Is The Premier League Tougher Than It Used To Be?

[Blood on the Tracks]

It seems a pretty pointless debate to me.

I remember back in the 90's and 2000's older family members telling me that players then couldn't hold a candle to players from the 80's.

If someone said to us that the standard of football was better in 94 than it was in 04 you'd laugh and know instinctively it's silly... Because it wasn't.

A lot of this is nostalgia or basing things on entertainment. Which isn't a bad thing btw.

You talk about great players from the past but when you compare a great player from the 2000's or 1990's you're not judging him on that particular year, you're judging him on the totality of his career ( and usually the best parts), players now don't have that advantage.

In 10-15 years I very much doubt there will be a Messi level talent around. That won't be evidence for the standard of football generally being poorer, it just means that occasionally a freak come along and blows the scale.

 

[jones]

The most distance covered this year so far was 13.2 km by Doucoure. Rice is the highest for Arsenal at 12.29 km.

We obviously don't know the stats for the early years of the prem, but I remember Aaron Ramsey was frequently clocked at 12km+ over 10 years ago. In the 2017 cup final he covered a record breaking 14.4km.

It's a myth that people are much better athletes today than they used to be because of nutrition and training. The difference is quite small. Times in athletics are very similar today to the 1980s unless a freak comes along like Usain Bolt. In the 800 metres Sebastian Coe ran 1m41s in 1981. The fastest 800m time in 2023 was 1m 42s despite all the new training methods and nutrition.

 

[Dokaka]

Average distance covered per game is not an accurate metric for physical intensity. Özil used to cover a huge amount of ground per game but he walked or jogged the majority of it, doesn't mean he was a hard working midfielder. Ground covered per game hasn't changed much over football's entire history.

There's a reason why people can run marathons but be equally drained by a 400 meter sprint. Football is largely interval sprinting and modern pressing systems demand constant stop/start which is infinitely more taxing on the body than jogging.

Every former pro still working in football would tell you it's much more demanding on the body now. The only people saying the opposite are pundits glorifying their own primes and constantly ****ting on the modern product.

 

[Makingtrax]

Today Maradonna wouldn't believe his luck! Smooth surface, grass everywhere, no mud, light ball that doesn't get heavier as it soaks in moisture, no bobbles, no bone crunching tackles, protected by the ref and VAR.

Those older players that could control a ball beautifully under severe adverse conditions and still look like ballet dancers would take the modern robotic micromanaged players apart. Henry must look at this dull stuff today and wish he was 20 years younger.

 

[Makingtrax]

I take that back. Henry, probably realises that Arteta would have sold him by now. Following instructions to the letter is far more important than audacious attempts at humiliating the opposition.

 

[Blood on the Tracks]

Average distance covered per game is not an accurate metric for physical intensity. Özil used to cover a huge amount of ground per game but he walked or jogged the majority of it, doesn't mean he was a hard working midfielder. Ground covered per game hasn't changed much over football's entire history.

There's a reason why people can run marathons but be equally drained by a 400 meter sprint. Football is largely interval sprinting and modern pressing systems demand constant stop/start which is infinitely more taxing on the body than jogging.

Every former pro still working in football would tell you it's much more demanding on the body now. The only people saying the opposite are pundits glorifying their own primes and constantly ****ting on the modern product.

Yeah, footballers being better athletes today compared to yesteryear isn't one I think anyone can argue.

I think even fans who enjoyed previous eras more or who think that football was at a higher technical level back then wouldn't dispute this.

 

[Makingtrax]

Good article in the Guardian about increasing numbers of football injuries overall in the prem. Probably from over training. Either that or players are more delicate.

Certainly shrieking in agony and rolling on the ground for many metres is a modern phenomenon. There is also some mysterious syndrome that occurs when players are touched anywhere above chest height; they experience immediate head trauma symptoms.

 

[jones]

Today Maradonna wouldn't believe his luck! Smooth surface, grass everywhere, no mud, light ball that doesn't get heavier as it soaks in moisture, no bobbles, no bone crunching tackles, protected by the ref and VAR.

Those older players that could control a ball beautifully under severe adverse conditions and still look like ballet dancers would take the modern robotic micromanaged players apart. Henry must look at this dull stuff today and wish he was 20 years younger.

Maradona wouldn't have made it as a professional in big 2024. This season's Sheffield United would easily beat a World XI from twenty years ago because modern medicine and drones.

 

[Makingtrax]

Maradona wouldn't have made it as a professional in big 2024. This season's Sheffield United would easily beat a World XI from twenty years ago because modern medicine and drones.

Yeah, and neither would Buffon. Goalkeepers today have much stronger handling from all that texting.

 

[albakos]

Certainly shrieking in agony and rolling on the ground for many metres is a modern phenomenon. There is also some mysterious syndrome that occurs when players are touched anywhere above chest height; they experience immediate head trauma symptoms.

Was there any stat on limping ?

 

[Macho]

The most distance covered this year so far was 13.2 km by Doucoure. Rice is the highest for Arsenal at 12.29 km.

We obviously don't know the stats for the early years of the prem, but I remember Aaron Ramsey was frequently clocked at 12km+ over 10 years ago. In the 2017 cup final he covered a record breaking 14.4km.

It's a myth that people are much better athletes today than they used to be because of nutrition and training. The difference is quite small. Times in athletics are very similar today to the 1980s unless a freak comes along like Usain Bolt. In the 800 metres Sebastian Coe ran 1m41s in 1981. The fastest 800m time in 2023 was 1m 42s despite all the new training methods and nutrition.

Around the time of his documentary and all the hype around it some deep dives revealed that Beckham clocked up similar kms on the pitch to the guys today, even more than some of the fittest players around. They theorise that although he would probably play in a different position, by all metrics he would still be a top player in the modern era.

I think "modern is better" is an extremely lazy viewpoint and not properly thought through. Or based on biases for certain managers and/or players fans really vibe with in the present.

 

[db10_therza]

I think "modern is better" is an extremely lazy viewpoint and not properly thought through.

Modern is just different innit. I hate these comparisons.

Just look at defenders. Old school defenders would absolutely school the current gen when it came to 1 on 1 defending. Because modern attackers rarely take defenders on these days. Modern defenders are however much better on the ball and probably more tactically aware because they need to be able to deal with a high press.

The point about fitness I’m with @Dokaka though I think the modern game is much more intense than back in the day even if the overall numbers stack up, there’s more sprints now because of the evolution of the OOP side of the game.