Why does the BBC still employ shit football pundits?

Ollie Irish

10th, December 2007

14 Comments

20060626113026.jpgAlan Hansen is about the only decent football pundit the BBC has, and he’s been doing the job for more than a decade; Mark Lawrenson is a poor man’s Hansen, but he’s not as bad as the rest of them, who make up a sorry collection of the bland – Lee Dixon and Gavin Peacock, to name two charisma-free ex-players – and the incompetent.
Marcel Desailly and Leonardo can’t speak good enough English, simple as that, whilst Garth Crooks can’t even be bothered to learn how to pronounce players’ names properly – he referred several times to Pascal Chimponda (rather than the correct Chimbonda) on MotD2 last night. (I’m prepared to change my tune if Crooks is right and everyone else in the world is wrong.)
Alan Shearer? Most fans can predict exactly what he’s going to say before he opens his mouth – i.e. nothing of any interest. Ian Wright is the opposite to Shearer – generally unpredictable and sometimes entertaining, although it’s a disgrace that he is allowed to be so biased in favour of his son, Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Which ex-players (or journalists for that matter) would you like to see replace the likes of Peacock, Dixon, Shearer and co.?

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14 Comments

  1. Cole Henley says:

    Just be grateful John Barnes isn’t on the books. Amazed he was anchor on Five’s football broadcasts for so long considering the strand of fibre that has just come lose from my glove is more articulate

  2. StuartW says:

    Leonardo’s English is no worse than Wrighty’s. And he provides the suave charisma sorely lacking since Des Lynam’s departure.

  3. chopper says:

    I may be alone in this but I actually really rate Gavin Peacock. Lee Dixon’s not that bad either. Both are capable of making good points. Hansen’s sounding tired these day’s but better than the other goons who as you say add nothing. Garth Crooks is definitely the worst, though there is a certain sort of comic humour about his apalling attempts to sound knowledgable.

  4. nicko says:

    could be worse… they could have “Andy I love Manchester united Gray” on the books, as well as the plethora of incomprehensible Scots that Sky Sports seems to employ.

  5. Clayton says:

    I really rate Marcel Desailly and Leonardo’s punditry.

  6. OmegaSupreme says:

    Marcel Desailly drops bombs of pure knowledge, once you get your ears in tune to his accent. I also won’t hear a bad word said about the Crooks-Meister. I like my pundits bizarre, eccentric, with one foot in both worlds and Crooksie is tripping his box off.
    Sack the rest on mass.

  7. IndieLimey says:

    Disgrace that Wrighty’s so biased towards his son? What would you expect from a Dad? “Nah, he was rubbish, should have been subbed after 5 minutes”. I think they do pretty well. We’re lucky it’s Lee Dixon and not Kerry Dixon. Man, Kerry’s beauties on Chelsea Radio. It makes the forgettable Chelsea football unforgettable with his pearls of terrible English.
    It’s like he starts a sentence and then loses track of where he was starting it about the halfway line and finished with aplomb.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Garth Crooks is an utter cock, he knows nothing about anything. He and David Pleat actually make me angry with their complete incompitance. Sack Crooks!!! surely refering to Pascal as ‘Chimp’onda is enough to get rid of him the same way Ron Atkinson was sacked.

  9. Toxic says:

    “Alan Hansen is about the only decent football pundit the BBC has”
    And he’s not that good especially after the bar has been opened.
    “Alan Shearer? Most fans can predict exactly what he’s going to say before he opens his mouth”
    Because he just repeats what Lineker has just said to him.

  10. john oughton says:

    When will the BBC/SKY learn that footballers and their managers are not,repeat not,supposed to be pundits or experts.Even the after match interviews are a sorry repetition of”we woz robbed”;”we’ve got a lot of injured players”;and my favourite”Russian money has helped create the team,and we’re only waiting for the magic window” to do the same”!!!Footballers are inarticulate,boring but brilliant at their job:managers are not always brilliant at their job.

  11. miz says:

    Crooksy may talk shite but its theyw ay he talks is just too entertaining not to watch him

  12. omsapin says:

    If i had to pick one man for an interesting pundit, it would have to be Cantona. Can you imagine the great stuff he could come up with on match of the day.

  13. bob says:

    alan hansen is a crap pundit maybe second best out of all the rest of the other shit pundits i dont think lineker is that bad!!

  14. Costy750 says:

    Craig Burley on Setanta is an extraordinarily incompetent pundit. Andy Grey lite. The BBC has awful commentators and pundits with the exception of Hansen and (IMO) Gavin Peacock.

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