Soccer Saturday has returned with a brand new look, as the iconic Sky Sports show kept viewers up to speed with the opening day of the English Football League season.
Many football fans will welcome the return of a much-loved format, but some things are a little different at the beginning of the 2023/24 season.
For one, veteran presenter Jeff Stelling is no longer in the hotseat, having announced his exit towards the end of last season.
In his stead is Simon Thomas, an experienced sports presenter who may not be able to replicate Stelling's unique style, but will surely settle into the role in his own way before too long.
🗣️ Clinton Morrison: "I don't tell everyone I go on holiday!" ☀
🗣️ Paul Merson: "Because no one is interested" 😳
Clinton & Mers have clearly missed each other during the summer break 😆 pic.twitter.com/1xKKvemw1H— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 5, 2023
Soccer Saturday changes
Another difference that supporters have noticed is a change to the set, with pundits now sitting behind their own separate workspaces, rather than the one long desk that was the norm for nearly three decades.
According to some fans on Twitter, it all looks a bit 'BT Sport', specifically the BT Sport Score show that rivalled Soccer Saturday from 2016 until the end of last season.
Naturally, people found plenty of other issues to give out about, including the fonts, the graphics and the punditry team, which was made up of Clinton Morrison, Sue Smith, Michael Dawson, Neil Lennon and Paul Merson for the opening day.
New Soccer Saturday copied BT’s version? pic.twitter.com/CyLtaz8qc4
— Burney (@BurneyMcr1) August 5, 2023
Gillette Soccer Saturday is now the same that BT Sport score.
— Firat🐺 (@firatmonza) August 5, 2023
Simon Thomas is doing a decent enough job but everything else is a shambles on Soccer Saturday at the moment 🤦🏻♂️... and have they nicked that studio from BT Sport?
— Steve Turner (@Majortarantino) August 5, 2023
Simon Thomas doing a great job on Soccer Saturday. Never going to be easy stepping into Jeff Stelling's shoes. He's not being helped by the on screen graphics being all over the place though
— Kieran (@KieranMilward) August 5, 2023
Feel quite bad for Simon Thomas today - #SoccerSaturday is a total mess in terms of production. The direction is poor, the graphics and the sound are all over the place, the pundits seem uncomfortable. Thomas has done a decent job, I can imagine it’s pandemonium in his earpiece.
— Joel (@JoelBabyHerc) August 5, 2023
Return of Soccer Saturday
In the modern age where live scores are at your fingertips, Soccer Saturday still has a big role to play in the weekend football-watching routine.
It's familiar, and it's the perfect way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon if you've got no plans outdoors or anything to do around the house.
With BT now rebranded to TNT Sports and their Score show unlikely to be continued, Soccer Saturday's monopoly on televised score updates would appear to be back in business.
However, judging by some of the comments on Saturday, it may take some viewers a while to get used to the changes.
