Jeff Stelling has just used Soccer Saturday to plead with Hartlepool manager Dave Jones to walk and then told the chairman to sack him if he won't. Apparently they've won 13 points under Jones from 17 games. They were 11 points clear of Newport when he took over, now below them in the relegation places.

Is this the Dave Jones who managed Cardiff etc?

Saw that live. He wasn't happy.
He also said he'd step down as president to make it happen.

yep, fair play Newport !

who does he think he is. he's just another "fan" that does a 3 hr shift on one programme.

Quicknick wrote:Is this the Dave Jones who managed Cardiff etc?

Yes it is

I saw it , thought he might have a tears in his eyes at one point , another passionate fan and loves his team wants them to do well
Must be heartbreaking when they were well clear at one point and didn't look in any danger , I probably be the same ,
And it's Something that might just happen to us !!!.

I like Stelling a lot and also think Dave Jones is a muppet.................but I think that was an outrageous abuse of his position on National TV to try to get someone to lose their livelihood

Why is Dave Jones managing in League Two anyway? He was a decent manager not long ago. Saying that, Dyche idol Ady Bothroyd was managing in League Two not long ago, he got sacked then Northampton stormed the league title. Ady Bothroyd once got promoted to the PL y'know.....

I like Stelling but when I saw this I almost spat my pint out.

Bang out of order for somebody in his position to be using a platform like Sky Sports to plead for a bloke to either quit or get immediately sacked. The stats speak for themselves in terms of how badly Jones is doing but I have never seen a television host trying to get someone sacked live on national television.

He's obviously a passionate bloke and I for one know I have said on here in years gone by things along the lines of "He's got to go this second!!!" (not a surprising statement when Brian Laws is your manager) but the difference is I am a nobody and was probably about 22. He should know better than to abuse any percieved power he thinks he has to put his board/Dave Jones under massive pressure to act.

I love and adore Jeff, but I agree with the comment by Jedi and others. He shouldn't have done this. He not only called for someone to be sacked in front of thousands of viewers but basically threatened to resign if he wasn't. Not nice and not like the Jeff we all know and love.

Backed them to go down last week at 2 to 1. They are now 1 to 5. Shame i bloody doubled it with brizzle city.

He says something, or he watches his club die.

No brainer for me.

Well done Jeff.

I thought it was quite funny, and actually started looking out for Hartlepool's results since watching his commentary.

KRBFC wrote:Why is Dave Jones managing in League Two anyway? He was a decent manager not long ago. Saying that, Dyche idol Ady Bothroyd was managing in League Two not long ago, he got sacked then Northampton stormed the league title. Ady Bothroyd once got promoted to the PL y'know.....

The same guy that is now manager of the England U21s. Not doing bad for himself

That was a fan speaking not a sky sports presenter, fair play to him

That is, without doubt, an abuse of privilege. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't against
his terms of engagement and he will be facing disciplinary action.

It's one thing to pass opinions on your own team, but it's another to advocate and encourage
the sacking of a manager.

It might be Jeff Stelling who's out of a job come Monday morning !

It was a bit like a Krbfc rant. Of course he rants when they are at the bottom of League Two.

Unbelievable Jeff!

I have this nagging feeling that Jeff's days on SSN are numbered. It was quite an outburst. I think his title as President at Hartlepool United is on borrowed time too.

He was talking as a fan, and from that point of view, I get it. But that was uncalled for on national television. His passions certainly got the better of him. I expected an apology of sorts after the ad break, which wasn't forthcoming.

There could be a disciplinary in the offing. I will be very surprised if he's hosting next Saturday. Jeff, that was 'unbelieveable'.

He's already hinted strongly at retirement recently. I doubt there is any disciplinary procedure he would accept and he would just leave.

He did say it was nothing personal - although it clearly could be seen as that as family and friends would have been watching. Hopefully he will apologise as he realises this wasnt the platform to vent as a fan. He had a rant on Twitter a few years ago and apologised for that.

I understand the emotion but it is certainly unprofessional and in most jobs this level of outburst would result in some level of disciplinary action.

Good job he only works for Sky Sports then

Zom Zom wrote:I have this nagging feeling that Jeff's days on SSN are numbered. It was quite an outburst. I think his title as President at Hartlepool United is on borrowed time too.

He was talking as a fan, and from that point of view, I get it. But that was uncalled for on national television. His passions certainly got the better of him. I expected an apology of sorts after the ad break, which wasn't forthcoming.

There could be a disciplinary in the offing. I will be very surprised if he's hosting next Saturday. Jeff, that was 'unbelieveable'.

Sky isn't national television!

Been an admirer of Stelling for years, but I think this was a step too far. I love the passion, the banter and everything his brings to the show, but no-one wants to see that really.

I anticipate an apology from him to be honest.

Soccer Saturday wouldn't be anything without Jeff. The bloke who does it on a week night isn't a patch on him.

Jeff, Please apologise to claptrappers.
Thanks!

I fully understand what he was doing and he was close to tears this afternoon. We all know how it is when your club is in such a state. But I did think he was wrong to use his position at Sky to rant. Having said that, what a shocking appointment Jones has been, he's yesterday's man.

I'd have done the same if I was in his position and Burnley was going down the toilet.

joey13 wrote:Sky isn't national television!

Pedantic.
You know full well what I was trying to say. Stop trying to be clever. It doesn't suit you.

Not sure what being club president actually entails but along with the issues already pointed out he's not just a fan, he's an employee/office holder at Hartlepool so he's put them in a very awkward position over this.

As others have said, terrible appointment of an out of touch manager who obviously has no-idea of how to get a team out of a league two relegation scrap - but aside from being unprofessional, not sure yesterday's outburst will have helped at all.

Not sure what the fuss is all about.

In the same way Jeff shows his true colours and bias when his team are doing well he showed his frustration yesterday at their current plight - can't remember anybody being upset at his goal celebrations.

He is in a privileged position that he has a stage to promote his club and maybe he should not have said what he did yesterday - but he did and he probably said what all their fans have been saying for weeks.

Jim White was having very similar rants about Venkys and Blackburn for several days about a month ago on Talk Sport and he does not even support them - no real difference and I'm sure Blackburn fans supported what he was doing.

God forbid Burnley are ever in the position of Hartlepool or Blackburn ever again - but if we were then I'm sure our fans would appreciate any kind of outburst which would get them the outcome they want. Desperate times call for desperate measures !

Jeff Stelling also spoke very passionately about the plights of Coventry and Leyton Orient and their long suffering supporters this season. Yesterday, he stated that Leyton Orient had been a football league club for 112 years but that an Italian owner had been able to undo all of that in just 13 months at the helm.

When the Sky commentator stated on air that over 400 Leyton Orient fans had endured a "wasted journey" to watch their team lose at Crewe Jeff Stelling rebuked him saying that the Orient fans that had travelled were TRUE supporters following their team through thick and thin.

I would rather have Jeff Stelling in the chair telling it like it is rather than a presenter who just remarks "Leyton Orient have been relegated after a frustrating season unfortunate for them."

I agree, but this Soccer Saturday, not TalkSport.

Shouting into the camera demanding someone to be sacked isn't the job of the shows anchor, unless its Alex Jones on InfoWars.

It's weird isn't it. i guess the reason why we like Jeff Stelling and why he does such a good job on Sky with Soccer Saturday is that he is so obviously a real, true, football fan.

Passionate outburst, fair play to the man.

He'll soon be feeling like that lady from Soccer Saturday on Sky who supported Torquay United and used that programme as a platform to voice her club opinions. Imagine how she feels now. Stelling's Hartlepool won't be far behind if they drop out this season.

Well, it worked according to the Gossip column. Jones was sacked yesterday.

From BBC...

10:10
Dave Jones
How much influence did club president Jeff Stelling have on the decision following his rant on Sky Sports?

Here is the Hartlepool statement:

Hartlepool United can confirm that Dave Jones has left his position as First Team Manager by mutual consent.

Assistant Managers Alex Armstrong and Kevin Cooper have also departed The Northern Gas and Power Stadium with immediate effect.

The Club would like to place on record its thanks to Jones, Armstrong and Cooper for their efforts and wish them every success in the future.

Matthew Bates will now take charge for the final two games of the season, assisted by Billy Paynter, Stuart Parnaby and Ian Gallagher.

Imagine if we were in that position, the usual suspects on here would be defending the regime.

You wouldn't cope with it.

What Jeff wants, Jeff gets but I feel sorry for Jones, no need for this public humiliation on Sky.

Possibly 'abused' his position, but got his wish. If Hartlepool now avoid the drop, no one will question it again.

Serves him right if Jones goes round and puts his lights out.

It's pretty widely know that Stelling is hanging up his Mic at the end of the season so what has he got to lose from his outburst about a club that he has supported as a lad? He probably said what most Hartlepool fans only wish they had a public platform to say about the shoddy way their club was being managed. I've no problem with it at all tbh

ClaretTony wrote:Jeff Stelling has just used Soccer Saturday to plead with Hartlepool manager Dave Jones to walk and then told the chairman to sack him if he won't. Apparently they've won 13 points under Jones from 17 games. They were 11 points clear of Newport when he took over, now below them in the relegation places.

If we pick up fewer than 2 points from our next 2 games, our record will be worse over 17 games.

If that happens, maybe Tony Livesey will have a meltdown on the One Show and demand Dyche be sacked, or Eric Knowles might have a barney on Antiques Roadshow, using a set of 18th century figurines to illustrate the fruitlessness of lumping long balls to a static strikeforce with no runners beyond.

I too thought Stelling overstep the line, but having said this, I would hate to lose him from Soccer Saturday. I like his passion, so I suppose this kind of thing is inevitable from time to time. I also the fact that he's not obsessed with the EPL.

I'm surprised Stelling is still in work with Sky,he must be as untouchable as Joey is with Dyche.

Things look like getting bleaker for Harlepool now threatened with Paul Nuttall as a possible MP.

Ah well, I suppose it is where the monkeys hang out.

Stelling was bang on the money.

He's a fan. And the management team were making an absolute arse of it. He's keeps his trap shut, they do nothing, hartlepools go down with a whimper, possibly never to rise again.

He spoke like a fan. Plenty others have taken the party line and watched their clubs disintegrate.

Well done Jeff.

Jeff did the right thing & ultimately got his wish. Many people following other clubs don't have the same exposure or influence as him & if there did there wouldn't bat a eyelid to do the same if there was completely jacked off.