Football is no longer a ninety-minute sport. Instead, it's a part of everyday life. And when a ball isn't being kicked, the entertainment still refuses to let up. The new age of journalism means that conversation last days, if not weeks, before and after key fixtures in the calendar.
Essentially, there's no way of escaping football. Nowadays, the faces seen on television analysing, scrutinising, and describing the action on the pitch are just as idolised and important as those directly involved with each kick. Equally, it has become a divisive topic, with pundits that are loved and hated based on clubs they support/ played for, and whether their opinions fall in line with their viewers.
With this in mind, Football FanCast have tried to ditch biases and find a balanced 10-1 of the very best pundits football has to offer, ranked based on the value they bring to the sport's biggest fixtures, conversations, and issues.
10 Micah Richards Employer: Sky Sports & CBS Sports
Micah Richards is the youngest on this list, and compared to his male counterparts, it's by some distance. At 35-years-old, the ex-Manchester City man is likely to soar to new heights as he matures, but while his inexperience shines through on the odd occasion, he is a raw talent, mixing it with the big guns.
However, credit where it's due, there's a lot that the former defender brings to the table. Richards is infectiously loveable and uses his jovial self to add a desirable layer of enthusiasm and comedy to the Sky Sports panel, – while he uses his failed wonderkid status during his playing career to inform those about the struggles of mental wellbeing in the sport.
Yet, when you are as unserious and humorous as Richards, it's sometimes hard to remind viewers that he's a serious mouthpiece for football. After all, he's the only one capable of making Roy Keane laugh, and that's quite some feat for the newbie.
Working alongside some of the most polished diamonds in sports media, there's no doubt Richards will continue to soar to new heights in the industry. Even still, it's impressive that he's already made it into the top 10 so early on.
Micah Richards' net worth, girlfriend, haircut, retirement, age, salary, book
9 Roy Keane Employer: Sky Sports
There's no two ways about it. Roy Keane is box office. He might not delve too much into analysis and tactical outlay – in fact, when those next to him are rambling on about formations and contextual intricacies, viewers seldom see the Irishman pay any attention at all. But what he does offer is explosive entertainment value by the billion.
In many ways, Keano is exactly how you'd imagine him to be off the pitch after watching him go full steam ahead into a two-footed studs-up challenge on it. Never more than a sentence away from a blockbuster argument on-air, the former Manchester United midfielder takes a bullish approach to journalism, which is great for clicks for the companies he's under contract with.
A cocked grenade ready to blow up at any given moment, the lack of rationale does take away from Keane's potential to be any higher in this ranking. However, television gold is far shinier with him on the panel.
It says a lot when his Man United partisanship doesn't affect the respect he gets from Liverpool and Man City fans!
8 Graeme Souness Employer: Freelance, left Sky Sports in 2023
By now, after over a decade of punditry, everyone has an opinion on Graeme Souness, particularly if you favour the red half of Manchester. Adopting a no-nonsense approach to the beautiful game has endeared him to many, but disenchanted others. He’s often exposed for his attempts at shoehorning Paul Pogba into criticism or crucified for his unfashionable school of thought that the sport is a ‘man’s game’.
But while Saturday’s kids only know of the Souness that appears rambling on Sky Sports in the weekend’s biggest head-to-head fixtures, his old-fangled ways hark back to more than just the period where a television was the centrepiece in every household living room.
In the 70s and 80s, Souness was not just one of the best midfielders in English football, but he is still one of the greatest to ever do it in football as a whole. In punditry, his know-how of the beautiful game is a little more projected than that of Keano. It is this reason that he nudges past his Irish rival to assume the eighth entry.
He's another that takes the role of grumpy old man who is seemingly unimpressed by everything modern football stands for. But given his indomitable experience at all levels of the game, he does deliver sound analysis on key issues, and he is well-versed in both management and player intricacies.
Better yet, the Scotsman is often the tone-setter for great debate. In the Sky Sports studio, he masters the leadership responsibility and drives conversation.
7 Ian Wright Employers: Works for Sky Sports, BBC & ITV
Some say he's the uncle of English football, others claim him to be the nicest bloke on planet Earth. But no matter which way you look at it, Ian Wright is a national treasure deserving of royal recognition.
From the men's game to the women's, there's not a bad bone in Wrighty's body. And in punditry, his happy-go-lucky personality marries well with his experience as one of England's greatest number nines. He's funny, he's smart, and he's a natural presence on the box.
Wrighty's greatest strength, also, is that he tackles punditry as many of us would: As a fan. He doesn't try to be anyone he isn't, and he isn't afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve, never failing to bring a fanatical energy to the game he adores. To a great extent, the former Arsenal forward doesn't do anything out of the ordinary. He shows the simplicity of punditry, but does it in a way that is quite simply brilliant all the same.
6 Gary Lineker Employers: BBC and BT/TNT Sports
During his playing days, Gary Lineker was known for his sportsmanship and perfect conduct. Across a career that spanned 650+ games, he never picked up a yellow or red card. In his punditry years, that sentiment continued as 'football's ultimate nice guy' championed being the voice of reason.
He perhaps gets extra marks for doing an entire show in just his underwear when Leicester City won the Premier League. But his venerated personality extends far wider than just that, with a media career older than anyone's coming to an untimely fade when his leftist political views unaligned with the BBC.
Weighing Lineker down on this list is the simple fact that he's an even better TV host. Most will know him as the iconic Match of the Day presenter, but still, his media career started in punditry, and that is a period in time that mustn't be forgotten about.
5 Alan Shearer Employer: BBC
The unheralded genius on Match of the Day, the analyst and scrutiniser to Lineker's exceptional presenting and objective wisdom. Alan Shearer is a legend in his own right, not only as the all-time Premier League top goalscorer, but also as a worthy pundit who knows just how to react to every situation.
Shearer comes into his own when he's asked to describe a football match first. It's easy to base opinion and description off what has been said by others before, but the formidable Geordie striker is excellent at being the first port of call. He is often the torchbearer to widespread debate and knows the importance of tone and vocabulary when narrating key moments.
Since Peter Drury has been hailed for his soliloquys and poetic additions to commentary, Shearer should at least be mentioned as his like-for-like in punditry. The man sure knows how to sum up a performance in a way that excites.
4 Alex Scott Employers: Features on BBC, CBS and TNT Sports
In the face of all adversities, Alex Scott has prevailed as one of the best women in football across both genders and in both the playing and punditry sides of the sport. Her heyday saw her capped 140 times for England, and she's the only entry on this list that boasts winning a quadruple – yet, even more impressively, is the way she can translate her experiences into a succinct account of analysis during the weekend's football lowdown.
On the criticism front, Scott is always the first to defend a player's poor performance and provide a different outlook on heated debates, making her a breath of fresh air from the foolhardy male pundits around her. She stands as a great incentive for more women to take the leap into sports broadcasting, while her versatility to cover pretty much any competition makes her a reliable option for any panel.
Above all of her attributes, the one that stands out in her punditry career is her fearlessness when talking about the issues that really matter. While everyone failed to stand up and take action against the Homophobia problems before, during, and after, the 2022 Qatar-hosted World Cup, Scott rejected threats from the government and FA, and she wore rainbow laces in defiance.
Again, this show of mettle is something highlighted in various flashpoints of her media journey so far. Roy Keane, Graeme Souness, and the like, all try their hand at no-nonsense and straight-from-the-shoulder journalism – but without effort, Scott achieves it best, all without unnecessary denunciation.
3 Emma Hayes Employers: Featured on ITV
For the most part, pundits like to dumb things down for the ordinary spectator. This way, anyone can watch football and quickly get to grips with what's happening. But for those connoisseurs who know the ins and outs of the sport, this style of punditry can become quite repetitive.
So to balance the humdrum with the sophisticated, ITV's decision to have four consecutive WSL winner and Chelsea women's manager Emma Hayes on screen throughout the 2023 Women's World Cup was wise.
The coach-turned-pundit is just as detailed in her journalism as she is in her management. A diary loaded with stats and facts makes for an in-depth and fascinating analysis before and after the ninety minutes are done. While others try to streamline football, Hayes teaches her viewers about the complexities.
Most pundits on this list have played and/or coached the very top players of the sport. However, it is with Hayes that this gravitas is felt most prevalent.
Often, she is joined by the likes of Alex Scott and Karen Carney, so her analytical detail doesn't take away the experience from the everyday viewer, it just adds to those wanting more.
2 Jamie Carragher Employer: Sky Sports
Everyone knows who number one is, but he'd be nothing without his right-hand man. Jamie Carragher has been dubbed an oracle of the sport in recent years, and after countless times he's delved into the history books to bring a new perspective to tactics and conversation. You can see why.
A show of his football IQ was best shown recently, when, on the topic of Champions League football, Carragher scrupulously reflected on Red Star Belgrade's 1991 European Cup triumph. In an entire TNT Sports segment dedicated to tactics in tournaments, he wowed fellow panelists with his apprehension on niche topics.
Jamie Carragher depicts a pundit who is completely and utterly obsessed with every aspect of football, past and present. This, coupled with his trademark sayings and comedic value, Sky Sports, as FourFourTwo said, would be empty without him.
Carragher might not be at the forefront of as many debates as his punditry partner, but the ex-Liverpool defender also offers the studio impartiality – an attribute needed in any TV lineup when you're paired with the maverick personalities of Graeme Souness, Roy Keane, among others.
1 Gary Neville Employer: Sky Sports
What Gary Neville does best is all of the above. There's not an entry before him that can do what he does at his quality, but he can match others on theirs. Whether it be a heated debate, a political outcry, or an all-out comedy skit, the former Manchester United and England right back can do it all, and there's a reason he's employed for all the big games.
Neville's knowledge, vocabulary, and fearlessness on any topic have made him the country's best footballing voice since a failed career change into management forced another rethink. Joined by Jamie Carragher, the two have gone on to form an Ant and Dec-like partnership that has been at the forefront of many great Monday night dramas in the Sky Sports studio.
In-game, Neville is just as passionate and effective at adding to the occasion. When a goal flies in or there's a contentious moment, viewers can always look to him for an emotion-fuelled reaction. While other pundits can often fall out of love with the beautiful game, Neville has only fallen deeper into adoration, and this is something showcased in his TV appearances.