Is Tim Sherwood the worst pundit in English football? Ask Cole Palmer
Is there really any further need for any of us to be subjected to any more Tim Sherwood?
Really, the correct time for broadcasters to stop using Sherwood as a pundit was before they started, but that he somehow lingers in the B and C lists for a job that he clearly doesnāt consider worthy of any effort is becoming extremely tedious.
Itās not just that heās not very good at it and has absolutely nothing of interest to add to any conversation beyond the blandest and most superficial Proper Football Man platitudes, cliches and catchphrases, itās not just that heās got an irritating voice that guffs out this mush he calls punditry, itās not just that Sherwood has done absolutely nothing in the last 25 years to justify his apparent standing in the industry.
It is all those things, but itās more. Heās just quite clearly, quite obviously, quite unpleasant, isnāt he? Now that might be less of a problem if he possessed genuine wit, or was notably articulate, or possessed a specific skill for breaking the game down and helping viewers understand it.
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Similarly, he might be able to get away with having no insight or wisdom to share were he an entertaining and engaging screen presence.
But he isnāt. Just the unpleasantness and the tired old āheās got to score from there and heāll be disappointed with that, at the end of the dayā punditry style.
His post-match interview ā if we can call it that ā with Cole Palmer after Chelseaās 3-2 win over Newcastle was simply excruciating.
āAll you need are some players to play with,ā chucklef***ed the former Spurs and Villa embarrassment by way of an opening gambit, casually calling all Palmerās team-mates sh*t and expecting to getā¦what? A laugh? Agreement?
As Palmer stared back at Sherwood with barely-concealed disgust, the great man bumbled on.
āI know you canāt say that, but Iām saying it. I just think you need more quality around you.
āFor me, [Pochettino] needs to build the team around you ā with the quality you have, but that will come with a few transfer windows hopefully once he gets the right players in.ā
Palmer, to his enormous credit, dealt with it admirably. But he shouldnāt have to. A young player enjoying a truly exciting breakthrough season in an admittedly struggling side shouldnāt have to defend the quality within the squad.
He did so, nimbly dodging the trap Sherwood had so artlessly set, with a boilerplate āthereās lots of quality hereā response.
In case you missed it, Tim Sherwood asked the most insane question in the history of TV punditry last night https://t.co/gzPr1V3T1g
ā Football Ramble (@FootballRamble) March 12, 2024
But what else could he say? We can complain about media-coached players all we like, but we also canāt really expect to get a young up-and-coming star like Palmer come on the telly and go āYeah, I am the best, and everyone else here is crap tbh.ā
What was the best Sherwood thought would happen here? Thereās just a total lack of empathy or understanding of Palmerās position, and thatās supposed to be the one most basic and fundamental thing former players and coaches can bring to the table.
Sherwood has no filter. No way of behaving differently around a young player making his way than he would when slapping thighs and exchanging anecdotes with his PFM mates. And, ironically, this made him come across as the child in the exchange. A PFM manchild.
Thereās just really no logical reason why Sherwood should remain gainfully employed in this role. He adds nothing to it, and treats it with contempt anyway.
Remember that time he couldnāt even be bothered to confirm which way the teams were playing in his Soccer Saturday game and started teeing off at the ref for not giving a penalty when he had in fact correctly awarded a free-kick to the defending side? Itās such a revealing mistake, because itās a mortifying error that no broadcaster should ever be able to come back from, but instead itās a few chuckles with Merse after Clinton Morrison painstakingly explains to the former professional footballer and manager alongside him what the difference is between an attacker and a defender.
The contrast with someone like Daniel Sturridge is enormous.
Now maybe weāre being unfair in comparing the worst pundit in the country to our new favourite, but weāre going to do it anyway because, frankly, f*ck Tim Sherwood.
Look at how engaging Sturridge is, for a start. Look at the obvious thought and effort he puts in to the job. Look at the way he has already become the go-to man for precise, informative analysis of strikers.
Without wandering too far off topic, itās actually something thatās been lacking for a while. We always want Alan Shearer to become that pundit but he never quite has. Searing analysis of defenders has always been readily available and we still get that from your Nevilles and your Carraghers but it seems to have been ages since weāve had a forward who can do likewise and bring that clear been-there-done-that advantage to the role that a mere mortal cannot.
Thatās what we want, and itās not much to ask. Sturridge is both engaging and informative, but it really isnāt much to expect any former player in one of these roles to be at the very least one of the two.
Can we please have no more of Sherwood offering no insight in an unpleasant manner. And while weāre here, no, he didnāt ādiscover Harry Kaneā either. And even if he had, weād still rather hear what Sturridge has to say about him.
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