Michael Owen on modern footballers


dangermows

Striker
Says back in the day footballers were more pure footballers and you had to have real skill, craft and ability. Says now it's all about being an athlete. Youve got to big, strong, cover x amount of yards etc. "Now, if you can a bit further than everyone else and can basically pass it from A to B you're going to have a decent career in the Premier league". He references players like Le Tissier, saying he was incredibly gifted but would probably not get a game due to his physical make up these days.

It's decent interview actually. The bit above starts around 27.30 when he's asked him winning the Ballon D'or.

 
Awful pundit but I always like hearing Owen speak about his career or other footballers. Very honest and loved his mentality that he thought he was the best striker in the world in his prime
 
Says back in the day footballers were more pure footballers and you had to have real skill, craft and ability. Says now it's all about being an athlete. Youve got to big, strong, cover x amount of yards etc. "Now, if you can a bit further than everyone else and can basically pass it from A to B you're going to have a decent career in the Premier league". He references players like Le Tissier, saying he was incredibly gifted but would probably not get a game due to his physical make up these days.

It's decent interview actually. The bit above starts around 27.30 when he's asked him winning the Ballon D'or.

It's all data driven now, for example why dribble when the success rate is probably lower than a pass from the same position. Teams want consistent players that can run and do the basics well and won't have to carry the one maverick that most teams had. Even the top teams now the full 11 are athletes on top of the obvious class. Then there's attitude and extra curricular activities, there's so many players that simply wouldn't make it today. Could you imagine a player nowadays getting off their faces during the week then the manager still plays them?
 
I don’t really agree with what he’s saying. Yes you need to be an athlete these days, but you needed to be an athlete then. I don’t see this current generation as just a bunch of Linford Christies. It still takes a lot of skill to make it as a pro, just like it did 20 or 50 years ago.

Regarding Le Tissier, we all knew he was a lazy sod in the 90s, who could have achieved so much more if he had have made an effort on his athleticism. He’d still have an average career today if you ask me. There’d certainly be clubs willing to take a punt on his skill set.
 
Said this for a while. If you're fast, have high aerobic capacity and can do the basics with the football you can have a successful career.
You have to have all that as an absolute minimum. The technique and understanding of tactics is at level beyond what Owen played at. Not surprising when you see how much teams in pretty much all levels spend on them. The comment above about players touchers is laughable. Stick a random game on from the 80s or 90s.
 
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Its a good point about Le Tissier and thats a shame but what can you do? Also it would be better coming from someone whose game wasn't entirely based on pace.
 
Interesting thoughts from a footballer that had little skill and relied upon pace and being a good athlete.
 
When Owen was coming through there were former players saying the same thing about his generation. He is a tedious listen so I'll avoid this one.
 

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