Starting a successful career in football television broadcasting is often considered to be as difficult as actually starting a professional footballing career. Some would even say that in order to work within this industry you would need to have been a professional footballer, or at-least have some previous association to the game. Take for example, the line-up of Saturday nights popular Match of The Day (MOTD) football highlights show, presented by Gary Lineker (Ex-pro and former England Captain), and most commonly guest presented by pundits Alan Shearer (Ex-pro), Mark Lawrenson (Ex-pro), and Alan Hansen (Ex-pro). Similarly, Sky Sports newly appointed main pundit Gary Neville has only just finished hanging up his boots at Manchester United, while his controversial predecessor Andy Gray, also began his career as a professional footballer. Andy now works as a presenter for talkSPORT.
Who Are The Real Industry Experts? It seems almost stupid to question the rationale behind it. If you wanted another workingmans opinion of the beautiful game you would quite simply go to your local pub. The reason why footballs broadcasting elite are predominantly made up of ex professionals and managers is because these are the industry experts, who, for want of a better expression, live and breathe the game. There are however, as always, exceptions to the rule, and we are now beginning to see a number of profiles from non-football related backgrounds making their mark on this tough corner of the industry. Notable characters include, Colin Murray, who began his career as a Radio 1 music show host, (now presenter of Sundays Match of the Day 2), Gabby Logan, a former radio show presenter (currently working as a BBC Sport correspondent), and Adrian Chiles whos early career included BBCs Business Breakfast and producing Radio 4s Financial World Tonight (now ITV Sport presenter).
The Nation's Favourite Sport Football is without a doubt the nations favourite sport, and everyone has an opinion on football. The English premierships reach is global, and as a result television rights total £billions. This makes football one of televisions most viewed and profitable markets of the television industry, and means football journalists and presenters opinions have become ever more influential. For example, over 145,000 people follow Richard Keys and Andy Grays talkSPORT twitter account for latest news coverage and expert opinion on games. Their match predictions are likely to impact on £thousands worth of bets nationwide. With that in mind, top jobs within football television broadcasting and journalism will always be difficult to attain, and like most other sports, subject to constant scrutiny. Making a name for yourself without ever officially being a part of the game itself will always prove harder than stepping out of a successful club or managerial career, however if youre talented and passionate enough about the sport then radio and article writing are probably the next natural route. Although the odds may seem stacked against the typical TV graduate or budding journalism student, there is still hope of securing one of football punditry's top television jobs. Like most careers nowadays the typical career path has become progressively less defined, leaving the door open for people of all backgrounds and professions to make their names in sports most televised industry. Who makes the greatest pundits, ex-players or "professional fans"? Share your thoughts below.