Of all the in-trays in the world, the one you wouldn’t necessarily want on your desk right now is the one opposite the brand new head of BBC Sport, Alex Kay-Jelski.
He may be an aspiring broadcast executive, but as a former sports director at the Ny Breaking and The Times, and head of sports subscription service The Athletic, he has shown a determination to climb mountains.
None are as big as this challenge: the toughest issue Kay-Jelski must now tackle is what to do about Gary Lineker and the well-being of Match of the Day, the self-proclaimed ‘world’s most famous football show’. In reality, it probably is.
Certainly, the statesmanlike nature of a program that has been on near hiatus since 1964 (who can forget that 2001-2004 ITV version?), spells trouble for anyone who tries to tackle it and gets it wrong. It’s a ticket to certain relegation to the lower leagues. Kay-Jelski is smart enough (or he should be) to know that.
For many, weekends are incomplete without their diet of goals, interviews, analysis and ‘banter’, and the Beeb’s top highlights show is a must-watch for anyone who cares about football. It still attracts four million viewers per show, despite the many ways you can get similar goal chances everywhere you look.
The new head of BBC Sport, Alex Kay-Jelski, must decide what to do with Gary Lineker (pictured) and Match of the Day
Kay-Jelski arrives at the Beeb as a former sports director at the Ny Breaking and The Times
He was also head of sports subscription service The Athletic and now takes charge of a program that still attracts 4 million viewers every show.
Your browser does not support iframes.
It’s a strange blemish in the TV landscape. Hardly anyone watches highlights anymore, as football fans just need to point their mobile phone in the right direction to see all the goals and highlights within seconds of them happening. Live sport is where the big money is spent and there is a feeling that highlights, once celebrated as a bite-sized way to follow sport, are now prehistoric.
Instead, the BBC is bundling Match of the Day with 5Live radio commentary to secure a multi-million-dollar ‘free-to-air’ deal with the Premier League, with the current contract running until 2029.
The BBC has tried to weaken its coverage everywhere else, from Radio 4 to the failing and fading Football Focus, in search of a younger audience. But Match of the Day (or MOTD as some people like to call it boringly there) on a Saturday evening at least seems refreshing on all those shows from yesterday.
The first Match of the Day, featuring highlights of Liverpool versus Arsenal, was watched by an estimated 20,000 spectators. Kenneth Wolstenholme was the presenter and since then sports stars such as Frank Bough, David Coleman, Jimmy Hill, Bob Wilson and Des Lynam have sat in the presenter’s chair. Lineker has been in the gig since 1999, earning £1.35million a year anchoring events with his charming, matey style.
The show currently portrays a charming, matey style, with experts including Alan Shearer and Ian Wright (pictured) working on
Lineker has followed Frank Bough, David Coleman, Jimmy Hill, Bob Wilson and Des Lynam while sitting in the presenter’s chair
Match of the Day is a rare gem in the BBC sports tiara, not least because the national broadcaster doesn’t have much to offer in the way of real live sport anymore. Partly it is the chemistry between the presenters, but that is set to change with Ian Wright retiring this summer after the European Championships. So is this a good time for Lineker to also step aside? Perhaps Wright could move on if Arsenal win the Premier League title and Lineker can chase England to win the Euros? Everyone is a winner…
The crucial question is: who will replace Lineker as he dances through his 25th year as a presenter in much the same way he once left defenders in his wake?
Mark ‘Chappers’ Chapman, who has the battered charm of a man who has seen one Shed Seven concert too many, has to be the leading candidate. He already hosts Match of the Day 2, Sunday’s little cousin show, which is ready to watch. He has also featured his sport on BBC Radio for many years.
Former England player Jermaine Jenas, who has become such a skilled presenter that he is almost impossible to get off the screen, is another player who would be a popular alternative. Inevitably there is also Alex Scott. She will certainly be involved in the conversation, regardless of whether Football Focus sinks like a boat at sea with a hole in its hull.
There is the smaller question of who will get the job hosting the BBC’s new Champions League highlights program from September, which will be another drain on resources. But without Lineker, football highlights on the BBC lose much of their watchability.
Mark Chapman will likely be the leading candidate to replace Lineker if he calls it a day
Alex Scott will undoubtedly also be involved in the conversation, regardless of whether Football Focus sinks like a boat at sea with a hole in its hull
There are also other challenges for Kay-Jelski. He stands or falls with the blockbuster live events. They no longer have the best Olympic coverage, the best rugby coverage, the best cricket coverage, the best F1 coverage, the best boxing coverage, the best golf coverage. Others just do it better, what can he possibly do about that?
But slip into Lineker’s expensive, custom-made loafers. Sure, he’s the BBC’s highest-paid employee and does Match of the Day and other broadcasts – Sports Personality of the Year, for example, for which he has a bizarre affection.
He enjoys a fantastic deal that allows him to work for other people and create advertisements. What’s not to like about it? It’s also a job he clearly loves. And the number of broadcasters that voluntarily step aside is negligibly small. A new contract apparently remains unsigned until the new man takes office.
On the other hand, he is publicly denounced by the BBC’s Director General Tim Davie, he is a totem figure for anti-wokeists everywhere, and his freedom to say what he likes, when he likes on Twitter/ X, is seriously affected. kept in check. Outside the BBC he can do whatever he wants.
Remember, it was only just over a year ago that the BBC was in the middle of one of its biggest crises, when Lineker was suspended for criticizing the government’s asylum policy, leading to a wildcat strike in solidarity with him, and an episode of Match of the Day is broadcast without ANY presenter. So it can be done without him.
Meanwhile, Lineker’s social media army is colossal, with nearly nine million followers on Twitter/X and 1.2 million on Instagram. His podcast Leviathan, Goalhanger productions, sweeps it all, creating some of the country’s most popular shows, including the series ‘The Rest Is…’, and is now expanding into live events. He has even hinted that he might leave MOTD to focus on podcasting. “Maybe,” he said in an interview. ‘Who knows? It’s a very, very good company. Life has thrown a lot of things at me.” And he’s 63.
Lineker’s podcast Leviathan, Goalhanger productions, sweeps everything away
If he leaves, it will mark the end of a new era for Match of the Day, and that could be soon
As a former top athlete, one of the very best, he knows that it makes sense to reach the top, like Roger Federer or Stuart Broad. Before he goes any further, he has to give us one of those quotes that you never forget. Like his great idol Des Lynam, who introduced the BBC coverage of the match between England and Tunisia at the France ’98 World Cup. It was the kickoff for lunch and Lynam asked with a sparkling, wrinkly charm, “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
Speaking to regular sidekicks Alan Shearer and Micah Richards on a podcast recently, Lineker jokingly suggested that his advancing age could end his tenure as host.
‘I am old. My time is almost up.’
Gary, old son, you might be right.