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One of the most important aspects of a match day apart from the actual game itself are the panelists who adorn the various sports channels. These panelists or pundits are experts who bring in a new dimension to a viewer through various analysis of teams, players, managers and more importantly of the tactics that might be seen in a game. Most of these experts are ex-players or managers who have represented the game thereby bringing in experience and an eye for detail which gives the fans an in-depth understanding of the game.A great example today would be Gary Neville who has truly revolutionized the way punditry works in recent years with his habit of picking up things that have escaped the attention of other pundits. He is technically savvy and suave, brutally honest and doesn’t shy away from lambasting his former team-mates and friends. In reality, he is a perfect role model for most of the ex-players. There are others not in the Neville mould yet doing a decent job in their analysis.However, there are some pundits who leave us scratching our heads with their weird analysis which raises the question as to how they managed to secure a full-time job as a pundit.We look at 5 such pundits who were great players but who have failed miserably as pundits.
#1 Thierry Henry
One of the greatest players ever to grace the English Premier league, Henry set the league alight with his dazzling performances for the Gunners. His technique, vision and an eye for goal set him apart from most of his contemporaries in the league. He has achieved it all in his glittering career which spanned the expanse of Italy, England and Spain.
It was certain that he would be an instant hit among the masses as a pundit. Henry was known for his charisma, sporting intelligence and witty demeanor, traits that would have been enough to make him a popular pundit. Alas, a year into his lucrative Sky contract, he has gone from You Beauty Henry to this guy is boring me to death Henry!
His baffling punditry was clear in the postmortem of Real Madrids 1-0 defeat of Atltico in the Champions League quarterfinals where he made some bizarre comments on Javier Hernandezs goal celebrations.
Having latched onto an assist from Cristiano Ronaldo, Hernandez swept home the winner that ensured Madrids progress into the semi-finals. Surely, Hernandez had every right of celebrating the goal overzealously. However, according to Henry, Hernandez should have celebrated with Ronaldo who provided the assist rather than celebrating in the opposite direction on his own in front of the Madrid supporters.
Thats Ronaldos goal, its a tap-in, the former striker added. Turn around and celebrate with Ronaldo. Even the camera knew the camera is on Ronaldo for a reason.
He remains one of the most unpopular and terribly dull pundits on the Sky payroll.
#2 Alan Shearer
The Magpies love him and they always will. Alan Shearer was Newcastles very own hero, one who almostsingle-handedly elevated the mediocre Toon army into something more powerful. Passion, power, motivation and an ability to score goals for fun made him one of the deadliest forwards in the league.
Since the day he has adorned the silver screen as a pundit, Shearer has all but forgotten the character that defined him when he had his scoring boots on. How he has come to be the first choice expert for Match of the day on Sky is anyones wild guess. Shearers displays as a pundit are quite frankly enough to put you to sleep or make you believe youre the better expert or even make other hopeless pundits look as great as Gary Neville.
He has made some astonishing pieces of analysis that wouldnt make any sense even to an amateur fan. "It's weird seeing Birmingham wear red, isn't it?" or his views on Roy Hodgson when he manufactured a 3-2 victory over Sunderland, Well, hes used all of his experience, hes got them well organized and they are getting results.
However, the highlight of his dreadful punditry has to be the famous analysis on Hatim Ben Arfa. Ben Arfa, an on-loan signing from Marseille had secured three valuable points for Newcastle at Everton when he produced a top corner winner.
"No one really knows a great deal about him," Shearer quipped confidently on Ben Arfa's performance against Everton that day. Yes, please load the gun and blow your brains out!
#3 Michael Owen
Raheem Sterling is better than Mesut zil. Surely who in their right mind would utter such nonsense? Its like comparing a just-out-of-diaper kid to a man who has done it all. But clearly, Michael Owen believes that this is the reality.
Owen, the boy wonder was a phenomwhen it came to scoring goals and was Liverpool and Englands mainstay striker in the late 90s. His promising career went downhill once he joined the Galacticos of Real Madrid in Spain at the turn of the century, where he never managed to reach the dizzying heights he had reached at Anfield.
Having turned to commentary after his unsuccessful stints at Newcastle and Manchester United, Owen failed miserably on the small screen due to his dour and inane remarks during matches. A turn towards punditry has actually made him a Twitter trend for all the wrong reasons.
Owen, was labeled 'boring', 'monotone' and 'annoying' on social media, with several users suggesting that they opted for the mute button rather than listen to him in the aftermath of the Community Shield match between Arsenal and Chelsea.
#4 Jamie Redknapp
Jamie Redknapp remains one of the most popular players to have worn the Red jersey at Anfield. A no-nonsense midfielder, Redknapp was a mainstay in center of the field under the reign of Graeme Souness. Although he was highly talented, recurring injuries played a pivotal role in him retiring early in his career. One of the highest paid teenagers at the time of his arrival at Liverpool, Redknapp made 308 appearances at Liverpool scoring 41 goals.
He went on to play for Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton following his injury ravaged spell at Liverpool but even then he never managed to scale tothe heights that he was touted to.
He is one of the pundits who has been with Sky for a long time now but has never managed to be popular among the masses. Many question his command over the English language which is quintessential to be a successful pundit. His analysis is sometimes poor, an over reliance on clichs ("We're talking about top top players, Ruud top top top players") and his partial attitude to not criticize his friends and former teammates makes him and his opinions questionable.
At the start of his television career, his partiality towards his teammates came into question when he was analyzing Englands Euro 2004 defeat to France. England lost the match to a needless penalty that was conceded by a combination of Steven Gerrards back pass and David James subsequent challenge on Thierry Henry. Redknapp blamed Ashley Cole for not punting the ball up field rather than Gerrard and James, both who were his former team-mates at Liverpool.
#5 Mark Lawrenson
One of the 3 ex-Liverpool players in this list who have been poor pundits, Mark Lawrenson was one of the greatest defenders in Liverpool history. The most expensive defender during the 1980s,Lawrenson was part of the golden era at Anfield where he won five English titles, 3 English cups, FA cup and a European cup. The center-back was physically intimidating, great tackler and possessed considerable skill and speed.
He could play in any position in the defense. However, his partnership in the center of the defense with Alan Hansen shaped much of Liverpools success in that title-laden years between 1980 and 1990.
The BBC veteran Lawrenson has fadedmiserably in the past few years as a pundit. His analysis has been unfocused and there is undue cynicism far too often.
If sarcasm was not enough, Lawrenson was also caught in the middle of a sexist comment row during last years World cup match between Argentina and Switzerland. With a goalless first half, Swiss striker Josip Drmi was sent through by a clever pass. However, Drmi when one-on-one with Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero horribly dinked his shot into him. On seeing this, Lawrenson commented as part of the analysis that,Drmi should have put a skirt on.
BBC received several complaints following this comment and this resulted in Lawrenson being demoted from Match of the day presenter to a reduced role in the channel.
