Strikers and Record Deals : What happens to the rest of the team?

Strikers aren’t the answer. Did Torres alone win Chelsea the Champions League? What if there was no Drogba, standing there like a pillar the team could fall upon when they were down? What happened to Mata and Lampard, and their contributions? Without Petr Cech and John Terry, Chelsea could’ve easily given away at least 30 extra goals.

Gone are the years when a super-star forward would have one major move and then settle down till he retires. They move every few seasons, changing clubs like they would shirts. That might sound blunt, but it is common knowledge that, in Football- strikers are money getters as much as they are goal getters. This is by no means an exaggeration, if you look at the current transfer window!

Shooting ability is one of the most coveted of footballing skills and the prices paid for the likes of Falcao and Cavani and the speculative sums quoted to any potential sale of Gareth Bale confirm this. And anyone who can shoot long distances and run for the whole of the 90 mins at full speed are more revered! Is this the way forward(forgive the pun)?

There is the old adage - “Strikers win you matches, defenders win you league titles”. Strikers may win matches and defenders may win league titles, but only one team can win a league at any one time. Most sides have no chance of winning the league and therefore invest very little in defenders and ‘Keepers; also add in the fact that the average shelf life of a manager in the Premier League is just under 2 seasons and you can see why strikers are that important— every game is as important as the next one for the manager , they need every goal they can get.

Just ask Roberto Di-Matteo, I’m sure he has a thing or two to say about that. Clubs and managers will therefore gamble on strikers like they will with no other position on the pitch, sadly.

Of the top-10 transfer fees of all time(including the current transfer window), eight players are forwards and the other two are creative midfielders who did their best work in the attacking third of the pitch(stats from Forbes.com). Are Defenders and Goal-Keepers just scrap material that you can pick up at your local supermarket?

A fact about football is that defenders and ‘Keepers are not only undervalued in the transfer market, they are also undervalued by fans. Marketability is a major factor in today’s world and it goes a long way in the buying and selling of players in the transfer market. The inclusion of the new financial fair play rules only strengthen the need for marketability.

In the defence of such strikers(notice the irony), their skill-set is more difficult to master than a defenders. The reaction times for forwards is much less than defenders, and what they do is more often than not instinctive. Creativity is another aspect that matters a lot. It is not very easy for a player to be creative. But tackling and stopping play are relatively easier to master.

A lot goes into developing forwards. They must be physically able to withstand challenges, they must be reliable in front of goal and more importantly they should be adept at facing the fear of form slumps that follow big money transfers, most strikers fail in this important aspect of the game. It is this one fear that makes or breaks many careers.