THE POWER Confirmation Bias
JONNY BRICK GIVES FIVE ,BARNETAESRONNASLYWSHIYS,PAUSNDHIETCRAYL,LOSR IT, , REMAINS A KEY PILLAR OF TODAY S FOOTBALL COVERAGE...
Every aspect of punditry is thus a referendum on the pundit, just as every assist backs up the supremacy of a creative midfielder or every tackle or block adds value and importance to a centre-back.
Pundits offer fans confirmation that they are right to think as they do, giving them permission to criticise or lampoon players or managers who, to take an anonymous example, throw their runners-up medals into the crowd, bait fans into believing their team has been treated badly by an iffy referee or poke a rival coach in the eye.
On the other hand, maybe people like that anonymous Portuguese coach who, after all, conquered Barcelona with his Inter Milan side in 2010 by parking not one bus but a whole fleet. To those people, the game is less about disaster and more about triumph, more trophies than Pyrrhic victories.
In one of his few public interventions, the late Sir Bobby Charlton counselled against Manchester United appointing Jose Mourinho, telling Jamie Jackson of the Guardian in 2012: “He pontificates too much for my liking. He’s a good manager, though.”
Yet, he added, a manager of Manchester United would not poke a fellow coach in the eye.
After talking about United, Charlton also gave his opinion on England’s likely success at the 2014 World Cup, where they went on to flop.
“We have to have some physically strong players to cope out there,” he said sagely, although this comment could have been made in 1914 or 1964. Charlton was promoting a foundation which supported victims of landmines, a fantastic use of his status and good name. After briefly moving into coaching, he opted for an ambassadorial role; there was not much of a market for punditry when he retired in the mid-1970s, although his brother Jack gained some fame on the small screen.
When a good player speaks, his words carry weight. Johan Cruyff became a respected pundit when he wasn’t falling out