Pundits - what's the point in them?

starbelgrade · 29-04-2009 11:59PM #1

"If he'd just hit it with a bit more power, it would've gone in."

"He should have chipped that instead of going for power".

"I think the referee got that one wrong".

Hmm... I didn't know that. The other day, I heard Johnny Giles saying - an this is paraphrasing - that if you defend well & score more goals than the other team, that's how you win games.

What is the point in pundits? I still listen to them though - I must enjoy being wound up.

CHD · 30-04-2009 12:09AM

Whats the point in anything really

Teutorix · 30-04-2009 12:11AM

Pundits are like football for dummies.

They say the most obvious things that even I, a person with no real interest in the game can see for myself

itsjaybud · 30-04-2009 12:18AM

this thread could go on for years thanks mainly to rte!

its just unreal the things they actually say and to night after the arsenal match trying to show replays i mean like wtf it looks like nobody in the studio has a fcuking clue whats going on!

Guy:Incognito · 30-04-2009 12:22AM

Teutorix wrote: »

Pundits are like football for dummies.

They say the most obvious things that even I, a person with no real interest in the game can see for myself

Yet so many footballers cant manage to do the simple and obvious things properly..........

Helix · 30-04-2009 12:31AM

pundits are there for nothing more than entertainment in my opinion, and most of them fall horribly short. ive never understood why people take what they say so seriously, to the extent of getting angry about them. if you need someone to tell you about a match that youve just watched, then youre following the wrong game

itsjaybud · 30-04-2009 12:35AM

Ahh with the rte boys its all just a bit of good ole Irish craic really, lets not take anything to serious approach!:)

lordgoat · 30-04-2009 12:42AM

Hate commentators more, give me the option to match the match with just the fans and i'd choose that every time.

Random · 30-04-2009 12:46AM

Dunphy tonight .. "Ronaldo just couldn't be arsed doing anything". Never a truer word spoken!

yerayeah · 30-04-2009 12:55AM

Well, I suppose its better to listen to them at half time than watch ads for 15 minutes...

_blank_ · 30-04-2009 01:03AM

The RTE pundits are comedy gold

Trolls to a tee

they wouldn't last ten minutes here, but they're bloody genius.

Look at a post-CL Liverpool or United thread outrage for the evidence.

Dunphy

Best troll ever

He's my hero

Random · 30-04-2009 01:04AM

Des wrote: »

The RTE pundits are comedy gold

Trolls to a tee

they wouldn't last ten minutes here, but they're bloody genius.

Look at a post-CL Liverpool or United thread outrage for the evidence.

Dunphy

Best troll ever

He's my hero

There's an idea.. bring them into a thread here for the next CL match

Royale with Cheese · 30-04-2009 01:09AM

RTE pundits are great for entertainment, especially when you can come on boards after the match and see how much they've wound people up.

BBC I find a bit dull, & smug. It's pretty much always stating the obvious stuff, no debate.

Sky - Hands up now, who doesn't like looking at Jamie Redknapp in those tight trousers?

dfx- · 30-04-2009 01:20AM

On their basis of stats don't prove anything, Bill... then tonight when stating Utd had got over their slump and then statistics about recent victories comes up "well there you go then". Indeed comedy gold. :pac:

Daysha · 30-04-2009 01:28AM

What's the point of this forum then? Sure every thread ends up as either Liverpool vs Man Utd or LOI fans vs EPL fans.

Extreme generalisation ftw

Jazzy · 30-04-2009 04:05AM

MotD 2 used to have really good actual analysis. they would pick up on things you miss and give you a better understanding of the game and whats going on.
now its just a home for retired english footballers who still crave the spotlight despite their obvious lack of depth/intelligence

applehunter · 30-04-2009 04:21AM

Good thread.

hard to justity those 3 lads salaries when the beautiful Seoige sisters are getting the chop.

eirebhoy · 30-04-2009 08:32AM

Des wrote: »

The RTE pundits are comedy gold

Trolls to a tee

they wouldn't last ten minutes here, but they're bloody genius.

Look at a post-CL Liverpool or United thread outrage for the evidence.

Dunphy

Best troll ever

He's my hero

The funny to is I'm certain Dunphy reads the forums because some of the stuff he comes out with I've only ever seen on foot.ie. He definitely read the forums before his rant against Venables.

SectionF · 30-04-2009 08:54AM

I think Giles has it about right. He treats punditry as the farce that it is.

With a few exceptions, e.g. penalty calls, there's actually not much of any intelligence to be said about a football match that isn't obvious or that hasn't been included in the commentary. So he doesn't say much.

I love it when he tells Bill something completely ordinary in that flat tone of his, with a completely straight face, and Bill nods gravely as if he's being told the mysteries of the universe. Ditto when he's on Newstalk and they hang on every word. 'When you've got the ball, you try to attack. When you've not got it, you try to get it back."

He, Dunphy etc are fillers, but Giles has the wit to acknowledge that. Dunphy, on the other hand, clearly believes his own publicity.

BaZmO* · 30-04-2009 09:07AM

eirebhoy wrote: »

The funny to is I'm certain Dunphy reads the forums because some of the stuff he comes out with I've only ever seen on foot.ie. He definitely read the forums before his rant against Venables.

I don't know why people are so surprised that people from the media read forums. It's a fantastic resource to do research so why wouldn't they use it.

Nalz · 30-04-2009 09:27AM

Johnny Giles last night

"Manchester United werent as [*pause*...........] good as they were in the first half"

Punits - some are good. I happen to like Souness and Gullit, others such as Whelan and Redknapp even the scales with theirs stupid and obvious remarks at times. Hoddle is not bad either.

My Top 5 would be:
1) Gullit
2) Souness
3) Hoddle
4) Dunphy
5) Irwin

My Worst 5 would be:
1) Whelan / Houghton (both fantastic footballers, strange eh!)
2) Kerr
3) Stevens
4) Wilkins
5) Redknapp

stovelid · 30-04-2009 02:43PM

Des wrote: »

Dunphy

Best troll ever

He's my hero

Could you imagine a pundit on BBC saying Ronaldo - he's not bothering his arse?

_blank_ · 30-04-2009 02:47PM

Trilla wrote: »

2) Kerr

Kerr knows more about the game than everyone else you listed has forgotten.

Sure, his voice and accent are a bit hard to listen to, but he knows his ball.

The Recliner · 30-04-2009 03:02PM

Des wrote: »

The RTE pundits are comedy gold

Trolls to a tee

they wouldn't last ten minutes here, but they're bloody genius.

Look at a post-CL Liverpool or United thread outrage for the evidence.

Dunphy

Best troll ever

He's my hero

Agree 100%, the boys arguing like old men in a pub is the best reason to watch RTE's coverage

Plus their hatred of Liverpool is entertaining even as a Liverpool fan, you can see it pain them when they ahve no choice but to praise Liverpool or Benetiz although most of the time they manage to avoid that by rubbishing the opposition

30-04-2009 03:46PM

I love when Bill say's the craziest things, like:

''So let me put this to you, John, (Bill smirks as he's about to ask his question) what would a duck do in that situation?''

anonymous_joe · 30-04-2009 03:48PM

Two main points:

Entertaining as fúck.

Dunphy is one of the most entertaining figures in the public eye. Ever. He's a comedic genius, and he knows it. He can wind up a whole nation. That's a talent.

The other reason is that they most often know a lot more than we do about the game. Problem is, most of them are, well, footballers. As such, they're predominantly about as eloquent as a dead badger. A guy like Eamon Dunphy is clearly quite intelligent, but good footballer's don't have to be intelligent (or stupid.)

As such, when Johnny Giles says conceding less goals and scoring more than the oppostion is how to win, he sounds like a bit of a tool, whereas with more eloquence he'd be making a much better point.

In fairness to Giles, who knows absolutely f all about football outside of England, he's a great one for bursting bubbles of complexity. It takes a lot of knowledge to be that simple sometimes.

SlickRic · 30-04-2009 04:33PM

applehunter wrote: »

hard to justity those 3 lads salaries when the beautiful Seoige sisters are getting the chop.

they're dull.

those 3 are not.

5starpool · 30-04-2009 04:59PM

The whole Richard Keys/Andy Gray double act on super sunday supplement or whatever it is called after the proper coverage really annoys me. Richard Keys saying really stupid things about something really simple, pretending not to know what is happening just so Andy Gray can save the day be educating the apparantly clueless Keys.

I hate them so much, and before anyone asks, I don't watch that anymore. That is the reason I stopped watching it though.

PHB · 30-04-2009 05:03PM

I love soccer saterday. It's just fantastic TV. I'd love if they did all the games

keane2097 · 30-04-2009 05:09PM

Des wrote: »

The RTE pundits are comedy gold

Trolls to a tee

they wouldn't last ten minutes here, but they're bloody genius.

Look at a post-CL Liverpool or United thread outrage for the evidence.

Dunphy

Best troll ever

He's my hero

Sure Des you're well in with the RTE crowd now - surely you could get him on as a guest poster?

therecklessone · 30-04-2009 05:13PM

Random wrote: »

There's an idea.. bring them into a thread here for the next CL match

Best of luck getting Dunphy's access request past me...;)

eirebhoy wrote: »

The funny to is I'm certain Dunphy reads the forums because some of the stuff he comes out with I've only ever seen on foot.ie. He definitely read the forums before his rant against Venables.

I can say without a shadow of a doubt his "research" included a read of wikipedia, because he quoted a good chunk of it word for word.

Pundits - what's the point in them?

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