Coventry City back on MOTD after a 25-year hiatus

The last time Coventry City featured on Match of the Day (MOTD), the BBC's round-up of top flight English football, was 19 May 2001.

The week before, the club's relegation from the Premier League had been confirmed with a 3-2 defeat by Aston Villa at Villa Park.

However, after 25 years, the Sky Blues are back - and that means regular appearances on MOTD.

BBC CWR breakfast show presenter Lorna Bailey visited the programme's studios to find out what goes on behind the scenes, how it all comes together, and to speak to host Gabby Logan, who grew up in Coventry when her father, Terry Yorath, played for the city.

"It's a long day and there is a lot of football to analyse. [The team] make notes, they discuss, they highlight the parts of the game that will make the talking points on the show," she said.

"As well as the on air team, there is also a huge team behind the scenes.

When Coventry were relegated at the end of the 2000-01 season, Gary Lineker presented the show alongside former Liverpool defenders Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson.

A quarter of a century on, Logan is the host, with Danny Murphy, the former Liverpool and England defender, and Rob Edwards, who managed Wolverhampton Wanderers until June 2026, providing expert opinion.

Edwards, who recently made his debut as a MOTD pundit, said it was a bit of a 'pinch me' moment.

"[I] enjoyed it. It's an iconic show isn't it? When the music was playing, it was nice," he said.

For a generation of Sky Blues fans, relegation in the years before they were born meant they had only dreamed of seeing their team play the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool in England's top flight.

Now, alongside watching home games at the Coventry Building Society Arena, Match Of The Day gives fans the chance to either spot themselves in the crowd or watch moments back on television.

However, besides those who make the programme, few supporters know exactly what goes into producing a show that has been a fixture of the BBC One weekend schedule since 1964.

While presenting the show might have been 'nice' for Edwards, for Bailey, a lifelong Sky Blues fan, it was an exciting exclusive look behind the scenes.

She said: "Arriving at around midday ahead of the lunchtime kick off, [the team] won't leave the building until the live show is off air at close to midnight.

"Each match has its own little production room, [where] an editor and an assistant producer watch the match live on screens and edit as they go.

"They also make notes – but [they] concentrate on what will make the highlights package on MOTD," she said.

"To tell the story and build the drama of the match they need to use what's called 'cut aways' - images of Frank Lampard or the fans for example - which then allows [the team] to edit the highlights together without it being a clunky watch," Bailey continues.

"The editor decides how long each match will get - for Coventry City's trip to the Ethiad on 5 September, the day the BBC visited the studio, it was eight minutes.

"The team have to cram 90 minutes of a match into eight minutes, including the manager interviews," she said.

"A separate analysis team work with the pundits to identify the parts they want to animate with graphics, and then it's time for make-up and rehearsals before heading into the famous big green box."

"The studio is spacious and super high-tech.

"For Gabby Logan and the team, it's 90 minutes in a green space.

"But for the viewers, all the [projected] graphics and effects are added on by another part of the MOTD Team.

Then the countdown is on for the live show. "It's calm, it's a show that's ready to go to air," Bailey adds.

Then, "the famous theme tune begins".

Later, as the titles roll, football fans across the country continue to debate their teams' performances throughout the week until the next kick-off - and the next MOTD.

Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.