Unbelievable Jeff! TalkSPORT new boy Stelling strikes up winning partnership with Ally McCoist as former Sky host praises Pep Guardiola’s reaction to Spurs controversy and shares jokes with his former colleagues

• Jeff Stelling made his talkSPORT debut on Monday morning
• The former Soccer Saturday host replaced Laura Woods on the breakfast show 
• We expected perfection from VAR – we haven’t got it: Listen to It’s All Kicking Off 

Christmas movies, VAR, Ally McCoist’s brief acting career and the origin of the Rubik’s cube are not topics one would necessarily expect to find in the same Venn diagram, let alone discussed on a sports breakfast show. 

All four, however, were dissected in detail as Jeff Stelling made his talkSPORT Breakfast show debut alongside McCoist on Monday morning.

The former Sky Sports Soccer Saturday host took to the airwaves for the first time since replacing Laura Woods on the popular radio programme.

As first revealed by MailSport in the summer, Stelling left Sky Sports at the end of last season after 25 years and will present the show on Mondays and Tuesday, with Alan Brazil at the helm for the remainder of the week.

There was a palpable excitement in the 68-year-old’s voice as he welcomed listeners on air shortly after 6am – a time ‘I did not even existed’ – and vowed to steer away from his Soccer Saturday persona.

Jeff Stelling made his talkSPORT debut on Monday morning on the Breakfast Show

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‘I promise to not to shout excitedly and I promise not to spout stats at you and I promise not mention Hartlepool in every other sentence,’ he said in his opening remarks, which he subsequently revealed had written himself. 

Soccer Saturday relied heavily on Stelling’s screen presence and his ability to balance light-hearted banter and football discussions with pundits in the studio and at various grounds across the country.

And Stelling revealed his former colleagues Charlie Nicholas, Tony Cottee, Matt Le Tissier, Matt Murray and Chris Kamara had all been in touch to wish him the best start in his new role.

It should be no surprise then that Stelling felt immediately at ease alongside another former footballer as he and McCoist, whom he described as the ‘best co-host in the business’, immediately hit it off on Monday morning.

The pair debated Christmas movies, with Stelling suggesting Last Christmas was a very underrated film and that Die Hard should not feature on any festive films list.

The cinematic theme returned towards the end of the show, as Succession star Brian Cox shared an amusing anecdote about McCoist’s brief acting career

In A Shot at Glory, the former Rangers star’s character was required to miss a penalty, but failed to do so during the first 10 takes much to the director’s annoyance.

After a somewhat circumspect start, Stelling wasn’t afraid of cracking a joke at his co-host expense’s either, noting McCoist had ‘confused Czech Republic with Hungary’ when discussing the origin of the Rubik’s Cube. 

Stelling was joined on the Breakfast Show by co-host Ally McCoist (left) 

If the jokes never felt forced, the football debate was similarly sharp. Stelling described Pep Guardiola’s decision not to criticise referee Simon Hooper on Sunday as a ‘breath of fresh air’.

Hooper incensed Manchester City players after he stopped play with Jack Grealish clear through on goal in added time of the Premier League champions’ 3-3 draw against Tottenham. 

Having initially waved play on for a foul on Erling Haaland, Hooper stopped the game after the Norwegian’s pass put Grealish through on goal. 

McCoist agreed: ‘It’s an honest mistake, let’s get on with it. It’s so refreshing for the referee to make a genuine mistake with no VAR involved.’

Stelling, however, was far less impressed with Craig Pawson’s decision to award Cheslea a penalty in their 3-2 win over Brighton.

Pawson initially deemed James Milner’s tackle on Mykhailo Mudryk not worthy of a penalty, but changed his mind after being advised to review the incident by VAR official Jarred Gillett.

‘Gillett is getting involved and telling the Pawson to look at his [Mudryk’s] feet,’ he said.

‘Shouldn’t he just shut up?’ 

Stelling and McCoist debated Simon Hooper’s controversial decision to stop Jack Grealish while through on goal during Manchester City’s 3-3 draw against Tottenham (above)

And Stelling suggested non-league teams should be seeded in the FA Cup draw

And he was similarly passionate about the need for non-league teams to be seeded in the FA Cup third round draw to secure the ‘bumper pay-day’ they desperately need. 

‘What you really want is for the non-league sides to have their moment in the sun,’ he said. 

‘I’m not interested in watching Arsenal vs Liverpool in the FA Cup. Maidstone have played five games to get here [in the draw for the third round].’

Marcus Rashford’s England future and the Three Lions’ chances at Euro 2024 were both debated, as were the possible candidates to replace Paul Heckingbottom at Sheffield United.

The Blades have won just once in the Premier League this season and Heckingbottom’s future appears decided following a 5-0 shellacking at Burnley on Saturday.

Stelling half-jokingly suggested Neil Warnock should consider returning to the Premier League and conceded Heckingbottom had been dealt a terrible hand. 

‘Sheffield United net spend is £30million, while their nearest rivals like Bournemouth or Forest have spent £90m and far more,’ he said.

‘It’s like going into a gun fight with a water pistol. Neil Warnock has a passion for Yorkshire. I’d love to see him back in the Premier League’. 

There were, of course, appearances from Stelling’s old pals at Soccer Saturday in the shape of Tim Sherwood and Phil Thompson.

The latter seemed to revel in painting Stelling as difficult to work with and asked McCoist whether the former Sky Sports host had ‘been moaning yet?’

The response was swift and to the point: ‘I haven’t been moaning as I’ve been sitting next to Ally McCoist, not next to Phil Thompson,’ Stelling said, drawing laughter from both. 

talkSPORT unveiled Stelling with a video on social media on Saturday morning 

The former Soccer Saturday host has replaced Laura Wood as host of the talkSPORT show

‘I bet you miss all the Hartlepool updates, Thommo. Thanks for joining us, now go away.’

And Stelling even had time to enquire about Graeme Souness’ wages at talkSPORT after fellow former Sky Sport host Jim White joined his colleague to introduce his own show. 

‘I absolutely loved it,’ Stelling said of his debut as he signed off. 

‘It’s all downhill from here almost inevitably.;

If Monday is anything to go by, that appears unlikely to say the least. 

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

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