If we had to conduct a head count of pundits, the number would likely reach into the hundreds. As in any profession where opinions are presented, there are some who are notably poor, while others are quite good.
Deciding who is good and worth listening to, and who is bad, is a subjective matter. I suppose it ultimately comes down to someone else giving their opinion on whose opinions are either rotten or spot on.
However, there is a significant exception to this. There are pundits who are universally despised, and one name that immediately comes to mind is Richard Keys. I base this “opinion” on the responses he receives on social media. It’s rare that his views are welcomed.
There are others, like Roy Keane, for example, who seem to have a bit of a cult following. Personally, I like Keane and appreciate what he has to say, even if I don’t always agree with him.
Then there are those who believe in their own hype, thinking they are some sort of sage, and that their words carry more weight than anyone else’s. For me, that person is none other than Gary Neville.
I’ve always found it strange that someone who failed so miserably at management feels that what he says is meaningful.
Now, this has nothing to do with his prediction on Arsenal last season – he got that right. Additionally, he is predicting that Arsenal may well win the title this season. This isn’t about his views on Arsenal.
No, it’s about what he has to say about absolutely everything related to football, from VAR to the Super League, to the idea of an independent regulator, the Glazers, officials, red cards, and so forth.
What Neville does is not lead the conversation or shape it. What he does is always jump on the side of populism and provide very little actual analysis. He is akin to a rabble-rouser, always playing to the gallery.
Is this an attack on Neville? Absolutely not. It’s just one man’s opinion that Arsenal fans should not listen to him. There are far better analytical pundits out there who speak with more sense. Neville is not one of them.
He is not unique in this regard. There is Gabriel Agbonlahor, but we all know he comes up with his weird takes for the sake of viewership numbers and social media traction. He knows most people don’t take him seriously, and he plays on that. Neville is different; he genuinely believes that his views and opinions are worth their weight in gold. When that happens, it all becomes about the man himself and not what he is actually saying.
But wait ….most wanted Arsenal to finish above Man city so his opinion wasn’t jumping on the popular view
He then said he felt we lacked the leadership and mentality to be get over the line
That’s analysis
He says we will win the league; so I love ❤️ him for that 😀
He’s paid to give his opinion and he has given explanations for why he does or doesn’t like certain things. Doesn’t mean it’s right but he has explained. He explained why he didn’t think we’d win the title last season with our lack of leadership and that was a factor when things really mattered. Comparing him to Abonglahor isn’t really accurate. Abongalhor just looks for a soundbite to become popular. There are many videos of Gary on Sky giving a full opinion that has some rationale behind it even if you don’t agree.
Funnily enough he’s not my favourite (champagne socialist that he is) pundit but his rant against the VAR decision in the spurs v Liverpool game was spot on. He also said we would win the league this season which I found strange considering everyone on here thinks he hates us, but on the other hand I don’t really understand why so many people get upset about pundits in general, they are just doing what they get paid to do!
In the pundit front, I rate Danny Murphy
He can string a sentence together, has played at the highest level as well and is on a totally different intellectual level to Carragher.
Most of the time Neville is very good but he just can’t help himself on occasions
Agree with you 100% SueP.
They are what they are. Just know when to switch off. I like Neville, Shearer and Keane , they bring their personality along with their bias Our own Kevin Campbell and Ray Parlour who tow the company line are boring as, while the likes of Romano who specialise in rumour and make stories up are a disgrace.
These donkeys will say anything to take the spot light away from their favourite teams. That’s why Jurgen Klopp still got a job at Liverpool.
My favourite commentators/pundits are ESPN’s Craig Burley and Steve Nicholl; great football experience and knowledge and in my view always fair and even handed.