Legendary pundit Mark Lawrenson believes Match of the Day could be on its last legs.The Liverpool great, who was a mainstay of the iconic Premier League highlights show for many years, says the BBC’s flagship programme is ‘not the same’ as it used to be.Match of the Day has been on the air for 62 years, with Gary Lineker hosting for it for almost half of that timeBBCLawrenson’s Match of the Day fearLawrenson, famed for deadpan, often scathing analysis, regularly appeared on Match of the Day alongside former Liverpool teammate Alan Hansen – during Gary Lineker‘s 26-year stint as host.Lineker left the BBC last year, with the broadcaster moving to a three-presenter rotation of Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan ahead of the 2025/26 season.But Lawrenson fears for the future of Match of the Day given how instantly and readily available football highlights are now, as he told talkSPORT Breakfast.“It’s not the same,” the ex-Republic of Ireland international said. “And it’s unfortunate for the people who are now doing it as well.“I think the BBC are actually making it harder as well.“Everything comes to a stop, doesn’t it, really, when you think about it. And if you said five years ago Match of the Day was in danger of not being out on air, people would say of course it would.“Where do you watch your football? We watch it everywhere, don’t we. It’s on everywhere, absolutely everywhere.“Those days of waiting up until 10 or 11 at night and all that kind of stuff, they are well gone.”Match of the Day ‘deserves care’In a recent article for The Telegraph, Lawrenson issued a stark warning that Match of the Day would cease to exist ‘without the care it deserves’.He drew comparisons with the demise of Football Focus, the BBC’s long-running Saturday lunchtime magazine show which aired for the final time in May after 52 years.Lawrenson left the BBC in 2022GettytalkSPORT’s Simon Jordan shared Lawrenson’s concerns, though he saw ‘no reason’ why Match of the Day should suffer the same fate as Football Focus.Match of the Day still ‘a very good show’Speaking to Jim White on White and Jordan, the former Crystal Palace owner said in response to Lawrenson’s piece: “Well, I think there’s an element of truth to it.“Of course, 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.”The BBC recently announced its new Match of the Day punditry line-up for this season.Toby Alderweireld, Thomas Frank, Robbie Keane and Ashley Young have all joined the team for 2026/27, with Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney also returning to the studio – though the latter will be appearing less often than he used to.