08 Apr 2026 10:03:22
Football is miles away from what the quality overall was year's ago. One good ball across a box is "sensational". A quick bit of play is "Sensational". The media and pundits have to over hype it all to sell the product.
Player's thought as " World class ". In this modern day aren't a patch on Worldclass what came before.
It's a game in moment's now that makes player's. Most player's consistent play in the top tier is seriously lacking.
There's a shortage of top centre backs in world football. Different media age so probably lack of concentration. Hour's of scrolling media content compared to year's ago.
The midfielders considered superstars do nothing of note for most of the game and season. Bellingham who's done little for two years now, scores the very odd goal.
Lampard did that in his sleep and far more consistently yet this lad's seen as a superstar. He and Dom compared to Gerrard. Again their overall games not a patch on Gerrard.
Our own game has made me fed up. Overpaid football player's playing awful football. But the quality now seen to be as truly great player is ludicrous.
Yamal is a fantastic player but his attitude is on the brink of causing real issue's. Different age now. Social media to give these people false god images, ego knows no bound and a real lack of leader's now in the game to pull player's down a peg or two.
We're being sold a substandard product now all around and being asked to contribute more towards it.
08 Apr 2026 11:01:57
Had to check it was Ron Funk. I thought it was Ee Aw from Winnie-the-Pooh.
08 Apr 2026 11:12:38
I agree with you @Ron, but to be fair the "commentators" aren't going to have a job for long if they described what is actually happening (especially in the PL) rather than romanticising a pass of 5 to 10 yards.
08 Apr 2026 11:20:21
Well summed up, Ron.
08 Apr 2026 11:31:48
Good post, Ron.
08 Apr 2026 11:37:51
If you can get a radio commentary to synch with a TV game, the hype is all too apparent.
That amazing, sensational, or sublime breakaway coinciding with the commentator's change of pitch as he describes how they're approaching the penalty area, but all you're seeing is they've got all 11 behind the ball and you've barely crossed the halfway line.
08 Apr 2026 11:48:15
Was thinking the same thing, RF, but man, Kemlyncat the Eeaw quip was funny.
08 Apr 2026 12:16:53
Ron, I think part of the reason defenders n midfilders esp aren't as good as yesteryear is because the modern game tries to make them do more than they're actual jobs, they got to play intricate passes, don't tackle or just clear the ball into row Z, look who makes the most passes every game for us, it's the CBs, the coaches trying to make them like midfilders passing the ball out, I remember Souness coming back and taking the ball off them to start the moves n the defenders defended, midfilders knew their positions, now we have the dreaded horseshoe formations etc.
08 Apr 2026 13:07:51
Ron, that has been the case for years now. This isn't new. I mean, look at a guy like Garnacho. A totally dreadful player (imo), but came to prominence via a moment vs Everton with an impressive bicycle kick.
Suddenly, he is this outstanding player with no dribbling ability, no tech. on the ball, very little end product etc. Just pace and lots of running. Man's still living off that "moment" till this day.
08 Apr 2026 13:24:32
I like your post, Ron.
08 Apr 2026 16:02:44
Ron, it was a sensational pass, something we rarely see these days since Trent left.
08 Apr 2026 17:07:52
I'm not sure the game is really that much worse today than it was before. Sure, we have much fewer maverick players like Gazza, Ronaldinho, Romario, Hagi, Stoichkov, Campos, Valderrama, Laudrup, Savicevic etc. (quite a few of these players could be called mercurial and deeply inconsistent from game to game too), but I remember a lot of games in the Prem when I was young were players hoofing it and endless aerial duels. Also, there was the fact that all the classic games that we will remember forever (like those Newcastle Liverpool games two years in a row) or teams that everybody will remember, like the Arsenal of Bergkamp, Henry, Vieira etc., were simply the high quality games available on TV. I'm sure most of the less glamorous games in the Prem that weren't televised weren't anywhere near as exciting.
There was less football to watch back then, so it felt much more special, whereas now we have non-stop punditry, transfer news, gossip, and we can watch any game we want from any league around the world.
It's true that there are fewer players that are a real pleasure to watch now, though. Off the top of my head I can only think of Pedri, Vitinha, Kvaratskhelia, Dembele, our own Wirtz (maybe a bit less this season), Yamal. While there has been a big decline in genuine artistry though, would there be a case to be made that the overall level of the 'average' footballer in top flight football has improved?
08 Apr 2026 19:50:42
I think that this is an interesting debate that, in the end, is based on your personal opinion, but it's still fun to discuss.
Broadly, I disagree with Ron because you have to consider the footballing environment when comparing players now to those of yesteryears. My argument is that, while the best players have always been both very skilled and athletic, the difference for modern players is that they are elite athletes playing against other elite athletes. I think that the baseline for both skill and athleticism has increased, but athleticism has increased more, and there is a more narrow distribution in the modern game. It's also more valued in the modern game, and scientifically managed so that players are able to give 90-100% of their peak performance every game. That dramatically changes what a superstar's career looks like now vs what it looked like in years past.
The fact that athleticism and tactics are both a bigger part of the modern game also means that there is less room for individual skill to be put on display as well.
The example I always think of is Henderson: there are videos of Henderson doing wild tricks with the ball in training and yet he never pulled any of that out on the pitch because there just isn't a lot of opportunity for it. I think that is because of the emphasis on team tactics/athleticism, but also a consequence of the general skill and athletic level of all players increasing to the point that the bigger sporting advantage is through team tactics rather than relying on an individual superstar like Maradona trying to dribble 5-6 elite athletes.
My final evidence for the modern game being more athletic is the fact that Maradona was likely playing against defenders who were out drinking the night before, meaning some may have been hungover. The fitness of modern footballers is now so finely managed that players have strictly controlled diets in the hours leading up to a match, so a beer the night before a game is impossible to imagine today.