Micah Richards was left shocked by Alan Shearer’s list of football’s top 10 best pundits.
The former Premier League stars were assigned the task of ranking a list of 10 pundits from past and present, including themselves, for Match of the Day’s Top 10 podcast.
Richards and Shearer were joined on the shortlist by Ian Wright, Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Jimmy Hill, Rio Ferdinand, Graeme Souness, Alan Hansen and, last but not least, Roy Keane.
One of the aforementioned pundits is sadly no longer with us. Jimmy Hill, the former Match of the Day presenter, passed away at the age of 87 in December 2015.
Alan Hansen, meanwhile, bowed out of punditry in 2014 after 22 years as a central figure in the BBC’s football coverage.
Richards has been a breath of fresh air since entering the world of punditry several years ago.
The ex-Manchester City and England defender is a busy man, appearing regularly on the BBC, Sky Sports and CBS Sports. He’s worked alongside the vast majority of pundits on the shortlist and subsequently finds himself in a pretty strong position to judge.
Shearer has been on the punditry scene for a lot longer than Richards and works for both the BBC and Premier League Productions.
Video: Richards shocked by Shearer’s list of top 10 pundits
There was one particularly amusing moment during the top 10 discussion where Richards was left howling in disbelief as Shearer named Keane and Carragher in ninth and eighth spot, respectively.
Richards had Keane and Carragher in his top three and couldn’t believe what he was hearing from Shearer, who had just named Micah in 10th spot.
Watch the funny clip here:
Alan Shearer’s top 10
Let’s have a closer look at Shearer’s top 10 list in full:
10. Micah Richards
9. Roy Keane
8. Jamie Carragher
7. Alan Shearer
6. Jimmy Hill
5. Alan Hansen
4. Rio Ferdinand
3. Gary Neville
2. Graeme Souness
1. Ian Wright
A few surprises there, aside from Keane and Carragher being ranked so low down Shearer’s list.
Souness above Neville? Wright in top spot? Interesting shouts, for sure.
Micah Richards’ top 10
10. Jimmy Hill
9. Micah Richards
8. Rio Ferdinand
7. Alan Hansen
6. Graeme Souness
5. Alan Shearer
4. Ian Wright
3. Roy Keane
2. Gary Neville
1. Jamie Carragher
Many would agree with Richards’ assessment that Sky Sports duo Neville and Carragher belong at the top of the list.
“I think with Gary Neville, with the whole Super League thing… I always look at how pundits react when there’s breaking news,” Richards commented. “In breaking news moments he’s one of the best around. He’s articulate, he’s passionate, and he speaks a lot of sense – the majority of the time!”
Asked why he had Carragher above Neville, Richards added: “Because I think in terms of analysis, I think he’s the best. He watches absolutely everything, he’s got strong opinions and the effort he puts into it is second to none.”
Final list: MOTD Top 10 Pundits
And here’s the final list, with host Gary Lineker having the final say:
10. Micah Richards
9. Jimmy Hill
8. Rio Ferdinand
7. Alan Hansen
6. Alan Shearer
5. Roy Keane
4. Graeme Souness
3. Jamie Carragher
2. Gary Neville
1. Ian Wright
