Which pundits do you hate/rate?

I'm sure I'm not alone in absolutely hating british sport coverage, i think it's utter shit quite honestly.

the standard of staid punditry is tedious, state the obvious bollocks on every channel.

the likes of "lawro" with his mindless quips during co-commentary followed by his cue card rubbish on his predictions "they ship goals" (even if they don't) Lets be honest all this stuff is fed to him by a producer.

That said the absolute worst pundit for me is Steve Claridge, this guy is on another planet of shit, he makes it a point to disagree with every question thats posed to him, he acts as if someones slagged his mum when he's asked it to, with his screwed up quizzical face.

i wouldn't mind if he was the oracle but he knows jack shit.

I have to say I really dislike a lot of the pundits on BBC/ITV.

I feel its a shame that BBC haven't sent their pundits out to Poland/Ukraine, they are just sat in a studio in Salford, it doesn't seem like they are getting involved in the tournament unlike ITV.

I like the fact ITV have their pundits out in Poland but they are so bloody boring the lot of them. I used to like it when they had Gabby Logan and Ally McCoist. That Adrian is so miserable, how has he made prime time TV? Nobody likes him and yet ITV signed him up instead of sticking with Steve Ryder. Roy Keane is a misery and Southgate is just a failed manager with no personality.

On the BBC, I have always liked Lineker and Hansen but Alan Shearer is awful, he is so dull and never says anything interesting. Lee Dixon and Seedorf are alright I suppose.

Andy Townsend, Mark Lawrenson and Steve Claridge are the three worst, Townsend in particular talks utter shite, and doesn't have a clue what he's on about. Shearer's a bit of an idiot if we're honest but I liked him as a player so he hasn't sunk to the level of Townsend etc.

On the positive side Andy Gray and Gary Neville are the best pundits closely followed by Jamie Redknapp, all top drawer.

Oh and Seedorf is quality too.

I've actually quite liked Roy Keane this time around.

Yeah he's miserable as fcuk and he doesn't have a laugh but he holds nothing back and he goes in on the big topics. You need that as a pundit.

Agree with Hipster about Claridge, haven't a clue why the BBC have pushed him into becoming one of their main football presenters?

I've always liked Jimmy Armfield but he's not on as often as he used to be - must be getting on a bit now but he still has a sharp mind.

I like David Platt (the manager not the player) too but I know many don't.

Like Lee Dixon, I think he is quite astute too.

Also like Robbie Savage - he's not always right but he gives an honest view of how he sees things.

The BBC has a list of bad pundits that I cannot stand - Crooks, Lawrenson, Shearer, Bright, Savage - I resent paying to watch them. With the exception of Savage, clearly they all dislike BWFC.

It pisses me off when Hansen and Lawrenson are in a studio together doing mOTD - how can it possibly be unbiased to have two ex-Liverpool players commenting on a programme which covers 20 clubs?

Lawrenson is so thick he doesn't even try to be unbiased. Remember Gerrard's awful free kick on about 85 minutes the other night? The commentator asked "what was he thinking?!" and Lawro chipped in with "he just mis-hit it". You know full well he wouldn't have said that had it not been Gerrard.

The only non-BBC pundit I can't stand is Andy Gray. I am so glad I don't have to listen to him any more and he is out of my life forever. You won't catch me listening to TalkSport under any circumstances, with its 17 minutes worth of adverts in every hour.

The best pundit around is Gary Neville, without question. I couldn't stand him as a player but he has completely won me over with his actual expert insight into the game. You can tell he has been a student of Ferguson for all those years and absorbed it all. He simply has an insight into particular players and systems which others pundits do not have. He also doesn't sound like he's trying to prove anything.

I miss Big Ron.

Gary Neville has been a breath of fresh air. He knows what he's talking about but he's somehow lacking a bit of likeability. I can't put my finger on what it is. He also doesn't have a very televisual voice.
Whereas Alan Hansen talks a lot of sense and at the same time seems down to earth.
So I think those two are the best around at the moment.

I absolutely despise all of them on Gillette Soccer Saturday. "We don't know an awful lot about football so we'll just slag off the people that pay to watch it for three hours!"
Bellends, the lot of them.

Hipster_Nebula wrote:

That said the absolute worst pundit for me is Steve Claridge, this guy is on another planet of shit, he makes it a point to disagree with every question thats posed to him, he acts as if someones slagged his mum when he's asked it to, with his screwed up quizzical face.

i wouldn't mind if he was the oracle but he knows jack shit.

I half agree with you, when I've heard him commentating on the radio he's been pisspoor. But I actually think he's excellent on the Championship Show after MotD. I disagree when you say he knows jack shit, he's played for a lot of clubs so he knows a lot about the game. His book is excellent by the way, none of the polished shite you normally expect from footballers.

I cannot stand Garth Crooks, the guy is an utter tool.

I agree that Gary Neville is very good and not the knob I expected him to be.

Dislike Jamie Redknapp - scared to say anything negative about any Premier League player.

Although not really a "pundit" I think Jim Beglin is the best co-commentator.

I've always liked Hansen, always hated Lawrenson. I begrudge paying my tv license now that I know they're getting £40k per show.

I enjoy Soccer Saturday. I like Matt Le Tissier, Tony Cottee & Paul Walsh. Paul Merson is hard to dislike because he's so thick. I don't like Phil Thompson or Charlie Nicholas.

But far and away the best tv pundit is Leroy Rosenior. His voice is great, he's played at all levels of the game so knows his stuff, and isn't scared to be honest. Why the BBC feel the need to push personality-free plebs like Shearer & Dixon is beyond me, no one watches football for the pundits.

For me the best is Stan Colly. I can't abide talkSport but when I'm in the car and want to listen to a match, if (my vote for the worst) Graham -windbag-Taylor is the 'expert' advisor on Radio 5 I'll switch over to TS. I don't know why the BBC don't sign-up Stan as their chief football man. I think it may be to do with his 'dogging' days.

On the telly. No one outstanding but it's way past 'last orders' for Motty. He has always been a London only man and he has had a very good living out of doing f... all. There must be someone in the country who deserves his job.

One final point if I may. One BBC sports presenter (not commentator) who I really cannot bare to listen to is Colin (don't you just love me) Murray.

A few of my most hated pundits are Garth Crooks, Jamie ''i kiss liverpools arse'' redknapp and their is a co-commentator on ESPN whos name escapes me but he has done a bit for ITV during the euros if anyone can think of his name.

A pundit I don't mind is Townsend, not the greatest of pundits but you can tell he has played at a high level. Another one I liked listening to is the fella on 5 Live Alan Green, he would be a much better commentator for the bbc if they give him Lawros job.

Oh and Martin keown aint bad at a pundit either.

I'll have to totally disagree with you there Aaron i can't stand Townsend, especially when he commentates on England.

I expect him to be bias, but not to the ridiculous length he goes to.

He literally wouldn't say a bad word about the English lads if one of them was shagging his wife and rinsing his bank account.

look at this for example

A potentially leg breaking tackle, which appears to almost snap milners leg, the co-commentator realises that when he sees the slow mo but Townsend can't wait to defend terry with utterly inane excuses.

Thanks for that video, I'd not seen it before.

Horrendous assault (you can't call it a tackle) and should have been a straight red. For Townsend to say, as he did several times, that sometimes you have have to go in 'studs up' is nothing more than a way of excusing Terry. I think that Terry is a very unpleasant man anyway and should never have been given the captains job.

Let's hope that after these Euros we will have seen the last of Terry and Townsend.

aaron_bwfc wrote:I like listening to is the fella on 5 Live Alan Green

I'm sorry but I'm not having that. That is the most sickening comment I have ever read.

The most anti-Bolton commentator in history. Why do you think that fat bastard Bolton Hater has him as his avatar.

Aaron, I expect you to resign by midnight and never post here again.

I'm pretty sure that the reason SA refused to be interviewed by the BBC was because of Green's comments about the team.

I remember listening to a 5live commentary in the car. I thought, what can Green say that is in some way anti- Bolton. I didn't have to wait long. Green said "Why is it always so cold in Bolton". it was 11 C at the time, about the same as the rest of the country. I complained to their phone-in number but got the feeling that my complaint was bined.

chipbutty wrote:I'm pretty sure that the reason SA refused to be interviewed by the BBC was because of Green's comments about the team.

It was mainly because of a Panorama "documentary" which accused his son of being a bent football agent.

I've never watched Panorama since their hatchet job on Big Sam. It was outrageous. First ten minutes they had a guy secretly being filmed, naming 3 or 4 managers who supposedly accept illegal payments, and they bleeped out all the names except Sam's. I'll never watch Panorama again.

largehat wrote:

chipbutty wrote:I'm pretty sure that the reason SA refused to be interviewed by the BBC was because of Green's comments about the team.

It was mainly because of a Panorama "documentary" which accused his son of being a bent football agent.

I've never watched Panorama since their hatchet job on Big Sam. It was outrageous. First ten minutes they had a guy secretly being filmed, naming 3 or 4 managers who supposedly accept illegal payments, and they bleeped out all the names except Sam's. I'll never watch Panorama again.

Nothing ever really came of that documentary. All the ' whistle blowing' didn't amount to a hill of beans. Big Sam and Harry Redknapp continued with their managerial careers so I don't really know what all the fuss was about.

Back on topic. Garth Crooks has to be the most patronising pundit of the lot. He is so in love with himself I reckon he drinks his own bathwater.

Alan Green is my hero, he puts Bolton down at every opportunity.