Standard of football now.......and then

Be interesting to know how you older posters would compare the standard of football played in the Championship nowadays against that played in Division 2 in the 60's and 70's.

Prior to the 1980's, the better British footballers all plied their trade in the old First Division. However, since the drip drip import of foreign players into this country turned into a torrent, players of this ilk have to play at a lower level in order to make a living.

Is it therefore logical to assume that the quality of football in the Championship is roughly equivalent to that played in the old Div 1 prior to 1980 ?

Theoretically, this means that all of the EFL is now seeing better players than was the case 30-40 years ago.

Just a thought.

Back in the 60s and 70s pitches, especially in the winter months, were unbelievably bad, Ninian park in the early 70's resembled Barry island beach there was that much sand on it. So it was tougher then for skilled players, I'm sure they would have loved playing on the billiard table like surfaces we see today. The game back then was more physical too, you could get away with a lot more, again making it harder for the skilled players to do their stuff. Having said all that the most entertaining sides I can recall down the city was our promotion winning team in 76, and the city side of the late 60s when Toshack and Clark tore defences apart. I think a lot of players from past eras would thrive today, as an example imagine the likes of Willie Anderson, Ian Gibson, Barrie Jones in the modern game, they would be stand out players no question.

Biggest difference l see in today’s game as against the time l started watching in the sixties is the pace the game is played at,and yes that’s in part down to pitches,but todays player is first and foremost an athlete at all levels of the game.Good players would be good players in any era but they would have to adopt a different life style to be able to compete today.

Be interesting to know how you older posters would compare the standard of football played in the Championship nowadays against that played in Division 2 in the 60's and 70's.

Prior to the 1980's, the better British footballers all plied their trade in the old First Division. However, since the drip drip import of foreign players into this country turned into a torrent, players of this ilk have to play at a lower level in order to make a living.

Is it therefore logical to assume that the quality of football in the Championship is roughly equivalent to that played in the old Div 1 prior to 1980 ?

Theoretically, this means that all of the EFL is now seeing better players than was the case 30-40 years ago.

Just a thought.

in theory your correct..
but squad sizes have increased considerably , so although the prem teams might be full of foreign players they still carry many squad players from the home nations.
and secondly there is so much dosh flying around at the top these days there is far less chance of a bobby moore..george best..or even a kevin ratcliffe or mike england plying their trade at this level to top up finances..
so yes its driven some players who once would have been top tier down a league, maybe its not as much as youd have thought though..