What is happening to football pundits??
Do they not want people to watch them??Are they bored with the game that provides their living??Do they think people are not watching them anymore??
Alan Shearer sits on the couch and is just lifeless..If he came alive on the couch half as quickly as he would come alive when the ball dropped in the oppositions penalty area Saturday evenings would be far more interesting for all of us.
Now Shearer has a lot of knowledge when it comes to football, he used to put the ball in the back of the net on a regular basis and that takes a certain intelligence. Perhaps he just doesn't possess the ability to convey his opinions to the general public in an interesting way, if that is the case someone at the Beeb needs to ask him to step aside and let someone else have a go................soon please!
Tony Adams though...................this fine ex-pro is surely never going to be asked back again. Sat opposite the ever interesting and articulate Adrian Chiles he just offered nothing as a pundit. Obviously he knows his football. England and Arsenal captain, league and cup winner, he is certainly goes down as an England great.
As a pundit however, his input is limited at best. His appearance on Sunday night's MOTD 2 is probably the first time that Lee Dixon has had to carry Tony Adams, though I'm sure Lee probably owes him a few.
Hopefully someone is going to emerge and save, or perhaps just re-invent, the art of being a pundit.
Jamie Redknapp has done his best a Sky to interest the viewer and offer insight, and Andy Gray is always good for a bit of tactical talk and hyperbole when the goals start flying in.
However we need more like them.
The thought process seems to be that an ex-pro is a neccessity because they understand the game and what is going on better than Joe public.
Is this really the case though? Because all that experience and knowledge does not result in an interesting fellow. All that know how and know idea how to articulate it is not what we need at all.
Sunday, 30 March 2008
Monday, 24 March 2008
R E S P E C T
Silly Steve Bennett took a harsh stance against the petulant behaviour of the Premier League's highly paid stars this weekend by giving Mascherano his marching orders.
Mascherano was obviously the unlucky player who suffered because of 'Cashley' Cole's behaviour against Tottenham. What should not be over looked though is the number of times he gave away free kicks, despite already being on a yellow card, and the way he argued the toss everytime a decision went against him.
Xabi Alonso could see exactly what was going to happen as soon as Mascherano ran 20 yards to remonstrate with Bennett and tried to intervene. Benitez obviously did not agree with the decision, but at least he has a new reason to hide behind as his side lose to a fellow top four team again.
The fact his transfer dealings and negative play have played into his opponents hands has nothing to do with it of course.
The biggest losers in all of this though could well be Sky Sports.
With the Leauge that they advertise as the 'Worlds Best' continuing to alienate itself from fans, the people in power at Sky must be worrying because people will only continue to tune in if things change.
A cleaning up of behaviour is more than neccessary.
The F.A has indicated it is prepared to impliment a system where only a team captain can approach the referee and I would think this is a brilliant idea indeed.
If the Chelsea players had not converged on Mike Riley last week then Cole would surely have recieved his marching orders.It is only human nature to shy from making the hard decision when faced with so many aggressive people in your face. If just Terry had approached him then perhaps a different coloured card would have emerged.
The same goes for a decision the went against Chelsea when they faced Manchester United earlier in the season Here Mikel was sent off for a mistimed challenge. However if several United players had not swarmed on the referee lamenting the challenge perhaps Mikel would not have been sent from the pitch.
Certainly referees need to be stronger in the face of players trying to the referee the game for them, but it is hard not to feel sympathetic for them when 5 players are in their face arguing with every decision they make.
Pretty soon though there will be nobody watching these games, players need to remember their obligation to represent their clubs and its fans in a much more acceptable way.
Mascherano was obviously the unlucky player who suffered because of 'Cashley' Cole's behaviour against Tottenham. What should not be over looked though is the number of times he gave away free kicks, despite already being on a yellow card, and the way he argued the toss everytime a decision went against him.
Xabi Alonso could see exactly what was going to happen as soon as Mascherano ran 20 yards to remonstrate with Bennett and tried to intervene. Benitez obviously did not agree with the decision, but at least he has a new reason to hide behind as his side lose to a fellow top four team again.
The fact his transfer dealings and negative play have played into his opponents hands has nothing to do with it of course.
The biggest losers in all of this though could well be Sky Sports.
With the Leauge that they advertise as the 'Worlds Best' continuing to alienate itself from fans, the people in power at Sky must be worrying because people will only continue to tune in if things change.
A cleaning up of behaviour is more than neccessary.
The F.A has indicated it is prepared to impliment a system where only a team captain can approach the referee and I would think this is a brilliant idea indeed.
If the Chelsea players had not converged on Mike Riley last week then Cole would surely have recieved his marching orders.It is only human nature to shy from making the hard decision when faced with so many aggressive people in your face. If just Terry had approached him then perhaps a different coloured card would have emerged.
The same goes for a decision the went against Chelsea when they faced Manchester United earlier in the season Here Mikel was sent off for a mistimed challenge. However if several United players had not swarmed on the referee lamenting the challenge perhaps Mikel would not have been sent from the pitch.
Certainly referees need to be stronger in the face of players trying to the referee the game for them, but it is hard not to feel sympathetic for them when 5 players are in their face arguing with every decision they make.
Pretty soon though there will be nobody watching these games, players need to remember their obligation to represent their clubs and its fans in a much more acceptable way.
