Alan Shearer makes decision on Match of the Day future after two decades

Alan Shearer has confirmed he is scaling back his appearances on Match of the Day.

Shearer has been a regular pundit on the iconic show since 2006, shortly after retiring as a player.

BBC

The Newcastle icon was announced as part of the 2026/27 line-up, which will continue to be hosted by Mark Chapman, Kelly Cates, and Gabby Logan.

However, 56-year-old Shearer will not be on MOTD as often as fans are used to.

“I said to them a while back that I would like some of my weekends back on a Saturday,” he said.

“It’ll be about one a month.”

In a previous interview, Shearer also said: “Cutting back my MOTD appearances is something we’ve been discussing for some time and purely so I can have some weekends back.

“I’ve always had a positive relationship with everyone at the BBC and that continues to be the case.”

In addition to Shearer, Micah Richards will also be appearing on MOTD less this season, to focus on their successful The Rest Is Football podcast with Gary Lineker.

This will be shown on Netflix throughout the season following its stint on the global streaming platform throughout the World Cup.

Simon Jordan’s verdict

Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan spoke at length about the challenges facing Match of the Day.

It comes after ex-Liverpool star Mark Lawrenson claimed it was heading the same way as Football Focus.

PA

That iconic show was cancelled after more than 50 years on screen.

Speaking on White and Jordan, the ex-Palace owner said: “If Mark was still sitting on the show, he probably wouldn’t be saying this. There was an element of that, but there’s no reason for it to go the same way as Football Focus.

“There was a comment made by the BBC chairman [Samir Shah] talking about the necessity to replicate some of the things that were on Football Focus in Match of the Day and make it more about talk.

“And I thought that was an absolutely absurd thing to say, and I think that Match of the Day is a very good show.

“I think, like every show in the world, if you don’t have good talent on there, then you are not going to have a good product.

“Shearer’s good. I think Wayne [Rooney] is getting much better. The digital landscape is, of course, undermining linear broadcasting.

“It is decimating linear broadcasting. And the figures that you get now of that once upon a time you’d turn on EastEnders and 20 million people would watch it, those days have gone.

“But digital is still underpinned to some extent by the credibility of mainstream media. And so the good pundits that land in mainstream media and do digital as well will still want mainstream media to seed some of their credibility, viability, and validity so that they can do the digital stuff.”

Asked whether Match of the Day was still as prestigious in the new digital football landscape, Jordan unequivocally replied: “Yes!”

“But if we get people like Mark Lawrenson telling us not, then eventually people will believe it. It does need to be handled with care.

“The lessons that can be learned from the Football Focus demise, which in its own right, when the people that presented that show over the years, which was an iconic show that we grew up watching and liking and listening to Bob Wilson, Des Lynam and whoever else ran that show. It was a great show.

“It was the precursor to The Weekend. Yes, I know that the audience has been challenged now by a different way of watching television, but people still watch the BBC. People still enjoy watching the BBC.

YouTube / talkSPORT

“If it was good and if the Football Focus show was good, it would still be on now, and it wasn’t.

“So if Match of the Day does the same thing as Football Focus, it’ll be off. If it doesn’t, if it protects the values, looks after good talents, grows the next set of talents that are going to say meaningful, insightful things, doesn’t bore us to death.

“I do think there’s a paralysis by analysis. I do think some of the over-analysis is a bit repetitive, and the football is a primary factor that we want to watch with a little bit of analysis and interesting people that say insightful things.

“Alan Shearer’s bold. Wayne Rooney’s becoming a really good observer. We’ve got past the ‘mmmmm’ part, and we’re now into a situation where he’s actually saying things, and he’s bold about saying it.

“[Danny] Murphy is a great observer, and they’re good pundits. So it has real value in that space.”