I don’t enjoy Match of the Day anymore. There, I’ve said it. I grew up watching Desmond Lynam, and it was brilliant. Then came Gary Lineker, with Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson. More recently, we had Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, but still with Lineker holding it all together. I used to watch Match of the Day as much for the personalities as for the football. These were familiar faces who turned up week in, week out, and you actually looked forward to hearing what they had to say. I disagree with Lineker’s politics on a number of issues, but he was a terrific presenter. Warm, funny, personable, and somebody who’d actually been there and done it. And now? It’s just rubbish. I barely even listen to the analysis anymore. The BBC has completely misunderstood what made the programme so enjoyable in the first place. It’s a bit like Top Gear. People didn’t just watch it for the cars. They watched it for Clarkson, May and Hammond. It took the BBC ages to realise that it was the personalities that drove the programme. (Pun intended.) And yet the penny still hasn’t dropped with Match of the Day. There’s nothing particularly wrong with the people presenting it now. They’re perfectly competent. But there’s no charisma. No chemistry. No sense that you’re watching a group of people who genuinely enjoy one another’s company. Nobody sits down on a Saturday evening thinking, “Oh, I can’t wait to hear Mark Chapman’s take on today’s big game.” (And the less said about Wayne Rooney, the better.) Of the three current presenters, I think Gabby Logan is the only one with any real charisma. But even she can’t recreate what the programme used to have. And that’s what the BBC seems incapable of understanding. You can replace presenters, refresh the format and modernise the production, but you can’t manufacture chemistry. You can’t simply swap out personalities and expect viewers to feel the same affection for the programme. Match of the Day used to be an essential part of my Saturday night. Now it’s something I can take or leave. The football hasn’t changed. Well, apart from the wretched VAR. But the programme has lost its personality. And with it, much of its appeal.