How the Changing Face of Soccer Has Prompted the Decline of the Poacher

(Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Not long ago, goals were the most prized asset in English football. Forwards lived and died by their goal-scoring record and the deadly finisher was seen as the apotheosis of natural footballing ability.

In recent years, that way of thinking has changed slightly. Of course, goals are still seen as a key part of the game, but players who provide only the finishing touch are given much less value than they once were. It is now all about multi-faceted, multi-talented modern attackers: as Guardian columnist Jonathan Wilson posits, "You don't win games by scoring goals; you score goals by winning games."

Compare the current squads of the Premier League’s top four to those of ten years ago: the top clubs’ goal-scorers are multi-talented individuals such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, and Emmanuel Adebayor.

In contrast to their 90s counterparts, these are players who provide much more than just their goals. A decade ago those clubs relied upon the likes of Andy Cole, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, Michael Owen, and Robbie Fowler, arch-finishers of the most lethal variety who propelled their teams to the summit of the table.

Only a progressive Arsenal side—under the burgeoning tenure of Arsene Wenger—bucked the trend with the skillful and potent partnership of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry, a duo that were capable of both supplying and dispatching goals. Indeed, the downfall of once-revered marksmen such as Fernando Morientes and Michael Owen is indicative of how the game has changed.

As is usual in matters of tactical sophistication, England’s adaptation to this situation has been a little slow. As David Winner points out in his brilliant examination of Dutch Football Brilliant Orange, the inhabitants of the Netherlands have been thinking this way since the inception of their own Total Football. In that most pure of systems, players must be capable of adapting to many different roles in the team and predatory goal-scorers rarely rank amongst the nation’s most admired players.

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