Jeff Stelling's dream Soccer Saturday lineup as Sky Sports icon steps down
Jeff Stelling will present his final Soccer Saturday on Sunday (ironically) after hosting Sky Sports' flagship results show for nearly 30 years.
Stelling, 68, announced he would step down from Soccer Saturday - which will be referred to as Soccer Sunday for his final show - a month ago. It leaves Sky Sports searching for a presenter worthy of replacing the television legend ahead of next season.
Stelling is always joined by four pundits on Soccer Saturday, which means he's worked with some of the biggest names in English football during the last three decades. In 2020, he was asked by Sky Sports' Super 6 podcast to name his dream Soccer Saturday panel.
As part of the challenge, Stelling was allowed to pick anyone in the world - not just some of the show's pundits. Current and previous pundits include Paul Merson, George Best, Rodney Marsh, Phil Thompson, Tony Cottee, Matt Le Tissier and Tony Gale.
Soccer Saturday's star-studded alumni doesn't stop there. The likes of Iain Dowie, Paul Jewell, Charlie Nicholas, Ally McCoist, Alan McInally, Michael Dawson, Sue Smith, Matt Murray, Clinton Morrison and Paul Merson have also appeared regularly in the studio.
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Yet none of those made Stelling's dream quadrant... with good reason. The first of Stelling's choices was the late, great Brian Clough. The outspoken manager won league titles with Derby and Nottingham Forest, as well as two European Cups with the latter club.
Stelling has worked alongside some of superb pundits (Phil Shephard-Lewis/Popperfoto via Getty Images)Is Jeff Stelling the greatest football presenter of all time? Let us know in the comments below!
Not only was Clough a fabulous manager, but he was also a brilliant pundit. As Stelling protests: "Brian Clough would be one. Cloughie was on some of our early shows you know, but he was so dangerous to have him on. You never knew what he was going to say or what kind of language he was going to say it in. He was brilliant, brilliant value."
Joining Clough in the studio is Manchester United icon Sir Alex Ferguson and one of his great rivals, legendary Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger. The two managers won 16 Premier League titles between them and shared a famous battle for many years.
Stelling notes: "He [Ferguson] is amazing. He knows everything that you need to know. He’s a man of the people as well and everybody respects him. And just to make it really interesting, sitting next to Sir Alex, I’d have to have Arsene Wenger.
"I think the two of them - they’d be very much like when Rodney Marsh used to sit next to Frank McClintock and Rodney would call Frank ‘a dopey defender’. It was great because there was a clash between them, they were friends, as I think Arsene and Sir Alex are now, but they had different philosophies."
Stelling's final pick was undoubtedly the most surprising. He even admitted it was "controversial" because it was a "politician who knows his football but is incredibly opinionated". Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former director of communications, got the nod.
Stelling explained: "He’s a massive Burnley fan. He went to a Hartlepool game with Lord Mandelson, who was president of Hartlepool at the time and Tony Blair. As the teams came out, Tony Blair said to Lord Mandelson. 'Which ones are Hartlepool?' - and the president of the club didn’t know!"
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