WE’RE NOW INTO the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 and as the stakes get higher, so to does the requirements to make it into our pundit power ranking.
There’s one very high-profile pundit skirting with dropping off the list together while a familiar — though not entirely welcome — face becomes a new entry.
Will your favourite talking head make it?
10. Eamon Dunphy (down three)
Pros: “What goes around comes around baby”
Cons: Everything else Dunphy has said over the past week including, but not limited to, believing John O’Shea is Fabio Cannavaro and Franz Beckenbauer combined, the constant pot shots at James McCarthy and the fact he claimed that, when there were less facilities for players, there were “50 Messis walking the streets of Dublin”.
9. Thierry Henry (new entry)
https://www.facebook.com/BBCMOTD/videos/10154388267390982/
France were playing Ireland and Henry was in the studio. Of COURSE the BBC were going to mention that handball.
In fairness to Henry, he took it well.
8. Damien Duff (down three)
Duff has let himself down over the past week by reverting to cliche more often than not and becoming less the new Gary Neville and more a smarter dressed Eamon Dunphy.
We did get a laugh out of his response to what motivation Ireland would need to beat France, however:
“1. They’d go through to the last 8
“2. They’d play England
“3. Thierry Henry”
7. Kenny Cunningham (up one)
Cunningham has been used primarily on the RTÉ highlights show but that doesn’t take away from the level of his analysis.
He was particularly strong when talking about Ireland’s high-pressing game versus Italy and probably wonders what he’s done wrong to miss out on one of the ‘big three’ seats.
6. Lothar Matthäus - (new entry)
A quick Twitter search of Lothar Matthäus tells you two things. One, people really struggle to spell the former German midfield general’s name and, two, that his analysis on ITV really divides opinion.
We’re big fans — the guy captained his country to a World Cup afterall — when he sticks to the football. The attempts at humour… not so much.
5. Slaven Bilic (no change)
Sadly, this is the last we’ll see of Bilic in the power rankings as he has the small matter of his day job as West Ham manager to head back to so can’t spend his time giving the likes of Lee Dixon and Ian Wright a lesson in how to analyse a football match.
Still, we’ll always have this:
4. Gianluca Vialli (down one)
Vialli is the best BBC pundit by some distance — which, we suppose, is not difficult with the likes of Alan Shearer and Mark Lawrenson — and the only reason he has slipped this week is that we could really do with seeing more of him.
Vialli or Robbie Savage? Is it really a choice?
3. Graeme Souness (down one)
What Souness does well is point out things that are really obvious… but only after he’s pointed them out.
Take his assertion that Jack Wilshere is more injury prone than other English players because his first instinct is to put his head down and run with the ball rather than pass it.
This results in more injuries. It’s a simple thing, but he does it about as well as anyone on TV.
2. Richie Sadlier (down one)
The man who scored in a Uefa u18 third-placed playoff hasn’t really put a foot wrong and his thesis, after the loss to Italy, that Irish players are not coached to play in a variety of positions is painfully true.
However, as is often the case at this stage of tournament football, German guile and efficiency has come to the fore.
1. Dietmar Hamann (up three)
Hamann has perhaps had the quote of the tournament when he said that England ‘worked’ football rather than played it and he’s not afraid to speak harsh truths about Ireland’s failings either.
Like his country, few would back against him being top of the pile come the end of the tournament.
Disagree, of course you do, let us know who you’d have number one and why in the comments below.
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