There is a certain breed of football punditry that has become all too common in the modern game. It is lazy, patronising, and fundamentally dishonest...
There is a certain breed of football punditry that has become all too common in the modern game. It is lazy, patronising, and fundamentally dishonest in its analysis. And if you have found yourself listening to the airwaves recently, you will know exactly what I mean. GoalZaza has taken a long, hard look at the output of one particular radio show that dared to cast its gaze north of the border, and frankly, the result is embarrassing.Let us be clear about what we are dealing with here. This is not robust debate or healthy criticism of the Scottish game. This is the most petty and ill informed football analysis you will hear on any station, and the condescension drips from every segment. The panel appears to have done no more than skim a Wikipedia page before offering their verdicts on the quality of the Scottish Premiership. They talk about Rangers and Celtic as if they are curiosities in a museum rather than clubs with genuine European pedigree and a ruthless domestic edge. To hear them speak, you would think the rest of the league is simply there to make up the numbers, a collection of part time outfits kicking about in the rain. That is nonsense, and it is lazy in the extreme.The tactical nuance of a Scott Brown tackle, the relentless pressing of an Ange Postecoglou side, the sheer physicality of a midtable trip to Dingwall. These things are not on their radar. They see the product through a distorted lens, obsessed with the perceived lack of star names rather than the competitive spirit that makes the Scottish game so compelling. It is a classic case of metropolitan bias, where the only football that matters is the one played in the stadia they visit every weekend. They have forgotten that a low block at Tynecastle is just as difficult to break down as one at Selhurst Park, and that transitional play in Glasgow can be breathtakingly quick.Let me ask you this. How many of these pundits have actually sat through a full ninety minutes of a midweek fixture at Fir Park How many have watched the sheer desperation and drama of a relegation dogfight in the Championship The answer, I suspect, is very few. They rely on second hand reports and the echo chamber of social media chatter. It is a disservice to the fans who pay their hard earned money, to the managers who craft their game plans, and to the players who sweat every blade of grass. GoalZaza believes in holding the game to account, but that means doing your homework first. This was a report card with a failing grade, and the only thing it revealed was the abysmal standard of the people writing it.
