Is the Premier League more difficult than ever? The era was analyzed and a verdict was rendered.

Former Premier League star Benni McCarthy has inspired his generation of strikers, insisting that players like Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba were a cut above, despite the numbers posted by the likes of Erling Haaland.

My time was better than yours. I had it harder than you. These are all comments from players who passed by those who came 20 years ago or decades later.

Some of Diego Maradona’s greatest cheerleaders would argue that comparisons with Lionel Messi are unnecessary. As an example, “Look at the pitches he played on” is one line that is often deployed.

There is a school of thought that claims that the numbers Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi have produced are unlike anything they have ever seen. Not correct. Prolific goalscorers are rare, but not unheard of. German great Gerd Müller topped the 30-goal mark for 12 consecutive seasons on the bounce, something Ronaldo was unable to achieve, including 66, 50 and 48 goals in one season.

Moral of the story: Generations and eras don’t matter. Great goalscorers always score goals, regardless of the pitch, opponent or system.

But former Premier League frontman Benny McCarthy believes there were “more world-class strikers” in his era. In 2006/07, the South African scored 18 goals in his debut season with Blackburn, but finished second behind Didier Drogba in the race for the Golden Boot.

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That was a year before Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or, and although McCarthy narrowly edged him out, he is adamant that there aren’t as many quality strikers around as there used to be.

He told BestBettingSites: “I didn’t want to lose to my rivals. Players like Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha, Emmanuel Adebayor, Thierry Henry, Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane. Oh, and the list goes on.

“There were just more world-class strikers in the Premier League and in world football back then. Now you don’t see so many recognized strikers anymore. Robert Lewandowski, he’s still an active striker. Cristiano Ronaldo, at his age, he’s still doing it.”

Ronaldo and Messi are outliers. You can argue that they did it “back in the day” and kept it to compete with modern defenders. They played against Virgil van Dijk and Ruben Diaz and won, but they also had to fight against Fabio Cannavaro and Carles Puyol.

There is a theory that suggests the level of defense has declined over the past decade. Increased responsibility to play out has been prioritized over more solid defensive quality. McCarthy, Drogba and Rooney had to face the likes of John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Fabio Carvalho.

These numbers both prove and disprove McCarthy’s argument. So I would probably call it a draw. Some argue that recent numbers are due to the fact that it is easier to score goals, partly due to the lower quality of defenders. Perhaps that explains why they won the 1997/98 Golden Boot with just 18 goals. A year later, the numbers were the same. In the 2000/01 season, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink led the way with 23 points.

However, during the same era, Kevin Phillips, who was playing in the First Division, stepped up to score 30 goals in the Premier League in his first season in the top flight. So maybe it’s not that difficult?

In the 2003/04 season, Henry scored 30 goals. Four years later, Ronaldo won his only Golden Boot with 31 goals. So even if Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah win the Golden Boot award by scoring over 30 goals, it doesn’t really make any sense to throw up the “now it’s easier to score” card.

McCarthy insisted: “You don’t see goals scored by our strikers back then in the very tough conditions of the Premier League. The difference is that the pitch was much more waterlogged and heavier than it is now when we were playing. We now have a proper drainage system and the pitch is perfect.”

“We didn’t have that every weekend, but we still hit them as many goals as all the strikers of that time scored! So you could say our generation of strikers were better.”

After all, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would argue that Haaland couldn’t have done what he’s doing now 20 years ago. If anything, the old-fashioned number 9 is coming back into fashion. Proving they still exist. A tall, powerful frontman who plays as the final defender and runs in behind the team is very active.

Premier League Golden Boot Winners

The game evolves and goes through waves. The likes of Haaland, Lewandowski and Harry Kane have arguably led the re-emergence of the No. 9 after an era in which wingers came to the fore. That’s why Salah and Sadio Mane can play as wide players and their No.9 Roberto Firmino as facilitator to win the Golden Boot.

Can current crops cut that?

Perhaps since the 2000s, there has been a clear shift, and games have become more technical than physical. It doesn’t mean one has more influence or influence than the other. Yes, you get pioneers and throwbacks. Ferdinand was praised for playing from the back when he had never really seen a defender take that approach.

More recently, players like Antonio Rudiger have found their physicality coming to the fore as he establishes himself as one of the game’s elite centre-halves. Van Dijk clearly combines the best of everything a defender can offer. Even McCarthy admits that the challenge posed to strikers is perhaps greater than in his day, as defenders now have more strings on their bows.

“It’s become even more difficult because football has changed,” he said. “Defenders back then were much more physical, and with speed you could avoid physical contact. With the ball behind you, you could beat defenders at your own pace.”

“But these days, even big, strong, physical defenders are still very fast. Look at players like Virgil van Dijk, there aren’t many strikers who can outdo players like him. So now they have the physicality and they have the speed to their game. I think it’s a little more complicated for a striker to outdo a defender in the modern game.”

There is no reason why additions or attention to technical quality should compromise the quality of the complete defense. Ruben Dias has led Manchester City’s defense like a warrior. William Saliba may look like a Rolls-Royce on the ball, but he is the linchpin of a defensive line that could break the Premier League record for the fewest goals conceded in a season.

The dynamics are ultimately infinite. Currently, the influence of defensive midfielders is huge. Rodri, N’Golo Kante and Sergio Busquets read the game and became extra defenders, cutting off the supply to the strikers. Wouldn’t that make it difficult to score?

If you’re still paying attention, you’ll notice that the numbers, statistics, accolades, and opinions primarily suggest one thing. Yes, we can keep arguing about eras, but class is not limited to a handful of generations. World-class players always appear in defense and in the final third, but despite all the tribalism, one thing is clear. No doubt the strongest man could have achieved it yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

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