EPL

Jeff Stelling signs off from Soccer Saturday as touching tributes pour in

By Sports Desk May 28, 2023

Jeff Stelling signed off from the “best job that anybody could possibly have wished for” as the presenter bade farewell after almost 30 years of fronting Soccer Saturday.

The 68-year-old announced last month his intention to stand down as anchor of the Sky Sports programme and earmarked the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday afternoon as his last show.

After touching tributes from colleagues past and present, Stelling was given a lengthy standing ovation by the punditry panel of Paul Merson, Clinton Morrison, Kris Boyd and Michael Dawson.

Stelling, who had planned to quit last year before reversing that decision, briefly hid his emotions with a mask of himself and quipped: “This is tricky because I’ve changed my mind – just kidding.

“I haven’t changed my mind this time.”

Stelling was clearly moved by the highlights package Sky televised in the final minutes of the show after Everton retained their top-flight status and confirmed the relegations of Leeds and Leicester.

Merson, Alan Mullery, Frank McLintock, Clive Allen, Charlie Nicholas, Phil Thompson and Matt Le Tissier passed on their well wishes and congratulations, as did Chris Kamara, who in a nod to the catchphrase that has become synonymous with the pair and the show, said: “You are unbelievable, Jeff!”

Stelling revealed he had been contacted by the likes of former Scotland player and manager Gordon Strachan as well as singer Sir Elton John, a noted supporter and former chairman and director of Watford.

Stelling, an unapologetic Hartlepool fan who frequently celebrated their goals on Soccer Saturday, said: “Somebody asked me the other day if I’d ever been starstruck and yeah, I was starstruck when Elton John rang me at home to say ‘Thank you very much for all you’ve done’.

“He said ‘Every week I watch the show and every week you tell me Watford are losing and every week you tell me Hartlepool are losing so I feel like we’re kindred spirits’. There’s something in that, isn’t there?”

Stelling looked back fondly on his 30-plus years with Sky, in which he not only covered football but live snooker, darts, greyhound racing, pool, and thanked everyone with whom he had worked.

In his final monologue, he added: “It’s been the best job that anybody could possibly have wished for. My wife takes great pleasure in saying ‘You are the luckiest man ever to take a breath’ and you know what? I don’t tell her this often but she’s right.

“The principle success of Soccer Saturday is you lot at home, who have given us unswerving support – both for the programme and for me personally.

“So that’s it. Soccer Saturday will be back next season. I’ll be watching – when Hartlepool are not playing. From me, goodbye.”

Related items

  • Postecoglou rues 'painful' collapse after Chelsea fight back against Spurs Postecoglou rues 'painful' collapse after Chelsea fight back against Spurs

    Ange Postecoglou was left to rue a "painful" collapse as Tottenham squandered a two-goal lead to lose 4-3 against Chelsea on Sunday.

    Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski both profited from Marc Cucurella slips to fire the hosts 2-0 up after just 11 minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

    Jadon Sancho pulled one back, however, with a delightful 17th-minute drive before Tottenham wilted under pressure in the second half.

    A pair of Cole Palmer penalties, scored either side of Enzo Fernandez's lashing finish to put Chelsea 3-2 up, proved the undoing for Postecoglou's side.

    Spurs, who grabbed a late third through Son Heung-min, suffered a second defeat in the space of three days after a midweek loss to Bournemouth, though Postecoglou  believes the performances were contrasting.

    "It's a sore one for sure, it's painful," the Tottenham boss told Sky Sports. "We started the game really well and then we lose Cristian Romero and we had to reshuffle.

    "We still had some big moments to get a third and finish it off. The second half was a ding-dong for long and then they scored. The two penalties weren't great, we need a bit of discipline in the box.

    "It's a key point when you lose a key player in the first 20 minutes, He couldn't continue so it's not ideal.

    "We didn't play well in midweek but we did here. They're a top side, you have got to give credit to them. We got distracted in key moments.

    "We need to realise we are tough to stop when we do play our football. The two penalties were poor. When you're playing these top teams, the momentum shifts quickly."

     

    Yves Bissouma fouled Moises Caicedo for the first penalty, with Pape Sarr at fault for a challenge on Palmer for the second spot-kick.

    Tottenham felt aggrieved Caicedo was still on the pitch, though, as the Chelsea man survived a VAR review for a first-half lunge on Sarr that could have been deemed worthy of a straight red card.

    "I haven't seen the replays. I thought a couple of decisions were poor," Postecoglou said of the Caicedo decision. "We have to accept it and move on."

    Micky van de Ven and Romero returned for Sunday's clash, though the latter was forced off after just 15 minutes before his centre-back partner came off in the closing stages.

    "He felt a bit tight," Postecoglou said of Van de Ven. "He was only meant to play 60 or 70 minutes. Hopefully it's not too bad because you could see the difference.

    "I'm hoping Romero isn't too bad. We're thin on numbers and if we're thin in January, we'll be looking to add to the squad because they need some help."

    Sunday marked the 11th time that Tottenham lost a Premier League game after having been two or more goals ahead – at least four more such defeats than any other side in the competition's history.

    It was also the first time they did so at home in the league since September 2001 against Manchester United in a 5-3 defeat.

    Son shared a similar frustration to Postecoglou, though wanted to shoulder the blame for his missed chance at 2-2 when one-on-one with Robert Sanchez.

    "It's very disappointing. I don't know what to say at the moment," Son told Sky Sports. "We can't concede goals like this. We can't dive into this situation.

    "I can stay here all day talking about the mistakes but I'd rather blame me with the chance and I'd rather take the blame.

    "We have got to stick together in such difficult moments, it's very important and it's why we need big support. The players are very young and they need support more than before and more than we had.

    "The fans were always supporting amazingly but I think it's time the players also need to step up. We need some big support and big cheering up."

    In Postecoglou's 53 Premier League games in charge, Tottenham have both scored and conceded in 36 of them (68%).

    Of all managers to oversee 50+ matches in the competition's history, only Ossie Ardiles' games had a higher ratio of seeing both sides score (69% - 37/54).

  • Wilder lauds 'best' point of season after surviving 'massive' West Brom test Wilder lauds 'best' point of season after surviving 'massive' West Brom test

    Chris Wilder lauded Sheffield United's "best" point of the season after overcoming a "massive test" for a draw at West Brom that sent them back to the Championship summit.

    Tom Fellows' equaliser for the hosts just after the hour sealed a share of the spoils at the Hawthorns, with the Baggies having now drawn 10 of their last 11 league games.

    The 2-2 draw sent the Blades a point clear at the top of the Championship, moving past second-placed Leeds United after their 2-0 win over Derby County on Saturday.

    Though United dropped points after being 2-1 up, Wilder lauded his side's resilience in difficult conditions against last season's play-off challengers.

    "We were up against a really good team. We knew this was a massive test for us, and we showed great character to overturn a lead the way we did," Wilder said. 

    "So I'm delighted with that. As far as I'm concerned, that's our best, hardest-earned point of the season. It was so important we got something.

    "We could easily have decided it wasn't going to be our day. Let's get back on the bus and get home and get in front of the fire. But they didn't.

    "It was tough out there. But this side is learning on the job. We had six 22-year-olds on the park at one stage playing against men, in men's conditions.

    "But they fought back and got a result."

    West Brom took the lead in the 24th minute through Torbjorn Heggem, with the Norwegian heading home from Alex Mowatt's inswinging corner. 

    However, two strikes in as many minutes from Callum O'Hare and Tyrese Campbell put the visitors in front at the break, with full-back Harrison Burrows playing a huge role in both goals. 

    West Brom responded after the interval when Fellows' attempted cross from the right corner of the area deflected wickedly into the ground off Gustavo Hamer, with the ball looping out of Michael Cooper's reach. 

    In a topsy-turvy match, the Blades edged the match statistics, producing an expected goals (xG) total of 1.05 from their 12 shots to West Brom's 0.73 from their 11 efforts.

  • Chelsea stay perfect as Man Utd thrash rivals Liverpool Chelsea stay perfect as Man Utd thrash rivals Liverpool

    Chelsea maintained their perfect run in the Women's Super League with a 4-2 win over Brighton, while Manchester United thrashed Liverpool 4-0. 

    On a pulsating day of action that saw 28 goals scored across six matches, United got the action started with their demolition of Liverpool, with four different goalscorers on target. 

    Quick-fire goals from Elisabeth Terland and Leah Galton gave United a comfortable advantage at the break, before Dominique Janssen curled home the Red Devils' third just before the hour-mark, with the win sealed by substitute Melvine Malard nine minutes from time. 

    It was a routine win for Marc Skinner's side, who have struggled for consistency in recent weeks, though the United boss said there is still room for improvement.

    "I thought we were good. When we don't meet our high standards, we face criticism, but when we do play well, and we're dominant, we deserve the accolades," said Skinner. 

    "It was a pretty even game up until [the first two goals were scored]. The second half was much more comfortable."

    Chelsea are still five points clear at the WSL summit after edging a six-goal thriller against Brighton at Kingsmeadow. 

    Two goals in five minutes from Sjoeke Nusken and Aggie Beever-Jones put the Blues in control, only for Sonia Bompastor's team to have their lead cut in half before the break by Jelena Cankovic.

    Chelsea restored their two-goal advantage six minutes after the restart through Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, but the Seagulls responded once more. 

    Kiko Seike's finish put the Blues' perfect start under threat in the final 20 minutes, but Chelsea sealed the win in second-half stoppage time, with Nusken on target once again. 

    Bompastor is now unbeaten in her last 31 games across all competitions (W28 L3), and Sunday's win perhaps should have been won by a more marginal scoreline, while Chelsea have matched the Arsenal side of 2018-19 in winning their first nine WSL games of a campaign. Should they beat Leicester City next week, they will be the first team in the competition's history to reel off 10 victories to start a season.

    The Blues registered a mammoth 31 shots, though only eight were on target, accumulating an expected goals (xG) total of 4.08 compared to Brighton's 2.19. 

    Not wanting to be done by their neighbours or their title rivals, Manchester City also scored four as they comfortably dispatched Leicester 4-0, with Khadija Shaw netting twice. 

    Shaw gave the hosts a second-minute lead when she nodded in Kerstin Casparij's cross, and doubled her tally before the half-hour mark with a powerful header. 

    Jessica Park added the Citizens' third four minutes after the break, before Mary Fowler concluded the scoring with a fine volley from close range nine minutes later. 

    And Gareth Taylor's side were worthy of their victory, restricting Leicester to just three shots on Khiara Keating's goal, while also ending the encounter with 71.7% possession. 

    There was also another big win for Arsenal, with the Gunners earning a 4-0 win over Aston Villa, with Alessia Russo on target for the fourth consecutive WSL match. 

    Russo's glancing header from Kyra Cooney-Cross' inswinging free-kick put Arsenal ahead, and Beth Mead doubled their advantage.

    Substitute Stina Blackstenius netted the Gunners' third before Russo capped off her double in second half stoppage time, having seen an earlier effort ruled out for offside. 

    It marked yet another win for interim head coach Renee Slegers, who is now unbeaten in her eight games in charge across all competitions since taking over from Jonas Eidevall. 

    Sunday's highest scoring fixture took place at the Chigwell Construction Stadium, with West Ham coming from two goals down to beat relegation rivals Crystal Palace 5-2. 

    Mille Gejl and Indiah-Paige Riley put Palace in control inside 11 minutes, before Viviane Asseyi, Seraina Piubel and Manuela Pavi hit back for the Hammers before the break.

    Anouk Denton put West Ham further in front with a fine finish, before Hammers captain Katrina Gorry grabbed an injury-time fifth.

    The defeat means Palace have gone 1-0 up in four of their last five league games, but failed to win any of them. No other team has dropped more points from winning positions this term than the Eagles (10).

    Tottenham beat Everton 2-1 thanks to Bethany England's brace.

    England scored either side of Sara Holmgaard's 40th minute equaliser, sealing Spurs' third win of the campaign, all of which have come at home. 

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.