He may make his headlines behind the microphone instead of hitting the back of the net these days, yet Chris Sutton still found himself involved in one of Scottish football’s biggest summer deals.
Having been a mainstay of BT Sport’s SPFL coverage, the former Celtic striker has switched allegiance to Sky Sports for the forthcoming Premiership campaign. Arguably our game’s most prominent pundit of recent times, his arrival is a coup for a broadcaster long accused of not paying Scotland’s game due care and attention.
The fact remains, though, that Sky were the highest bidders, and will place Sutton alongside ex-Rangers forward Kris Boyd as their marquee punditry duo. Neither man is ever particularly short of a strong opinion, so there could be anything from sparks to full-on fireworks when they step in front of the cameras together this weekend.
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Sutton. “It’s really big to come across to Sky. I enjoyed my time at BT. I got the opportunity to come over, an opportunity to work with some talented people, and Kris Boyd…
“No, I am looking forward to it. Kris is forthright with his views, I like that.
“But he normally backs it up and I’m looking forward to working with Kris and James McFadden and Stiliyan Petrov and everybody.”
With Celtic dominant in the years since Sutton moved int TV, he’s had the lion’s share of ammunition in on-air sparring with former Ibrox rivals. He and Ally McCoist were a genuine double act on BT, providing everything from light-hearted banter to impassioned, heated debates. But despite his team’s success, Sutton doesn’t think he’s had it easy in the punditry stakes.
“I don’t think it’s been like that,” said the 50-year-old. “I’ve worked with Ally McCoist for years and it’s not easy getting one over on Ally, although he often doesn’t turn up on time.
“I enjoyed my time before working with him. Scottish football has been good to me. I never knew what to expect when I first rocked up after a dismal season at Chelsea.
“But, I loved my five and a half years up here, my family thoroughly enjoyed it. I enjoyed the battle with Rangers from a Celtic perspective.
“You know yourselves, it was a really good period – Rangers had an excellent team, we had an excellent team, we were going at it hammer and tongs. I look back fondly on that.”
The title races which surely put the most eyes on TV screens are the ones which go all the way to the very end. We haven’t had one of those in Scotland for a long time – even Rangers’ only title of the past decade was won by a landslide. But would Sutton like to see a return to those days, the way it was when he was leading the Celtic line?
“Politically, I can’t say that!” he laughed. “But, no, I think it’s good, Scottish football really thrives when both teams are pushing themselves.
“The era in which I was involved in, we lost the league twice on the last day. It must have have been an incredible era for the fans.”
With the return of Brendan Rodgers to Glasgow, the bookies have installed Celtic as favourites to win the title for a third consecutive season. It has been a busy summer for the reigning champions, who began the summer by losing manager Ange Postecoglou and winger Jota to Saudi Arabian champions Al-Ittihad for £25million.
Their response has been to not only re-install Rodgers, but to make five new signings. In addition to recruiting Odin Thiago Holm, Marco Tilio and Maik Nawrocki, Sutton has been intrigued by the club again looking to Korea, from where they signed Oh Hyeun-gyu in January, to bring in Yang Hyun-jun and Kwon Hyeok-gyu.
He also believes Rodgers has made a courageous decision in coming back to Glasgow, considering the anger provoked by his sudden exit for Leicester City in 2019. That aside, though, he admits there’s no arguing with the Northern Irishman’s record.
“It’s an interesting one,” he said. “With Brendan coming back in – I thought he was brave to take the job, there was a lot made about coming back because of the way he left.
“It would’ve been an easier option for him not to come back. But I didn’t think with coming back he wouldn’t want to leave anything to chance.
“I’m not saying he is leaving anything to chance, but in terms of the transfers, I was in agreement with the notion that Celtic would’ve maybe gone a little bit stronger at this point in the transfer window.
“And the other thing is, Yang and Kwon – the guys from South Korea – we don’t know really.
“We’re all guessing and looking at Youtube clips and what-have-you and trying to work out whether they’re good players from that.
“I mean, I looked good at Chelsea sometimes on Youtube, so you can dress those things up.
“It’s a difficult market and it always has been for Celtic and Rangers. They’re rarely the finished article, they are signing from a development market.
“Postecoglou did fantastically well, targeting a market he knew very well. Getting players in on the cheap and they will have their value now.
“Brendan recruited well in his first year, bringing in Sinclair and Dembele on that cross-border thing. Then, it’s fair to say, some of the recruitment wasn’t the best the longer it went.
“But, Brendan coming back, he’s had a phenomenal record. I admire him for coming back and taking the challenge on.”
Sky Sports and NOW will show exclusive live coverage of the cinch Premiership, with up to 48 games available this season.
