"It can’t hurt.." Ex-Sheffield Wednesday TV man offers wider view on impressive Danny Röhl punditry outings

The Sheffield Wednesday manager, stepping out for his second punditry appearance in a five-match stretch of media turns for ITV this week, cracked jokes, delivered concise analysis and looked to be enjoying himself. There’s nothing more tiring than the punditry of pundits, but we’ll crack to the culture on this one; he was man of the match.

Placed next to Karen Carney, a respected pundit of many years experience, and Ian Wright, who took his seat at the top table of football national treasures a decade or two ago, it played out as some achievement for a 34-year-old novice. Given his stab at a first season in management, few Wednesday fans will be surprised.

As detailed by Alan Biggs in his Star column this week, the boards of the TV stage are ones to have been stepped on by several of Röhl’s predecessors; legendary figures such as Jack Charlton, Ron Atkinson, Trevor Francis and David Pleat. Atkinson was a regular studio guest during the coverage of Italia 90 and used the platform to lobby against the ethics Sheffield Wednesday’s relegation from the First Division after it was confirmed play-off winners Swindon Town would not be promoted due to off-field naughtiness.

He failed of course - Wembley losers Sunderland went up in Wednesday’s place - but the bigger picture was that for those half-hour segments, those Röhl predecessors were centre stage and in the national consciousness along with their club. Momentary miracles aside, that hasn’t been the case for Wednesday in many years. It may sound superficial, but this stuff matters.

The Star spoke to former Owls midfielder and now Sky Sports TV presenter David Prutton to get an expert view on how these things work, why certain personalities are chosen for coverage and to what extent the platform can serve both Röhl and Wednesday as a club.

Prutton is at the European Championship himself at current, working as a co-commentator and analyst for UEFA. Are theories that the German could be rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in football - agents among them - be beneficial when it comes to the Owls’ recruitment push, for example?

“It can’t hurt,” Prutton said. “Management and scouting structures these days are so vast and are spread across the world, but I don’t think it hurts being in those circles. For a manager to see players with their own eyes is a good thing, but the other thing is that meeting a manager, for a player, it can make deals work. He strikes me as a figure that is personable and will stop to have a chat, he seems to be as someone who can build a rapport with somebody.

“There will be an element of Wednesday fans thinking he should be spending his time doing something better, but what’s he meant to do? Spend all his time locked in his office planning every single training session between now and the end of next season? He’ll do that anyway. This isn’t a guy who writes his formations on the back of a fag packet, he’s clearly a deep thinker about the game.”

Other theories sprouted at the time of the announcement that Röhl would be taking up a punditry position; that despite his commitment to Wednesday coming in the form of a fresh three-year contract, time on the telly would serve as a ‘shop window’ exercise in what is an increasingly upwardly mobile and ambitious career. How often do you see out-of-work managers stepping in alongside the likes of Prutton as they seek new employment?

There’s no point pretending otherwise, the ex-Wednesday man suggests, but it’s par for the course - and exposure is good for both individual and, ultimately, club. Prutton believes the fact that Röhl is impressing on-screen does further his reputation, but that it can also entice outsiders in. Ultimately, any player or manager will move upwardly out of Sheffield Wednesday by earning recognition on the pitch, not in a television studio.

Prutton continued: “It’s a great platform to showcase someone’s personality, their appreciation of tactics and their philosophical ideas but most of all their temperament. I’ve seen some recognisable people come in and react in different ways; some are natural, some you can see are a little bit tentative. My side of the job (as host) is to try and make people feel as comfortable as possible I guess.

“I know Liam Rosenior was one of our main EFL pundits and while I’m not saying it (getting management opportunities) was all down to that, I think it helps people giving a good account of themselves and how they come across. You can see people have educated themselves and you can see in real-time how they talk and think about football. You can impress people, whether that’s fans, owners, players or whatever.”

Success on-screen comes as no shock to Prutton, who has watched on in awe at how Röhl spearheaded the Owls’ turnaround last season and how he has come across in the media. It takes all sorts, some pundits take a relaxed approach and others are more stringent. The meticulous nature of the German will carry across to his television work, he suggested.

“Danny’s career is obviously as a head coach and we all know the sky is the limit for what he can achieve on that front if he is able to carry on his trajectory at the moment,” Prutton continued. “But he’ll be wanting feedback from his performances on telly, he’ll be asking producers how it works. It’s that essence of how football works, it’s working as a team; the production side, people that put the graphics together, make-up, the runners that are heads of department in waiting. Danny is out front, as he is in his day job, but there’s a machine behind them. There are transferrable skills.

“The thing that I have so much respect and admiration for is that it’s second language stuff. The question is, can you be informative, charming, funny, witty, all in something that isn’t your mother tongue - and if you don’t, you’ll have people saying X, Y and Z. The ones that can do it and are bilingual are even more impressive. I have got great respect for the managers that look over the side of the fence at what we do and give it a go, as Danny has.

“Forget the fact that he’s manager of Sheffield Wednesday. I obviously have some emotional attachment to this and let’s face it, it’s a ginormous football club. A really ginormous football club. But he’s there because people see him as an intelligent, upward-mobile manager who is really going places and I think we all hope it’s Sheffield Wednesday that will go with him.”