Most liked posts in thread: Sky Sports pundits sacked

I don't know if someone is having a laugh but the reports are saying Alex Scott and Jemaine Jenas. Alex Scott may be prepared as a pundit but she lacks charisma and Jenas makes Shearer look to have an amazing personality. Unless the revamp is to turn the show into something to stick on iPlayer to send you to sleep I'm not sure how those two are the basis for a significant revamp that makes it more relevant to the viewing audience.

 

With Carra and Neville though I think they have the balance perfect. They can have some good natured banter which is easy and fun to watch but both are immensely knowledgeable and prepared so can switch into the more serious analysis with ease. And in both modes they are confident, engaging and charismatic (even if Carra's strong scouse accent is annoying lol)

I actually think that's why the Soccer Saturday panel largely works as well, they can have fun with it but when needed switch into the serious mode. Where as Micah Richards has as you put it only been able to demonstrate being a clown, his actual analysis is often fairly weak and I've seen a few times where one of the other pundits has taken him to task over it. It's actually almost like he watched two complication tapes to prepare for the job, one of Ian Wright but only the bits where wrighty is being a clown rather than the bits he is being the intelligent pundit he can be and the other of Souness who lets be honest if anyone should be fired its him as like Micah he throws the idea of imparity out of the window. Again if you look at Neville and Carragher you might hate them for the club they used to play for and the passion they still show for that club but they don't let that bias colour everything they do

Personally if it was me I would have maybe kept them all on but either added an extra 'hotseat' which would rotate between a few until you find someone who works and then you remove one of the regulars or just rotate the whole panel a bit more so of those 3 maybe 1 sits out each week, again trying to find the best person to freshen it up. As it is even if they get the best people possible to replace them they are going to need to build a rapport

 

That pretty much sums up why she isn't very good though. A pundit can't be quietish, it comes across as not having confidence in what she is saying. Paul Scholes is a good example, you wouldn't hear a peep out of him as a player and when he started to be a pundit it carried over, he seemed to fairly quickly realise that as a pundit you have to have an informed opinion and express it with confidence. He is far from the best pundit but atleast now he comes across as authentic and his opinion 'trustworthy'. There is that sweet spot where you need to show your passion but also show you are prepared and knowledgeable. You get someone like Paul Ince (Or as I mentioned above Souness) as an example who shows his passion and speaks with confidence but fails on the knowledgeable and prepared parts on a repeated basis and you get someone like Alex Scott who may be knowledgeable and prepared but comes across scared and as if she doesn't really believe what she is saying.

 

You mean when he jumps up and punches one of the other panel because he finds what they are saying ridiculous? There have been a few times when he gets that same look he used to get just before the red mist descended on the football pitch and you can see him fighting it. I'm not sure he could fight it for the length of soccer Saturday week in week out