Can anyone revive posts from around 2008 on here...just been listening to a few"barstewards enquiry"podcasts and reading the blurb noticed that Jon leng,the one who sounds like he's about to croak was said to have posted pretty witty reviews of racing broadcasters etc in 2008..pretty good podcast that!
Morning Lead on, if I have the right man he posted on here as jonjo, put his name in the the search engine at the top of the page then click on his profile. hth.
Morning Lead on, if I have the right man he posted on here as jonjo, put his name in the the search engine at the top of the page then click on his profile. hth.
I don't think you can retrieve posts from that far back but if memory serves I think someone might have copied and saved those posts and they have been posted again since.
But it may take some work to find them through an engine search on here!
I don't think you can retrieve posts from that far back but if memory serves I think someone might have copied and saved those posts and they have been posted again since.But it may take some work to find them through an engine search on here!
Thought it might be fun to review the 'performance' of the select band of people who get paid to spout sh!te at us all day long..... For what it's worth, here are my thoughts on the main protagonists.....
Lydia Hislop Rapidly earning herself the title ‘The Punters Pal’ (unlike Mr Duval who just seemed to invent the moniker for himself?) Lydia is not afraid to ask awkward questions & take an objective view of those who make a living from the industry. In 2008 I would like to see more of the same, plus a few articles on nepotism in racing & something around racing insiders continued support of serial miscreants. She is one of the few people capable of tackling these subjects (rating: 9/10)
Richard Hoiles Always comes across as well briefed (studies hard?) & affable. Really good race caller & always raises interesting/pertinent points. Would prefer it personally, if sometimes he were a little less ‘affable’ & really got stuck into a few people in racing (& a few forumites) Overall a pleasing 2007 from Mr Hoiles (rating : 8/10)
Steve Mellish ‘Hellish’ Mellish has done himself no harm with his performances this year, in fact I would say he has probably enhanced his reputation on here. Still wants to get to the end of a sentence before he’s started it, but those who aren’t put off by that can glean a few gems from him during the course of an afternoon. Usually tells it as he sees it imo (rating 8/10)
Eddie Fremantle Eddie comes across as extremely knowledgeable about his subject (as you would expect a PROPUNTER to) He has some interesting thoughts/angles on races & often shows a quite acerbic sense of humour. Sometimes get the impression he keeps a little in reserve though & would like to see him really get stuck into a few ‘performances/performers’ (rating 7/10)
James Willoughby Bit like Marmite this lad, you either love him or hate him. Personally I think his presence enhances the coverage on RUK, despite his tendency to want to overcomplicate the most straightforward of races. Does not criticise performers enough, everyone is either ’shrewd’ or ’masters of their profession’ Surely James there are one or two people in the game that you don’t think are all that much cop? (rating 6.5/10)
Sam Turner Shrewd enough form judge, comes across as likeable on the telly. Get the impression he does not always let fly when he might & would like to see him loosen up a bit. Promising, but room for improvement in 2008 (rating 6/10)
Simon Holt ‘Languid’ remains near the top of the tree amongst race callers for me. Usually unerringly accurate & does what it says on the tin (rating 8.5/10)
Jim McGrath (channel4) Not a good year for ‘Jimbo’ who has looked increasingly ‘jaded’ with the Channel4 ‘circus’ approach to covering racing. Still makes pertinent points on occasion, but despite being as knowledgeable as anyone in the game he gives the impression a change of ‘stable’ would revitalise his performances as a pundit, perhaps to somewhere like RUK where the subject matter would allow him extra gravitas? (rating: 6.5/10)
Peter Harris Laid back member of the WELSH contingent in racing & constant thorn in the side of those on here who don’t like him. I like him myself & would like to see more of his ‘sideways view’ of the sport on RUK. Not a great ‘form’ analyst, but light relief pundits are in short supply on the telly, especially ones with a rich line in sarcasm & wit (rating: 7/10)
Gareth O'Brien Serious workhorse on ATR’s Irish Coverage, always professional & appears very personable. Does exactly what he is paid to do without any airs/graces (rating 8.5/10)
Matt Chapman Matt’s a good lad, make no mistake about that. If the producers didn’t want the ‘yeee has’ etc he would not be doing them. Fights the corner of punters unless the Dazzler has ridden his usual stinker & his enthusiasm for the sport shines through, even on stinking Mondays from Folkestone (rating: 7.5/10)
Dave Nevison Likeable pundit, puts in the work/miles. Overplays the PROPUNTER angle imo which automatically has people asking why he needs to earn by appearing on the telly… Usually worth listening to & wears his heart on his sleeve to the extent that you know when he’s had a stinker of a day (rating 6.5/10)
Lorna Bradbourne Infrequent ATR ‘token bird’ who is slightly better than the average for this genre. Not a great orator or form judge. Doubt she’d be missed if she ‘retired’ from pundity (rating: a token 3/10)
Ian Bartlett Capable of much better than he shows now he is handcuffed to the lamentable BBC coverage of racing. Could be a useful solo analyst, but suffers from working with Cochrane & as a result I get the impression he’s always hanging fire on the objective criticism. Should be given the role of senior racing presenter at the Beeb (rating 6/10)
John Francome Very lazy pundit/paddock judge. Never seems to have researched his subject formwise & his paddock thoughts appear to be limited to spotting the biggest horse in the field & saying ‘that ones got improvement in it’ Very poor & capable of much better. (rating 4.5/10)
Tanya Stephenson Hard grafter & enthusiastic about her subject matter. Would be more ‘objective’ away from Channel4 imo where the influence of McRirick et al can only be a negative (rating 5.5/10)
TOM LEE ‘Journeyman’ presenter/betting analyst who pops up when Tanya is not at work. Pleasant enough but seems terrified to say anything that will bring about ‘debate’? (rating 4/10)
Lee Mottershead Occasionally appears on ATR as a ‘presenter/link man’ to supplement his earnings as the chief ‘love letter writer’ for the Racing Post. Lee is quite frankly the sort of ‘enthusiast’ who sets my teeth on edge, seeing (or lacking the bottle to say what he really sees?) nothing wrong in this institutionally korrupt sport. He would not be missed if he made no further contribution with pen or voice (rating 3/10)
Alistair Down One time capable writer, now marking time trotting out cliches till the pension kicks in. Some poor efforts on the Morning Line recently which ought to have told the producers what we have been saying for five years (rating 4.5/10)
Peter Scudamore Good analyst, but dreadful orator. Walter Swinburn was similar & he had the sense to bail out. Scu doesn’t seem to get on all that well with his co-paddock man Richard Pitman so deserves some kudos for that at least (rating 5/10)
Matt Doyle Always get the impression Matt enjoys it a little too much when they are referring to him as ‘the pharaoh of the formbook’ etc & his monotone voice doesn’t really for it for me. Fair enough grasp of the sport/form, but another one that seems too keen on HIS image for my liking (rating 5.5/10)
Jason Weaver This lad has improved a lot & continues to do so. Hardly likeable as a jockey, he comes across differently on the telly & is not afraid to call a bad ride a bad ride. Poor grasp of betting (unusual for a jockey) but those who can judge if his selections offer true value wont worry about this (rating 7/10)
Bob Cooper Poor old Bob has fallen into the trap of believing all the ‘Sir Bob’ cr@p posted on here over the years & is sadly now becoming a parody of himself when he appears on telly. The joke has now worn thin I am sorry to say (rating 4.5/10)
Ray Cochrane Stereotypical ex-jockey. Brings nothing new/interesting to the table & is there purely for the fee imo Another who would not be missed (rating 4/10)
Claire Balding Very full of her own importance since she attained the mantle of ‘senior’ racing presenter. Seldom says anything of interest to anyone above the age of five & is too much beholding to her BBC paymasters who are broadening her career all the time, to do anything about the shambolic BBC racing coverage. Key player in the dumbing down of BBC coverage & that should be a damning indictment of her career in racing broadcasting (rating 3/10)
Willie Carson Hopeless orator totally unsuited to television. Unrivalled shambles of a performance on Arc day & should have been ‘let go’ a long time ago. Can only think he retains his job due to several old grannies emailing the BBC about ‘little willies’ (rating 2/10)
Richard Pitman Dreadful orator, and full of his own self importance when ‘on air’ I am told he’s a lovely fellah when not on the telly, so he should be given more chance to be that lovely fellah & taken off air forthwith (rating 4/10)
Derek Thompson Hard to know where to start with probably THE most nauseating man working in the entire sport. False, rude, spivvy, etc, all these words readily spring to mind when the viewer is confronted by ‘Thommo’ as he cretinously refers to himself as…. I know no one who follows this sport that has any liking or time for him either as a commentator, presenter or god forbid, a pundit. His links to Talksport & his tipping line are more minuses on a very moderate career which illustrates that any sh!te can get on in racing if they smooch enough buttocks (rating NA)
David Duggan Irish version of Matt Doyle, bit of a spoofer who believes his own publicity. Likeable enough but plays along with’Thommo’ too much on a Sunday for my liking (rating 4.5/10)
Claude Duval Cliché-ridden old has been, who actually 'never was'… How any show (that it’s own producers actually watch) can employ this sickening dinosaur is beyond belief. (rating 1/10 cos he’s not Thommo)
Zoe Bird Zoe made a good start, looking interested & as though she wanted to learn about the sport. However she has fallen down the easy living if you just spout cliché’d drivel hole & will not be getting out. Her ‘tipping line’ is the sickest of sick jokes that the racing media could ever have played on the public (rating 2/10)
Alice Plunkett No empathy with serious race goers/punters, Alice is there purely because it’s a good fee & she’d rather by at some polo match or horse trials. Brings NOTHING to any discussion on this sport ( rating 2/10)
Emma Ramsden Proves every time she appears that nepotism is alive & well in racing, as this expert ‘reader aloud’ of the Racing Post spotlight continues to earn a tasty living while other, much more capable people are sidelined. Doesn’t come across well & most people realise if she knew something worthwhile, her dad would hear about it before the viewers (rating 1/10)
Mike Cattermole Oil slick of a man who never misses an opportunity to praise the executive of any racecourse stupid enough (& there are plenty) to employ him as in house race caller. His performance at the Ebor (including the big race - Pevency as Purple Moon ffs) was lamentable. Way too smug for what he has actually achieved (rating 3/10)
John McRirick High time he was gone, simple as that. Shouting & arm waving are past their sell by date now & the betting jungle is best left to Tanya for all our sakes. It’s a myth he’s a punters pal because he backs down whenever seriously confronted (rating 4/10)
Graham Goode Has never been one of my favourite race callers & seems to be getting worse & worse ever year. Comes over very smug as a pundit & really ought not to be making a living doing what he does. It reflects badly on the sport in general. (rating 3/10)
Jim McGrath (Aus) Was like a breath of fresh air when he first came over in the mid eighties, now he’s completely gone at the game & is just seeing how long they will pay him for his cliches. The Aussie bias in the Ascot sprint this year was particularly squalid (rating 3/10)
Alex Hammond Probably the ‘pick’ of the women employed by ATR but that is not saying much. Often gives the impression she thinks that people actually take her ‘tips’ seriously & for that reason alone she loses marks for intelligence (rating 3/10)
Johnathon Neesom Not a bad lad at all this fellah, often taking a swipe at the sport or more especially those running it. Would prefer him to look as though he takes some things seriously on occasion, but overall a likeable tv persona & a fair analyst (rating 7/10)
Graham Cunningham Broadcasting career hit an all-time low when taken to task by Inside Scoop for eating an ice cream on air in the summer but redeemed himself admirably by challenging the same forumite to a fist fight at Chester races. Can come across as a bit prickly, but takes his racing seriously & doesn’t treat viewers/listeners like five year olds. Overall a good year from him (rating 7.5/10)
Mark Howard Has books to write & I sometimes think his punditry suffers on the back of him not wanting to upset people he may one day rely on for quotes for a book upcoming? Fair form judge & easy on the ear (rating 6.5/10)
Peter Naughton Flacid broadcaster who brings nothing to the table other than sycophancy. Poor interviewer & dreadful grasp of form. Supplements his broadcasting ‘income’ with a dreadful piece in Raceform called ‘connections’ where he merely regurgitates a few quotes, as all spoofers who don’t want to do the hard work will do.. (rating 3/10)
Tom O'Ryan Likeable enough front man who tend to overdo the smiles to camera. Another ‘insider’ who gets excruciating stomach cramps that prevent him from being critical of any racing ‘personality’ (rating 4.5/10)
Mark Johnson A very shouty man who’s commentaries would benefit from being turned down to ‘eight’ occasionally as no one can listen with the dial on ‘ten’ all the time (rating 5/10)
Stuart Machin Pure, pure journeyman. Never going to say anything to make anyones ears ***** up. He’s probably only there because he couldn’t get work carrying a briefcase for a bloodstock agent or something (rating 4/10)
Andrew Barr Likeable enough, decent orator, if a bit boring. Needs to lighten up & have a swipe at one or two insiders (rating a ‘so what’ figure of 5/10)
Rob Wright Is it in his contract that he can only appear when Emma Ramsden is there to bull him up? Very moderate imo & says little of interest (rating 4/10)
Ken Pitterson Bag of nerves whenever he’s on tv & that’s a shame because he is an above average paddock judge. Does his homework & puts the mileage in. Nice fellah & will be a big hit if he can get over the nerves & let more of himself come through on the box (rating 6.5/10)
Angus Loughran Total spoofer, making a living out of playing ‘spot the favourite’ on the BBC in house monitor. Clearly likes the sound of his own voice & regards himself as a celebrity pundit. If you sould make it pay, you would not go anywhere near a camera with those teeth (rating 3/100
Simon Mapletoft Seems to pop up here, there & everywhere, anywhere there’s a fee in fact. Never misses a chance to promote himself, or ‘his’ horses & is keen to make out that he is an ‘all weather expert’ No time for his cliches (rating 4/10)
Matt Williams Doesn’t appear very often but usually fair value when he does (Haydock usually) Relaxed manner in front of the camera & doesn’t talk down to the viewers (rating 6/10)
Brian Gleeson Hilarious, spits out the results if he’s having a bad day (you can always tell with him) (rating 5/10)
Ted Walsh Some cracking ‘blarney’ from Ted when he’s on the box, despite being a little too biased about his family when they take part. Likeable fellah from the look of things (6.5/10)
Robert Hall As good a front man as you will get, needs to up the criticism a bit, but overall a solid performer (rating 6.5/10)
Dale McKeown Will never forgive him for making an un-raced Channon 2yo his ‘nap’ on a Bank Holiday Monday a few years back. Clearly doesn’t put the work in, but has an easy living doing what he does, so he doesn’t have to. Holds the Betfair forum in utter contempt, but it’s always amusing to know the loathing is completely mutual (rating 1/10)
Richard Perham I’m sure this lad tries harder than Dale, but that said he is just as useless. Cannot listen to his tripe for much more than five minutes at a time. (rating 3/10)
Gordon Brown Affable & keen not to offend anyone, the only people he offends are the serious minded racing viewers who wish he would (just once) offer an objective view on something/someone in racing. Unlikely to happen while he can get paid for spouting bilge though (rating 4/10)
Dave Compton Shows the worthless Duval way too much respect whenever he works with him & generally takes sycophancy to whole new levels. Average knowledge of the game & brings nothing new to the table, another one we would not miss (rating: 4/10)
Rishi Persad Seems to be the BBC’s man for all sports these days & usually just looks grateful to be working. Will never get over his paddock negative winning at huge odds at Goodwood & will hopefully continue to spend more time on ‘other sports’ at the BBC (rating 3/10)
Paul Morrison 'Dead Air' filler used by RUK when their better pundits can't be @rsed to drive to Yorkshire tracks. Reckoned to be a 'bloodstock agent' but you could write what he knows about stallions traits on the back of a stamp & still have room for his entire life story. Never one to provide insight when sixty cliches will do. Not a 'good sort' (rating 3.5/10)
Apologies to anyone I've left out & a 'v' for victory sign to any who think they are above criticism (valid or otherwise)
Merry Christmas!!!!
Having said that "jonjo pundit" did the trickhttps://community.betfair.com/horse_racing/go/thread/view/94102/27266833/jonjo-still-missing?post_id=489524849#489524849Betfair Great Postsjonjo 22 Dec 2007 21:04Thought it might be fun to review the 'perf
Thanks very much...started listening to their podcast recently and it's a decent listen...I've read"jonjo's recent blog on his blogspot or whatever it's called ..it's about the imacelebrity stuff..description of Hancock being responsible for killing more old folk than Shipman
Thanks very much...started listening to their podcast recently and it's a decent listen...I've read"jonjo's recent blog on his blogspot or whatever it's called ..it's about the imacelebrity stuff..description of Hancock being responsible for killing
I noticed Simon Holt did an hour-long interview (probably in pandemic time) so will view it properly when I get the chance...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk1iD9jlY0M
Thanks for re-posting.I noticed Simon Holt did an hour-long interview (probably in pandemic time) so will view it properly when I get the chance...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk1iD9jlY0M
George thanks for posting. Very entertaining read and hard to argue with his opinions. I had forgotten a lot of those presenters/tipsters. EG Tom Lee, Angus Loughran etc
George thanks for posting.Very entertaining read and hard to argue with his opinions.I had forgotten a lot of those presenters/tipsters. EG Tom Lee, Angus Loughran etc
Angus Loughran - the guy many of us thought as like ourselves in the early days of exchanges, i.e. Statto, in his dressing gown. The original number cruncher nerd.
Angus Loughran - the guy many of us thought as like ourselves in the early days of exchanges, i.e. Statto, in his dressing gown. The original number cruncher nerd.
Just been reading some of jonjo's stuff / articles on the barstewards' website. Interesting as well as witty.
And an alternative take on racing folk too, such as this one:
https://barstewards.co.uk/piggott-was****/
Just been reading some of jonjo's stuff / articles on the barstewards' website. Interesting as well as witty.And an alternative take on racing folk too, such as this one:https://barstewards.co.uk/piggott-was****/
^ that's not to be offensive or disrespectful btw, it's just a racing version of the Skinner / Baddiel "Pele was ****" segment on the old Fantasy Football programme.
^ that's not to be offensive or disrespectful btw, it's just a racing version of the Skinner / Baddiel "Pele was ****" segment on the old Fantasy Football programme.
He says in one of the articles that because of his connection to Freemason Lodge, he'd often be pestered for tips at the races.
And there's a 'funny' story about how they tried to fob someone off one day with a 'dodgy' tip on an outsider that went and won.
He says in one of the articles that because of his connection to Freemason Lodge, he'd often be pestered for tips at the races.And there's a 'funny' story about how they tried to fob someone off one day with a 'dodgy' tip on an outsider that went and
Bob Cooper, Poor old Bob has fallen into the trap of believing all the ‘Sir Bob’ cr@p posted on here over the years & is sadly now becoming a parody of himself when he appears on telly. The joke has now worn thin I am sorry to say
Posted 15 years ago, and now the 'stooge' for Jason and Luke on a Friday night
Bob Cooper, Poor old Bob has fallen into the trap of believing all the ‘Sir Bob’ cr@p posted on here over the years & is sadly now becoming a parody of himself when he appears on telly. The joke has now worn thin I am sorry to sayPosted 15 years
For anyone who enjoys their reviews of pundits, you may 'enjoy' this one from 2011. No-one was spared, not Hugh Taylor, or even Frank Carter, the old SL / RP tipster.
I'm not sure who the author is, but the "Pundit Word-Pics" is section 6.
For anyone who enjoys their reviews of pundits, you may 'enjoy' this one from 2011. No-one was spared, not Hugh Taylor, or even Frank Carter, the old SL / RP tipster.I'm not sure who the author is, but the "Pundit Word-Pics" is section 6.http://www.b
loughran can be found hanging around the palm beach casino in mayfair begging for chips and chips. or he was last year when he tried to nick a few of mine.
sad sight actually. didnt think he was the type.
loughran can be found hanging around the palm beach casino in mayfair begging for chips and chips. or he was last year when he tried to nick a few of mine.sad sight actually. didnt think he was the type.
Excellent podcast.....the best out there for me ....some good reading on their website as well.
Oh and if Lee or Jon are looking in.....tell Chris to sort his audio out on the sermon...he sometimes goes all Norman Collier
Excellent podcast.....the best out there for me ....some good reading on their website as well.Oh and if Lee or Jon are looking in.....tell Chris to sort his audio out on the sermon...he sometimes goes all Norman Collier
Last night's sermon was one of the really good ones...being able to get bets on with Betfair was one of the topics along with some swinging criticism of the BHA and the the Gambling Commission amongst others...well worth a listen....great line from Jonjo on Fridays pod..about a jockey(I think)who"handles the course like a good brass handles ****"..
Last night's sermon was one of the really good ones...being able to get bets on with Betfair was one of the topics along with some swinging criticism of the BHA and the the Gambling Commission amongst others...well worth a listen....great line from J
For someone who claims to be a mainly Flat-orientated man, that was some shout on the preview show on Friday, his maximum 3pts bet on Ataboycharlie, 20-1 at the time, 17-2 SP, in an impossible-looking 23-runner handicap hurdle at Leopardstown, on a day when there was more racing than you could shake a stick at.
Take a bow Jonjo.
For someone who claims to be a mainly Flat-orientated man, that was some shout on the preview show on Friday, his maximum 3pts bet on Ataboycharlie, 20-1 at the time, 17-2 SP, in an impossible-looking 23-runner handicap hurdle at Leopardstown, on a d