|
 |
AN AFTERNOON WITH JEFF STELLING 29-02-08
Andy Morgan, James Bassett and Christopher Bean
Jeff Stelling's now legendary pro-Middlesbrough rant was rightly recognised by Middlesbrough Council and Jeff was duly invited to be honoured at the Town Hall recently.
After he was presented with his Brian Clough statuette (one of only four in existence) by Councillor John McPartland, we spent some time with Jeff and he mentioned that he was delighted to have received ComeOnBoro's Man Of The Year Award back in December.
Jeff was naturally delighted to receive our request for an interview and here are the answers to the questions submitted by ComeOnBoro editor Andy Morgan, ComeOnBoro columnist James Bassett and IBR editor Christopher Bean.
COB: Where did you start your career as a journalist and do you have any advice for aspiring journalists?
JS: I started out as a Journalist at the Hartlepool Mail. They were fantastic times – we would work in the morning and go to the beach in the afternoon. In the summer of course.
For me, it’s still vital for any aspiring journalist to get into a newspaper at the bottom and work your way up. Some great journalists work for local papers and it’s a great place to learn.
COB: In your infamous pro-Middlesbrough rant, you showed a clear disdain for Babyshambles. If shambling indie rock isn't your thing, what kind of music floats your boat?
JS: Babyshambles – music?! You’re having a laugh. I’m into Van Morrison, Ray Charles, Zeppelin etc.
COB: You have one of the most impressive tie collections in TV history but how many do you actually have?
JS: I don’t know how many ties I have. I’ll have to count up but I would guess about 100.
COB: Didn't it annoy you just a little bit that Phil Thompson did his utmost to throw you off your stride when you were just getting into your pro-Middlesbrough rant?
JS: No. Thommo is great. One of the most passionate men I have ever met. I love him!!!
COB: Don't you wish, for just one week, that you could swap Le Tissier, Thompson, Nicholas and Merson for some of the Sky Sports News girls?
JS: Why only for one week? Natalie Sawyer, Georgie Thompson, Clare Tomlinson and our own Bianca Westwood. We could talk about shoes, handbags, blokes and lots of other interesting things.
It would make our get together on Friday nights a hell of a lot more enjoyable though.
COB: In a recent interview with Bernard Gent he mentioned that he showed you the broadcasting ropes. What advice did you receive from him that you still use to this day?
JS: Bernard certainly did. You couldn’t wish to find anyone more kind or helpful to a young rookie radio reporter. He and the late Ken Rumney were big influences on me.
COB: Have there been any times in a heated debate where you have just wanted to lamp one of your colleagues?
JS: Have I ever wanted to lamp one of my colleagues? Have you ever met Rodney Marsh?!
COB: Do you think the Boro get an unfair press in the southern media and do you think the "Big Four" are spoiling the magic of the game?
JS: Boro do get an unfair press from some of the media. I think it's because it’s a long way for them to go, although I think Gareth Southgate is universally liked and Steve Gibson is universally admired.
I don’t think the Big Four are ruining the game though. They may have huge buying power but how often do Boro turn them over at the Riverside? Those are games to remember.
COB: What have been your favourite moments on Soccer Saturday and which of the pundits do you get on with most?
JS: I think my favourite ever Soccer Saturday moment was Rodney Marsh having his head shaved live after predicting Bradford would be relegated.
Another personal favourite was hearing Bournemouth fans chant "Stelling, Stelling, what's the score?" when Hartlepool needed a point at Dean Court to reach the play-offs when Bournemouth needed to win. At that stage they had just taken a 2-1 lead. When it finished 2-2, I told them the score – several times in fact. A very pleasant day on Soccer Saturday.
COB: Which pundit is the easiest to wind up?
JS: Easiest pundit to wind up – Thommo. Just mention Everton, small club, underachieving. Stand back and light the blue touch paper.
COB: How do you cope watching several matches, looking at an autocue, keeping tabs with the latest scores, listening out for one of the guy's yelps and having the producer scream down your ear for two hours?
JS: I ignore the racket. And remember I could have worked at the steelworks like my Dad.
COB: Do you think that wall-to-wall football coverage is a good or a bad thing? As a Hartlepool fan doesn't it worry you that the amount of money in the game is detrimental to your own side?
JS: As a Sky employee I had better not say there’s too much football on TV – it could be P45 time.
I certainly think the money in the game – much of it from TV - should be distributed more evenly. Hartlepool is a well run, financially sound club but others are going into administration for the cost of one of Joey Barton's legs. Ridiculous.
COB: Have you ever visited TNS? If so, did you dance in the streets?
JS: TNS – a lovely spot. I was asked to a couple of big European nights there but after hours trying to find it, I gave up. I ended up in some place called Llansantffraid. Mind you, there was a lot of dancing in the streets going on there.
DISCUSS THIS INTERVIEW IN THE NEW HOLGATE MESSAGE BOARD
BACK TO INTERVIEWS INDEX
A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £40.98 ON CARLISLE v LEEDS
Did you know that it is possible to win money on Thursday evening's League One play-off clash between Carlisle and Leeds, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 7.45pm and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £40.98, whatever the result of the match. All you have to do is follow the simple instructions below and then sit back and enjoy the game. At full-time (ninety minutes), you will be at least £40.98 better off, whatever the result of the match.
We must point out that if you want to take this bet, you should do it now because if the odds change, then the figures here will be invalidated. If they have changed, let us know and we will rework the bet for you.
You can still do this if you have a Betfair account but your overall profit will be reduced by £25.00 as you won't receive the £25.00 cashback as an existing account holder.
If you are unsure about this bet, you are most welcome to call us on 01642 223229 and we will help you as much as we can.
We're going to lay out a total of £73.00 on the Carlisle v Leeds match and we will collect £114.60 if Carlisle win, £115.00 if Leeds win and £113.98 if it's a draw. That's a minimum profit of 56%, a much higher interest rate than you will get in any high street bank.
Here's how it's done. Just follow these simple instructions.
1. Open an account with Coral. It is really important that you enter the bonus code of CORALTD when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Betfair. It is really important that you enter the promotional code of BFB425 when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Extrabet
 .
This shouldn't take you any longer than a few minutes.
2. Make the following deposits into your new accounts.
Deposit £22.00 into your new Coral account.
Deposit £26.00 into your new Betfair account.
Deposit £25.00 into your Extrabet account.
3. Now make the following bets.
Place £22.00 on Carlisle at 2.80 (9/5) with Coral.
Coral will now add a £10.00 bonus to your account. Place this on Carlisle as well. You will now have £32.00 riding on Carlisle.
Back the draw with £26.00 at 3.55 (5/2) (or higher if available) with Betfair.
Place £25.00 on Leeds at 2.37 (13/10) with Extrabet .
Extrabet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £50.00 riding on Leeds.
The £25.00 matched bet will not show in your account but you can read all about how it works on the Extrabet site. It's the purple box that says '£25 FREE BET FOR NEW CUSTOMERS' on the top right hand side. Click here to visit the Extrabet site.
If you are unsure about placing these bets, please feel free to mail us or call us on 01642 223229 and we will talk you through it, no problem at all. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
You have temporarily laid out a total of £73.00 on the Carlisle v Leeds match. I stress, temporarily... Now sit back, crack a beer open and enjoy the match.
4. Here's what happens at the end of the game.
If Carlisle win, you collect £114.60. That's £89.60 from Coral plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If it's a draw, you collect £113.98. That's £88.98 from Betfair plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Leeds win you collect £115.00. That's £90.00 from Extrabet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Carlisle v Leeds match is a draw and you make £40.98 profit. However, if Carlisle win you make £41.60 and if Leeds win you make £42.00. That's a minimum profit of 56%, a much better rate of interest that you would get at any high street bank or building society.
6. It is absolutely vital that you click on the links on this page to open the accounts with the two bookies and enter the correct bonus codes or you may not qualify for the bonuses.
Also, before you place your bets, you should check that the odds haven't changed. If they have, let us know by mail or phone us on 01642 223229 and we will rework the bet for you.
Please feel free to contact us or phone us on 01642 223229 if you have any questions at all about this bet and we will help you as much as we can.
Please note that the bonuses are valid for new customers only so if you already have an account with one or more of the bookies we are using, you won't be able to do this. If that is the case, mail us or phone us on 01642 223229 and we'll create an alternative bet for you using different bookies.
This method of betting was used very successfully during the 2006 World Cup and you can read all about how it was done right here.
We guarantee this bet
It's understandable that some people will not believe that it is possible to do this. "What's the catch?" I hear you asking. My answer to that question is that we have been publishing arbitrage bets for four seasons now and literally hundreds of people have profited from following the advice on these pages.
Only twice has our refund guarantee been triggered and that was when we did all the figures wrong and sent refunds out to those who had followed our advice and made a small loss.
Our refund guarantee works like this. If this bet doesn't work like we say it will and you end up out of pocket, we will refund your losses. Simple as that.
That means that you simply cannot lose on this, whatever happens and even if we messed up the numbers.
The only stipulation here is that you must click on the links on this page to be eligible for the refund guarantee, not that you'll be needing to claim anyway. Just enjoy the profit and stay posted for many more of these throughout the season.
|
|
|
|
