AS SOMEBODY who was proud to call himself a genuine old-school No9, I’m supposed to be part of a dying breed. And I can understand why people might think that. There is a lack of authentic centre-forwards in the Premier League and across the whole of elite football.
2 Troy Deeney was an old school No9 Credit: Getty Images - Getty 2 Erling Haaland is not good enough with his back to goal to be an old fashioned striker Credit: Getty The days when top-flight clubs were employing players like myself, Rickie Lambert at Southampton and Grant Holt at Norwich appear to be numbered. But those sorts of players will come back into fashion before long. For me, the blame for the current trend lies with coaches at all levels — from the Premier League, to academies and right down to those coaching kids at the grass roots on a Sunday morning.
For an increasing number of head coaches in the top flight, it all seems to be about their own reputations, rather than winning matches and bringing success to their clubs. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL STAND AND DELIVER New pics show extension set to take Prem stadium capacity beyond 60,000 The perfect case in point is Vincent Kompany. A great bloke, an outstanding defender and captain at Manchester City but, as manager of Burnley last season, a coach who oversaw one of the most defensively naive teams I’ve ever watched.
And yet where did Kompany end up this summer? At Bayern Munich — one of the biggest clubs in the world - with one of the few last rem.