Since I started working on this column every week, the interest around my time at Manchester United has been a focus for the majority of emails we get into the office.
But within that, a lot of the questions centre on the differences between football today and from my time at the top of the game in England.
People like to paint a picture that the athleticism now is light years ahead than from then – and although that is true to a certain degree I don’t buy it totally as I came to England at a time when fitness and diet were right at the top of the agenda when it came to winning trophies.
What I will pinpoint as the biggest difference is how tactically aware players have to be now. Where they need to be on the pitch at all times is drilled into them, and I think that is one of the reasons critics say the creativity and flair have been eroded in football.
Players in the English Premier League – from the top to the bottom – are coached a lot in the same way, with tactics a priority. During my time, we understood the basic tactics of how we would be set up, but a lot of it was left to us to handle.
Tactical awareness is also starting at such a young age for players, and it is a hard balance for them to play for fun and show flair whilst at the same time being discipled. To be honest, I am glad that my time in youth football was pretty carefree!
If you speak to any player from my era and pose this question, you will no doubt at some point get one word from them about the difference: Speed.
The game now is just so quick that when I watch games from my time at United, it is like time has been slowed down. The ball now goes from one end of the pitch to the other at lightning speed. And within that closing down happens in the blink of an eye. It is why we see teams having to break the press with innovative tactics.
The last difference that I will pick out is that the game overall is a lot less clear cut when it comes to what is physically acceptable and what isn’t. It is still a contact sport, and that always needs to be the case, but challenges now happen with less force and aggression.
Referees in England seem to get a lot of criticism, but the truth is they are better than ever, and control the game much more.
Is it a good or a bad thing that some of that physicality has gone out of the game? I think you would need to ask fans that.
It does lift the crowd when a challenge flies in, but against that is the safety of the player.
But with sports science improving athleticism in footballers, they have the potential to do real damage with a nasty challenge.
All in all, players will always say they played in the most exciting era, but at the end of the day if the supporters are entertained, that is all that matters.
