretation of events is brilliant. I miss Ned's funny little pieces to camera that he and Chris used to do, and also his live post race interviews with riders, often in their native tongue. And thank God for Gary and Chris's continuing contribution.
 

Broadside

Guru
Location
Fleet, Hants
I never really got the Phil Liggett bashing that went on, but now it is Ned and Dave I am enjoying the highlights program much more, and now I realise why so many complained about Phil before!

It's a big improvement from my point of view.
 
David Millar is informative and knowledgeable, you feel like you get a good insight into the tactics of the race when listening to him. Paul Sherwin is like Andy Townsend or Robbie Savage in football - if you didn't know they played the game at a high level you'd never believe it, the cliché ridden crap they come out with that tells you precisely nothing that you can't see for yourself.
 
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