Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday presenter Simon Thomas admits he initially wanted to turn down the chance to succeed Jeff Stelling in the role, believing it was an "impossible job". Thomas compared his experience, stepping into his current job after the iconic presenter’s departure, to David Moyes taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
Ferguson famously handpicked Moyes after he retired as manager of the Red Devils in 2013. The Scot had led the club for 27 glorious years, winning 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues to become their greatest ever manager. Yet, Moyes' tenure was cut short as he was sacked before completing his first season due to underwhelming results.
Not dissimilarly, Stelling had been the face of the Saturday afternoon football results show for a quarter of a century before deciding to step down at the end of the 2022/23 season. His departure came amid significant changes to the programme – including many of his close on-screen friends being moved on – placing a heavy burden on Thomas as the new frontman.
The 52-year-old said on the ainslie + ainslie Performance People podcast: “It was a little bit like replacing Fergie at United. You almost want to be the one after David Moyes.
"I’ll be really honest, I wanted to say no initially because I thought this is the impossible job. I remember when he announced he was leaving, everyone was saying good luck to whoever replaces him. But how can you turn it down?”
Battling anxiety in the wake of his wife's tragic passing in 2017, Thomas revealed that taking on the challenge of fronting a rebrand of Soccer Saturday was a tough task.
He admitted: “When I came to do Soccer Saturday, I knew I was in a better place but I’d say a lot of the first season I had a real struggle. There was a period when I thought, ‘Have I made a massive mistake here?’”
Stelling, 70, had initially announced he would be leaving a year prior before continuing his iconic role for an additional year. From December 2023, Stelling embarked on a new venture, leading talkSPORT's breakfast show alongside Ally McCoist.
Thomas added: “It’s hard enough replacing Jeff, it’s massively hard taking on a show that’s six hours long and on a busy week you’re keeping across 71 games over six hours.
“It screws with your head and I did struggle a lot with it. I had to ride the storm and say this first season is going to be hard, I’m going to have to ignore all people that say, ‘It’s rubbish now Jeff’s gone’, and, ‘He’s not as good as Jeff, he’s not funny, he’s not this.’”