Face to Face… with Jeff Stelling

Jeff Stelling is perhaps as well known as any modern day television presenter. He is host of Gillette Soccer Saturday and often fronts the Monday night football game both on Sky Sports.

I came face to face with Jeff at Hartlepool United’s player of the Year Awards as he like myself is a life long United fan. Jeff also like myself cut his reporting teeth as an apprentice with the local newspaper and later moved on to report on games involving Middlesbrough on Radio Tees. He moved to London in the early 1980’s with London Radio’s Sportswatch programme before joining the BBC on Sport on 2 covering both the Los Angeles and Seoul Olympic games. Channel Four, Euro Sport and BSB followed before he joined Sky in 1992.

He became presenter of Gillette Soccer Saturday in 1995 and hosts the programme which lasts up to six hours with Scotland’s own Frank McLintock, Charlie Nicholas and others. Much of the programmes popularity is put down to Jeff with The Guardian newspaper no less praising him for exceptional professionalism.

The lad is no fool.

He won the sports presenters special edition of The Weakest Link in 2003 and in 2005 the BBC offered the job fronting Score, their new Saturday sports Service. He politely declined and Ray Stubbs got the job.

Of course regular viewers to Sky will know Jeff is famous for his catch phrases . When TNS now the New Saints won a game he would always comment “They will be dancing in the streets tonight”. Similarly he says “Sally will be pleased” whenever former Montrose player Kevin Webster scored, an obvious reference to the Coronation Street characters.

Whenever Kenny Deuchar the former Gretna striker found the net Stelling always referred to him as “The Good Doctor” referring to his medical degree.

When Sheffield Wednesday striker Guyain Nduma-nsunga scored Jeff quipped, “another local boy makes good” and when Yeovil Town’s Craig Alcock almost scored Jeff laughed, “Craig can’t seem to put it away”.

When one of Hartlepool striker’s called James Brown scored Jeff responded by singing on air “I feel good”.

If nothing else this lad has a great knowledge about a whole variety of subjects including music as well as football.

Yes Soccer Saturday is fun.

Its host Mr. Jeff Stelling keeps it all together for almost six hours.

In 2006 Jeff was Sports Presenter of the Year an award presented by the Sports Journalist Association a title he has now won three times.

Well deserved on each occasion.