Can't get over how Southern biased and lazy this guy's punditry and writing is (not that he'll write it). - PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (Sky Bet odds 17/2) Bournemouth v Sunderland - Saturday, 3pm please log in to view this image Jermain Defoe helped Sunderland improve last time out I covered Bournemouth against Norwich, and was really looking forward to an open, attacking game, but Bournemouth were really poor. They were second best all game and that was a bad, bad result for them. I expect them to bounce back against Sunderland, who are struggling and will be doing all season. Bournemouth are not as bad as they were last week. They have been in the games they've lost, especially at Liverpool. - I always look out for his articles to laugh at how one sided they are. He basically is saying Bournemouth were ****e, doesn't acknowledge we were good against Spuds, but that Bournemouth will still beat us. He mentions 'Sunderland' once (mentioned just as much in his Swansea vs. Everton preview) in a sentence about how Bournemouth will bounce back against us............and then he quickly mentions Bournemouth again. Thing is, he could be right, we might lose. Honestly though no budding sports writer would be let anywhere near a professional media site if they were as piss poor lazy as this guy. He is sooooo soooo **** at his job. This simple fact is, if 'Merse' was a piss-head, pig **** thick, career footballer for a Northern team he wouldn't have his job now. He's a lucky lucky man. Just waiting for that patronising, arrogant, gobshite Wilshire to retire in the next couple of years from a combo of injury and the tabs and walk (limp) into a role just like Merse. There's some terrible pundits about. Lineker, Sheera Sheera, Murphy, Neville and Terry Henry are the only decent ones in my opinion.
Merson is a smeg stain. Was he part of the arsenal team that went unbeaten the whole season or have i got my timing wrong?
@comm: think he was at boro by that point if not retired. he's a fat, washed-up, gerard-depardieu-looking motherfucker whos punditry leaves a lot to be desired but it's an old-boys club over at sky/talk sport. it doesn't matter if you can do the job so long as your banter with the lads covers up everyone's shortcomings.
Until we start proving him wrong I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully quite soon.
Lawro has us to lose 2-0 and reckons our signings are uninspiring and thinks we're going to struggle to score goals. Oh, and relegation beckons. He also thinks the Mags who have only scored 2 goals all season, are going to win tomorrow 2-0. Strange that!
The two things that sum up Merson for me are the time that he claimed that the Wear-Tyne derby wasn't a real derby (inexplicable even by his standards) and the fact that despite his colleagues openly laughing in his face every week he still can't be arsed to learn how to pronounce anybody's name. I have no respect for him as a pundit. I don't like Lineker either but for different reasons. Even after all this time he's still quite awkward on camera, and his last funny pun was about 15 years ago. Doesn't stop him trying one in every sentence though.
I wish they had actual journalist types. Ones that have actually trained in their discipline, not the sort who just stir things for a reaction. Just because you played the game doesnt automatically mean you are the best person to discuss or analyse it. Lineker seems to be going down the banter more with each passing day.
I don't mind TV pundits having negative opinions on Sunderland, but it does wind me up when they don't back their opinions up with some solid reasoning Merson does it all of the time, the guys just a ****ing idiot, he manages to even make Chris Kamara look like he knows what he's talking about. He might turn out to be right and we get beat and have a tough season (Don't have to be Nostradamus to make that prediction like) but being paid to make predictions for the weekend games he should be at least trying to explain his thinking behind them.
We need to prove him wrong before we start attacking him for doing his job, he is only repeating what the rest of the world and the bookies think, this should help Dick's team talk before the game, " go on show them just how wrong they all are " or words to that effect,.
I think some of us are a bit precious about these things. Bournemouth have been half decent and are at home, I'd imagine most folk away from Wearside would fancy them.
Messrs Owen and Hoddle take the biscuit for me, I cant bear listening to either of the but I do like Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher the best team on football for years.
Can't really blame the pundits can you? When I put my predictions on I tend to go off current form. No one has the time to sit & watch every game in full.
LAWRO'S PREDICTION At the moment I cannot see a way out for Sunderland. With the players they have signed, they do not inspire me to say they will definitely be in the Premier League come May. Just looking at them at the moment, I am even struggling to see them winning a game. Cheers Lawro. They've all got it in for us.
It's not just Merson though is it, the BBC football website run a rolling sportsman news feature, they proudly state that all Premiership press conferences are covered. Well DA has his conference at midday and the BBC site covered it by saying who was fit and who was injured for tomorrow, no manager or player quotes, every other manager has quotes about their respective games, even Eddie Howe has his say about tomorrow's game, players from various clubs are also quoted, nothing from SAFC. Also part of this news item Phil McNulty their star football journalist is answering questions from fans, someone asked who he thought would go down this season, he says his initial pick was Watford, Leicester and Norwich, which he says could now be way out (after just six games) and he feels that Sunderland must now be included as strong possible for the drop, he wouldn't give an opinion about our neighbour's as he gave up trying to predict them a long time ago. I know this might sound petty but I'm sick of our club being given such a negative outlook by all the media, I know the lads have got to turn things around on the pitch, but we don't get the rub of the green media wise.
Think most of them are useless really. I like Gary Neville as a pundit and there are times when Carragher is alright but he's borderline for me (like the other day when he said Newcastles spending over the past few seasons rivalled the teams competing for champions league spots... really Jamie?). I think Shearer has improved a lot, he used to be pretty poor (as he churned out clichés in a monotone voice) but he seems to be much more tactically aware nowadays (would have been handy if he'd done that BEFORE managing us) and generally avoids commenting on Newcastle (which I think is a good thing!). When he reviews Sunderland I've not heard him say much I thought was unfair. He's still not great, just decent when compared to some absolute turds.
We're actually locking out a lot of the press to run it through our site mate. The club has lost of faith in the press and only give decent access to a select few.
I think this will become more normal. There are agreements for certain press appearances which are compulsory but other than that clubs seem to be moving towards a feeling of "if we're not getting anything out of this then **** off" towards the press. The negatives of granting access to all outweigh the positives.
