Over the last few years with the emergence of social media football punditry has never been so analyzed. With pundits almost competing for football analysis it is almost like a match in the studio before the action on the pitch starts.
Punditry Problems
Chris Sutton
Chris Sutton has almost turned into a professional troll with constant inflammatory comments. His punditry plays “devil’s advocate” during every debate almost to get more airtime and try to be sensationalist as much as possible. His obsession with Rangers and tendency to get personal with other pundits are extremely farcical in today’s day and age. He also has the audacity to criticise players for trying to force through moves when he famously turned down a call-up to the England “B” Team. His quite strong criticism of managers such as Arsene Wenger may be fair at times. You would think that Sutton having had a terrible spell as Lincoln Manager would appreciate how tough management is. Sutton proves to be a pundit who comes off as both arrogant and ignorant, giving off an unpleasant vibe to his listeners.
Graeme Souness
Graeme Souness was a terrific player and leader for Liverpool, however, what is often found difficult about his punditry is his disdain for the modern game. The Liverpool legend is constantly critical and does not seem to enjoy watching the matches. His comments on Paul Pogba were almost like “he is nowhere near my level”. He has a huge ego and is very critical of the modern culture around fans. He has not modernized with the times and talks about his era. In addition, his behavior depicts him as if he was a top manager when in fact he failed magnificently at both Liverpool and Newcastle. His terrible man-management skills were due to his large ego and some would say this has had a negative impact on his punditry.
Michael Owen
Michael Owen could very easily be deemed the boring pundit, his monotonic voice and the way he states the most obvious findings of the game have become a laughing stock on social media. He also has a tendency to be shocked at the salaries modern players are earning. Owen, himself, was on £100,000 a week for Newcastle with nearly zero output. He has also questioned the loyalty of lots of modern players with Coutinho being a prime example. This is the same player who went to play for Manchester United despite his Liverpool links. His reaction to Barcelona’s amazing comeback to PSG was not befitting of an ex-Real Madrid player. Furthermore, he also talks about his Manchester United days as if he was a key man in Sir Alex’s plan when in truth he was their 4th choice striker and was hardly ever used. His lack of analysis and ignorance towards the modern game of football is what gets on fan’s nerves. Thus, Owen earns himself a spot as one of the worst pundits today.
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