I agree but comparing us (the 85 team) against arguably the best club side in history is maybe a little harsh. Excellent technical players such as Steven and Sheedy wouldn’t be out of place, even in that barca team. Maybe a better comparison between the past and the present would be the Milan team of the late 80s and the Barca team under Pep. That would have been some game.
I think it's the complete opposite. The speed and intensity of a modern team would have the older team sucking air like they're on Mt. Everest by halftime.
That Milan team was amazing, but I really can't see their brand of 4-4-2 putting up even moderate resistance to the Barcelona passing game.
I simply cant agree. Perhaps we are looking for different things when we look for better. I certainly used to love watching football- today it's too often a bore fest to me and I rarely watch any.
How much you enjoy it has nothing to do with the quality of play.
I agree with you to an extent, but I think the distance travelled by teams nowadays with the athleticism would make it hard for any team of that era. Now - were they to be hypothetically modernised then I’d agree it would 100% be a different story.No doubt -but it doesn't make them any better. Football is played also in the head. You can have enhanced athleticism, but if you havent got time to engage the brain due to the manic way the game is SOMETIMES played today, you just get ugly scrappy rush football.
Everton in the 80s played high intensity fast football too* - but the collective team also had footie brains.
*often using a high press - well press all over the pitch to be fair- even though we know this is impopossible because it was before the rs invented it a couple of years ago
I enjoy top quality football. I don't enjoy prima Donna's ballet dancing and throwing themselves to the floor at the slightest essence of an intent if a touch because a point might be worth millions in league position at the end if a season.
You can add Cooper, Clemence, Shilton, even Keelan to that list
Some of Pickford goal kicks would help your team, plenty would be headed back on to the pitch by the fans, staying on his line would save Sharp and Gray from being penalised, we could argue this forever, for instance who said we were playing under todays rules. Let’s just call it a draw, but I’m winning on penalties and because you’re a gent you are letting an old man win!!
Yes I loved Andrei so I won’t argue too much.
Players today have less time on the ball. Yes they don't have the threat of getting their legs broken, although it isn't like teams don't try to kick talented players out of the game anymore, but the pressing and closing down is far superior to what it was in the past. So I'll say that it is unlikely that Steven or Sheedy would have been better players if popped into a hypothetical scenario where the game was faster. Players get more time on the ball today is a real doozy to be honest. I'm trying to think of something less true.
Ha! Fair enough. Southall and Pickford are/were both handy With penalties. Who knows with a shootout. Improved Fitness levels wouldn’t count for much there.
Bang on with that 2012 semi final, I put that down to Moyes trying to hold on to a 1-0 lead when Liverpool were there for the taking, plus leaving that French kid on the wing for over an hour,Gueye was it, he was bleedin’ useless, most of us could have wrote the script for that game with the inevitable defeat at the end of it.
