I'm sure fellow Chelsea fans are more than aware of our own struggles with strikers, centre forwards, goal hangers, whatever name you want to give them, in recent years. 

 

 

Anyway, I was just reading that Germany have named only one recognised striker in their squad for the World Cup, 34 year veteran Miroslav Klose. 

 

 

 

It got me thinking, is the striker a dying breed in modern football, is there now a lack of "old fashioned" number 9's who can be relied on to do arguably the most important job in football, score goals. 

 

Or is it that there is a dying need of these types of players... In the age of tiki-take football and false 9s and many other annoying footballing terminologies are coaches and managers deciding that strikers are somewhat of a hindrance to the side?

 

 

So what do fellow Shed Enders think about it?

 

Does it speak volumes that the two best players in world football aren't traditional strikers and yet score the lion's share of goals for their teams (I'm talking about Ronaldo and Messi if you hadn't guessed). 

I think its more that Ronaldo and Messi are just freakishly good at scoring as theres still plenty of top traditional strikers around-Falcao, Lewandowski, Cavani, Ibrahimovic, Aguero, Suarez etc. Germany just happen to have a lot of top AM's and are trying to field as many as they can at once.

Do you think it's telling that some recent successful sides such as the Spanish national team, Barcalona and Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich have been playing teams often without a recognised striker?

 

Are they they anomaly or a sign of things to come? 

Do you think it's telling that some recent successful sides such as the Spanish national team, Barcalona and Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich have been playing teams often without a recognised striker?

 

Are they they anomaly or a sign of things to come? 

I kind of think its 2 sides of the same coin and that success can be had with either way so long as the players are good enough. 

I would say they are a dying bread in the same way that "box to box"/centre midfielders are pretty much dead.

It will come back around and change. Tactically, its not fashionable to have strikers and or box to box midfielders because of the 4231 formation.

Don't think they're a dying breed. 

 

The emergence of the 3 x AM systems are partly to blame.

 

A generation of more world class attacking midfielders and less world class strikers is the answer.

 

Far from dying breed. Still the most important part of most teams.

I think it's just evolution of styles, there will always be teams that rely heavily on strikers like City and Liverpool.

Strikers need to be more well rounded and able to play alone these days it seems.

I think the Barca way of football is dying out and the next craze will come along. False number 9's will end and the next big idea will come along.

For years teams set up as 4-4-2 and then 4-3-3 came into fashion and every big team was using it. Now its 4-2-3-1. Soon it will be something else.

I dont think Strikers are a dying breed but what i do think it that there are currently a lack of well known proven goal scorers. I think this is why we have struggled to get a new striker force in.

May be full circle 2 - 3 - 5?

I was saying a similar thing before the start of the last season, and thought that it was okay to go his route - however I think our lack of Klose type striker cost us those games against the minnows.

Against the big teams where the game was open, we were fine without an effective striker. Not sure the withdrawn striker will work in England, unless the traditional style of the game changes.

Last 3 champions league finals have been played by teams who utilize a classic nr 9

You can use Barca to prove your argument but they have Messi who has a huge ego and wont let anyone else play through the middle

Benzema certainly not a classic no. 9. He is not the focal point of the attack and plays in a real similar way to how Gudjonsen played lone striker for us.

That said this year more than anything has shown the value of strikers changing game state. Territorial dominance doesn't predict a result as much if the opposition has a clinical forward. Also I think strikers now have to be much more well rounded than in the past. Even poachers like Lewi and Costa have excellent ball skils.

There are plenty of class strikers still but because of our recent problems it feels like they are a dying breed.

I mean in England alone you have Augero, Saurez and Dzeko.

Then there are guys like Cavanni, Ibra, Costa, Falcao, Benzema, Tevez, Lewandowski, Balotelli ect.

So there are a good number of strikers of a decent standard out there.

I suppose the whole classic no 9 striker is all about how you take it, are we talking about out and out poachers like Inzaghi or all round fantastic footballers who score just as many ala the real Ronaldo?

I feel since Drogba left we have been deprived of what a real striker is and hopefully next season we find some relief.