Michael Owen, a former professional who played at the highest level of the sport for a host of top clubs recently said: “Back in the day, there were loads of great players that were absolute ballers, properly talented. Now, if you can just run a bit further than everyone else and pass the ball from A to B, then you can have a decent career in the Premier League. You don’t even have to be that good anymore. “You used to have to have real skill and attributes to be a top player – now you have to be an athlete. If I was playing in today’s game I would be scoring at the same level as all of the top strikers. I absolutely believe that. “You look at some of the players in my generation, Brazilian Ronaldo for example – is Erling Haaland really better than him? Thierry Henry is another. I love Haaland but can you really say that if you put Henry or Ronaldo in this Man City side, that they wouldn’t score at the same rate? Of course they would.” It begs the question, is this really true, are modern players less skilled? and if so, to what extent? Did he only focus on strikers because he was one so he could fairly compare them to himself, or does he think the issue is just with them, and not in the other positions?
Modern Strikers
Firstly, there is obviously some merit to what he is saying. Just as how Haaland is a top striker in this day and age, the names he mentioned were top strikers of their era, and won several scoring titles during their playing days, even if not scoring at the same rate as Haaland is now. I also believe that yes, if you put some of these all time greats in Haaland’s position in this all time excellent Manchester City team, they would also be breaking records, taking nothing away from Haaland’s precocious abilities. He is also correct in stating that there is greater emphasis on running and pressing in today’s game, being skillful isn’t enough anymore, and in fact, many modern coaches are likely to pick someone that will run nonstop for the team over a player who is talented but lazy, unless their talent is exceptional. Modern coaches have even stated that simply scoring goals aren’t enough, if a striker does not drop deep to help the team press or defending, then he will be dropped. Examples of this include two of the most eminent managers of the current age, Pep Guardiola with Sergio Aguero early on in his tenure before the latter changed his play style to suit the manager more, and Jurgen Klopp first with Daniel Sturridge and, more recently, Darwin Nunez. That being said, I think the level of skill overall has gone up several levels in all areas of the pitch. Haaland, while being an incredible goal scorer, has a ‘limited’ game, at least when compared to the likes of Owen, Henry and Brazilian Ronaldo (R9). However, there are standout, ‘complete’ strikers in every generation who can do it all, and it would be fairer to compare the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Luis Suarez to those names rather than Haaland. Whether or not they are flat out better is a discussion for another day, but they, like the former, are balanced and skilled in several attacking aspects. Haaland is more of a typical ‘target man’ and a ‘poacher’, a striker who’s job is solely to hold up the ball with his strength and size and bring his teammates into action, and then wait in the box for a goalscoring opportunity and finish it. The difference is, those types of players in the past such as Alan Shearer, Miroslav Klose, Filippo Inzaghi or Jermain Defoe, would finish at an effective rate, but rarely ran back and got involved in defending, in the build up play, and did not register many assists. Even a more one dimensional striker such as Haaland nowadays gets a fair amount of assists, especially compared to those of yesteryear. A more complete modern striker, such as Harry Kane, regularly drops deep to help in build up play, and is an excellent passer of the ball. There are probably less strikers nowadays who can create chances, score and win a game all on their own such as Henry and R9, and perhaps less forwards in general who prefer to take on their marker and dribble, as modern forwards often turn back in favor of the safe option to keep possession. This is, just like the emphasis on pressing, down to coaching again, as the modern game is more about efficiency and less about risks. Despite this being true, on an overall level, modern forwards have more to their game than their predecessors.
Elsewhere on the pitch
The change in philosophy is not restricted to just the forwards, but in all areas. It is very rare to see a team, especially the ones vying for titles every season, without attacking wingbacks. Gone are the days when the wide defenders are expected to just defend, and now some teams even use them as their main creative outlet. Liverpool under Klopp was a prime example of this, using Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson to devastating effect as his main creative options in his all conquering team. In the current 23-24 season, Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen are unbeaten in their first 20 games in all competitions, winning 18 of them and drawing the others 2 against perennial German juggernauts, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Central to this team’s incredible form are the wingbacks, Alex Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong, who are second and fourth in combined goals+assists for their team respectively. Continuing in the defense, a player such as Franz Beckenbauer or Ronald Koeman is slowly becoming the norm and not the exception, as centerbacks are expected to be able to dribble and pass out from the back, and not just do the dirty work and then rely on their midfielders to bail them out. In fact, one of the biggest changes to the modern game is even further back, as goalkeepers are also now expected to be total footballers. When Pep Guardiola became Manchester City boss, he famously left then number 1 goalkeeper, Joe Hart, out in the cold, while he brought in a ‘keeper better with his feet in Claudio Bravo. Bravo continuously let in tame shots, but Pep persisted with him because Bravo allowed his team to play within his philosophy. Eventually City signed
Ederson, a ‘keeper who excelled at both facets, and the rest as they say, is history. ‘Keepers who are great shot stoppers but lack in all other departments, whether with the ball at their feet, passing, or being a ‘sweeper keeper’; rushing out of their box to cover for their defense’s high line, are now struggling to hold down a place at top clubs, or any club in a top league for that matter. The chief example of this is ex Manchester United and Spain ‘keeper David De Gea, who has been unemployed since leaving United in the summer. His shot stopped abilities are not to be questioned, but the rest of the modern game has passed him by. Finally, moving further up the pitch, the ‘number 10’ role has all but vanished. The creative midfielder who would sit behind the strikers and support them with deep runs into the box, or pick them out with penetrative passes, has been replaced by a dynamic box to box ‘number 8’ who can do this as well as defend and run for the entire match. Modern teams would now rather employ at least two such midfielders along with a defensive anchor, and that is why the careers of heralded 10s recently have been cut short early, at least at the highest level, such as Mesut Ozil and Juan Mata. Players such as them could create at rates seldom seen before, but a lack of balance to their game saw them phased out before they were ready to retire. Soccer has become more skilled overall, with the modern game wanting ‘Jacks of all trades’ all over the pitch, and a couple ‘masters of some’ as opposed to ‘masters of none ‘well as the standout players.