Andy Goldstein, former host of Soccer AM, has expressed mixed emotions about the show’s cancellation after almost 30 years on air. Goldstein presented the show between 2007 and 2008, replacing Tim Lovejoy. Sky Sports recently announced that it had made the decision to end the long-running show, which has left those involved in it ‘raging’. A total of ten more episodes will air, taking it until the end of the current Premier League season. Among a multitude of different presenters, talkSPORT’s very own Mr Goldstein was on the sofa to replace Tim Lovejoy in 2007, having been the presenter alongside Helen Chamberlain since 1996.
However, as Goldstein explained, the magic was gone as soon as Lovejoy left. When asked by Hawksbee and Jacobs whether he was sad to see Soccer AM go, he replied: “Erm… no, not really. I mean, I was honoured to be part of it. I much preferred the Friday night show [Soccer AM spin-off ‘All-Sports Show’], I did four years of that. The problem was that when I took over [on Soccer AM] from Tim [Lovejoy], it was a little bit like David Moyes taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson – you’re on a hiding to nothing. But when Tim left he also took all the writers with him, so I turned up and there was just blueprint whosoever left of that show, and I didn’t really enjoy it.”
Goldstein went on to explain that he remembered about four or five weeks in, he was sitting on the couch just thinking, “This is awful”, which is really sad because it was just such a phenomenon. “Tim and Helen were just unbelievable doing that show, and then there was me sitting on the famous orange sofa with the dream job thinking, ‘Oh, it’s not as good as when I used to watch it’. I was really honoured to be part of it. I made lots of friends and I still speak to the gang – Tubes, Rocket and Adam as well. Really honoured that it’s on my CV, but I haven’t watched it for years. And not for any other reason other than I just don’t have time to sit in front of the telly on a Saturday morning. But yeah, sad that it’s finished because it was an unbelievable show and we all grew up with it.”
Goldstein now hosts talkSPORT Drive with Darren Bent. Soccer AM has been a staple of Saturday morning TV for almost 30 years and has featured many famous faces over the years, including Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Tim Sherwood. The show has been praised for its unique blend of football news, interviews and comedy sketches. Despite its popularity, Sky Sports has decided to cancel the show after almost 30 years on air. The decision has been met with mixed reactions from fans and those involved in the show.