Death of the 9?

Wright, Henry, Shearer, Drogba, Cole, Batistuta, Vieri, R9 and so many more ! Lewandoski and Kane nearing the end of their careers. Where are all the 9s ?

Football has changed, no doubt about it. Pep and his all conquering Barca team (the Messi false 9 iteration), Spains Euro 2012 win without a recognised centre forward changed the game and made the traditional number 9 feel pretty expendable.

Im biased of course but outside of Gk’s the 9 is the most specialised position on the pitch, why ? We spend most of the game with our back to goal, with pressure from all angles and very few reference points (touchline for wingers/full backs) usually you are heavily outnumbered and in the modern game you are expected to be a link, a runner, a finisher and a battering ram.

There was a time where England could call upon Shearer, Cole, Wright, Sheringham, Fowler and Owen. And now ? Kane and Watkins ? Unsurprisingly Englands squads are packed full of ’10s’ or inside forwards. In our quest to mimic the success of the aforementioned Spanish teams have our academies been primed to produce the ‘attacking midfielder’ – have 9s been faded out with their lack of ‘technical’ ability, are they getting released because they aren’t great in rondos and possession practices? From my own experiences of being around academies I don’t think they’re environments that 9s can thrive in , even at first team level many of the practices don’t give strikers the exposure to the situations they will face in game. Do we know what we are looking for when recruiting strikers and deciding their futures?

Football matches are decided by goals and I think we’d all agree it’s still the most difficult job in the game. Erling Haaland , the best striker of his generation is regularly trolled on social media for his lack of touches or lack of ‘finesse’ but what’s his job ? To be a focal point and ultimately to score goals. Romelu Lukaku another player who has scored regularly throughout his career , for a spell he couldn’t play a game without becoming a meme.

But there is hope ! What’s the perfect antidote to man to man pressing and low blocks which are rife in the modern game ? A top number 9! Imagine Michael Owen sprinting beyond Tottenhams obscenely high line or Alan Shearer arriving onto a De Bruyne half space cross (Haaland’s goal earlier in the season against Chelsea the perfect example) Or even Inzaghi finding space inside a packed 6 yard box to poke one home.

I for one hope that the cyclical nature of football brings us back to the 9, if for no other reason the sake of my business model !

Let me know what you think.