Simon Thomas says following Jeff Stelling was ‘like replacing Fergie at United'
Thomas took over from the hugely popular Stelling for the start of the 2023-24 season when the veteran broadcaster stepped away from fronting the Saturday afternoon results show after over 25 years in the chair.
Thomas, who took a break from presenting following the death of his wife in 2017, initially wanted to turn the job down, fearing he would have an 'impossible job', much like Moyes did at Old Trafford when he took over from the Scot in 2013.
'It was a little bit like replacing Fergie at United,' the 52-year-old told ainslie + ainslie Performance People podcast. '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?'
Thomas, who admitted he struggled with anxiety when returning to work following his wife's death, fronted a rebrand of Soccer Saturday and admits he struggled in his first season.
'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,' he said.
'There was a period when I thought 'have I made a massive mistake here?'.
'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'.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
43 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Belgium will be ‘shaking in boots' ahead of Wales game in Cardiff
Belgium inflicted Craig Bellamy's first defeat as Wales head coach with an extraordinary 4-3 World Cup qualifying victory in Brussels on Monday. The Red Devils, ranked eighth in the world, let slip a three-goal lead before Kevin De Bruyne spared home blushes with an 88th-minute winner. Sorba Thomas (left) battles for the ball with Belgium's Jeremy Doku in Brussels (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP) The return fixture is in Cardiff on October 13 and new Stoke signing Thomas said of Belgium: 'That's a team that is top 10. People will say 'little old Wales' but we took the game to them. 'They're going to be shaking in their boots when they come to Cardiff to play us. We're hungry, we're a young group. 'I felt when it went to 3-3 it was in our hands. But it's a devastating game, football is a horrible sport sometimes. (Against) top 10 in the world and we feel we should have walked away with a win.' Wales seemed to be heading for a humiliating night when Romelu Lukaku, Youri Tielemans and Jeremy Doku struck inside the opening 27 minutes. Brennan Johnson (second right) celebrates with team-mates after scoring Wales' third goal against Belgium (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP) There was a party atmosphere inside the King Baudouin Stadium as home supporters began a Mexican wave. Thomas said: 'Them behaving like that put it down to the pitch. The players got relaxed and we punished that. 'They might have been doing the Mexican wave but they weren't doing it when it went to 3-3. 'They're entitled to do what they want, but we deal with what's on the pitch. The whole game shifted. 'They countered us a few times, but I felt we played their big players well. 'We're a young team and we're going places. That's one loss in 10. We'll learn from this and get better and better.' After Harry Wilson converted a penalty in first-half stoppage time, winger Thomas scored his first Wales goal and then set up Brennan Johnson's equaliser to cap a memorable week. The 26-year-old also started Friday's 3-0 victory over Liechtenstein and the following day left Huddersfield to join Stoke on a three-year deal. Sorba is a Stokie 🔴⚪ — Stoke City FC (@stokecity) June 7, 2025 'Personally it's been one heck of a week,' said Thomas, who has spent the season on loan at Ligue 1 club Nantes. 'I've secured my future and got my first Wales goal. I hope my family all watching at home were proud. 'I've loved my time at Huddersfield. They took me from non-league and made my dreams reality to play for Wales and put me in this moment. 'To get it (the move) done early was important because I can focus on my football. 'I want to play well in the Championship every week next season and give the manager a headache to keep putting me in the team.'
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Flight attendant explains why you should never swap seats on a flight
TikTok video creator and flight attendant Leanna Coy explained why she doesn't like to switch seats whens she is flying as a passenger, arguing that doing so is risky business A flight attendant has warned that seat switchers on planes are risking it all. Leanna Coy recently published a TikTok video titled ' Why you shouldn't switch seats on the plane' that explains exactly that. The commonly touted reason flight attendants typically tell off-seat switchers is that the plane's boarding plan is designed to put an even number of passengers on each side of the plane. Too many on one side, and the aircraft can be a little trickier for the pilot to fly. However, Leanna Coy has a whole different reason. The American flight attendant was recently asked to switch seats with a passenger on a United Airlines flight. "Normally, I am absolutely 100 per cent against changing seats. Your lack of planning should not constitute me having to move," Leanna explained. However, on this occasion, the flight attendant couldn't think of a good reason not to swap, so she obliged. She immediately began to have doubts about her decision. "I'm already on edge about it," she said. According to Leanna, if the person you've switched with does anything to "act up" on the plane, the behaviour would be associated with her seat number. That means any breach of the aircraft's rules, such as vaping in the bathroom or throwing snacks at fellow passengers, could wrongly be pinned on her. Leanna argued that such a thought was not as far-fetched as one might think. "I see what goes down on the plane. If this lady decides to go smoke in the bathroom or whatever, that could come back to me," the world-weary flight attendant explained. "I realised I'm flying United. If you know anything about United's service, if you want to buy drinks or anything, you have to put your card onto the app ahead of time, which I've done before." This means that the passenger who swapped with Leanna may be able to access her card to pay for items. The off-duty cabin crew member asked one of her colleagues if that was indeed the case, and they confirmed that it was. "'Now, do I think this lady was trying to scam me out of money on my card? No. But that's just something to be aware of. I fully support you if you don't want to switch seats. You are entitled to the seat that you chose," Leanna said. It is not a rare occurrence for chaos to break out on a flight or for passengers to indulge in a bit of bad behaviour. At the end of last year, a passenger caused chaos after allegedly attempting to open the emergency door mid-flight. The incident took place on a Copa Airlines flight on Tuesday night. Footage of the incident shows a man being restrained in a headlock while a crew member tried to attach plastic handcuffs to his wrists. Two passengers – Marcelo Ribeiro and Everaldo Torres – reportedly helped to restrain the man, according to local reports. Marcelo attempted to reason with the passenger when he noticed him trying to open the door, which ignited a brawl.
The Courier
2 hours ago
- The Courier
Dundee United seal Iurie Iovu deal as Jim Goodwin hails 'fearless' stopper
Dundee United have completed the signing of towering Moldova international Iurie Iovu. The 6ft5ins central defender has penned a two-year deal with the Tannadice outfit, with no transfer fee involved, and becomes the club's second capture in 24 hours following the arrival of Zac Sapsford. The Terrors hold an option for a further season, should Iovu thrive. Iovu, 22, joins from Croatian side NK Istra, while he has also been on the books of Zimbru Chisinau, Cagliari, Venezia and Alaves B. The first Moldovan to ever join United, Iovu boasts four senior caps and is hopeful the switch to Scotland could help him cement a regular place with the national side. United boss Jim Goodwin told the club's official website: 'Iurie is a player we identified as one of our first targets for the summer window thanks to his dominant displays across three different European countries. 'He is a committed and fearless defender with an infectious level of controlled aggression when carrying out his duties, and boasts the ideal set of physical attributes to thrive in the Scottish Premiership. 'Iurie also has the potential to develop into a fantastic asset for the club further down the line. In the short-term however, we have unwavering confidence in his ability to strengthen our backline across the next few seasons.'
