RON RAPPED FOR SECRET TRAINING
make it unmissable viewing. Add to that his charity work for prostate cancer, and Stelling is a fantastic character who is missing football like the rest of us. He also fears for many EFL clubs.
Stelling said: “The EFL have put together a £50million package to support clubs in trouble. There will be plenty of those and £50m will not go very far.
“A lot of people will ask why we are talking about football when people are dying, but when this does end and we do return to normal, or something like it, we will need a normality to return to.
“Survival of things like the local pub, restaurant, businesses and local football clubs are going to be absolutely essential.
“It pales into insignificance when you think about the number of people losing their lives.
“But when you look at the list of priorities, then football will still have a place in our lives and society when we come out of it.”
Stelling is missing the
Soccer Saturday routine, which actually kicks off on the previous Sunday with the live games. The stats prep starts from a Wednesday and then everyone gets together at Sky on a Friday night before the show.
“It’s a weekly thing, building up to a crescendo at about 4.45pm on a Saturday,” he said. “I get people coming up to me saying, ‘I’ve grown up with you, Jeff ’. It doesn’t half make you feel old!
“I celebrated – in inverted commas – my 65th birthday recently, but the truth is that
I’ve never experienced anything like this in my lifetime, let alone just in football.
“I message the boys a lot, Tiss and everybody. And especially Thommo, because he’s that much older than the rest of us! He’s a year older than me. But I make sure everyone is OK and that’s all you can do.
“Football is a beacon of hope, but we have to be realistic. I think it’s going to be a long time before we can return to normal and get football back before big crowds again.”
CRISTIANO RONALDO has been told he cannot expect preferential treatment after taking part in a secret training session in his native Madeira.
The Juventus superstar (right) was spotted working out at the Madeira national stadium in the capital Funchal on the Portuguese island.
Madeira’s head of health
Pedro Ramos said: “Ronaldo has no special permission to train – there is no privilege.
“There was no special authorisation because we are all the same, we are all facing the same pandemic.”