The General Standard of Football in League 1

Bigpommo

Well-known member
I've been following Blackpool again over the last couple of seasons (since the Oystons left) and overall I've been really surprised by how poor the standard in the league is generally. I can't work out if it's because I've been mostly watching Premier league and so I'd forgotten what to expect at this level or if the teams are significantly worse than when I was previously watching.

The amount of players (on every team) who don't seem to be able to pass it five yards or show basic control is amazing. The shooting (apart from Ipswich) has been woeful and it's got to the point where I'm actually more surprised if a set piece delivery is decent and it doesn't just balloon over.

It honestly amazes me how I can watch a professional footballer look so utterly gash since I know they are part of the 0.0005% that have made it professionally but It's just so difficult to see how sometimes.

Anyone else know what I mean?
 
I also wonder how they would have managed with the heavy ball of the 50's and early 60's? I think we breed athletes rather than footballers these days. Very good technical players are few and far between at league 1&2 level.
 
I also wonder how they would have managed with the heavy ball of the 50's and early 60's? I think we breed athletes rather than footballers these days. Very good technical players are few and far between at league 1&2 level.
' I think we breed athletes rather than footballers these days.'

Quote of the day, and I find all standards of football poorer than it was 30 years ago. That's why they were these bras that track every yard that's been run. Sports science my arse. You shouldn't need stats to see who is a good player, use your eyes.

Even when we were crap in the 80s we had wingers who could dribble and beat players. All teams set up 4 4 2, with at least 3 creative midfielders/wingers, and usually 3.

I do think nowadays physicality overshadows pure talent.

Cue the premier league fan boys to tell me it's the greatest league and greatest footballer ever.
 
I agree with 20s after years of watching us in lower leagues it's no different same as the refs who get grief.
We tend to because of TV cameras over analize everything.

Then one thing that should change is trying to copy what the top clubs do with third division players there is nothing wrong with getting it out wide(Feeney & Gnado) and pinging balls in at Lge 1 level. Flooding midfield just makes it a poor spectacle.
 
I think your first para sums it up.

Not having a dig, but it's not them it's you. When you've not watched L1 for a long time it can be very difficult to adjust your expectations when you've only recently watched PL football.
Agree 20s, but league 1 football can be very good to watch as well. 2007 promotion team, mcmahon team as well.
 
Just to add it was often said last season the quality was poor. Think that opinion came about because we were mainly in crap games due to our lack of creativity.

Peterborough and Oxford fans who watched something else week in week out may have had a different view on the quality.
 
' I think we breed athletes rather than footballers these days.'

Quote of the day, and I find all standards of football poorer than it was 30 years ago. That's why they were these bras that track every yard that's been run. Sports science my arse. You shouldn't need stats to see who is a good player, use your eyes.

Even when we were crap in the 80s we had wingers who could dribble and beat players. All teams set up 4 4 2, with at least 3 creative midfielders/wingers, and usually 3.

I do think nowadays physicality overshadows pure talent.

Cue the premier league fan boys to tell me it's the greatest league and greatest footballer ever.
Think you're right and wrong. Yep. athleticism and fitness has a far greater importance than in days gone by. So right on that.
But as we were discussing yesterday, you clearly have issues about the EPL. And that clouds your judgement to the talent and skill levels in there. For instance De Bruyne's passing ability is as good as anyone else of thirty, forty years ago. And whether you like it or not, football has developed so much more in those years since then. The game is so much more about pass and move than just simply good old fashioned dribbling. And yep, that requires a higher level of fitness than back then.
You're probably too young to remember but go back to the seventies and watch a game and then go back to the fifties and do the same. The change in the pace of the game is staggering and that's what we've moved on even further too now. It's simply the professional game and standards in all aspects of football are so much more demanding. You might not like that but that's the way it is. Gone are the days of a lot players smoking and going for a big session on the booze after the game. The Blackpool team today would hammer the 53 cup winning side simply because of the standards of fitness and the pace of the game.
 
Think you're right and wrong. Yep. athleticism and fitness has a far greater importance than in days gone by. So right on that.
But as we were discussing yesterday, you clearly have issues about the EPL. And that clouds your judgement to the talent and skill levels in there. For instance De Bruyne's passing ability is as good as anyone else of thirty, forty years ago. And whether you like it or not, football has developed so much more in those years since then. The game is so much more about pass and move than just simply good old fashioned dribbling. And yep, that requires a higher level of fitness than back then.
You're probably too young to remember but go back to the seventies and watch a game and then go back to the fifties and do the same. The change in the pace of the game is staggering and that's what we've moved on even further too now. It's simply the professional game and standards in all aspects of football are so much more demanding. You might not like that but that's the way it is. Gone are the days of a lot players smoking and going for a big session on the booze after the game. The Blackpool team today would hammer the 53 cup winning side simply because of the standards of fitness and the pace of the game.
Not so much a problem with the PL 20s. When the PL is good it is very very good. I just think once you get passed the few top teams then it's fairly bland. But that's just me, and I did agree that I'd love Blackpool to be a constant part of a competitive PL.

Nostalgia is what it is, you don't necessarily remember the rubbish and it all seemed better.

I think we are both right and you made my point more eloquently than I did, pass and move and speed are the main components of today's game.
 
Think you're right and wrong. Yep. athleticism and fitness has a far greater importance than in days gone by. So right on that.
But as we were discussing yesterday, you clearly have issues about the EPL. And that clouds your judgement to the talent and skill levels in there. For instance De Bruyne's passing ability is as good as anyone else of thirty, forty years ago. And whether you like it or not, football has developed so much more in those years since then. The game is so much more about pass and move than just simply good old fashioned dribbling. And yep, that requires a higher level of fitness than back then.
You're probably too young to remember but go back to the seventies and watch a game and then go back to the fifties and do the same. The change in the pace of the game is staggering and that's what we've moved on even further too now. It's simply the professional game and standards in all aspects of football are so much more demanding. You might not like that but that's the way it is. Gone are the days of a lot players smoking and going for a big session on the booze after the game. The Blackpool team today would hammer the 53 cup winning side simply because of the standards of fitness and the pace of the game.
...but had they met on an 'equal footing' the Pool teams of the 50's & 60's would have slaughtered today's team.
 
The standard has always been pretty bad, it is League One football after all.
I think the difference is now is that coverage and replays are available at the touch of a button, so every single second can be analysed and forensically stripped down, hence why defensive errors seem to be magnified.

10 years ago (or whenever) we were in the ground and if something happened it was over in a flash, and we had to get on with it. Nowadays it can be paused, rewound and watched in slow motion over and over again.
Under that microscope every single player will make errors. You were lucky to catch the goals condensed in to about 12 seconds on Granada Reports back then before the internet/Sky Plus etc.
 
That’s what I’ve taken from the games this season, how with a few exceptions the technical ability of our players is dreadful. Just look at Yates who has the first touch of an arthritic elephant or Williams two shots on Saturday where he leans back and appears surprised when it goes miles over the bar. Dreadful. And to be honest I thought Saturday why am I paying a tenner to watch players who have zero technique, incapable of threading a pass, yes they’re physically fit but the standard is shocking. Yet I’ll still watch tonight because they’re my team. Just wish I was 30 years younger
 
Think you're right and wrong. Yep. athleticism and fitness has a far greater importance than in days gone by. So right on that.
But as we were discussing yesterday, you clearly have issues about the EPL. And that clouds your judgement to the talent and skill levels in there. For instance De Bruyne's passing ability is as good as anyone else of thirty, forty years ago. And whether you like it or not, football has developed so much more in those years since then. The game is so much more about pass and move than just simply good old fashioned dribbling. And yep, that requires a higher level of fitness than back then.
You're probably too young to remember but go back to the seventies and watch a game and then go back to the fifties and do the same. The change in the pace of the game is staggering and that's what we've moved on even further too now. It's simply the professional game and standards in all aspects of football are so much more demanding. You might not like that but that's the way it is. Gone are the days of a lot players smoking and going for a big session on the booze after the game. The Blackpool team today would hammer the 53 cup winning side simply because of the standards of fitness and the pace of the game.

Agree with that. Your comment about the change in pace of the game got me wondering how much further there is to go. It's hard to imagine in thirty years time people looking back on today as football being of a slower pace and/or lesser standard but that's what undoubtedly has happened historically.
 
I watch football at all levels and it amazes me how lacking in technical ability, many players are. That includes EPL players!

Watching a game over the weekend (it could have been any one of 5 games) the commentator said of a player "he didn't fancy it on his weaker foot, but that was the better option". That's a player who's made it to the highest level in one of the top leagues in the world!

So, why hasn't that player worked on his weakest foot, at every training session since he was first given a contract to play professional football, to give him the confidence to hit a ball with either foot!

They may be athletes and good footballers, but how many have the hunger to improve? Too much money too soon, makes for a lack of desire in my opinion.
 
Desperately want to see a player like Wes Hoolihan who can make things happen with trickery rather than pace. I think dribbling is a lost art

Spot on. The amount of times I see a player 1:1 with a full back and turn back to give it to a midfielder is staggering. Have they lost the ability to beat people or are they just indoctrinated not to give the ball away?
 
I don't think there has been much change in recent years in the standard of L1. It is a very competitive league, technically OK (but no better) and pace and athleticism does count for a fair bit.

I'd say that was even more true of the EPL actually - I don't really understand the infatuation with it, to be honest. There are a small number of strong sides, a bigger number of very average ones, and whilst the competitiveness is probably improving it has been far lower than it should be for a long time. What quality there is is usually imported.

You only have to look at the England team to see the result. Some outstanding talent up front, a lot of "much of a muchness" plodders in midfield and a whole defensive unit that seem to be athletes first and defenders second. You wonder what passes for coaching at some of our top clubs.
 
Spot on. The amount of times I see a player 1:1 with a full back and turn back to give it to a midfielder is staggering. Have they lost the ability to beat people or are they just indoctrinated not to give the ball away?

Yep, I found that high level academy football (after the first year where it is more about enjoyment) is increasingly about ball retention and team structure.

Breeds competent and utilitarian work horses for the most part.

Athleticism and first touch are often the defining features that dictate the level you play at...
 
I've always been of the view that the best players of the 50's would still be the best players today. Same as in all other sports really. The advances made in training, nutrition, coaching, pitches, balls etc. wouldn't bring modern day plodders closer to yesteryears greats. The greats would still be a lot better than most.

Robbie - whether deliberate or not, I think what you misunderstand about coaching in the EPL (from the kids up) is that it's designed to get players suited to the first team of the relevant club in the EPL rather than just produce good players and then see how best they can be used. In general, pace and athleticism go a long way in the EPL, so pacy, athletic players get a lot of time and attention to get them into the mix. A Charlie Adam wouldn't get a look in because passing is still considered secondary to running.

It generally all comes apart at international level because England's opposition don't go at a game like a bull in a china shop and English players struggle to create without the time and space that a stretched game can often bring.
 
Yep, I found that high level academy football (after the first year where it is more about enjoyment) is increasingly about ball retention and team structure.

Breeds competent and utilitarian work horses for the most part.

Athleticism and first touch are often the defining features that dictate the level you play at...

Nothing wrong with ball retention and team structure if you know what you're trying to achieve within the system. The one thing I'd always note re first touch is that kids have to have it from a very early age. Because you'll soon find a situation when athleticism isn't enough to compensate for the ball bouncing off you...
 
I think the difference between the standards of football is often more to do with resources. PL players are fitter. They have better training, better nutrition. No matter how dedicated a league 1 pro is, they simply don't get the same support as a PL player does. The one thing that stood out in 2010 sitting near the front of the stand was how much fitter and more muscled the top PL players were compares with Holloway's team. While everyone was yelling at "Fat Frank", he had a physique and muscle definition better than anyone in our squad. And this level of physical ability is matched with mental ability - not in terms of intelligence, but in terms of concentration, stamina (both physical and mental) to last the full 90+ minutes and concentrate throughout. To get to that level requires footballers who are cossetted and nurtured from a young age. I'm not sure how much of it can be coached - it's something that I think the top clubs look for and identify in young players and then develop it.
 
Robbie - whether deliberate or not, I think what you misunderstand about coaching in the EPL (from the kids up) is that it's designed to get players suited to the first team of the relevant club in the EPL rather than just produce good players and then see how best they can be used. In general, pace and athleticism go a long way in the EPL, so pacy, athletic players get a lot of time and attention to get them into the mix. A Charlie Adam wouldn't get a look in because passing is still considered secondary to running.

If that is true, it serves to make my point about the wider health of the game. That isn't coaching, it is cloning.
 
I think its rose tinted nostalgia glasses.
I dont think its got worse,
It is what it is 3rd division football. Sometimes it can be decent fayre & other times absolute drek.

I think all leagues have got quicker. Lets just say you have to be some player to be technically gifted & be able to handle the pace of the game nowadays.
Doing anything quicker tends to result in more errors.
 
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It generally all comes apart at international level because England's opposition don't go at a game like a bull in a china shop and English players struggle to create without the time and space that a stretched game can often bring.
Well said although England have done reasonably well with their tournaments and general approach with tactics etc, which makes BRRs musings very hollow again.

On L1 I found it an unforgiving division where you can't relax for five minutes, and if anything the pressure is quite intense.
Managers can lose their jobs within say a 6 game downturn and fans clamour for their heads quite easily, making it a win at all costs competition.
Very much on a par with the Championship in my view.
 
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