Graeme Souness has no plans to leave football pundits Photo: Ash Donelon/Getty Images
As Graeme Souness sits on his sofa chair, conversation comes to whether you need to win the European Cup to be a good pundit. “Everyone can get lucky one day,” he jokes. He is reminded that this happened more than once, although it happened three times in his career. “Other than that, it’s not luck.”
These wins at Wembley, the Parc des Princes and the Stadio Olimpico, as well as five league titles, put Souness in an authoritative position when it comes to football broadcasting. However, his 15 years at Sky Sports were defined by what was said rather than by his trophies and illustrious playing career.
In his opinion, in modern football it is becoming increasingly difficult to be an expert. Use the right words while remaining honest and critical when necessary. At 70, Souness has not taken a step back in this regard. He appeared on screen again in ITV's coverage of Manchester United's dramatic FA Cup victory over Liverpool before the international break, and he will also be present at the Euros for Scotland's opener against Germany.
“I have never I won’t retire,” Souness told Telegraph Sport. “I will retire when the phone stops ringing.”
And according to Souness, there is one key factor behind his longevity. “Be honest,” he says. “I know we need to be very careful what words we choose now, but be as honest as possible and consistent. And just be real. It's getting harder and harder for the guys who are doing it now.”
But despite his successes as both a player and pundit, Souness doesn't believe in the theory that you have to achieve everything to analyze everything the best.
“It's like saying Arsene Wenger or Jose Mourinho. didn’t have to be great managers,” he notes. “Winning the European Cup doesn't mean you're good at something.
“There are people I'll listen to. There are people to whom I think: “No, you have nothing that I could learn from you at all.” It's just me. When you look at people on TV, I'm sure you're exactly the same. I'm not different. There are people I will listen to and there are people I won’t listen to.”
It had been 10 months since he last attended Super Sunday, dressed in an impeccable suit and giving the audience his opinion, regardless of whether they opposed those of his colleagues. Souness says he was delighted to be back at ITV last week and it wasn't as if he was waiting by the phone to ring. His radio work, podcasts and charity work have kept him even busier than when he was at Sky Sports. He had no time to reflect on the fact that he was at the center of a Premier League that had gone through the roof during his time as a broadcaster. This means he has a very busy schedule, but he is happy to confirm that over the past two decades there have been no regrets about anything he has said on air.
TV pundits Ian Wright (left), Souness and Roy Keane (right) walk along the Old Trafford touchline before the Manchester United v Liverpool match earlier this month. Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images
Arsenal have been subject to much criticism over the years, with their assessment of the «team of sons-in-law» being particularly damning. His disappointment with Paul Pogba will also be remembered. This was confirmed by the fact that I saw a player with quality who did not strive to win matches. But Souness is taking no joy in the French midfielder's problems, which include a doping ban less than two years after leaving Manchester United without helping them challenge for the title.
“With Pogba, I was disappointed with him because I saw a man who had all this talent, all this physical prowess that you see in a great athlete, but had a terrible attitude,” Souness said. “I could talk about this for 10 minutes, but the bottom line is he didn’t work hard enough. The worst thing that could happen to him was winning the World Championships when he was young. This allowed him to sit firmly in a huge, comfortable chair. He was no longer inclined to train hard, he thought it was all about doing smart, eye-catching things on the football field.
“Every time I played, I had one thought in my head: I’m going to be better than the guy I’m playing against. I'll have a better day than him. And the starting point for this is to work harder than him. I don't think Paul Pogba has ever had that attitude. It was all about showing how smart and sweet I could be. It would be very easy to play against him because he never worked on you. He didn't stop you from playing.
“I don't take any pleasure in what happened to him because he was an extremely talented young man who had everything to be remembered as one of the greatest midfielders in world football. But, unfortunately, he will not be remembered for this. He will be remembered for being banned for drugs and having a near miss.»
Souness still navigates the ups and downs of the game, hitting every ball and feeling every tackle as if he were still playing .< /p>
“I'm not one to look back. I’m 70, but sometimes I wake up in the morning thinking I’m 21 again,” he said. “My wife wakes me up in the middle of the night and says, ‘Stop kicking me,’ because I dream that I’m still playing football.”
The reason Souness is so open about his TV career is because he is actively involved in the NHS campaign against high blood pressure. At age 38, he was diagnosed with hypertension, which forced him to undergo open heart surgery. Souness is as enthusiastic about the campaign as he is about football, citing statistics: an estimated 4.2 million people in England are undiagnosed.
“Is there anyone who could talk about this better than me? I don’t know,” he said. “When I was manager of Liverpool, I did everything that players do in training, except for Saturday afternoon games. It's deceiving you. You may feel great, but it's a slow process and the sooner you address this problem, when you turn 40, you'll have to deal with it.»
Souness is part of a campaign highlighting how high blood pressure often has 'no clues'; as up to 4.2 million people in England could be living with an undiagnosed condition. Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
You might think the stress of live TV wouldn't suit his condition, but Souness points out the condition is easily treatable with a daily pill. It wasn't like his blood pressure was rising in the air, it all seemed natural. Management was a different animal.
“I don’t think my blood pressure will change much between being on and off air. But I guarantee things will change when I’m a matchday coach,” he said. “If you are a pandit. The last thing people want is for people to agree all the time. I never said anything without being able to confirm it. It wasn't just to grab a stupid headline. I'd like to think I could always back it up by explaining why I said it. There is nothing, no. I can't think of anything that made me think, «I wish I hadn't said that.»
Modern football still excites Souness, but there are also things he doesn't like. And when he doesn't like what he sees, he will continue to say so.
“Some games are just sensational. But here the chances are 50/50,” explains Souness. “Some games I watch and I see the midfielders constantly passing. It doesn't do anything for me, so I turn over and watch something else. Other games just grab me and I'm glued to them. Maybe I've always been like this.»
Watching football with a critical eye is just part of being Graeme Souness.
- Graham Souness backs new national National Service campaign healthcare. find the «missing millions» with undiagnosed high blood pressure, which usually has no symptoms. High blood pressure is one of the largest known risk factors for cardiovascular disease and can lead to heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease or vascular dementia. Find your nearest pharmacy offering free blood pressure testing for everyone aged 40 and over by searching for 'pharmacy blood pressure check' or visiting the NHS website.
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