hehe agree about EJ - people in F1 seem to like him a lot perhaps it's taken a little longer to come across on our TV screens.

BBC coverage this weekend was first class and great to see Murray Walker in the forum with Damon Hill at the end

I think DC is getting there...

I agree

Was he any good?

Ron Dennis sabotages Eddie Jordan, BBC furious ...

That is funny. Nice to see Ron can still have a laugh...

He's a card isn't he? Eh?

lmfao, watching the footage you see him go in, then scamper off telling everyone to watch Eddie in the background

Funny reading it, but I don't think it was a funny prank to play myself at the time, considering the amount of technical difficulties BBC have had this year - its a good job Ron Dennis didn't cut anything else, otherwise he could have sent the show off the air.

You can see Eddie shouting at someone when they return from the world feed by the podium at 2:32:00. Few screencaps:



A lot of people seen what happened as you can see a lot of laughter in the background. Eddie looked utterly pissed off though. (surprised I never noticed on Sunday). Jake said earlier that he's done a new blog, so I wonder if he'll mention it.



I'm not sure what action can be took, BBC can't 'fine' McLaren, and I hope no one even tries it again, because I wouldn't want Eddie to leave even if some find him annoying.

Bugger!

Why couldn't he have done that to Legard a couple of hours earlier.....

I fail to see how Ron Dennis could have taken the 'show off the air,' unless of course he inadvertently took a massive pair of scissors to the cable supplying the BBC's feed - which I doubt EJ carries on his back?

As a license fee payer, I don't give a monkeys about what happened.

Interestingly, Adam Cooper mentions the following on his blog:



Sabotaging equipment isn't the worst thing in the world. I'm pretty sure Ron will just cough up the money to replace whatever was damaged.

Here is this moment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG7vxjuxbWw

Yeah very funny Ron

Ron Dennis the walking example that money can buy you many things but not integrity and class

Hey first post but I though EJ was brilliant in having the balls to pull Horner up about the Sat shambles in Red Bull

I just wish that the Beeb would sent Legard down a lift shaft....he really was awful on Sunday.

The BBC coverage is great, you guys shouldn't be complaining about anything.

Big deal - Ron played a joke on EJ. That's great; the thing I like about the BBC coverage is that it's much more candid than anywhere else, and it shows the F1 circus as a group of actual people, with characters, instead of being robots.

It's exactly what's needed. It gives a human "face" to F1 that's needed.

That's class, just Ron sneaking up like a naughty school child. Haha.

Well I'm not sure it really gives a human face to it, personally I wouldn't appreciate being screwed with while doing my job; but really the BBC has bigger problems with their coverage they need to address than Eddie Jordan having an audio problem.

Or a sense of humor hey JPW ?

I don't like EJ and to some extent I think the "prank" is funny but I subscribe the above, nobody has the right to mess with others work, most of all when the work is broadcasted live on TV!.

It's not as if Ron Dennis doesn't have any sabotaging experience

Well yes, to an extent that's quite right. Pranks are ok when they only affect a persons pride, but sabotaging EJ's equipment while he's live on air to 5 million people, is like EJ going into the McLaren garage just before the race and quietly shanking one of the stacked up tyres.

I think it's pretty funny, but I can understand why Eddie might think it was too far.

surprisingly unconvincing!


was great to see him though, they should have asked him to do a practice session with crofty/

Some people have no sense of humour. Same with Alonso. Dennis played practical jokes for half a season and not a single simile from Spaniard.

According to @5liveF1, Ant is now on twitter - @antdavidson

Classic German GP - Choices
- 1986
- 1994
- 1996
- 1997
- 2009

Can't believe Legard's very first sentence on Sunday was "Webber makes a charge!"

It's just pathetic.

Meanwhile, on Thursday...

Was it? http://bbc.co.uk/i/t24jx/?t=45m20s

Jake's blog: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jakehumphrey/20...at_british.html (no mention of EJ/Dennis incident)

Starting to get a bit fed up with the cop out of using 2009 each time. Germany was OK last season, but they seem to do it for every race now. Silverstone 2009 was certainly not a classic.

surprised theres no 2008

It would have at least made more sense since it's Hockenheim.

i think it was featured last season.

Indeed :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport...one/8109556.stm

A phrase springs to mind (as it did a few years ago) relating to the constant critical comments made towards commentators in F1 (and other sports):

Walk a mile in someone else's shoes...

I genuinely wonder how many of the regulars who rubbished James Allen and now rubbish Jonathan Legard after each and every race, for being over-emotional, biased, trotting out cliches, because they're posh - whatever - would be able to do a better job?

Note that I'm not criticising either of them, nor us lot, but I really do wonder - could YOU (the collective you) do a better job? I know I couldn't.
Could you stand the constant barrage of criticism from people less qualified for the role? I know I couldn't

Regardless of the massive praise heaped on the BBC for their coverage (and on ITV' at the start of their contract), it seems that we just have to latch onto something and find a way to hate it. The BBC even give us the option of alternative commentary, and we *still* whinge about Legard.

Just sayin'.

BTW the punchline is "and when he realises, you'll be a mile away. And you'll have his shoes". Badum-tish!

That's irrelevant. He's a professional, he should be able to do a professional job. He can't.



When people criticise others, it isn't an informal job application.



Don't take the job then.



Not if you can't afford Sky/Virgin/decent broadband. Thankfully I can have the last, but still the picture quality is not of the same strength as on digital TV. And, if you're on Freeview, you can't get alternative commentary on Sundays, so us plebs have to mute Legard and turn the radio on so as to avoid the howling cliches, barking enthusiasm and relentlessly diabolical shambles that is Jonathan Legard.

Actually, he does do a professional job. Just a job that doesn't appear to be to some people's tastes.

What is his crime? Oh yes, he has a couple of stock phrases that he repeats too often. As does every sports commentator - and probably yourself.

The Legard-bashing is just as tiresome as the Allen-bashing was. A few armchair experts on t'internet start to knock him, and all the sheep start to follow. Probably without actually opening their own ears.

None of us have driven an F1 car.

This forum would be pretty quiet if only those who can and have were allowed to say anything.



... or standards



You obviously haven't been around for the last 18 months or read any comments, otherwise you would understand that is one criticism from a very long list.




If you don't like it, there are plenty of other threads to read. I'm sure people are able to use their own ears and make their own opinions - why do you consider a number of people who agree on something common to be sheeplike?

Having differing opinions is fine. Labelling people whose opinions differ from yours is not.

I classify a professional job in the context that I did, as with regards to the quality of the job being done, not the actuality of professional in it's strictest sense, i.e, a job that is paid for. As a broadcaster on the BBC's leading sport, I, personally, feel that job should be done to the best possible and available standard. Now, I can't criticise Legard for not trying his best, because neither you or I can tell whether that is the case or not. I'd like to think he is trying his best.

His inabilities as a lead commentator are quite apparent and for a man holding perhaps one of the biggest jobs in sports broadcasting, he does a remarkably awful job. He was handed a role on a plate that a tonne of others within the industry would give their right arms for. He is part of a public service from the BBC, and in addition, he is tasked with the duty to inform and entertain as the lead sports commentator on the BBC. He does neither.

Add to that, from the outside, it seems he is little part of the BBC team on any given race day, seemingly distant from the rest of the crew. Within the 2010 season so far, I can remember one solitary moment where he was on screen. It was during a flashy trail for the BBC F1 website (a paradox in itself), where he said a line, looked uncomfortable, and that was it. And let's not even start on the 2010 preview show where he turned up on the couch waffling his way throughout, when his best and most analytical bit of punditry was "the Mercedes isn't as silver as McLaren, that's another victory for them".

Compare this to James Allen, who, like him as a commentator or not, knew his stuff during ITV, had served his time in the pit lane, built up relationships with not only the teams but with the ITV staff, and understood the goings on of a race weekend. His qualifying reports. His post-race article. Legard does none of this, bar the seemingly obligatory blog from time to time, where he muses on stuff all too apparent to an interested F1 fan.

As an aside, I find it interesting that David Croft on Twitter follows quite a lot of people in the F1 broadcasting community, including Jake Humphrey, Ted Kravitz and Lee McKenzie. But not Legard. I've formed my own opinion on that.

I'm yet to find anyone who willingly acknowledges Legard as a good commentator. The consensus appears to be

"I can bare him, I can filter him out, I have to listen to Brundle, he's alright, my opinion is more important and valid than yours"

OR

"I don't like him. He's bloody rubbish."

But nothing ever very positive about Legard. There are obvious reasons why. Of course, if anyone does want to take a stand and tell us how great Legard is, I'd be glad to hear it.

I think Ron Dennis had a pretty good idea that he wasn't going to cause any major broadcast blackout simply by cutting a cable belonging to Eddie Jordan. I suspect he actually intended to cut the cable to Jordan's radio transmitter rather than receiver, thus rendering Jordan mute instead of deaf.


I'm still waiting for them to get back to me.

Given the overall quality of BBC coverage both this year and last, I deem the whiners just a little bit mental, particularly as an active participant in the 'Stop the Cock' campaign.

Better to have a mensch than a smug little tw@.

Allen knew much, but he came across as a smartass. I do not like smartasses.

Isn't that your problem then? He's still of a higher standard than Legard. Brundle was brilliant partnering Allen, now he is no where near as good as he used to be. I used to look forward and listen to Brundle's insight but after re-watching the British GP with BBC One commentary I truly realized that he is now a shadow of his former self when he failed to see Massa's half-spin into the pitlane which essentially forced him to make an unscheduled stop. He failed to deduce this even when the pit crew were clearly not ready.

We will all have preferences but then the fundamental standards come first. Legard is abysmal.

I'm sorry if I sound rude (Not trying to be!) but I just had to make a point about those two lines. Firstly I don't think our ability, or to be more precise, our inability to commentate is relevant to us commenting on the quality of Legards work. It is like not being able to call a film rubbish because we can't direct a better film.

Secondly the public may not be as qualified but they have every right to criticise Legards commentary. He is paid with the publics money to provide a service of entertainment. If we are not entertained then we should be able to let our opinions be heard! I do feel sorry for him though. From what he says on air, it seems like he reads online to research the opinions of certain things happening in F1, and it is likely he has read the harsher criticism aimed at him. He would have expected it when he took the job but it still isn't nice for him to see.

Even though I'd rather he was replaced, I have slowly become used to him and now he doesn't seem as irritating as the beginning of last year!

On the Ron Dennis thing.. It was just a joke. If you watch the footage you can see EJ having a pop at Ron in a pretty jovial manner.

Then later on you can see Ron talking to a BBC Sport employee, so either they were in on it or he likely told them about it and apologised :


(to the left)

Mountain out of a molehill, really.

It's amusing and should probably be taken in a light hearted manner, But, if you're a sound engineer or such like on the show and someone comes along and deliberately damages equipment thus making your job harder you're not going to react in a smiley jokey manner.

Top post from Don_Humpador

No, of course not. I can understand that.

But as I say, there's really no fuss for us about it, we can choose to laugh at it or think it was a terrible misjudgment. If the engineers at the BBC want to kick up a storm about it on good grounds, so be it, they have a point. However there's no sign of that as of yet.

Umm, by your own logic isn't your Legard hate your problem then?
Personally I do think he spouts cliches, however I have no problem with it. I did have a problem with the false chuminess and downright scandalous on air mastabatory episodes of the cock, however that's personal preference, something which a lot of people seem to forget.
Even the sainted Ben Edwards isn't my idea of perfection.
Given the distance to Brundles F1 career, personally I'd see no problem in having two colour commentators.

Of course I assume we have the same standards when it comes to a lead F1 commentator. I base my criticism of Legard by those standards and they're also the reason as to why I believe Allen is of a higher standard. Preferences are another story.

Perhaps it's a my own failing, however I've never considered that I have standards when it came to commentators. I'm watching the race (or qualifying), and not comparing who has the best turn of phrase.
I really couldn't care less who's the lead, as long as the colour commentator knows what they're talking about, as long as they don't end up faking an orgasm (or multiple ones) when someone who they like wins, then I'm happy.
I'm not criticising those who hate on the Leg (he does seem overly pompous), but I do think one of you will end up with a heart attack given the amount of your lives your devoting to trying to depose him. He ain't going anyway because 99.5% of the people watching the race really don't give a rats ass.
Though, just a thought, have you tried letters to Points of View...?