Ellis Rimmer Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 14 minutes ago, Birstall Owl said: As somone who used to love Soccer Saturday and would always watch if not at a game, I'm just wondering if there is still a need for it when Jeff goes? For years it was the place for goal updates filling the void when all you had before was Radio 5 updates (most likely several mins behind) and the Videprinter at full time. Nowadays people use apps like Flashscores for updates or if you want it on the button betting apps are even quicker. Not really and probably sky realise that so he probably costs more than they wanna pay now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darra Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 48 minutes ago, Ellis Rimmer said: Not really and probably sky realise that so he probably costs more than they wanna pay now No idea how much he is being paid but it was widely reported that when they were sacked in 2011 Keys and Gray we're being paid over a million a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orlando_Trustful Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Sad times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickly Kevin Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Just brillant at his job. Had a fantastic knowledge of all leagues and not just of the PL big six. He made a mundane concept funny through his quick wit which can't be taught. The guests changed but he made a rapport with all of them. Although the amount of times he made my heart sink " And theres been a goal at Hillsborough but for who" "Sheffield Wednesday were ahead but not any more" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Owl Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 It's the beginning of the end. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shandypants Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 I must have watched Soccer Saturday no more than 5 or 6 times. I don't find it interesting. Jeff Stelling seems to be good but, to me, it just seems to be 4 or 5 grown men getting excited about games we can't see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S36 OWL Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 23 hours ago, HullOwlPhil said: "What" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S36 OWL Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 9 hours ago, Birstall Owl said: As somone who used to love Soccer Saturday and would always watch if not at a game, I'm just wondering if there is still a need for it when Jeff goes? For years it was the place for goal updates filling the void when all you had before was Radio 5 updates (most likely several mins behind) and the Videprinter at full time. Nowadays people use apps like Flashscores for updates or if you want it on the button betting apps are even quicker. I still watch it ,but the show has gone downhill since they binned all the proper characters , Le Tizz, Charlie and Thommo and replaced them with garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helmut_rooster Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 11 hours ago, Birstall Owl said: As somone who used to love Soccer Saturday and would always watch if not at a game, I'm just wondering if there is still a need for it when Jeff goes? For years it was the place for goal updates filling the void when all you had before was Radio 5 updates (most likely several mins behind) and the Videprinter at full time. Nowadays people use apps like Flashscores for updates or if you want it on the button betting apps are even quicker. Betting apps are quicker because "live" football is delayed to protect betting companies. If you watch a match love on Sky and watch sky bet match, the goals always go on quicker on the app than on th elove TV you pay a fortune for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiJ Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 He is Gillette Soccer Saturday really. A brilliant presenter who keeps that show together. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birstall Owl Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 46 minutes ago, helmut_rooster said: Betting apps are quicker because "live" football is delayed to protect betting companies. If you watch a match love on Sky and watch sky bet match, the goals always go on quicker on the app than on th elove TV you pay a fortune for. The apps are always quicker than mine as it's usually a couple of mins behind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markg Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 7 hours ago, Birstall Owl said: The apps are always quicker than mine as it's usually a couple of mins behind You must think we are top of the league then with all our last minute woes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screen Door Slams Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 The old panel of 4 needed replacing eventually , but to axe 3 of them in one go was a big mistake, and if Sky were being honest they would admit it. it didn`t help that they were replaced with a conveyor belt of different pundits, most of whom were awful ( Michael Dawson, jeez). I don`t think Jeff Stelling`s heart has been in it since the cull and it felt inevitable that this would happen. 10Am - 1PM weekdays on Talksport please.........and replace the godawful Jim White. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheffield_dave Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 On 31/10/2021 at 11:02, Birstall Owl said: As somone who used to love Soccer Saturday and would always watch if not at a game, I'm just wondering if there is still a need for it when Jeff goes? For years it was the place for goal updates filling the void when all you had before was Radio 5 updates (most likely several mins behind) and the Videprinter at full time. Nowadays people use apps like Flashscores for updates or if you want it on the button betting apps are even quicker. It's interesting when you strip it down to the nuts and bolts. What is the show and why are people watching it? As a goals service there are countless other options. As a show, it's Jeff's gig and has already suffered with the changes to the supporting cast. If you're not watching it for Jeff and get the scores elsewhere, then what's the point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danblakemore Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 TBF I think they only keep Merson on as 'care in the community' I fear he'd be in bother if he wasn't regularly working. Jeff is an institution - in our household our kids refereed to him as 'Uncle Jeff', as toddlers they would sit and just watch him. Never knew why, but it must be the way he delivers across the TV. He will be missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Bach Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 Gutted about this. Since being sold to Comcast Sky has been re-inventing itself but the changes are often only felt in very specific and nuanced ways, football is now not the dominant force behind Sky with drama and VOD increasingly becoming its main motivation. As such, how Sky produces its football coverage has changed significantly and Soccer Saturday must have been a pain in Sky's neck for a while because what they have done is essentially dis-mantle it piece by piece making Stelling's position clearly untenable. The genius of the punditry selection is that SS always picked the right men, even if they were not the best pundits. The positions were occasionally refreshed but the characters and personalities were the same - infectious, effervessant, engaged and willing to call a game out for being rubbish if needs be. The show wasn't a results based service, it was an entertainment show - it was drama and suspense as well as comedy and tradegy all in one and whats more it was real. It was real and the people at home played along. Regular viewers would be steeped into the glory or crisis of various and random League Two or Scots League clubs fortunes by proxy thanks to an encyclodpeic knowledge that Stelling exhibited thanks to his dedication to personally researching each list of fixtures for any particular programme. No game or scenario was off limits, with end of season editions boasting gargantuan levels of theatrics as the studio flashed around the country making and breaking dreams. Whats left after Stelling will be a husk of a show, a smug facsimile, a well worn joke and a feeling you're at a party you should have left an hour ago. And its all Sky's fault as they plunge the depths of market research, focus groups and social media pressure that has manifested itself in a dull, glib, uninteresting rebirth that treats the viewer as some kind of hinderance as the pundits appear distracted and self-absorbed in all their Instagram glory 4 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreshOwl Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 (edited) He really is a top bloke. Hilarious, professional, Knowledgeable. A real all round gem. I always wondered though, considering he was born in Hartlepool he has a very southern accent! Edited November 1, 2021 by FreshOwl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putney Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 It would be interesting to see the viewing figures for the show over the past decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiJ Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 I would imagine that binning off three of his mates in one fell swoop didn't help. Say what you like about Thommo, Nicholas and Le Tiss (the latter is an idiot tbf), but they were an integral part of that show's chemistry. Sadly, most of their replacements are just a bill dull tbh. Clinton is ok, lively if nothing else. Boyd, Mackie, Smith etc., have very little charisma. As for Tim Sherwood, I just have no idea why that bloke continues to get work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheffield_dave Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 (edited) 41 minutes ago, SiJ said: I would imagine that binning off three of his mates in one fell swoop didn't help. Say what you like about Thommo, Nicholas and Le Tiss (the latter is an idiot tbf), but they were an integral part of that show's chemistry. Sadly, most of their replacements are just a bill dull tbh. Clinton is ok, lively if nothing else. Boyd, Mackie, Smith etc., have very little charisma. As for Tim Sherwood, I just have no idea why that bloke continues to get work. Le Tiss might be one of the dumbest people on the planet. But much like nobody cared about his tinfoil hat opinions for kicking a ball about, I’m not particularly arsed about them while he talks about kicking a ball about. Arthur’s post above is great and bang on. Soccer Saturday is an entertainment show in its own right. It’s better and more enduring than any other football entertainment show they’ve made before. Edited November 1, 2021 by sheffield_dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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