Alan Hansen retiring at the end of this season

[beorhthelm]

You can't take away what Hansen has achieved in football but his charisma and Liverpool biased makes you want to yell at the tv regardless of what he says. Neville on the otherhand comes across very well and is not afraid to say what he thinks, even if it means upsetting Utd supporters by ripping into the team if they under perform, something Hansen rarely does if at all with Liverpool.

isnt this a myth, like Lawro never talking about his time at Brighton (because he isnt asked)?

 

[Albumen]

I hope it means Pat Nevin gets a bit more of a go. I find him insightful & very knowledgable. Unfortunately though I don't think he's a big enough name.

Yup, and not forgetting his great music taste.

Hansen was great to begin with for the first 5 years but he doesnt have enough conversation to banter intelligently. That said, Shearer is still there.

 

[spring hall convert]

What I don’t understand is why it has to be a pro footballer in this role. Whilst Gabriel Marcotti is the epitome of smug, he gives more insight in his 2nd language than Shearer could dream about in his 1st. The obsession with using footballers who can barely use a word with more than 2 syllables mystifies me. Gary Neville is brilliant but that’s it – There must be more than that out there or equally there must be people who can speak about the game articulately that shouldn’t be discounted from being employed as an expert because they haven’t played pro football.

Absolutely spot on. It's the same with cricket coverage now, there are some great journo's out there who would likely do the job better & cheaper.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

I am yet to get the call.

Maybe that's because because you are ex-directory Ninja. Hansen was one of my fave ever centre-backs, but as a pundit l find him extremely irritating. Everything or everybody with him is either fantastic or useless, black or white, never any centre ground.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I don't understand the thinking. There are very few intelligent footballers past and present. Hansen IS one of the few. And of the few, many are too bland for TV, i.e. Southgate.

The problem with MOTD is that it is too predictable - Hansen does the defence, Shearer does the attack, Lineker does the jokes and they all pay golf in the week. I think the show could have got more out of Hansen if they'd have varied the format. Sky do this so much better now, but there's still room for a battle of wits.

Pretty soon, everyone will get bored with Gary Neville because everything he says will be accepted as gospel, and it will be a repeat of Hansen. Jamie Carragher and Neville working together is interesting viewing but I bet Hansen and Neville would be good viewing too.

 

[Fitzcarraldo]

It just makes no sense why the BBC retains these people on such large contracts. As other have stated, Gary Linekar is a good presenter, but does that warrant paying him a reported £1.5 million a year? He's stated in the past that he could earn far more elsewhere and so that justifies his high salary. Didn't Des Lynam do something similar? I wonder what happened to him? In my opinion the pundits should be PAYING to appear on the BBC, or at least take a nominal appearance fee, they easily make up the money in adverts, newspaper columns and appearance fees elsewhere off the back of the exposure they recieve.

MOTD would be a much better programme if it just did away with the punditry altogether and went along the lines of the Bundesliga show on ITV 4. For those who appreciate watching the likes of Alan Hansen and Alan Shearer sprawled on a sofa spouting cliches and trusims they could always be kept on MOTD 2.

 

[Austrian Gull]

About time that the golfing mafia from MOTD was culled.

Should have started with Shearer, though. He's absolutely shite.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

I think Hansen remains very good and I am sorry he is leaving.

However, Sky are streets ahead in terms of pundits (with the exception of Carragher).

Both the BBC and ITV are decidedly lacking.

 

[leigull]

Gave up watching the 'analysis' on MOTD a long time ago. Record it then fast forward through everything other than the football. Hansen is not the worst, but he Shearer, Lawrenson et al offer nothing other than the simple 'say what you see' type of comments. Pointless and tedious to the extreme. Sky have progressed with their coverage, BBC are still stuck in the past.

 

[leigull]

Really like the Revista show on Sky for the La Liga round up each week. They don't show as much of the football as you get on MOTD, and not the same type of analysis, but the guests, especially this season, have been really interesting. The chairman of Valencia was on last week and was fantastic for example.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Gave up watching the 'analysis' on MOTD a long time ago. Record it then fast forward through everything other than the football. Hansen is not the worst, but he Shearer, Lawrenson et al offer nothing other than the simple 'say what you see' type of comments. Pointless and tedious to the extreme. Sky have progressed with their coverage, BBC are still stuck in the past.

Exactly the same, here. Apart from some of the manager interviews. I hate the 'live' one Lineker does with one manger each week though. That's a bit shit.

The analysis stuff in between adds zero value. A sofa of middle aged bores stating the blindingly obvious.

 

[Wilko]

I must be in the minority here because I like Lineker, Hansen et al. Like a comforting, warm pair of slippers for a Saturday evening when you cannot be arsed to go out.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I must be in the minority here because I like Lineker, Hansen et al. Like a comforting, warm pair of slippers for a Saturday evening when you cannot be arsed to go out.

My appraisal of how good they are, does factor in the fact that they are paid MILLIONS of pounds of our money, to sit and spout the obvious.

 

[Westdene Wonder]

I am sure I read that Lineker has signed a new contract at a reduced fee, he does a decent presenters job but I can do without the so called experts opinions, less talk and more football suits me.