BALLON D'OR OF PUNDITS: 30 football analysts nominated for Mirror gong as full list announced - vote here

Footballing pundits can have us raging at the telly one second and wanting to buy them a pint the next. But when all is said and done, who reigns supreme?

There's nothing worse than tuning in to watch your team, only to learn that ex-player is covering it. We've all been there. A voice like a leaky tap that starts to boil blood as soon as the first word leaves their mouth.

On the flip side, having an esteemed expert who has been there, done that and worn the team's shirt can provide insight like no other and turn the matchday experience for an at-home viewer into a feast for the senses.

So here at Mirror Football, we've decided to decisively find out who is the best pundit in the land. And we need your help.

Voting will work as follows. Our list of 30 hot-take merchants has been separated into five heats. The top three from each heat will progress into the last 16 alongside the top-finishing fourth-place pick. You'll then whittle them down until we crown the winner of the Golden Mic. Right, stop reading and cast your vote. Their fate is in your hands.

There'll be some obvious frontrunners. Wayne Rooney wowed at the World Cup for the BBC and we're not talking about his glow-up. The England hero delivered top-tier analysis with the same deadpan honesty as his legendary old tweets.

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher are both Sky Sports stalwarts and are as divisive as they come. Like Marmite these two, we suspect. Then there's the TNT Sports crew, headed by AC/DC fanatic Ally McCoist and Rio 'Ballon d'Or' Ferdinand himself. We also couldn't leave Gary Lineker off the list, that'd be like grabbing a meal deal without the crisps.

Why leave all the glamour to the tuxedo brigade sipping champagne on a red carpet at the Ballon d'Or ceremony? Stuff the golden balls and rehearsed speeches.