With Gary Lineker stepping down from Match of the Day at the end of the season, fellow broadcasting icon Jeff Stelling has offered his opinion of the BBC star
Broadcasting legend Jeff Stelling has claimed there is no one better than outgoing Match of the Day host Gary Lineker.
Writing in his recently released memoir, Saturday Afternoon Fever, the Soccer Saturday icon boldly declares “no disrespect to the rest, he is the best” when discussing Lineker’s career in television. It was revealed on Monday evening that Lineker would step down as MOTD host at the end of this season.
The BBC’s highest-paid star, earning £1.35million a year, will depart the show after a staggering 25 years at the helm, making him the longest-serving presenter the programme has ever had. Stelling also stunned fans at the end of the 2022/2023 season when he announced he was quitting his role as anchor on Sky’s much loved Saturday afternoon football show.
The 68-year-old had worked for Sky since 1992 and was the face of that show for 25 years. However he believes that Lineker was in fact the master when it came to bringing football to the masses.
“People think that what Gary Lineker does is easy. I can assure you it is not,” Stelling says in his book. “He makes it look easy just as the likes of Des Lynam and Frank Bough did in their day.
“He achieves that with hard work and in-depth preparation. I was told that before he first hosted the BBC ’s flagship football show, he would spend month after month doing practice runs in the studio. It certainly wouldn’t surprise me.
“He avoids clichés like the plague. He is witty, insightful and has a great rapport with his team of pundits. With no disrespect to the rest, he is the best.”
Stelling also defended Lineker from those who feel the ex-Leicester striker should keep his opinions on current affairs to himself. The 63-year-old was famously suspended by the BBC in 2023 for a series of tweets he made in regard to government policy, and was often berated on social media for airing his views. But Stelling feels he has the same right to an opinion as anyone else.
“I also admire the way he uses his platform to speak out on perceived injustices. I know he has seen a million social media responses that include the phrase ‘Stick to football Gary’ but why should he? Why is the opinion of an ex-footballer less valuable than a cab driver’s, or a surgeon’s, or a twenty-five-year-old MP with no experience of work and precious little of life? (I’m asking for a friend here!)” Stelling adds in the book.
Speaking on his shock departure from Sky in January of this year, Stelling lifted the lid on his exit and candidly opened up on the “battle” was facing each week. Talking to The Guardian, he revealed how he grew tired of “fighting” to be heard.
“Even though I’d been there a long time, I felt some of my views weren’t considered at all,” he said. “Every week I was fighting a battle. I got tired of fighting and it was making me ill. Eventually, I went to Sky’s management and said: ‘This is making me unwell. I’ve got to step away from it.'”
Saturday Afternoon Fever by Jeff Stelling (Headline, £22)
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