Jeff Stelling: Soccer Saturday star's blunt take on Phil Thompson

Jeff Stelling, 65, admitted that he considered handing in his resignation in the wake of the presenter culling on Sky football show ‘Soccer Saturday’. Matt Le Tissier, Phil Thompson and Charlie Nicholas were all given the boot last month as part of the company’s streamlining cuts. Despite Stelling’s initial thoughts about leaving, he will remain on the show alongside Arsenal legend Paul Merson

While Stelling admitted his sadness over the departure of his TV colleagues, in an unearthed interview he didn’t hold back when he delivered damning reviews of their performances. 

The star, who has presented the show for 22 years, claimed the secret behind the success of ‘Soccer Saturday’ was ensuring it was “varied and interesting”. 

He said: “People are always dipping in and out, they have different interests and you must make sure you have something interesting for everybody.”

Stelling felt that part of that was ensuring he could get his fellow pundits to make criticisms about footballers and “air the sort of views the punters want”.

He continued: “If I criticised Steven Gerrard, what weight can it carry? As an amateur player I was known as the chopper. 

“But if Phil Thompson, who like Gerrard has lifted the European Cup and is Liverpool through and through, then that makes it different.”

While Stelling claimed that some stars were reluctant to be critical of sports stars, he quipped that he never had that problem with Phil Thompson – and if anything he did it too frequently. 

He said: “Phil is the most opinionated man on football I have ever met. 

“That man could start a fight in a phone box. He is passionate and not afraid to express an opinion.”

Over the years on ‘Soccer Saturday’, Stelling admitted they had to change the format to ensure there wasn’t bias for the presenters. 

He said: “If Liverpool are losing 4-0 to Fulham, Thompson could still be expected to see some good in Liverpool. 

“So now we do not ask our four experts to comment on matches which involve their former teams, making them act more as neutral observers.”

In a snub to Matt Le Tissier, he quipped that the former footballer “seemed so laid-back that he gave the impression he would rather be anywhere than on a football field”.

However, he felt there were unique times he could truly relate to other sportsmen and said: “If a player misses a penalty, then Matt is the person to talk to. 

“He only missed one penalty and that was saved by Mark Crossley of Nottingham Forest. He can comment on players without being malicious.”

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Stelling went on to describe Paul Merson as having a “relaxed grasp of the English language” and admitted to trying to embarrass him on-air – including one moment with a quiz about France.

He recalled: “Paul did not know the country the paper was from, let alone what had been said. It was as if I had asked him a question about Albert Einstein and the theory of relativity.”

As for Chris Kamara, he described him as someone who “knows he is not a footballing great” and revealed that he often tried to play-up to the star’s lackadaisical nature. 

He continued: “When Jon Harley scored for Fulham, Chris started by saying he had shot from 30 yards, then he said no 40 yards and ended up saying it was 50 yards. 

“I could not resist responding: ‘Well Chris what you want to say was he scored from outside the ground.’

“Chris always takes these things very well… for instance, as I went to him for a report, I knew a red card had been given but Chris missed that. 

“I had to point it out and we had a good laugh over it. But, underneath all that, he takes his football very seriously.”

source: express.co.uk