Top 5 football pundits including former Manchester United and Arsenal stars

5. Lee Dixon (ITV Sport)

The former Arsenal right-back is a pundit on ITV’s football show. He began his career as a regular pundit for the BBC on Match of the Day 2 as well as appearing on Score, and Football Focus. However, he left the BBC to join ITV Sport in July 2012 to work with his friend Adrian Chiles.

He is very comfortable in front of the camera and has a certain ease about him with which he seems to explain some of the nuances of the game. His good-natured banter with presenter Chiles is an added bonus for his fans.

4. Graeme Souness

Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team.

He had also managed Rangers, Liverpool, Southampton, Benfica, Galatasaray, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. With such vast subject knowledge and experience, he has to be there in the list even though he has been criticized few times for his punditry.

3. Jamie Redknapp (Sky Sports)

While Redknapp may not be universally popular, mostly for his “pretty boy” attitude, he does talk a lot of sense as a pundit on Sky Sports’ live games. Just like the new breed of pundits that have come in, he’s really comfortable with the technology, and uses it well to explain tactics.

The negative about him is that he can be a bit biased towards his former clubs or family member (read his father Harry), but his stock has grown in the last few years as one of the best pundits on television and his expertise is used in many media sectors, aside from Sky Sports.

2. Gary Neville (Sky Sports)

The former Manchester United right back’s stock is on the rise and fast, as he is quickly being regarded as one of the most popular and sensible pundits on television. He has become a regular for Sky Sports at the start of last season, following his retirement from football.

Neville’s tactical analysis is generally outstanding, clearly showing his knowledge and understanding of the game having played at the very top level for so long, and he seems really comfortable using the technological screen to explain the details.

1. Alan Hansen (BBC)

Hansen may be the oldest of the lot here and becoming a bit old fashioned, but he still remains one of the most enjoyable pundits to watch. The former Liverpool center back has been a staple of the Match of the Day program for more than two decades now, and is great at explaining defensive mistakes.

While he has probably struggled to adapt to the times and the technology, his interactions with his punditry partner gives off the most enjoyable results. Sparks have flown in the past with the likes of Alan Shearer, Lee Dixon and Mark Lawrenson but it’s all going to come to an end when he retires at the end of this season.