Do you remember when you could not watch more than ten minutes of a football match without hearing phrases like “chuck it in the mixer” or “hit the big man”?
Football is a completely different beast today, with managers trying to be obsessed with the theory that the team must play so-called “nice football” if they are to be classified as a good side.
25 years ago you had struggled to find a club in England that did not hire a goalkeeper who was central to their style of play, but still the trick was not translated so well on the international stage.
Players like Chris Sutton and Dion Dublin – two strikers with a Golden Boot each and three Premier League titles in between before spitting – collected a total of just five England caps, while players you would classify as a little more intelligent but less physical like Teddy Sheringham flourished with the national team.
But can everything be about to change?
The noble goalkeeper has been almost eradicated in recent decades, with even lower league teams wanting to play with floating front three and fake nines as opposed to having a focal point for their attack.
Kieffer Moore has been central to Wales’ success so far / BSR Agency / Getty Images
International football, of course, has a huge impact on club-level football, with players often earning big from the back of some decent games, and the system teams that are adopted also tend to impress club managers.
Euro 2020 may not even have reached the knockout rounds yet, but the only big difference between this international tournament and so many that have gone before it is the use of the big man at the top.
The Netherlands Wout Weghorst, Romelu Lukaku (he has not really ‘appeared’ so to speak but we use him as an example anyway because he is a forward and he is massive) and Wales’ Kieffer Moore have all been fantastic so far this tournament.
All three have already opened their accounts for the competition and have been important parts of their team’s attitude to the games, with Wales in particular using Moore’s flying ability – in both boxes we can add – in their quest to do so from Group A.
Weghorst has been a key player for his side / ANP Sport / Getty Images
The Cardiff man may not be the most fashionable of footballers by today’s standards, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with building your team on solid defensive foundations and then using a goalkeeper’s qualities to get others to play.
Moore’s playoffs and flick-ons have helped ease the pressure during both Wales’ two outings so far, while the aforementioned aspects of his game have meant that Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale have been much more involved than if every time Rob Side’s side cleared the ball it was picked up. just up by the opposition before launching another wave of attack.
Weghorst has been used in a very similar way in Frank de Boer’s installation. The Netherlands are no longer a group full of forward talent and random defenders, but they are the opposite with players like Stefan de Vrij and 90-minute Our21 star Matthijs de Ligt giving solidity in the back line.
Without the first-class quality they used to boast about, the Netherlands could not keep possession as easily in the final third, and it is therefore imperative to have a player they can trust to keep the ball and pull the team up on the pitch.
Weghorst’s flying ability was enormous in the Netherlands’ victory against Ukraine / ANP Sport / Getty Images
Lumping the ball into a monster forward so he can keep possession before handing it to one of his forward teammates may not be as beautiful in some people’s eyes as a team that does 55 passes and is still in its own half, but it is really effective.
If we have learned anything from the first week of Euro 2020, it is that goalkeepers still have a big role to play in the game, and we can very well see phrases like “chuck it in the mixer” and “returning” here the big man ‘to the English game very soon. Hopefully.
