I still don't understand why that means they need to be taken with a huge grain of salt. There were plenty of extremely durable and prolific players in the past (I know you love Gerd Muller for example). If anything the evolution of tactics would, imo, benefit defending moreso than attacking and there's never been more talent in the game than now; the concentration can definitely be looked at in relation to the overall talent/athletic/coaching level.
It feels like in any sport there are always reasons to discount what the current generation is doing when referencing past greats like nobody could possibly be better than the nostalgic greats of the previous era. Even though it's simply logic that as time goes on (with diminishing returns of course), and advances are made in every aspect of the sport, the players should be better. Not just the top players, but the general level of play.
Well, feelings can be deceptive. With regards to the bolded, for instance, I
feel that using the phrase 'nostalgic greats' is a revealingly prejudicial use of language. Unless I lean to the kinder explanation that it's a revealingly thoughtless use of language.
But that's feelings for you.
As for your mention of 'the previous era', again, some specific dates for 'the previous era' during which 'nostalgic greats' walked the earth like dinosaurs would be fascinating. Had you only specified when the era took place, who knows, I might even have agreed with you.
A propos of nothing, 1999 is almost two decades ago. It's certainly the past. And it marks the entrance of one Zlatan Ibrahimovic into senior professional football.
You must have heard of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He's one of the most prolific goalscorers of the last decade. Even into his thirties- despite the supposedly constant evolutions of the game that one might have thought would usher in a new generation of stars to surpass him.
I'd agree that tactical evolutions tend to be defensively minded. (Though I'd imagine its offset a little by technological tools for analysing performance breaking down both collective defensive systems and the games of individual defenders for weaknesses). But consider it's for that very reason that the governing body will change the rules- to pull the carpet from under coaches' feet.
Defenders and forwards may both be quicker than they were 30 years ago. Suppose we accept the idea that both are better briefed tactically than 30 years ago. The area in which the balance tips significantly towards the forward is the greater margins of error he has when judging his runs or passes for offsides, and the greater restrictions against defenders hauling him back if he breaks free in the first place. The defender needs to get more right, the attacker less. That's a manifest shift in emphasis.
Meanwhile, although we can all put together a shortlist of enterprising coaches who give us hope for the future, I'd suggest we can all equally cobble together a list of dismal hacks who never seem to run out of opportunities. In the EPL alone, you have Allardyce, Hodgson, Lambert, Moyes, Pardew. And now Mark Hughes, arising like a zombie that had been entombed under a pile of manure.