Predictions in sport are nothing more than a tool to get us by.
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher guessing who will finish top six in the Premier League table doesn’t really mean anything.
Most pundits call it wrong when they’re asked to get specific, tell us the scoreline, predict who will finish where exactly in 38 games’ time. A lot of them are put on the spot when they’re available for interview with a sponsor. They get a tour of land and companies unknown and, before they know it, digital media outlets striving for the most sharable video possible are pointing a camera in their faces, recording some of the most famous and respected analysts plucking lottery numbers out of thin air.
These comments never come back to bite anyone though outside of a few tweets and passive agressive managers. As long as you’re good at actually analysing what you’ve seen with hindsight, you’ll do alright. The rest is just filler.
But even Sky Sports’ Premier League Launch Show fell into that carry on too.
Last year, Man City walked the league. Chelsea and Arsenal were ousted from the top four along with their managers from their jobs and Liverpool finished two behind Spurs and two wins behind United.
Neville and Carragher don’t see it being much different this season though.
In fact, they reckon it will be exactly the same.
Neville and Carragher’s top 6
1. Man City
2. Man United
3. Tottenham
4. Liverpool
5. Chelsea
6. Arsenal
Despite Mourinho looking like he might pack it in at any day and United apparently failing to acquire targets needed to challenge for better – in the manager’s eyes – Sky Sports’ duo think they’ll still be the biggest threat to City.
But, even with the money Liverpool spent, the way they’ve strengthened their weaknesses and bolstered their squad, they can’t see them finishing higher than fourth.
“Everyone’s talking about Liverpool and with good reason,” Carragher said.
“You look at getting to a Champions League final and having Virgil van Dijk for a full season. We’ve seen the impact he made after arriving in January. The goalkeeping situation has given everybody a massive lift.
“What happened in the Champions League final with Loris Karius, yes it was disappointing for the Liverpool supporters on the night losing that game, but we’ve all been there as players where you have a poor game. But it’s happened in a game which will, unfortunately, be remembered for a long time.
“Hopefully he will go on to be a great goalkeeper and be remembered for that but Liverpool had to make a change because I think there would be no belief in Liverpool actually, never mind winning a league but challenging for the league with the two goalkeepers they had.”
