Sky haven’t really covered themselves in glory when it’s come to picking their pundits for Scottish football in recent years.
It does feel like they think it’s enough that a former player is in the studio and the coverage is fairly poor, so it was a breath of fresh air to see Shaun Maloney on the coverage today.
Even if you don’t agree with every point that he made, he spoke well and actually gave some opinions and facts to back up any points that he wanted to make rather than simply trying to shout louder than anyone else in the studio and thinking that’s enough.
He also showed some good tactical knowledge and you come away from his punditry feeling like you’ve learned something about the game we’re about to watch, so it would be good to see him on a regular basis.
He currently works for Belgium as a coach and it’s clear that he’s highly regarded in that role, so there are some fans who are even calling for him to return to the club in some capacity after being impressed by him today:
The way Shaun maloney talks and his knowledge of the game is absolutely excellent. He’d be a brilliant addition to our back room staff when this rebuild starts. Do it @CelticFC
— Sean McCrory (@SeanMcCrory8) February 14, 2021
Shaun Maloney sounds like a Mensa level scientist when stood next to James McFadden. Seriously though, he’s really quite good. Like the way he talks about the game.
— Melldo)))o)))m (@melldoom) February 14, 2021
Shaun Maloney is a future Celtic manager, just needs to get some experience in the job first.
— Coventry Emerald CSC (@CovEmeraldCSC) February 14, 2021
Shaun Maloney top-class on pre-match build-up. Reckon he’ll be a top manager in his own right.
— scranmerchant (@scranmerchant) February 14, 2021
I like Maloney sky should get him doing more of our games and celtic for that matter
— James McQ🍀🏴 (@JamesMcQ80) February 14, 2021
Shaun maloney very articulate and speaks well
— Joseph Reynolds (@JosephNReynolds) February 14, 2021
Granted it’s a really small sample size, but I’m quite impressed with how Shaun Maloney thinks about and analyses the game during this pre match build up stuff. I think he’s an outstanding manager in the making.
— Jonny Holiday (@janek_9) February 14, 2021
