Danny Murphy lifts lid on big Match of the Day secret that makes fans ‘irate’

As Match of the Day celebrates its 60th anniversary, Danny Murphy has finally answered the question on the minds of many fans.

The BBC flagship show first aired on August 22 back in 1964 and has since featured over 5,000 episodes.

Reflecting on the live football action from the Premier League, the programme runs through all of the games from the most recent round of games with pundits providing analysis throughout.

But there is one question regarding the show’s structure that often makes viewers stop to think.

And it was this question that talkSPORT’s Jim White put to regular Match of the Day pundit and former England midfielder Danny Murphy.

He was asked to explain how the show goes about deciding what order to review each of the weekend’s games in, with different teams often being featured first in the running order.

And Murphy explained that there was only one consideration that went into deciding the structure of the show.

“That’s an old debate that just goes on and on,” he told talkSPORT.

“Fans get really irate about it. It’s purely based on what the best game is.”

“Does Gary [Lineker] select it?” asked White.

“No!” replied Murphy. “There’s a producer in charge of the show and if he says this game is going ahead of that one, Gary has to go along with it

“It’s just based on the best game!

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“For example, if you’re got a 4-4 between Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth and a 0-0 between Manchester United and Liverpool, they’re not going to start with Man United vs Liverpool.

“The big clubs will get an edge, of course – they have a bigger audience.

“If Manchester United vs Liverpool is 2-1 and the other game is 3-3, United vs Liverpool will go ahead of whatever the 3-3 is… because it’s Man United vs Liverpool.

“But generally it’s just the best games at the start.”

While the show still enjoyed marked success and viewing figures, White questioned Murphy and his regular co-host Simon Jordan as to the longevity of the programme.

He pondered whether the show might still be around to celebrate it’s 100th anniversary.

And while Jordan made it clear that he was not at all a fan of another of the BBC’s long-running shows, Football Focus, which he described as ‘drivel’, he admitted that Match of the Day’s content still captured his interest.

Murphy believed his verdict was somewhat ‘harsh’ – but agreed with Jordan’s view on Match of the Day.

“Unlike Football Focus, which they’ve totally ruined, Match of the Day is doing its best to try and get into the must-have territory,” Jordan explained.

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“But not notwithstanding that it is still producing the fundamental prerequisite it was there for which is discussion about live football.

“The interesting thing about all this it the Premier League. The Premier League probably wouldn’t exist in its guise now if Match of the Day hadn’t been featured in the original broadcast deal.

“I think it’s a good product. I don’t think there is any evidence that it’s diminishing.

“I don’t think there’s any evidence suggesting an audience doesn’t want to watch it because it features at certain times.

“Whether you like the individual commentators or pundits is irrelevant.”