Athletes over aesthetes

[milo]

The modern top level English game favours players with great athletic ability over players with great technical ability, discuss...

 

[Crawley]

I'd have said it was a 60/40 split in favour of athleticism

 

[southstand1882]

Mods only?

 

[disc0]

If you said that 15 years ago I'd agree. Not so sure anymore.

 

[Crawley]

Mods only?

Yes.

Run along.

 

[Jordinho]

You've had players of limited ability, but played a very physical game. From Vinnie Jones to Robbie Savage to Michael Brown to Lee Cattermole.

 

[Spursalot]

If anyone else was watching the United game on Monday they had stats that were perhaps relevant to this.


They were talking about the number of goals scored from crosses, and they showed that 5 years ago (07/08) there were 100 more goals from crosses compared with last season (11/12).



I think the top level English game used to have far more of a reliance on physical ability. Nowadays i think the top teams are less reliant upon it, but they have to keep up with it to a reasonable degree to combat the more physical mid/lower teams. Like Stoke for example.


If the top teams didn't have a pretty high level of physical ability they leave themselves open to being pushed around. To use a player as an example, Fellani on Monday against Carrick and Vidic, whilst you can argue Carrick is not a CB, Fellani physically bullied Vidic too and as such was a very influential player for Everton.

 

[mick cooper]

If anyone else was watching the United game on Monday they had stats that were perhaps relevant to this.


They were talking about the number of goals scored from crosses, and they showed that 5 years ago (07/08) there were 100 more goals from crosses compared with last season (11/12).



I think the top level English game used to have far more of a reliance on physical ability. Nowadays i think the top teams are less reliant upon it, but they have to keep up with it to a reasonable degree to combat the more physical mid/lower teams. Like Stoke for example.


If the top teams didn't have a pretty high level of physical ability they leave themselves open to being pushed around. To use a player as an example, Fellani on Monday against Carrick and Vidic, whilst you can argue Carrick is not a CB, Fellani physically bullied Vidic too and as such was a very influential player for Everton.

Fellaini would have been eaten alive and spat out by Mike England, physically the game is a shadow of what it used to be. Watch the 1970 FA cup final if you want to see the difference, modern players would not have survived that game, with modern referees, none of those two teams would have finished the game (except the goalkeepers)

The footballers now are far more finely tuned athletes, and far more skilfull than their counterparts from the 60's and 70's. The aesthetics side of things has gone down though, as the flair players were far more prominent, and really skillful players now seem to be swallowed up by the more athletic counterparts.

In general though I would say that most average premier sides would romp through the top level, certainly back to the 70s- possibly even into the 80's.

 

[Spursalot]

Fellaini would have been eaten alive and spat out by Mike England, physically the game is a shadow of what it used to be. Watch the 1970 FA cup final if you want to see the difference, modern players would not have survived that game, with modern referees, none of those two teams would have finished the game (except the goalkeepers)

The footballers now are far more finely tuned athletes, and far more skilfull than their counterparts from the 60's and 70's. The aesthetics side of things has gone down though, as the flair players were far more prominent, and really skillful players now seem to be swallowed up by the more athletic counterparts.

In general though I would say that most average premier sides would romp through the top level, certainly back to the 70s- possibly even into the 80's.

That is fair, i should have been more descriptive though. I was more comparing it as the 'Top Modern English level'..

 

[ringo]

Aesthetes United
Motto: Football for football's sake

--------------------------William Morris
Evelyn Waugh----Keats---Byron---Christopher Dresser
------------- -Anthony Powell----E.W.Godwin
James Whistler --- Oscar Wilde (capt) --Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
----------------------Aubrey Beardsley

Half-time oranges/physio- Nancy Mitford.

[I was bored]