Match Of The Day’s New Era: Reassuring Dad Jokes And A Lot Of Wayne Rooney | Paul Macinnes

The credits for nan caller Match of nan Day are successful a comic-book style. Your surface bursts pinch consequence instrumentality cherries erstwhile Bournemouth popular up, and freezes erstwhile Cole Palmer appears. Erling Haaland sits successful nan lotus airs nether a bluish moon. The astir improbable infinitesimal is saved until nan title paper appears, however, pinch nan camera disappearing wrong nan bottommost of nan Premier League trophy, down a metallic passageway and out, directly, into Mark Chapman’s face.

Chapman is simply a long-time BBC Sport anchor and nan main man connected Radio 5 Live. He is hardly an chartless quantity, but present he had been grabbed by a stylist and fixed a vaguely modish aerial pinch designer stubble and a pick overshirt hanging loosely disconnected his shoulders. One of three presenters charged pinch taking nan BBC’s venerable shot highlights show retired of nan Gary Lineker era, he has to onslaught a equilibrium betwixt being acquainted and fresh. He did truthful by making a dada joke astir it; that’s MotD heritage.

“You whitethorn person seen and heard that location is simply a large alteration to nan show this season”, Chapman said arsenic we emerged from nan trophy tunnel. “And that is … Wayne Rooney has joined america a regular pundit.” Pause for laughter. “Some things don’t change, Alan Shearer is still here”, he went connected arsenic Rooney audibly chuckled successful nan background.

With Match of nan Day there’s ne'er immoderate clip to dwell and arsenic soon arsenic Chapman had introduced himself and his colleagues successful their ribbed polo shirts we were into nan action. We began astatine Sunderland and their awesome opening triumph against West Ham, pinch Rooney detailing nan displacement successful violative width that opened up nan game. “I really sewage 1 of my only wins against them”, said nan erstwhile Plymouth leader of nan Black Cats. “Got that successful early, good done”, noted Chapman.

From location it was City and immoderate hyperbole complete a caller signing (an opening time inclination arsenic aged arsenic time): “Almost nan cleanable midfield performance”, said Shearer of Tijjani Reijnders. At Spurs v Burnley we watched Martin Dubravka go nan first goalkeeper to cough up a area for holding nan shot longer than 8 seconds. The statement connected Brighton v Fulham began pinch punishment decisions – possibly nan astir accordant fascination of MotD producers complete nan past decade. There was besides an advert for an question and reply elsewhere connected nan BBC with, well, Rooney. “Blimey, you’re taking over”, said Chapman.

Rooney had been nan main attraction astatine a football-themed barroom successful Westfield, Shepherd’s Bush, connected Thursday nighttime arsenic nan BBC launched their caller season’s sum successful beforehand of an assemblage of distracted influencers. This twelvemonth he will not only beryllium connected MotD and interviewed elsewhere, he will besides person his ain twice-weekly podcast which, successful nan words of nan BBC, will spot him “diving into nan shot debates that are dominating your algorithm”. When Rooney came up connected shape to talk astir it, he was obscured by a projection of his ain look and nan show was described arsenic “not intentionally funny, conscionable funny”. So enactment tuned connected that one.

The England and Manchester United icon shows signs of committedness arsenic a pundit. He’s articulate, and connected Saturday nighttime was capable to conjure up nan correct connection erstwhile you could spot he was looking for it. He’s tactically insightful and has a wealthiness of acquisition to tie from too, obviously, capable present to comparison nan existent business of Alexander Isak to nan clip he handed successful a transportation petition astatine Old Trafford. Most intriguingly he intelligibly preserves that wound that marked him retired arsenic a player, and beardown opinions are apt to beryllium forthcoming.

Sunderland’s 3-0 triumph complete West Ham was nan first lucifer to beryllium shown successful nan post-Lineker era of MotD. Photograph: Martin Swinney/Sunderland AFC/Getty Images

Those hoping to predominate immoderate algorithms will beryllium excited astatine this prospect, but it besides speaks to a hostility that exists betwixt nan BBC’s caller strategy and a 62-year-old show that’s an icon of TV. The BBC’s sports sum has ever been predictable, accordant and mediate of nan road. It’s portion of what made nan federation capable to beryllium and watch it together (something that’s still true, pinch BBC sum of nan Lionesses’ Euros triumph past period nan astir watched broadcast successful nan UK this year). It is not, traditionally astatine least, a location for nan deliberately provocative shape of integer punditry known arsenic ‘hot takes’.

On nan different hand, it’s difficult to hide from nan truth that nan mean spectator of BBC One is successful their 60s, while little than half of 16 to 24 twelvemonth olds watch broadcast TV. The BBC has a request to service those audiences and intelligibly their strategy for nan caller play is designed pinch them successful mind. “We’re not conscionable covering nan games, we’re pursuing nan fans”, is nan line. The galore group who build their lives astir their sum will dream it doesn’t displacement excessively much. Certainly listening to Don Hutchison connected 5 Live connected Friday nighttime was arsenic informed an preamble to nan play arsenic you are apt to hear, moreover if it did spell connected a bit.

“You could opportunity nan much things change, nan much they enactment nan same”, was Chapman’s return arsenic he signed disconnected nan first show of nan season, but location is 1 alteration that could beryllium unexpectedly disruptive. With presenters and suits alike trying to tread an impossibly good statement betwixt reliability and novelty, nan BBC has managed this play to bring guardant nan clip it tin show Premier League highlights online. You tin now watch nan goals from 8pm connected a Saturday night, bringing an extremity to years of vexation astir antiquated embargoes. At nan aforesaid time, it besides intends you tin person worked done each nan action hours earlier nan BBC’s flagship show has moreover gone connected air. Funny aged game, arsenic they utilized to say.