By Edd Paul – @edd93paul
Hartlepool United manager Dave Jones left the club by mutual consent earlier today after a run of 13 points from a possible 51 has mired the Pools in a League Two relegation scrap, two points from safety with two games to go.
Jones’ departure doesn’t look too weird on the face of it: 13 points is a terrible return from his four month spell at the club, so you can’t say this is a massive surprise.
But before you dismiss this as Just Another League Two Managerial Sacking, watch this video of Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling going ballistic:
What a rant by Jeff Stelling #jeffstelling #Hartlepool pic.twitter.com/xgnGI2Y0Rh
— Andy Ramsden (@andy_ramsden) April 22, 2017
And the transcript from Stelling’s rant:
[quote] “I’m wearing a Hartlepool United tie today, we’ve lost at home, we’re in the relegation places…this is not personal, Dave, but: Dave Jones, for God’s sake, for the good of the club, walk now, GO now. You’ve got 13 points from 51; this is not your level of football.
“Pam Duxbury; the chairman, Gary Coxall…if he (Dave Jones) won’t walk; SACK HIM. If it means me resigning as president, I do so happily.
“DO IT NOW. DO IT TODAY.”[/quote]
This is Jeff Stelling, face of Soccer Saturday, one of the UK’s most beloved and well-watched sports shows, probably the most famous Hartlepool fan ever, who, well whaddya know, is also CLUB PRESIDENT, pretty much demanding the sacking of Dave Jones live on television, a sacking which has just happened this very morning.
I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but…Jeff Stelling totally sacked Dave Jones through the television and is actually an extremely powerful man who can bend anyone, specifically the Hartlepool board, to his will. But how far does his influence reach? How many does it touch? It starts with Hartlepool, but where does it stop? World leaders?
Never has a League Two manager’s dismissal raised so many questions. I long for a time when Jeff Stelling was just a jovial James Brown-loving football presenter and not the Emperor from Star Wars.
