Topic: Who is the best pundit? 2021 edition

[cissesbeard]

Jenas having the audacity today to criticise Weghorst for *checks notes* squaring the ball to Depay to score a 3 yard tap-in open goal. Almost tried to make it sound like Weghorst's fault that Depay missed a sitter. Goes on to praise Malen for squaring it to Dumfries for the second goal. Absolutely no self-awareness.

Then Gary Linker backing up his point in the studio, chatting some nonsense about "odds". This notion that good strikers have to be selfish in scenarios like this is absurd.

jenas is a smug prick. I thought weghorst did excellently to square it. I expected Depay to score but also it was at pace and the ball was bobbling a bit - it was still a bit tricky. there was no need to be so harsh on either striker - good play, close but no cigar.
everything is so easy for jermaine jenas - that player shouldve done better, the manager got that wrong etc can't stand him

[Dull Tools]

We all know the 'selfish strikers' comment works differently for pundits if the striker plays for Liverpool though.

The amount of times they have lambasted Salah for the same thing. It is amazing how hypocritical they all are.

[rob1966]

Emma Hayes puts me in mind of Glenn Hoddle...same po-faced, monotone, patronising, slightly irritated drone...only with additional glottal stops...

I thought she was his daughter at one point

[Dr Stu-Pid]

Every time I listen to Jenas I think that he is the worst of the bunch, but then I remember how bad Murphy, Carney, Savage, and a few others are and just spiral into a deep depression at the state of TV commentary and punditry in today's game.  It's like choosing the best way to be tortured to death, there is no good answer.

[Crosby Nick]

Jenas was good tonight wasn't he    It was funny near the end when he started to name Austrian players who played well in the 2nd half, he named 2 then went "and, uuummmmmm (frantically looking for his team sheet) the...one or 2 of the others"
Cheers Jermaine

That was very funny by the way.

[Jono69]

Not Sure whose the worst out of Murphy and Jenas

Imagine being stuck in a lift for a minute or so with them

[gerrardisgod]

Has Murphy been at the Euros? Not sure if I’ve heard him yet, thankfully.

[voodoo ray]

Has Murphy been at the Euros? Not sure if I’ve heard him yet, thankfully.

yeah he was on some game the other day. I can't remember which one now though.

[Paisley79]

Has Murphy been at the Euros? Not sure if I’ve heard him yet, thankfully.

yeah he was on some game the other day. I can't remember which one now though.

Yeah, I heard him. Can't remember the game either but he sounded like he'd been forced to sit there & watch it.

[eddiedingle]

So bad i'm yearning for Lawros shit jokes.

[Ghost Town]

Yeah that lineker comment was so odd. Is he suggesting players should just shoot on sight as if you pass there's always a higher chance things could go wrong?

Passing to give your team an even better chance of scoring was and is the right choice

No, as far as I can tell he was just explaining the thought process that he, and he presumes, other strikers, go through in that instance where they have to make a decision. In some instances they feel that there's less to go wrong if they just shoot, whereas trying to pass doubles the possibility of something going wrong - the pass could go wrong, or the other player could miss.

It doesn't apply in all instances; there are times when strikers do pass, where they don't feel the same doubts.

I know Lineker seems widely disliked here, but that doesn't mean everything he says is wrong. As he has been a striker I think it's an interesting insight. This is, afterall, what we want from ex-player pundits isn't it?  - some kind of insight bourne out of their own experiences playing at the top level.

[RedSince86]

Danny Murphy did the Spain game.

Jenas was excrutiating yesterday.

[PaulF]

Savage is an annoying prick on the phone ins . Bit that's his job. He's sometimes ok on radio commentary. I think it's when it's a lesser game and he is t trying to be a ratings tart.  I say ok , he's never great .
Interesting to see how much of the tactics players take on board. I'm sure some are all over it, whereas others are told literally where and when to run. I guess some would do better under mouriniho than klopp. More ex managers as pundits would give insite.
I find the few bits I've heard of the crouch podcast as an interesting insite into what it's like in the pro game. Important stuff on like the pecking order of who can use the bogs.

Often too ex players will say how players think and feel during a game as if they are all the same .

[PaulF]

No, as far as I can tell he was just explaining the thought process that he, and he presumes, other strikers, go through in that instance where they have to make a decision. In some instances they feel that there's less to go wrong if they just shoot, whereas trying to pass doubles the possibility of something going wrong - the pass could go wrong, or the other player could miss.

It doesn't apply in all instances; there are times when strikers do pass, where they don't feel the same doubts.

I know Lineker seems widely disliked here, but that doesn't mean everything he says is wrong. As he has been a striker I think it's an interesting insight. This is, afterall, what we want from ex-player pundits isn't it?  - some kind of insight bourne out of their own experiences playing at the top level.

Totally!
I'm sure confidence has an impact on that decision. And lots of other things . Mostly boiling down to experience. It might be the striker knows he's got a poor record from that particular angle, in hundreds of games training as well as the few we see. In fact it might be borne out of the training keeper being good at stopping those shots and his usual strike partner is always areiving at a fixed place and perfectly placed.

[Dr Stu-Pid]

Jenas was good tonight wasn't he    It was funny near the end when he started to name Austrian players who played well in the 2nd half, he named 2 then went "and, uuummmmmm (frantically looking for his team sheet) the...one or 2 of the others"
Cheers Jermaine

I liked the moment where he said that he enjoyed the fact that referees hadn't been blowing for every little bit of contact after an Austria player went down.  They then showed the slow motion replay of the incident which clearly showed the defender kicking him in the side of the knee, but rather than back tracking and saying he was wrong he instead doubled down and said that there was minimal contact and so no need to stop the game.

Of course a few minutes later when another player was given a foul for far less contact he stayed completely silent, and no doubt when Kane or Grealish tumble to the ground under minimal contact later he will talk about clever play or the fact that it is definitely a foul as there was contact.  They can basically say what they like because they know that they will never actually be pulled up on anything or have anything close to a performance review that might point out that they are terrible at their job.

[Kekule]

Danny Murphy did the Spain game.

I fell asleep during the Spain-Sweden game and didn’t wake up for several hours.  That may may or may not have been related to the commentary team.

Also, I turned on the game last night, promptly heard Jenas refer to Jonathon Pearce as “JP” and switched it off again. 

[Charlie Adams fried egg]

I watched a bit of the Netherlands game, which was one of the first bits of live football I've watched in ages with the commentary on.
All I can say is I agree with everything that has been said about Jenas. Never again.

[Crosby Nick]

So bad i'm yearning for Lawros shit jokes.

Murphy had definitely based his punditry style on Lawro. The whole , jaded cynic style but without any of the attempted dad jokes.

[Ma Vie en Rouge]

I liked the moment where he said that he enjoyed the fact that referees hadn't been blowing for every little bit of contact after an Austria player went down.  They then showed the slow motion replay of the incident which clearly showed the defender kicking him in the side of the knee, but rather than back tracking and saying he was wrong he instead doubled down and said that there was minimal contact and so no need to stop the game.

Of course a few minutes later when another player was given a foul for far less contact he stayed completely silent, and no doubt when Kane or Grealish tumble to the ground under minimal contact later he will talk about clever play or the fact that it is definitely a foul as there was contact.  They can basically say what they like because they know that they will never actually be pulled up on anything or have anything close to a performance review that might point out that they are terrible at their job.

Yes, it's the inconsistency and refusal to accept the evidence that what they've said is wrong that really is a dereliction of their duty as a co-commentator/pundit. I get that you can make initial wrong calls in real time when watching football. I do it all the time. But when the replays clearly show that you had it wrong, and you find a way to ignore it, you're just a waste of air time. Contrast with someone like McCoist, who I've often heard admit his initial response to an incident was misjudged, having seen a replay. And that's fine, because that is why replays can be so useful!

[Ghost Town]

Danny Murphy did the Spain game.

The players must have been listening...

[cissesbeard]

Yes, it's the inconsistency and refusal to accept the evidence that what they've said is wrong that really is a dereliction of their duty as a co-commentator/pundit. I get that you can make initial wrong calls in real time when watching football. I do it all the time. But when the replays clearly show that you had it wrong, and you find a way to ignore it, you're just a waste of air time. Contrast with someone like McCoist, who I've often heard admit his initial response to an incident was misjudged, having seen a replay. And that's fine, because that is why replays can be so useful!

happened in the belgium denmark game last night - McCoist watched the replay 'I stand corrected, he has caught him there' no problem with that. murphy, mills, jenas - all smug know-it-alls

[oojason]

I see Jenas is spending his evening getting into a Twitter beef with a betting/banter account over his criticism of Weghorst

He made a bigger idiot of himself than previously though possible - and in doing so gave an online bookies free PR; with others now knowing they can get a rise out of Jenas quite easily too.

I imagine one of the BBC producers will be having a word with Jenas today - hopefully they'll also tell him up to his game - as well as doing some research before he opens his mouth without engaging his brain again on commentary.



https://twitter.com/FootyAccums/status/1405613103572717572

^ 'Going from Ally McCoist to Jermaine Jenas is like going from Margot Robbie to Katie Hopkins'

They are not wrong

[B0151?]

So bad i'm yearning for Lawros shit jokes.

Did Lawro invent the miserable bastard co commentator thing or were people like that before him? Others have certainly followed on from him anyway

[Rob Dylan]

Dion Dublin is not bad as a co-commentator. At least he sounds interested and enthusiastic.

[StevoHimself]

Emma Hayes puts me in mind of Glenn Hoddle...same po-faced, monotone, patronising, slightly irritated drone...only with additional glottal stops...

Agreed. Wasn't sure where all the love for her was coming from.

Or maybe it's just that I remember an interview she gave a couple of years ago when she was linked with the Chelsea Mens job and she came across absolutely terribly.

[red_Mark1980]

Dion Dublin is not bad as a co-commentator. At least he sounds interested and enthusiastic.

I had the radio commentary for the Sweden game.

Connor Mac and Clinton Morrison > Danny Murphy and anyone

[Rob Dylan]

I had the radio commentary for the Sweden game.

Connor Mac and Clinton Morrison > Danny Murphy and anyone

Not a fan of Macnamara to be honest, he does that whole over the top shouty thing when something happens, just comes across as fake.

[Crosby Nick]

Not a fan of Macnamara to be honest, he does that whole over the top shouty thing when something happens, just comes across as fake.

He’s good on Swashbuckle though.

[Hazell]

Dion Dublin is not bad as a co-commentator. At least he sounds interested and enthusiastic.

Agreed, I don't find him as disagreeable as a lot of others. Rob Green on Five Live is another one who's good, especially when he's talking about the technicalities of goalkeeping.

And, dare I say, Clinton Morrison is growing on me 

[Ghost Town]

And, dare I say, Clinton Morrison is growing on me 

I'm sure you can get an ointment for that

[Crosby Nick]

Agreed, I don't find him as disagreeable as a lot of others. Rob Green on Five Live is another one who's good, especially when he's talking about the technicalities of goalkeeping.

And, dare I say, Clinton Morrison is growing on me 

Clinton is a bit of a harmless idiot. He’s not one for amazing insight but he comes across quite well I think. Did you hear him on TAW recently talking about the 5-0 Palace game? He was very sound.

[Hazell]

Clinton is a bit of a harmless idiot. He’s not one for amazing insight but he comes across quite well I think. Did you hear him on TAW recently talking about the 5-0 Palace game? He was very sound.

I haven't heard it but you're right, he doesn't offer anything amazing (most of them don't) but generally comes across well and he's enthusiastic at least, which is more than can be said about the majority of pundits. Plus he has blowing smoke up our arse over the past couple of years, so that always helps.

[Jon2lfc]

Guy Mowbray is a complete turn-off - quite literally.
Every sentence of his sounds contrived and overly self-important.
Doesn't help that he sounds totally different in real life. Which means he's putting on a weird unnatural broadcasting accent to 'commentate'.

[Jon2lfc]

jenas is a smug prick. I thought weghorst did excellently to square it. I expected Depay to score but also it was at pace and the ball was bobbling a bit - it was still a bit tricky. there was no need to be so harsh on either striker - good play, close but no cigar.
everything is so easy for jermaine jenas - that player shouldve done better, the manager got that wrong etc can't stand him

I think I'm alone on here when I think Jenas is quite harmless. He's not Socrates (player or philosopher), but he comes across in a harmless, simple manner. I actually warmed to him more after watching him in a doc return to his roots in Nottingham and his concern for helping others from his area/background to make the right choices in life.

He's certainly a level above the monotonous, obvious, cliched drivel of commentators such as Mcmanaman.

[Paisley79]

Did anyone see that thing with Lineker, Shearer & Micah Richards each picking their favourite 10 goals in the Euros this afternoon?

Shearer picked his own goal v Netherlands as the 4th best. What a tit!

[Nitramdorf]

Did anyone see that thing with Lineker, Shearer & Micah Richards each picking their favourite 10 goals in the Euros this afternoon?

Shearer picked his own goal v Netherlands as the 4th best. What a tit!

I saw one when Richard's nearly spontaneously combusted when he said he wouldnt take a penalty in a shootout.
It was like that Monty Python sketch about the most funniest joke in the world where people died after hearing it.

To sum up, I hate him.

[rowan_d]

I think I'm alone on here when I think Jenas is quite harmless. He's not Socrates (player or philosopher), but he comes across in a harmless, simple manner. I actually warmed to him more after watching him in a doc return to his roots in Nottingham and his concern for helping others from his area/background to make the right choices in life.

He's certainly a level above the monotonous, obvious, cliched drivel of commentators such as Mcmanaman.

Familiarity breeds contempt innit

[Kenny's Jacket]

Did anyone see that thing with Lineker, Shearer & Micah Richards each picking their favourite 10 goals in the Euros this afternoon?

Shearer picked his own goal v Netherlands as the 4th best. What a tit!

Richards is annoying as fuck - like a 5 year old

[redgriffin73]

I had to turn it off after screaming "Shut the fuck up you prick" about three times in quick succession to Micah Richards. He literally does nothing of note but laugh, Christ, just imagine having to live with that. Nothing is that funny. Nothing.

[Hazell]

I had to turn it off after screaming "Shut the fuck up you prick" about three times in quick succession to Micah Richards. He literally does nothing of note but laugh, Christ, just imagine having to live with that. Nothing is that funny. Nothing.

Kriss Akabusi disagrees.