Richard Keys has found himself back in the headlines again after he gave his two cents worth on Sky and BT Sport in an interview with The Independent.
In summary, he claims he was the brains behind Gary Neville joining Sky, he also thinks that the novelty of Neville and Carragher will soon wear off, he believes Saturday Night Football is a rehash of a failed format they tried 10 years ago, that Sky will miss old experienced heads like himself and Andy Gray in the battle with BT Sport, and that their show on Al Jazeera has a hell of a lot more analysts.
Now one could jump to a conclusion that he's still very bitter about his Sky departure but is there an argument that he's making fair points here?
He says that himself and Geoff Shreeves met with Neville and Ryan Giggs about becoming pundits. Fair enough. Then he goes onto to criticise Neville about his split loyalties, given his role in the England set-up,
'I don't think he can serve both masters – Sky and England ... He was having a little pop at David De Gea and seven days later Joe Hart was every bit as bad and worse, and yet he didn't get out his microscope and dissect his performances. If it was because he's the England goalkeeper, only he can tell us.
You can't serve both masters honestly, fairly, and without compromise in my opinion. He's got to do one or the other.'
Now, we at Balls are as amongst the G unit's biggest fans but Keys' theory isn't one of nonsense. He also gives his verdict on the addition of Carragher to Monday Night Football, saying, 'We used to bring guests in occasionally when Andy and I were doing it. It never worked. Too many people in the same place trying to say the same thing.'
Time will tell with Carragher and Neville but Keys may indeed be proved right. The same with his opinion on the new Saturday Night Football show:
'I know what they've tried to do. They've tried to emulate the Top Gear format, which is sensational. The boys do that brilliantly. But it's a different show. It's their call.'
However his old dog for the hard argument about Sky's battle with BT Sport holds little water:
'One of the things that was overlooked was the fact that of course – and I don't say this with any arrogance, it's just a fact – with any previous challenge, Andy and I have been there, it was the establishment. It saw off challenges almost as if they hadn't happened.
'Everything has changed now. There is a lot of youth about the place.'
Who let that 14-year-old Edward Chamberlin into the building?
