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What a disaster he is. Facts wrong, and simple facts at that, all the time. Faltering, unable to pronounce words correctly, talking nonsense to fill in time and bad grammar, just as well he’s off the screen as from today. How he lasted so long I will never know.
How he lasted so long I will never know.
His sheer ineptitude made Claire Balding look utterly fantastic by contrast. One can see why she’d have him stay on for as long as he did. That and sentimentality/laziness goes a long way in certain circles.
I am not a great fan of Carson the presenter but I quite liked the silly Scot today. Yes, he gets things wrong and it’s cringeworthy at times; but I’d like to see some other presenters with his enthusiasm.
Value Is EverythingI found his explanation of why mares/fillies tend to sweat up more at this time of year interesting. Also his explanation of why Frankel might struggle because of the ground conditions were proved to be right after Frankel started slowly. A couple of years ago he said that Rewilding would be a much better horse the following year [he was] and was the only presenter I can think of that wasn’t eulogising about Carlton House when he ran in the Derby. I don’t know everything there is to know about horses and he often talks a lot of sense and I learn from what he says. Of course, Julian Wilson was always grammatically correct but of the two I know which one I’d rather listen to.
The trouble with the BBC is that they are obsessed (in all sports) with the opinions of past professionals.
Most sportsmen are by definition not exactly Edward de Bono and this is exacerbated by limited presentation skills – hence the occurrence of
Scudamore Syndrome
as it’s now officially known.*
At one stage this afternoon, Mick Fitzgerald gave his Frankel opinion (accompanied by the caption ‘1996 Grand National Winner’) then we had Willie Carson screeching at Rishi Persad before John Parrott began interviewing Dave Yeates. This is the sort of scenario that sends people rushing to their therapists.
Still, soon be over.
Mike
*I made that bit up.
I love Willie Carson, he’s such a great personality and wish him all the best in the future.
Great performance by him and Clare Balding today, I am going to miss those two!
I like him. Yes he can blunder through an afternoon but his race riding experience is second to none and when the focus is on this area he can excel.
However BBC were more than happy to have him play the Court Jester in comparison to the civilised Clare Balding. A decent double act for the non racing fan who came across the sport on the BBC.
I’d not a huge fan of Willie but would rather see him continue his role on Channel 4 than certain other people.
By the way did Claire Balding say anything about today being the BBC’s last ever coverage of flat racing?
The trouble with the BBC is that they are obsessed (in all sports) with the opinions of past professionals.
Most sportsmen are by definition not exactly Edward de Bono and this is exacerbated by limited presentation skills – hence the occurrence of
Scudamore Syndrome
as it’s now officially known.*
At one stage this afternoon, Mick Fitzgerald gave his Frankel opinion (accompanied by the caption ‘1996 Grand National Winner’) then we had Willie Carson screeching at Rishi Persad before John Parrott began interviewing Dave Yeates. This is the sort of scenario that sends people rushing to their therapists.
Still, soon be over.
Mike
I wouldn’t bank on it, the bloke responsible for BBC racing will be in charge of C4’s output.
He was as bad as ever for the last show……..doesn’t seem to have learnt very much in all the years he’s been doing it and even managed to spoil Claire’s final link to the closing titles…….he must be pinching himself for his good fortune in getting away with below standard incompetence in broadcasting for so long…….his only saving grace is that he was always modest when the subject of his great achievements as a jockey were mentioned.
In fairness to Willie Carson, presenting is not and never will be his forte. He does come across much better on a one to one interview situation – where he is being interviewed – and is very, very knowledgeable on all things horse racing.
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
The BBC is renowned for its loyalty to employees (J Savile, anybody?) but Mr Carson should have been given some training years ago or had his contract terminated.
Yes he was an excellent jockey and of course he is very knowledgeable, but he never learned the value of well-timed silence.
The Muppet Show would have been a much more suitable stage for his brand of ‘humour’.
but Mr Carson should have been given some training years ago or had his contract terminated.
What and have a show like Channel 4? no thanks.
What and have a show like Channel 4? no thanks.
C4’s racing coverage is better than the BBC’s imo and I will not lament the fact Carson is no longer stood on his soap box waffling on.
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