Am loving these responses, thank you. Think we are agreed, for now, that it's not an easy Q? To answer. So, would the players of '91 cope with todays game & more importantly, would the players of today cope with the player of say the players of say, 91/69/79?

Edited by eagleman13 (25 Jun 2023 5.23pm)

This operation, will make the 'Charge Of The Light Brigade' seem like a simple military exercise.

One things for sure, I doubt many of todays players would’ve coped 30/40/50 years ago with the physical side of the game. But having said that, tough players back then wouldn’t stay on the pitch for long now, can you imagine the likes of GT, Andy Gray, Thorny and Ninja, even Brighty with cameras everywhere and VAR? Those physical little battles(putting it politely) sometimes off the ball just wouldn’t go unnoticed now, even tough but fair challenges back then are deemed illegal now.

So It’s just an impossible task comparing players and teams from different era’s. But we’ll do it anyway

Edited by monkey (25 Jun 2023 5.38pm)

Can you imagine Joachim Andersen? by the time he’s looked in the mirror before he received the ball, John Fashanu, Mick Harford or Mark Hateley would’ve flattened him and he’d be a jibbering wreck by the end of the game

No dig at JA because we love him, it’s just a different game now, you didn’t used to get that time to tippy tappy the ball across the back and pick out a nice little pass

Teddy, that's naughty . . .

Put this up on the 'Dirty Leeds' thread . . . [Link]

This operation, will make the 'Charge Of The Light Brigade' seem like a simple military exercise.

with it being a less technical more physical game in the 70s, muddy pitches etc, you would get real journeyman players who were great athletes but cr*p at football playing at quite a high level, often from Everton, Bolton or Newcastle - and they didn't look like footballers - they looked like they had come direct from a coal mine, often bald with big legs and had unglamorous names, so much so that I have trouble recalling them though they are frequently seen on the Big Match Revisted. My only example, not top level, but he scored the second goal in Northampton's 8-2 defeat to Man U. Frank Large.

[Link]