It’s a debate that rages between generations of football fans in almost every pub and café in the land – who was better, the players and managers of the past or the present?
Now a new TV show hopes to answer the debate once and for all in front of a judge and jury in the salubrious surroundings of De Montfort University Leicester’s (DMU) Crown Court.
All rise for Judge Claridge - in the chair at DMU's Crown Court
Sport in Court, which will debut on Sky TV (channel 192) on August 30 at 6.30pm, will see Leicester City cult hero Steve Claridge swap his boots and shin pads for a wig and gown to weigh up evidence given by lawyers, tasked with arguing which sporting superstars are the best.
The section filmed in the Crown Court, which sits inside the 13th century Great Hall of DMU’s Leicester Castle Business School, is part of a programme called Ballsy Women.
It will look at women in sport, gender parity and the contribution of sport in society. Ballsy Women will be hosted by World and European badminton champion Gail Emms, sitting alongside former Wolves and West Ham winger Matt Jarvis.
Producer Geoff Lines said he hoped to build on the good relations he has established with the university’s Law School and get students involved in future episodes.
Geoff said: “People have these arguments on a regular basis so we thought ‘why not put it in a court’.
The beautiful Crown Court in the Great Hall at DMU
“The Crown Court room at DMU was the perfect setting and really sets the tone. Tim Hillier (Associate Head of Leicester De Montfort Law School) showed great interest and enthusiasm for what we were trying to do.
“We will see how the show is received and then look at the possibility of getting some of his law students involved in the future. That would be great.
“We know Steve Claridge is a bit of a legend in Leicester and you do see a bit of his cheeky chappie personality coming through but we have real advocates and some good witnesses and the ultimate decision rests on Steve. So it does get pretty serious!”
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Judge Steve is the original ‘journeyman’ footballer, having played professionally for 20 clubs. But he is forever in the hearts of Leicester City fans after scoring the winner in the play-off final against Crystal Palace in 1996 which put Martin O’Neill’s team in the Premier League. A year later Claridge scored Leicester City’s winner in the League Cup Final replay against Middlesbrough.
During the three episodes filmed so far, there will be a tasty tussle between Liverpool midfield general and three times European Cup-winner Graeme Souness and his modern-day nemesis Paul Pogba, of Manchester United. The pair have recently been involved in spats on Sky Sports with Souness constantly questioning Pogba’s commitment and Pogba claiming he has never heard of Souness.
A view of the stunning Leicester Castle Business School where the Crown Court sits
Other programmes will focus on whether the greatest football manager that England never had – two time European Cup-winning coach Brian Clough – was better than Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola, and decide if two times European Player of the Year, Kevin Keegan, is a match for Liverpool’s current Egyptian idol Mo Salah.
During Sport in Court, witnesses for the players and managers of the past are The Sun’s Deputy Head of Sport Martin Lipton and Dave Prentice, who has written about football at the Liverpool Echo for 30 years and is the paper’s Head of Sport.
The witnesses for the modern-day stars are BBC Sport and BT Sport football commentator Vicky Sparks and Ballsy Women co-host Matt Jarvis.
The shows will be broadcast on Sky channel 192 on Sunday 30 August at 6.30pm, Wednesday 2 September at 2.30pm and Friday 4 September at 7pm.
Posted on Monday 24 August 2020