[Politics] Alec Scott

[Larry Boyd]

Because they have no name value.

Alex Scott does.

Does she? I'd never heard of her until she started turning up on just about every TV programme going.

 

[Larry Boyd]

As long as you have a panel that consists of different skill sets and experiences they don’t have to be ex players. You may want an ex player to discuss some of the player interactions, positioning etc on the pitch and an ex manager to point out the tactical side and so on. Not saying that Scott offers anything but just that you dont need all ex players

You need ex or current male players or managers who have played or managed to the level they are offering their views on. That's my view and it doesn't make me a 'misogynist' or a 'sexist' I just want to hear the views of those who have played or managed to that level.

 

[schmunk]

Does she? I'd never heard of her until she started turning up on just about every TV programme going.

It's never a good thing to parade one's ignorance.

 

[Larry Boyd]

It's never a good thing to parade one's ignorance.

So I'm 'ignorant' because I hadn't heard of Alex Scott? Please can you explain why? I don't know who the current Female olympics javelin gold medalist is, does that also make me 'ignorant' ?

 

[Machiavelli]

How an earth does me saying I only want current or ex men as pundits on the men's game make me a misogynist? For the record I'm not a misogynist, I have deep love and respect for some women and have many women friends and colleagues.

The point I'm making is women's football is poor quality and whilst Carney has won caps / trophies it's at a standard way below the men's game therefore to me she has no credibility, I want to hear the views of Carragher, Neville, Ferdinand, Souness, guys who have played the game to a high level. Let Carney and Scott etc be pundits on the WSL.

Answer me this then: Why aren't lower league players ever pundits on Super Sunday or MNF?

You sound like Trump, Larry. Note, this is not a good thing.

 

[Gwylan]

So I'm 'ignorant' because I hadn't heard of Alex Scott? Please can you explain why? I don't know who the current Female olympics javelin gold medalist is, does that also make me 'ignorant' ?

NSC isn't a site about athletics though so it's not a good comparison.

 

[Larry Boyd]

You sound like Trump, Larry. Note, this is not a good thing.

Would you care to elaborate please? Many thanks.

 

[JBizzle]

How an earth does me saying I only want current or ex men as pundits on the men's game make me a misogynist? For the record I'm not a misogynist, I have deep love and respect for some women and have many women friends and colleagues.

The point I'm making is women's football is poor quality and whilst Carney has won caps / trophies it's at a standard way below the men's game therefore to me she has no credibility, I want to hear the views of Carragher, Neville, Ferdinand, Souness, guys who have played the game to a high level. Let Carney and Scott etc be pundits on the WSL.

Answer me this then: Why aren't lower league players ever pundits on Super Sunday or MNF?

For someone who had no idea who Alex Scott was until recently, you certainly have a detailed view on the quality of women's football. It's almost like a you're using a sweeping generalisation to make a weak point weaker.

On your question on lower league players being on MNF and Super Sunday, I do agree but Alex Scott also did a LOT of pre-work, punditry, a sport journalism course on top of playing a lot of football so getting those gigs involved doing a hell of a lot more graft than some of the existing pundits.

Whether people think she's a good pundit or not is entirely subjective, whether she's earned the chance to be on those panels isn't in my opinion.

 

[Badger]

Ally McCoist also 'beat what was in front of him' he also played and scored in a WC and EC and reached the European cup semi final with Rangers in 1993, some pub team that. Him Townsend, Savage have all played men's professional football therefore to me their views have credibility.

Have you actually listened to Townsend? He doesn't offer any insight into the match. He just states the obvious and reels off a list of cliches. The times he tries to offer an opinion he's usually proved wrong by a replay and changes his tune. Give me Alex Scott or Karen Carney over his mindless drivel any day of the week. At least they come across as knowledgable.

 

[Machiavelli]

Does she? I'd never heard of her until she started turning up on just about every TV programme going.

I'm presuming this is because you've never paid the slightest attention to women's football. And I'm also presuming that this is because you think that the watching, commenting on, presenting, managing, etc of football should be segregated by sex.

 

[Napper]

5 pages and still no bikini shots. Disappointing

 

[Stato]

Out of interest, is this because you find their analysis excellent or just because you only want to hear from ex-players who played at the very top?

Personally, aside from Neville and Carragher, I find the punditry from the top ex-pros pretty poor.

Keith Andrews, on the other hand, who wasn't exactly an elite footballer, is superb.

Good points. A couple of months back Graham Potter gave an excellent interview to Radio 5, talking in depth about his unusual journey to top level management and touching on how his philosophy has developed. At the end of the interview, when asked about the game at the weekend, he went straight back into the forward defensive mode that we are all so familiar with. The pundits who have played at a top level can provide interesting angles, but this 'where are your caps?' attitude means that everyone sings with one voice, everyone thinks that the top six is all that matters. It provides a tiny, through the keyhole, view of a massive world. Valuing pundits for their ability to talk compellingly, to get information across well, or to provide unusual insights would be far better than measuring them by the level they reached in the game. Footballers are successful because of an ability to express themselves physically, this shouldn't see them automatically qualify for a job expressing things verbally. A lot of them are not very good at that. That's why so many sports biographies are ghost written.

 

[albionalex]

Does she? I'd never heard of her until she started turning up on just about every TV programme going.

 

[Larry Boyd]

I'm presuming this is because you've never paid the slightest attention to women's football. And I'm also presuming that this is because you think that the watching, commenting on, presenting, managing, etc of football should be segregated by sex.

Correct I've never paid the slightest attention to women's football. Is that a crime? I don't pay the slightest attention to most sports other than Football and Cricket either. I wouldn't be able to tell you who Lewis Hamilton drives for as no interest in F1. I don't know who the fly half is for Wasps.

When have I said watching should be segregated by sex? Not once and you know why? Because I don't think that. You can over analyse and try and catch me out all you like but my stance is clear I want to see ex and current male professional players and managers as pundits, they've played and managed to that level. If Alex Scott had played upfront for the Arsenal men's team and had formed a prolific partnership with Thierry Henry I would be interested in her views.

 

[Larry Boyd]

View attachment 135879

Is a kids cartoon the best you can do? Do you also watch Harry Potter?

 

[Larry Boyd]

NSC isn't a site about athletics though so it's not a good comparison.

Fair point re athletics. But why am I ignorant because I'd never heard of Alex Scott?

 

[Larry Boyd]

Have you actually listened to Townsend? He doesn't offer any insight into the match. He just states the obvious and reels off a list of cliches. The times he tries to offer an opinion he's usually proved wrong by a replay and changes his tune. Give me Alex Scott or Karen Carney over his mindless drivel any day of the week. At least they come across as knowledgable.

Yes I have, you are welcome to your opinion about him.

 

[Stato]

Is a kids cartoon the best you can do? Do you also watch Harry Potter?

Oi! I don't care about your argument about women's football and Alex Scott, but The Simpsons is not a 'kids cartoon'. Okay, its rubbish now, but at its peak it was the most sophisticated, layered and culturally worthwhile television show in the world. Kids could enjoy it, but it was not for kids, it was for everyone.

(Or perhaps, everyone except my friend's dad who, when asked back in the day whether he was aware of it, replied with the glorious combination of aggressive dismissal and mistrust of anything unknown that only old blokes seem to be capable of, and said "What's that? Not those yellow b*stards?")

 

[Larry Boyd]

Oi! I don't care about your argument about women's football and Alex Scott, but The Simpsons is not a 'kids cartoon'. Okay, its rubbish now, but at its peak it was the most sophisticated, layered and culturally worthwhile television show in the world. Kids could enjoy it, but it was not for kids, it was for everyone.

(Or perhaps, everyone except my friend's dad who, when asked back in the day whether he was aware of it, replied with the glorious combination of aggressive dismissal and mistrust of anything unknown that only old blokes seem to be capable of, and said "What's that? Not those yellow b*stards?")

Stato: Each to their own mate. It's not for me however, but yeah fair points you made though given it's popularity, I guess I see it in the same way as birds football......no interest.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

My problem with pundits is not whether they are men or women, but that they are generally all ex players and this means that the 'insider view' becomes the accepted paradigm and allows for accusations that 'You don't know if you haven't played at the top level' that is lately being twisted to make a stick to beat female ex-players with. Yes, you want a sprinkling of ex players, but diversity is not just about gender, sexuality, race, nationality and class, it's also about background and perspective. I don't personally like Simon Jordan, but view his contributions as being of worth because he comes at the game from a different perspective to most pundits.

I would argue that some sports journalists and fans, who tend to watch far more football than most footballers do, would make for great pundits and would bring something different. Alex Scott is just as good at the job as any number of ex pros, but they all give a player's perspective and that is very limiting. By all means use Alex Scott and her fellow ex pros, but if non politicians are thought worthy of giving their opinions on Question Time, then why not on football programmes? The most entertaining people on sports TV in the last thirty years have been the likes of Des Lynam, Geoff Stelling and Mark Chapman, not their ex pro guests, so instead of giving the presenting jobs to the ex-pro pundits, give the pundit jobs to a wider variety of people. Who wouldn't be happy to occasionally not hear from Alan Smith, Chris Sutton, Robbie Savage, Alan Shearer, Mark Lawrenson, Garth Crooks or Lee Dixon, but instead get Eleanor Oldroyd, Henry Winter, Marina Hyde, Martin Samuel, David Conn, either of the Kelners, Paul Sinha, Bob Mortimer, Baker and or Kelly? What special insight do ex-Everton player Kevin Campbell and childhood Everton fan Jamie Carragher bring to punditry on Brighton v Everton that mean that the programme couldn't be bettered by one of them being replaced by Paul Hayward?

How about someone with 140 England caps AND a Sports Journalism degree? They'd be a fantastic choice, no?