Worst Presenters

[Tigerish 14]

So many to choose from some stand outs for me would be the guy at Leicester who announced Jan Graverson's 62.0 second winning time as a new lap record 60.2.

 

Or the guy at Peterborough who gives the riders really cringeworthy nicknames before, during and after races and whips the 'crowd' up to abject apathy.

 

But for me the winner is Shaun Leigh at my team Sheffield, truly, truly shocking. Even worse he presents at my other team Sheffield Wednesday on Saturdays as well.

[Shrimmy 143]

What's wrong with Shaun Leigh i thought he did a good job at scunny when he was there..ok he's not as good as rob Godfrey for comedy value but sounded really professional.

[topaz325 1,859]

Michael Max and Hoggy are good.

[ch958 2,395]

Actually most of them are amateurish and embarrassing and another reason why some new visitors to tracks think it's a joke

 

They should just stick to occasional rider or manager interviews

[cowboy cookie returns? 747]

The bspa presenting UK speedway??

[daveallan81 330]

Served entirely by the Bet365 streams, here's what I've heard this year:

 

Belle Vue: Nothing. PA doesn't carry to the hot air balloon they film from.

 

Birmingham: Scant consolation but I thought best of the bunch presentation-wise until they shut.

 

Coventry: Guy in the box is fine. Always thought York was a gasbag and I've heard nothing to dissuade me of that opinion. He spoke across the heat results being announced one evening, that's pretty poor.

 

Eastbourne: Only seen a couple from there and the PA is usually drowned out by the tractor racing.

 

King's Lynn: Guy in the box is OK but I would prefer if he stuck to winner-time-2nd-3rd-4th-heat score-prog score-repeat time-done. Centre green chap is a bit one-dimensional and he should be told that when a referee witholds the result because riders are being attended to, it's not an opportunity to invite folk to visit the track shop or grub huts.

 

Leicester: Centre green chap seems prone to missing changes that the guy in the box has to correct. Never been a great fan of announcer inter-play, it invariably sounds amateurish, so maybe back off on that. Unrelated topic, but I can't help thinking their track might be better if they limited the speed of the tractor to under seventy.

 

Lakeside: The guy in the box reminds me of Yogi Bear. Hey Booboo, it's a tactictacle ride. Can't think of the roving mic guy so he must be OK. Better than the nightmare that was Dave Lanning and his looney tunes back in the day.

 

Poole: Can't hear PA from current position. Did get a clear listen once early in the season, seemed fine to me but can't say much more than that.

 

Swindon: Guy in the box is the best in the EL for me. Did he commentate for Screensport at one time? Centre green guy goes about his job fine.

 

Wolverhampton: Box man ok. Not keen on the centre fellow, the words 'acquired taste' spring to mind.

 

If I needed announcers for a meeting, I'd be phoning the Birmingham guys with the Swindon boys in reserve.

 

Some great names from the past mentioned. John Earrey was excellent. I have a video with Rob McCaffery commentating on a 4TT and it's a lesson in advanced mathematics. If he didn't mention it, you didn't need to know it - good commentating. I heard so much of Dick Barrie I kind of phased him out in the end. But...you fair missed him when he wasn't there and he's still working after what, 45 years? Must be doing something right. Mike Bennett became omnipresent, he was ok by and large, good professional.

 

It worries me slightly that the track I thought had the best presentation went down the pan. Whatever problems they had, it wasn't in that department. Can we draw any conclusions from this? Is presentation largely irrelevant to the new or casual supporter? Or is it hopelessly dated and I'm too old to see it? I must say that viewing it solely from the standpoint of somebody new seeking a family night out, it looked and sounded OK to me.

 

For a laugh I used to state 'speedway announcers were killing the sport'. Usually when someone made a mistake (tippex, quickly now!) or blabbed on too long. Yet here we are twenty-odd years later and things aren't looking too rosy. Perhaps I was right, perhaps tracks should just employ a DJ and build a modern big screen to relay all the information. And by modern I mean one that actually looks like a giant telly, not one that's been pinched from the set of the Gemini Man. Has the sport been ignoring it's biggest problem when it's been staring them right in the, eh...ears?

 

Just think, the DJ can get a bit of a groove going or whatever you funky cats do nowadays, probably involves your thang or something similar. The screen can spew out all the info you need. Jazz up the track lights a bit for between heats. Lasers and smoke and stuff. Nice. Every other motor sport bawls it's head off, maybe we should go mellow. The laid-back motor sport. Yeh, get some Floyd on, kick out Monster, bring in Tetley, big cushions and mood lighting. I'm there...

[Trees 2,814]

Matt Black at Lynn is awful, very one dimensional, hasn't got into the sport at all, disappoints me greatly that the Lynn promotion think he's OK! Just like they think the programme is OK etc :-(

[Halifaxtiger 5,318]

Served entirely by the Bet365 streams, here's what I've heard this year:

 

Belle Vue: Nothing. PA doesn't carry to the hot air balloon they film from.

 

Birmingham: Scant consolation but I thought best of the bunch presentation-wise until they shut.

 

Coventry: Guy in the box is fine. Always thought York was a gasbag and I've heard nothing to dissuade me of that opinion. He spoke across the heat results being announced one evening, that's pretty poor.

 

Eastbourne: Only seen a couple from there and the PA is usually drowned out by the tractor racing.

 

King's Lynn: Guy in the box is OK but I would prefer if he stuck to winner-time-2nd-3rd-4th-heat score-prog score-repeat time-done. Centre green chap is a bit one-dimensional and he should be told that when a referee witholds the result because riders are being attended to, it's not an opportunity to invite folk to visit the track shop or grub huts.

 

Leicester: Centre green chap seems prone to missing changes that the guy in the box has to correct. Never been a great fan of announcer inter-play, it invariably sounds amateurish, so maybe back off on that. Unrelated topic, but I can't help thinking their track might be better if they limited the speed of the tractor to under seventy.

 

Lakeside: The guy in the box reminds me of Yogi Bear. Hey Booboo, it's a tactictacle ride. Can't think of the roving mic guy so he must be OK. Better than the nightmare that was Dave Lanning and his looney tunes back in the day.

 

Poole: Can't hear PA from current position. Did get a clear listen once early in the season, seemed fine to me but can't say much more than that.

 

Swindon: Guy in the box is the best in the EL for me. Did he commentate for Screensport at one time? Centre green guy goes about his job fine.

 

Wolverhampton: Box man ok. Not keen on the centre fellow, the words 'acquired taste' spring to mind.

 

If I needed announcers for a meeting, I'd be phoning the Birmingham guys with the Swindon boys in reserve.

 

Some great names from the past mentioned. John Earrey was excellent. I have a video with Rob McCaffery commentating on a 4TT and it's a lesson in advanced mathematics. If he didn't mention it, you didn't need to know it - good commentating. I heard so much of Dick Barrie I kind of phased him out in the end. But...you fair missed him when he wasn't there and he's still working after what, 45 years? Must be doing something right. Mike Bennett became omnipresent, he was ok by and large, good professional.

 

It worries me slightly that the track I thought had the best presentation went down the pan. Whatever problems they had, it wasn't in that department. Can we draw any conclusions from this? Is presentation largely irrelevant to the new or casual supporter? Or is it hopelessly dated and I'm too old to see it? I must say that viewing it solely from the standpoint of somebody new seeking a family night out, it looked and sounded OK to me.

 

For a laugh I used to state 'speedway announcers were killing the sport'. Usually when someone made a mistake (tippex, quickly now!) or blabbed on too long. Yet here we are twenty-odd years later and things aren't looking too rosy. Perhaps I was right, perhaps tracks should just employ a DJ and build a modern big screen to relay all the information. And by modern I mean one that actually looks like a giant telly, not one that's been pinched from the set of the Gemini Man. Has the sport been ignoring it's biggest problem when it's been staring them right in the, eh...ears?

 

Just think, the DJ can get a bit of a groove going or whatever you funky cats do nowadays, probably involves your thang or something similar. The screen can spew out all the info you need. Jazz up the track lights a bit for between heats. Lasers and smoke and stuff. Nice. Every other motor sport bawls it's head off, maybe we should go mellow. The laid-back motor sport. Yeh, get some Floyd on, kick out Monster, bring in Tetley, big cushions and mood lighting. I'm there...

 

Interesting stuff

 

I think its fair to say that presentation isn't just about the man with the mic - be he in the box or on the centre green - its more than that. I'm certainly not one to comment on the latter and its clear that presenters are very much a matter of individual taste, but I can give an opinion on those who currently do the job and what I would expect.

 

I think the first and most important thing is to know the sport. Those who are the best are all long term fans who would attend as paying customers anyway, and they can recognise riders even with their helmets on and know how to pronounce 'Protasiewicz' or 'Kolodziej'. The aforementioned Shaun Leigh of Sheffield once continued to state that Tom Young was Gary Irving despite the fact that Irving was about a foot taller and that's just embarrassing and smacks of someone who takes his pay, does his job and has absolutely nothing else to do with speedway. In contrast, I have seen Buxton's Graham Tagg all over the place (from Berwick to Wolverhampton) so he's clearly a dyed in the wool fan.

 

The second thing is don't give the impression that the crowd is there for your benefit rather than the other way around and that you are the main attraction. I doubt if any are like that, but they come across that way. Coventry's Peter York and ex King's Lynn presenter Mike Bennett are the worst examples of such behaviour.

 

Thirdly, remember that most fans are adults and treat them that way. That's why I don't like Newcastle/Redcar's Roy Clarke. There's only so much 'LIGHTning Ludvig LINDgren' one can stomach before he comes across as a compere of the magic roundabout.

 

Fourthly - remember we are in the 20th century. I don't mind Dick Barrie (in contrast to every other Berwick fan I have met) and while 'Wheels Cha Cha' is not a bad piece of intro music for a speedway team the remainder of his music and patter seems to be from the 1980's.

 

Fifthly, don't try to be funny if you're not. Most announcers are just professional - people like King's Lynn/Peterborough's Edwin Overland, Workington's John Walsh or Eastbourne's Kevin Coombes are among the best - but occasionally some drift into territory for which they aren't qualified.

 

Sixthly, be a good interviewer. Like Peterborough/Rye House's Craig Saul, for instance (not like Charlie Webster).

 

My dream team would be Plymouth's Graham Hambly (even though he must be well into his 70's) and Ipswich/Mildenhall's Kevin Long, the latter beating Scunthorpe's Rob Godfrey by a short head.

Edited August 12, 2014 by Halifaxtiger

[StevePark 2,781]

 

Interesting stuff

 

I think its fair to say that presentation isn't just about the man with the mic - be he in the box or on the centre green - its more than that. I'm certainly not one to comment on the latter and its clear that presenters are very much a matter of individual taste, but I can give an opinion on those who currently do the job and what I would expect.

 

I think the first and most important thing is to know the sport. Those who are the best are all long term fans who would attend as paying customers anyway, and they can recognise riders even with their helmets on and know how to pronounce 'Protasiewicz' or 'Kolodziej'. The aforementioned Shaun Leigh of Sheffield once continued to state that Tom Young was Gary Irving despite the fact that Irving was about a foot taller and that's just embarrassing and smacks of someone who takes his pay, does his job and has absolutely nothing else to do with speedway. In contrast, I have seen Buxton's Graham Tagg all over the place (from Berwick to Wolverhampton) so he's clearly a dyed in the wool fan.

 

The second thing is don't give the impression that the crowd is there for your benefit rather than the other way around and that you are the main attraction. I doubt if any are like that, but they come across that way. Coventry's Peter York and ex King's Lynn presenter Mike Bennett are the worst examples of such behaviour.

 

Thirdly, remember that most fans are adults and treat them that way. That's why I don't like Newcastle/Redcar's Roy Clarke. There's only so much 'LIGHTning Ludvig LINDgren' one can stomach before he comes across as a compere of the magic roundabout.

 

Fourthly - remember we are in the 20th century. I don't mind Dick Barrie (in contrast to every other Berwick fan I have met) and while 'Wheels Cha Cha' is not a bad piece of intro music for a speedway team the remainder of his music and patter seems to be from the 1980's.

 

Fifthly, don't try to be funny if you're not. Most announcers are just professional - people like King's Lynn/Peterborough's Edwin Overland, Workington's John Walsh or Eastbourne's Kevin Coombes are among the best - but occasionally some drift into territory for which they aren't qualified.

 

Sixthly, be a good interviewer. Like Peterborough/Rye House's Craig Saul, for instance (not like Charlie Webster).

 

My dream team would be Plymouth's Graham Hambly (even though he must be well into his 70's) and Ipswich/Mildenhall's Kevin Long, the latter beating Scunthorpe's Rob Godfrey by a short head.

 

You might be, but the rest of us are in the 21st Century!

[BuckTaylor64 34]

Thanks - you're quite right - one of the many mistakes I made and I did the same on the commentaries. Happy the presentation and commentary days are well behind me now but what I did was honest and well-intentioned and based on a love of the sport, not money. I did my bit to try to help.

 

To me the best were Ted Sear and John Earrey. I never had the privilege of meeting John but I worked with Ted and he was a true pleasure to meet. John was fluent, informative and entertaining - a marvellous presenter.

 

By contrast, the most arrogant and unpleasant individual I ever had the bad luck to meet on the announcing side was Peter York. Even after all these years he seems to pay scant attention to getting names right and I really object to his attempt to commentate over the final lap of races which I would never do over a p.a.

In my own defence, every voice or writing job I performed was because someone asked me to. I never put myself forward once. Thankfully eventually they stopped asking.

Good reply! Sign of a professional! Can take well intended constructive criticism.

Darren Fletcher is a great commentator! I'd love to see him getting involved with sky coverage.

[brianbuck 928]

The bottom line is surely a question of whether we really need centre green presenters? A clear, articulate announcer with a good knowledge of speedway in general should be more than sufficient in my opinion. All we really need on a match night is the racing, clear announcements of results and the contestants for the following race, plus any interesting information relevant to the meeting or one of the riders taking part.

 

Instead, all too often we get inane long winded irrelevant chatter from people who often seem to imagine themselves as the star of the show, which just slows down the meetings and adds little or nothing to the entertainment value.

 

As the ideal announcer, I'd nominate Terry Astley whom most people will never have heard of, but who for many years was the announcer at my cycle speedway club's (Sandwell) home matches. Terry always did his homework, was always clear and consise and never reduced himself to pointless wittering. He works on the track and sweeps out the pits at Birmingham and Wolverhampton these days, and in my opinion, is wasted!

[Gaz 214]

The stand in presenter at Newcastle on Sunday was excellent and hopefully will be back again for the next match.

[a4poster 82]

In my opinion the presentation at some tracks now leave a lot to be desired. The actual presenter/announcer at a meeting is just as important as the riders as they have to carry and hold the crowds attention between the races.

 

How often do you now have long silences between the races - especially if there is a hold up for track work, accidents, etc... where you look around and see people chatting amongst themselves instead of being engaged by the announcer.

 

In the past the meeting announcer/presenter was often involved in broadcasting and had the traits required but now sadly I suppose as another cost cutting measure it is more likely the role of an enthusiastic supporter.

[Skidder1 7,637]

The bottom line is surely a question of whether we really need centre green presenters? A clear, articulate announcer with a good knowledge of speedway in general should be more than sufficient in my opinion. All we really need on a match night is the racing, clear announcements of results and the contestants for the following race, plus any interesting information relevant to the meeting or one of the riders taking part.

 

Instead, all too often we get inane long winded irrelevant chatter from people who often seem to imagine themselves as the star of the show, which just slows down the meetings and adds little or nothing to the entertainment value.

 

As the ideal announcer, I'd nominate Terry Astley whom most people will never have heard of, but who for many years was the announcer at my cycle speedway club's (Sandwell) home matches. Terry always did his homework, was always clear and consise and never reduced himself to pointless wittering. He works on the track and sweeps out the pits at Birmingham and Wolverhampton these days, and in my opinion, is wasted!

 

 

Not sure how a presenter can slow down a meeting?? Its not as if they have control of the "2-minute button"!!

 

Poole's Centre Green presenter Nigel Leahy also comes from a Cycle Speedway background and is highly professional (imo), working well with the DJ up in the control box which is not the ref's box!!

 

Yes he occasionally makes the odd mistake - doesn't everyone - but is usually well researched and up to date with all recent results and rider performances!! Also He doesn't feel that he has to shout into the mic!!

 

We notice the considerable difference when Nigel is away and we get Swindon's Clive Fisher as a stand-in!!!

[scottyfan 824]

Not sure how a presenter can slow down a meeting?? Its not as if they have control of the "2-minute button"!!

 

Poole's Centre Green presenter Nigel Leahy also comes from a Cycle Speedway background and is highly professional (imo), working well with the DJ up in the control box which is not the ref's box!!

 

Yes he occasionally makes the odd mistake - doesn't everyone - but is usually well researched and up to date with all recent results and rider performances!! Also He doesn't feel that he has to shout into the mic!!

 

We notice the considerable difference when Nigel is away and we get Swindon's Clive Fisher as a stand-in!!!

Only problem with Poole's presenter is he takes to long to introduce the riders and by the time he gets to Darcy Ward the rest of the riders have started their practice lap!!!!