Why the jury is still out on BT’s novice pundits

Presenters will need time to get used to a tough job.

BT Sport launched last week to much fanfare. But three days and one live game later, the fanfare is being drowned out by criticism.

There’s been plenty said about the customer service side of things, where confusion seems to reign.

That’s hardly surprising. Chaos and call centres go hand in hand.

But as far as I’m concerned, what’s more interesting is the stick being dished out to the pundits.

The bosses at BT Sport won’t like that. After all, in total they’ve chucked over a billion pounds at it in an effort to get things right.

In an effort to compete with Sky, they’ve brought in the likes of Michael Owen, Steve McManaman, David James and Owen Hargreaves.

They’re all big names, but when it comes to quality punditry, the level of insight is far more important.

In that respect, Sky have the top guy in Gary Neville.

And from what I’ve seen from BT Sport so far, they have a bit of work still to do.

That’s not to knock the guys involved. They’re all just starting out in the media game.

I’ve been there myself and it’s a steep learning curve.

And as far as jobs go, there are few better opportunities in the world for an ex-player.

Working in the media gives you an opportunity to stay involved in the game without the hassle and responsibility of being a manager.

But being a pundit brings responsibilities all of its own.

It’s not just a case of sitting on the sofa and offering up bland interpretations of incidents. Or at least it shouldn’t be.

To be a successful pundit, you have to have an opinion and it has to be informed by a level of expertise beyond that of your average punter.

In addition, you have to know when to criticise and you have to be gutsy enough to do it, regardless of friendships.

That’s the hardest thing.

Especially when the people you’re commenting on are guys you’ve played or worked with.

For the BT Sport guys, that will be the case.

Michael Owen only retired from playing at the end of last season, Owen Hargreaves was at Manchester City the season before.

McManaman and James are certainly a bit older, but they’re both still very well connected.

That can make expressing opinions especially negative ones seem difficult.

God knows I’ve struggled at times. You really have to battle with yourself, especially early in your career, when one false move or daft comment could finish you for good before you’ve even got going.

When you’re inexperienced and lacking in confidence, it can be very hard to talk confidently in front of the cameras.

But when you get right down to it, that’s what they are paid to do, and in the media game, if you don’t have an opinion, you’re basically an imposter.

I don’t think the BT guys are in that camp. I really just think they need time to get used to the job.

And when that happens, that’s when we’ll see what the new channel is really made of.