Andy Goldstein recalls moment he thought 'this is awful' as he presented Soccer AM

Former Soccer AM presenter Andy Goldstein once admitted that taking over from Tim Lovejoy as host was a “hiding to nothing” in a honest admission about the discontinued show.

Goldstein, 51, currently works for popular radio station talkSPORT and regularly hosts the broadcaster’s drive-time show alongside former Premier League forward and England international Darren Bent.

But before this, he was best known for replacing Lovejoy - a co-host between 1996 and 2004 - as a presenter on Sky Sports’ Soccer AM in 2004.

For football fans in the mid-2000s, watching the show was an important part of their pre-match routines.

However, with the growing popularity of football-related YouTube content and the rise of fan channels, the show declined and was aired for the final time in 2023.

And when asked if he was sad to see the show pulled, Goldstein gave an honest take while speaking on talkSPORT in 2023.

“Erm… no, not really,” Goldstein said.

"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, 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.

Andy Goldstein on Soccer AM (Credit:Soccer AM YT)

"I remember about four or five weeks in, I 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.

"I'm 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.”