Football fans have Geoff Shreeves to thank for Gary Neville becoming one of Sky Sports’ leading pundits – along with a host of other former players.
Shreeves began working for the broadcaster at the start of the Premier League era, often working as a touchline reporter and post-match interviewer. His proximity to star players during matchdays meant that another part of his job was to scout for the next generation of analysts.
Neville joined Sky Sports in 2011 and garnered instant acclaim before earning further plaudits for his work on Monday Night Football. The Manchester United legend may divide opinion but arguably would not have joined the broadcaster if Shreeves had not made the first move.
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“Part of my role at Sky was to always be on the lookout for new talent,” Shreeves told Ben Foster’s Fozcast. “It was always players. I mean, we stalked Niall Quinn for ages because, having heard him on the radio, he’s such a good speaker and he’s an intelligent guy.
“As soon as you hear somebody, your ears prick up and you think, ‘That guy, he’ll be a really good studio pundit’. You could always tell. Gary had already done TV, he was at ITV, but my bosses were editorial, former newspapermen, so I was kind of front of house. I contacted Gary and it basically went from there.”
Shreeves left Sky at the end of last season but did help usher in the current generation of pundits. Using Foster as an example, Shreeves demonstrated how his job helped him, when tasked with convincing former stars to step into a studio.
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He added: “I did the same with Jamie Redknapp, I did the same with Alan Shearer when he came over to Sky as well. I get the credit for bringing them because I was the initial contact.
“When you and I didn’t know each other, you knew me. You’d have said, ‘That’s the little fat bloke from Sky’. You knew who the bloke from Sky was and that is your credibility in terms of the football world.
“What we look for – I still say we – in the best co-commentators, it’s a really simple thing. Tell me something I don’t know, don’t tell me what I can see. It’s quite hard for former players because it’s something they do matter of factly.”