Players from the wrong era

[velo army]

38 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

He wouldnt even have been a regular for Brazil in the 90s/00s.

Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Ronaldo would all start ahead of him, for me.

I can see big Phil creating a system that uses all four, plays the sexiest football anyone has ever seen and changes the future of the game in the process.

 

[RandomGuy.]

34 minutes ago, velo army said:

I can see big Phil creating a system that uses all four, plays the sexiest football anyone has ever seen and changes the future of the game in the process.

 

Would've probably involved dropping Kaka, which wouldn't have happened.

Neymar is a great player but he would never be near one of the greatest of all time regardless of what era he played in IMO. He'd have less value in the 90s, I'm not even sure he'd be in the top 5 of Brazilian attackers of the 90s/00s never mind top 5 on the planet.

He's benefited hugely by how shit Brazil have been in the past decade. I doubt any Brazilian thinks he's close to being one of their best ever players.

[Mark Connolly]

I wonder if the Brazilian equivalent of P&B (Feijoada e Caipirinha, perhaps?) ever has a thread where they argue the relative merits of Kenny Miller, Alan McInally and Brian McClair

[Satoshi]

13 hours ago, Mark Connolly said:

I wonder if the Brazilian equivalent of P&B (Feijoada e Caipirinha, perhaps?) ever has a thread where they argue the relative merits of Kenny Miller, Alan McInally and Brian McClair

Undoubtedly.

For me Neymar would be starting ahead of Rivaldo, he both benefits and suffers from the current mediocre (or just crap by Brazilian standards) players around him.

On the one hand he is the undoubted technical leader, on the other hand he plays alongside Richarlison and Fred rather than Ronaldo, Romario or Ronaldinho.

I was in Brazil for peak Neymar in 2014, he probably isn't even very well liked now. They are very fickle with their heroes.

Still time for redemption, he is a fabulous player. I think Mahrez is another who is more technical and suited to another era.

[HalfCutNinja]

On 21/04/2022 at 12:25, Satoshi said:

Football has developed significantly over the last few decades, and as an interesting thought exercise we can consider which players who would thrive (or do worse) in the modern game and vice versa. I’ve put this in a top 5 format, but it’s open format hence keeping in this sub forum.

Players can be of any ability level or era, and for me a good guide would be is there a similar type of player at the top level now?

Former players who would struggle now

• David Beckham – referring to point above, does anyone know any one paced right midfielders at top clubs now? Beckhams strengths, his technical ability, set pieces and hard work on / off the pitch aren’t really enough to cover his deficiencies in pace, goal scoring, positioning, defensive ability, running with the ball etc. For me he’s actually very similar to JWP and would probably end up with a similar career playing central midfield with more mobile midfielders covering him. Verdict: a more handsome version of JWP, but not as good at golf
• Filippo Inzaghi – an obvious one, was a relic even in his own era. With forwards asked to do far more now (and more agile defenders) he wouldn’t be winning CL titles any more. Verdict: a budget Mauro Icardi, but still probably scoring quite a lot in a top division for a middling club.
• Gary Neville – is there many slow, not very technical full backs around these days? Even if Neville got a bit more attack minded later in his career he was never Marcos Alonso (a current era slow full back who makes up for it going forward) and his tenaciousness / defensive ability wouldn’t have got him to the top level. Would maybe be the 5th choice for England now. Verdict: He was better than Tony Hibbert so let’s give him a Seamus Coleman like career at a club like Everton
• Didier Drogba – Suffers a bit from the loss of the traditional number 9, he wasn’t technically good enough to drop deep and dictate the play (like Kane) and his touch / awareness certainly isn’t Benzema or Lewandowski. He’s a leaner, quicker version of Lukaku. Verdict: Still playing at top clubs, but not as good as those mentioned above, and a second tier striker with patches of poor form (like Lukaku). Would probably still score in finals, but so did Milito.
• Guti – The number 10 hardly exists any more, so pick who you like, but particularly lackadaisical number 10s would suffer the most. Still has the best assist of all time. Verdict: even more of a Madrid bench warmer, or a mid table club.

Former players who would do better now

• Henry – Quick, technically excellent winger who become a forward? He’s perfect for the modern game, and would thrive on improved pitches and with better midfielders than Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg behind him. Verdict: Leaves Arsenal and goes to Barcelona earlier, scores a lot more.
• Guardiola  - An obvious one given he’s pretty much remade the game in his image, would be more appreciated and would obviously suit the possession style more, would surely do better than moving to Brescia aged 30. Verdict: He becomes Busquets
• Rui Costa - Bit controversial choosing a number 10 but he was versatile enough to play a few different roles in midfield and for me would thrive playing for someone like Guardiola (and certainly benefits from the fact assists are now counted). Also underappreciated in his day, was a better player than Figo for me. Verdict: A cross between Mahrez and Bernado Silva, with right coaching could play in midfield or attack for a team like Man City. 
• Rene Higuita - The og sweeper keeper, would surely be at a good European club in the modern game (although his height would be a bigger problem now). Verdict: If taller the skys the limit, at 5 foot 9 maybe he would have to settle for a bit less
• Barry Ferguson - Sideways Barry was probably a bit ahead of his time and his talents are actually quite suited to the modern game. He would never be an elite player, but he's better than the likes of McArthur and Noble who have 100s of EPL appearances. Him being a total w****r would still hold him back. Verdict: Leaves Scotland much earlier, racks up a few hundred EPL appearances at a good mid table team, if he could sort his head out maybe even a Gareth Barry like career.

Modern Players who would do better in previous eras

• JWP – See Beckham entry
• Pogba – Would have thrived as a number 10 (or left of a 4-3-3 as he does for France), and would have enjoyed it a lot more before pressing began in earnest. International football is certainly an older style relative to club football (not enough time to work on pressing to the same extent) and it’s probably partly why he does better there. Verdict: Budget Zidane with better haitcuts 
• Isco – I remember seeing him excel during the U21 Euros, technically excellent but it was clear he wasn’t dynamic enough to be a properly elite player. Also became fat in his 30s which we can all sympathise with. Verdict: Still with Real, just plays better and more frequently.
• De Gea – Goalkeeping has changed whilst he has been at the top, but his distribution is what keeps him behind the best. In the recent past (and certainly in the days of the pass back) this was far less of an issue. Vedict: Still at a top club, and first choice for Spain, not easily eclipsed by Allison or Ederson

Struggling for a fifth on that last one tbh, sure it will come to me later.

  

Quality post

[2426255]

I was listening to an interesting podcast where the discussion touched on how the rule based and highly choreographed nature of modern day football potentailly inhibits creativity within the game. I think Jack Grealish is maybe a good stereotype of a player and might have been better suited to a past or potentially future era but it's probably not too hard to think of others along those lines..

As an example of a team that dverges from the positional play approach Fernando Diniz at Fluminense was cited as a manager that views football more as organic rather than a chessboard.