Best and worst soccer pundits commentators analysts journalists

Who you you consider the best and worst pundits commentators analysts on tv radio podcast and newspapers both physical and online

Esse85

Ronnie Whelan and Michael Owen are terrible.

Paul Merson, as much as I liked the guy as a player, I can't watch him on sky.

They initially come to mind.

Agent Coulson

The European football show panel of journo's are the best on TV which are prettu much The Football Weekly podcast guys.

I think Rory K Smith is the best newspaper journo.

Pundits on pod's that I like at Troy Townsend & Nedum Onuocha on Football Weekly which is also a fun pod.

I hate the clickbate pundits that Sky have turned Neville & Carra & Keane & Richards into.

BT's main over price pundits are terrible lead by the woeful Jake Humphrey.

I actually like Chris Sutton on the radio.

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058247955/best-worst-soccer-pundits-commentators-analysts-journalists

What do you mean by ‘best worst’? Is it two separate categories, like who are the best, and who are the worst? Or is it who are the most high profile awful ones that keep getting work?

Mushy

Due to the misfortune of hearing him today, Don Goodman really cements his place as top tier awful

POKERKING

Ken Earley and Daniel Storey two of my favorite. I dont mind martin samuel either.

anyone that works for talk-sport is usually terrible, off top of my head Simon Jordan is awful. Miguel delaney is awful too. Prob loads more, Rio and michael owen but that goes without saying.

billyhead

Keano is probably the best pundit.

Esse85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119132563#Comment_119132563

You obviously value entertainment in a pundit based on that comment.

ben.schlomo

Andy Brassell is excellent for European content. I enjoy listening to Phillipe Auclair, Barry Glendinning and Jim Campbell off the top of my head.

As for ex-footballers, Shearer is quite good. Le Saux and Robbie Earle aren't too bad either. Ones who shouldn't be let near a TV: Dwight Yorke, Richie Dunne, Stephen Kelly and Patrice Evra all spring to mind.

retalivity

Shearer used to be awful but has got a lot better over the years. Everyone on BT are useless. Neville/carra/keane/richards bantz is tiresome.

Journos/podcast analysts really show up the inanity of the ex-pros.

Jonathan Liew is my favourite print journalist and Ken Early is great written and podcast

kowloonkev

I can't stomach any of the 'witty' journalists who read up on all the coaching terminology in the attempt to cover up the fact they have no instinct for the game and have nothing to teach us. It's just a huge circle jerk.

razorblunt

It’s easier to write a list of the better ones than the awful ones.

all of BT and Sky are woeful, although I haven’t heard from him in ages, Davie Provan is an excellent co-commentator. Doesn’t push any narrative, calls it as he sees it.

NBCSN tend to use Carragher, Henry and Richards as studio pundits and my social media feed shows clips of them over and over again but it’s almost always Henry refusing to answer a question which really negates the point of him being there.

oh and yer one Aluko, abysmal. Her agent is a genius though.

The way the game moves so quickly I’m think pundits should be refreshed every few seasons.

Journalist wise, if Miguel Delaney was chocolate he’d eat himself.

eigrod

Tyler by far the worst commentator.

McManaman the worst co-commentator but difficult to think of one that’s good.

Don’t tend to watch pre and post match analysis anymore. It got too repetitive and boring.

Henry Winter is a good journalist. Duncan Castles the worst - just a wind up merchant.

Ashbourne hoop

Micah Richards is the worst by some distance. He's not funny and his analysis is terrible. Bin. Neville and Shearer are really good. Keane is a bit of a caricature but is entertaining. As a journalist I like Daniel McDonnell.

NIMAN

Bt steal the show for worst.

Just listening to Owen, Rio and Stevie G before the CL final was painful. Utter drivel they chat.

Also on radio, 2 of the worst have to be Lawro and the once great Giles.

TodayFM experts of Lawro and Cass, guys from a bygone era, are useless. Giles I think is into a bit of senility and shouldn't be an analyst now.

thebaz

The old Gillette Soccer Saturday panel was the best , Jeff and Chis , rubbish now except for Jeff , the best host possible - the old Irish panel with Bill , Eamon and Giles were great - Today Keane, Souness and Richie are the best - Micah was funny when he first arrived, but killing a joke now.

JoeA3

I think Shearer has come on a lot from his early days. He was very bland and monosyllabic when he first appeared on TV. I recently heard him admit on one of the MOTD "Top Ten" podcasts (which are very good BTW!) that this was deliberate. He wasn't long retired as a player, he didn't feel comfortable criticising players/coaches that he knew well and still had ambitions to get into coaching / management himself. Once he decided that management wasn't for him he settled much better into the punditry.

Sky was really poor years ago until Neville, Carragher and Keane came on the scene. 10-12 years ago most "Super Sundays" were fronted by Richard Keys and Jamie "top top" Redknapp was often the sole "pundit"!

On RTE, I like Brady and Didi Hamann.

Fitz*

Vast majority of on TV pundits are crap I find. It's trying to find the best of a bad bunch.

Carragher is listenable on MNF, but nothing else. Neville likewise, but on a lower level as these days he is more interested in soapbox'ing his whole 'independent regulator' angle. they are terrible in commentary. Nevile only thinks one team is playing. Himself & Tyler together are a pain. Carragher is almost too impartial at times and too scared to call games as they should be, out of fear of further outrage. He does get excited after goals though. MNF is heavily scripted, with a large team of researchers and analysts who did the actual work. So basically it's just about who is reading out the lines. Micah is a joke and Keane is playing a character. All the lads on BT are a waste of time and luckily don't have to watch Danny Murphy as much as we used to.

Liam Roseinger used to be on Sky and was great, especially at lower levels. Actually put the work in too. Alex Scott knows her stuff too, as does Lisa Fallon on RTE who is a highly qualified coach in both the men's and women's game. More so than most on TV. I have a soft spot for Brian Kerr. He knows an awful lot about the sport that gets missing because of his accents and confuses some names sometimes.

Fattybojangles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119134836#Comment_119134836

Yeah Lisa Fallon is brilliant a real breath of fresh air she knows her stuff some female pundits are tokens but she really isn't and like you I think Kerr is brilliant really knows his football.

Did you smash it

Dan McDonnell- if he didn’t exist I would know a s***load less about the game in Ireland (and that’s my main concern). I can’t say that about any other football talking head.

trashcan

Back in the day Giles was the best co-commentator I’ve ever heard, even better than in the studio. Really informative to listen to during a game. Not just “ that was a good ball” or “he’ll be disappointed with that finish” I.e things we can all see for ourselves. At the m9ment, I like Sadlier on RTE, and Graeme Souness is the next best to Giles that I’ve heard. Really good trivet with Souness last night on Virgin. Second part is tonight. Surprised he didn’t do better as a manager. Must have been a man management’ thing.

TheCitizen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119132634#Comment_119132634

Obviously, after you do your work and do your homework, etc.

Gary Neville still getting emotional is wearing thin.

Ferris_Bueller

Dan McDonnell is the best journalist as regards to Irish football by a country mile. He is the only one I repeatedly find myself searching on twitter to see if he has had anything to say.

In an Irish context again I like hearing Shane Keegan, Richie Sadlier, Didí Hamann analysing games. Something I don't like at all about Damien Delaney, he has great insight to the modern game but it feels like he does very little prep work or something. Keith Treacy is a guy who was started popping up doing a bit of commentary/analyst work lately, gives me a real spoofer feeling so far.

yourdeadwright

Lisa Fallon by far the best in this country at the moment,

Carragher & Gary Nev aren't great pundits but they can breaks down tactics and analyse where the game is being won & lost very well,

Kenny Cunningham the worst iv ever seen

I do like Fallon & Sadlier, then Kerr & Keane for entertainment,

Keane is perfect for calling it how it is

Did you smash it

Don’t get how people like sadlier but I suspect it’s his manner of seemingly thinking very deeply before answering…and then really offering nothing but banal obviousness in his answers or answering questions with questions.

bucketybuck

Neville was extremely good until they paired him up with Carragher, then it went from deep dive analysis to shallow banter every week.

Its been a good few years now so people probably forget, but at one stage after Neville started Monday night football was almost essential viewing. All because it was one pundit with time to articulate the points they were trying to make.

Maybe in time Neville would have morphed into the football justice warrior anyway, but something really was lost when they made that change to bring Carragher in beside him.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119484560#Comment_119484560

Personally i just like him as a bloke & find him decent to watch ,not difficult when your opposite Kenny,

Ottoman_1000

Most of what Sky and BT offer up as pundits are woeful, with Merson, Richards and Rio been the worst of the whole lot. Neville and Carragher are decent when it comes to tactical discussions and how teams set up etc, but unfortunately lately Sky only want sound bites and click bait headlines from them! So the tactical talks that they became known for when they first arrived on our screens are now less and less.

Keane is good for entertainment value, but doesn't add a whole lot outside of criticizing players for not running enough or working harder.

Commentary, the list is long but, Ronnie Whelan, Martin Tyler, McManaman and Ray Houghton are especially terrible.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119485690#Comment_119485690

Sometimes with all the in-depth tactical knowledge & break downs, you need someone like Roy just to say hold on a minute the lads just not bothered his arse running there,

Esse85

Souness and Keane can only critique a team based on work-rate and attitude, rarely can they add any tactical analysis, both can be entertaining but never teach you anything you didn't already know.