Souness 100% right. Squad depths/rotation and more subs, billiard table pitches, no tackling, sport scientists and monitoring, flown on private jets everywhere, all baby sit and coddle the modern player

I would watch the Liverpool team in the 1980’s with Ian Rush, John Barnes and Beardsley any day over a ManCity team of today.

In Souness' time, you had West Brom, Aston Villa, Notts Forest, Ipswich (very competitive in European competitions, winning them...)and others as well as the perceived top teams. It was very competitive at that time.

Agree with Souness. There were a lot of good technical players back then who'd thrive on todays bowling green pitches

People always argue about players from yesteryear not being able to play today. How many of today's players could have made it in the 70s and 80s. I am not a utd fan but George Best would have thought he was playing against 10 year olds on these pitches and not being able to foul him

Souness is spot on. Imagine for a minute what Maradona at his peak would have been like in the modern game. Messi and Ronaldo would have been like Platini and Zico had Maradona played at the same time in history. The protection, pitches, lifestyle, coaching, equipment and diet modern players have is light years ahead of what they had in the 70's and 80's but the players from 35 or 40 years ago did all they did despite it all.

The modern game is tailor made for teams like Man City. No 'real' tackling allowed, defenders terrified of making any contact in or near the box. The slightest tug or even touch and if the player with the ball decides to collapse like he's been shot by a sniper then a free kick is given 90% of the time. That didn't happen in the 70's even up to the early 2000's, it was a contact sport and you needed big strong tough players in defence and holding midfield. Now super fast agile players are afforded the luxury of being able to dribble freely and pass and move most of the time due to the players on the defence trying their best not to give away any silly fowls. The modern game has been injected with ballet

Souness was mega in the 80's, he would be even bigger in todays game!

Imagine never having played at the top level and feeling like you know more than a man who’s achieved everything at club level.

Anyone who has played a decent level and has seen Souness play (with either foot) knows he would absolutely breeze it in today’s game. The guy was a serious baller. END OF.

He's not wrong. People wrongly think the league is stronger these days or 'more competitive' when it clearly isn't. In the 90's, 75-80 points being enough to win you the league was a clear indicator that the gap between the top and 'lesser' teams was smaller, therefore more competitive.

Souness is spot on correct... pitches were a lot worse than today... a foul was only given if you broke your leg... today's football is like our six a side tournaments that we played for a bit of fun.. You would be hard pressed to name any of today's players that had the drive.. determination.. and skill of the likes of souness keano or Robbo... these guys could win hard tackles get up with the ball and drive the team forward. The football then may not have been so easy on the eye... but generally you had two teams going at it trying to win.... certainly more exciting to watch back then. Take a look at the classic clip of Bestie goal against Chelsea when chopper Harris tried taking him out at the knee... the pitch wouldn't be played on today... The forward would have collapsed and rolled around and chopper would be off...Don't think he even got booked.

There was football before the premier league

Stanley mathews played until he was 50 and won the ballan dor at 41

What's all this nonsense about Utd being Liverpool's only competitor in the 1980s? Everton, Villa, Forest were far bigger competitors back then.

Graeme at his peak on todays pitches? that would be a sight.

Most of today's midfielders would go off on a stretcher if the Souness of old even looked at them

The trouble is, you have yuppies who have only been into football for 10 years and have only watched PL football in their lives and they think they’re experts and more knowledgeable than people who have played the game.

I can almost guarantee that sideways passing was called “Doing a Ray Wilkins.” God rest his soul, but Ron Atkinson didn’t nickname him “The Crab”, for nothing.

Well during Liverpool’s dominance with only Man U as their only so called competitor if not mistaken did Forest not win back to back European cups along with Villa also wining one with a brilliant Everton team also wining league titles and FA cups during that period.

Souness had everything the modern day midfielder has and more because he was aggressive and could tackle. The only doubt about him playing in today’s top flight is whether he could stay on the pitch now that tackling is outlawed.

I am glad i am 52, to able to jave watched Graham and all the other greats of his generation play. They absolutely were class footballers. He stands head and shoulders above most midfielders in my life time.

Everton fan here. Souness is right, he was a complete midfielder, a Rolls Royce, even though he was a b*****d !

remember the First division in the 70''s and 80's and sometimes there would be 5 or 6 teams close together at the top. Teams like QPR, Ipswich, WBA, Southampton, Watford, even Swansea were close one season. It was more competitive then apart from a few seasons when Liverpool ran away with it

2:25 My guess would be Ray Wilkins, nicknamed "the crab" because he always passed it sideways.

You can’t compare generations but the reality is it’s all relative. The players in Graeme’s day would be premier league players today, they had the talent and personality, they would adjust to the modern day.

Hold on Everton were competing with Liverpool for the league in the 80s these young fans haven’t a clue

Watch Graeme Souness Bryan Robson Steve McMahon Duncan Ferguson to name but a few when they went for the ball even the ball winced. Great players.

The game is far less physical yet the injuries are through the roof in comparison

I don't remember any top team of the past at the likes of Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelski, Leicester, Arsenal, Blackburn, Everton, Villa and Forest having had 115 FA charges hanging over them.

Jim white “ weve never seen anything like this Man City team dominate the premier league” so did you not watch the prem between 93 and 2013 because Fergie had it wrapped. 2 points and a few goals from winning it 6 years on the spin at one stage…. Think before you speak mr white

His right about other teams being as good or better than the city side

Imagine the Liverpool team Souness played in being brought through with todays disciplines and lifestyles. They would be a sensation.

When were utd in a title race in the 80s 😂😂

I think there were more ballers back in the day. These days they are primarily athletes, they all look the same, they all play the same. I can’t help thinking that individuality is coached out of some players to conform.

I watched 1980 Liverpool v Spurs on ITV4 this weekend. The biggest difference for me is the players in the middle now have less time on the ball because the game is played much faster with more emphasis on pressing.

Men were alot more vicious through competitiveness he is spot on, if he wasn't sent off for the first few engagements todays game would love players like souness Keane makalele, those that wish to sit and play... gold to the game regardless of generation

One things for sure the retro game was way way more physical. And for hardly any money compared to todays players

footballers today would break their toes kicking those old footballs

Graeme Souness is absolutely correct. They played great football on dirt track pitches, played 64 games in a season, hard tackling, physically the modern game has no competitive bite to it. Someone once said that Thierry Henri would not have made it back in the 70's, relying on balletic balance knowing he is not going to get tackled. Many Premiership games remind me of training ground runarounds.

I think people don’t realise how great a player him was. He could defo play in modern game would be like rice but better

The only way to settle this is to get A.I to go over all the old footage of all the games in a season and build up a database of stats. Who ran the most, dribbled, forward passes etc and then we can compare like for like.

Come February many grounds pitches were a mess in the eighties. Players kicked lumps out of each other. Liverpool won everything, everywhere. Today would be a doddle ,as he says.

Whenever the argument arises of a historic team or athlete comes up, people usually argue teams of the present beat the older greater teams/athletes due to a game being quicker, sport science etc I love these kind of debates for example for me a prime tyson beats prime Ali based on styles but Ali could beat a prime Tyson before the fight with hype mind games etc distracting tyson i.e a fair rationale of an idea or fantasy match up when it comes to comparing great football teams, nobody who argues in favour of current great sides such as Jim did for Man City, ever balance the argument by saying let's say one of Souness's dominant Liverpool teams would therefore also benefit from modern sports science, recovery, better pitches etc. It wouldn't advance the impossible subjective argument because only a time machine would prove us right or wrong. But, it would at least show those voting for modern greats beating historic greats are taking this into context. They never seem to include the backpass rule either, I can remember the old first division matches being hard to watch and a GK being able to pick the ball up from a pass from a team mate is 10 times harder than a team parking the bus. That's why Graham argues gengumpressing from the front isn't something new because good teams used to have to to stop opposition defenders repeatedly passing back to the GK. Watch old matches with Ian Rush in his prime as proof

Youngsters and older Folk with short or selective memories need to watch first division games from the 70's and 80's again. Then come back and give an informed opinion.

Maradona would be untocuhable in today's game. Messi, on the other hand, would not have lasted five minutes in the era of Maradona.

Maybe some of the football being played today is more easy on the eye and definitely is more athleticism and speed to it but a lot of that is to do with the pitches, technology and the main reason, is because you’re not allowed to tackle today like you could 30/40 years ago. But no way is football more competitive today than it was 30/40 years ago.

Souness was a great. The era is irrelevant. He had everything.

He would be "king" of the midfield, as he said it was harder, smaller squads, mud heaps pitches, 2 pts per win , no need to bust your gut as you can square pass and look good. More important teams going for the lge were not content to finish 4TH , they went for it up to the end of the season. How many midfield plyers get anywhere near 15 goals a season,in fact the forwards are happy with that!!!!!!!!!

Souness was a great player. not just a tough guy, im a leicester fan ,i remember just how good he was, he,d control the midfield in the modern game.

Simon makes a good point about how a win was 2 points and a draw 1 point. Now there is 5 subs, before it was 3 and before that less. People need to respect the older generations and realise and accept the differences. As someone who is in his mid 30s and watching the mid to late 90s, 2000s, 2010s i can honestly say individual quality now is poorer, systems and coaching may be better and you dont even have to go that far back. 2015 you had players like Suarez, Robben, Ribery, Schweinsteiger and many more and now there is only a handful.

Imo, it’s way easier in todays game, perfect pitches, best medical, blow on a player and they fall down, skill level probably similar. Balls were way heavier. Boots were heavier. It’s not a man’s game at all anymore. It’s a game with continuous cheating, wingers and many players just pass the ball backwards or sideways,, and always I mean always blame the ref no matter how bad you are!!

Class is permanent regardless of what era they were playing in, class players would’ve just adapted to the environment they were playing within.

This is the most sense I've heard Sounness make. I think people pretending today is more competitive than before are falling foul of an extension of the Sky Sports invention of football rubbish.

It was definitely rougher and tougher when Graham was playing..

He would of been sent off every other game ffs😂😂

I certainly think the players of the 60's, 70's and 80's were not as flimsy as many of today's players.

My money's on Butch for the sideways passer.

The one thing he wouldnt have to do is win his midfield battle because they are truly a thing of the past

Jim are you sure your a sports journalist ?

The greatest players could do it at any time.

Watched my own club in the top flight since 1960 and Graeme Souness will recall that while his Liverpool team were at their peak they were knocked out the FA Cup at home to Brighton, then second division when the competition was taken very seriously. unfancied teams never went into games against top sides back then with a defeated mind-set that came with the Premier League. Even today Everton who are fighting for survival played Man City with an inferiority complex and never had a shot on their goal. In the 70s no side playing Liverpool or other leaders would get such an easy ride. Souey would walk into most premier league teams today simply on his forward passing ability alone. my own team Everton having spent £500m since Mr Moshiri took over six years ago haven't got a player who can play a forward pass to create a goal.

I agree with Souness, look at the pitches players like Maradona, R9 etc etc played on and even then they had great balance and amazing dribbling technique. These players would wreck players of this age. Imagine midfielders like Viera, Makelele, David’s, Gullit on pitches like this 😂

World class players could play in any era. Michael Owen said a while back that all you need now to have a decent career in the Premier League is to be able to run and pass a ball 10 yards. He's right.

This is the worst ever era of football so it would be easy for anyone. I think even the local bin man could look half decent 😂. All pace and power with no technique at all. Players get to hide behind stats to make them look good now

I agree players today would melt against players from Graeme’s era

Hard to compare eras due quality of pitches what’s classed as foul etc but the top players from any era would adapt - the other big difference tho is the old first division was max of 3 non Brit players where as now lot more from abroad so the mid tier Brit players wouldn’t make the team and would be playing for teams in bottom half or championship - as good a player as he was souness would prob he in Liverpool squad but not regular a starter

Graeme was a superb competitor and would easily cope with the premiership.

The fact that the teams winning the league are doing so with record points shows that it’s not as competitive as it used to be, the top clubs have too big a financial advantage now.

It was also more fun to watch in the 80s / 90s

its like rugby league back in the 80's and 90's it was so fast and non stop footy people just played because they didn't think it too much. i feel technology as just put too much air in peoples heads too much space where people can add things that don't need to be added all becuase at the end of the day to be the better team you need to be better and the only way you can really get better is by being tougher faster stronger which happens by training harder for sure the leagues of yester year were more tougher, but i will say football has developed so much since then new tactics and what not, but i think th ethos has shifted away from where it used to be

Peak souness wirh the science and pitches of today. Hed make likes of Rodri look like school play

Graeme and Steve McMahon would have to clean up there tackling for the modern game. He mentioned yesterday morning that any team can beat any other team in the premier league this season. That isn't down to the players. It is purely down to the eccentric behaviour of referees both on and off the pitch. Take penalty shouts this weekend gone. You see one player at St James Park go down like a tonne of bricks from a hand on the shoulder to get a penalty. In the same match the opposition get pulled to the ground at every set piece and nothing happens. With sendings off a manager doesn't know if his player is going to get two yellow cards for his first two challenges or go through a whole game and not get one. Purely down to the ref. Even a team like Crystal Palace can launch a long ball for their forwards who are very clever at engaging contact with defenders to trick refs into giving them penalties. Would Greame be able to adjust to that new discipline?

I have to agree with the best midfield player I have ever seen, Graham's argument about today's game hasn't taken in one huge fact though, Liverpool, United and the Derby's and Forest of the day did not have to buy up all the best players in the world and still dominated, I have admired all the best teams, disliked Leeds for different reasons although I admit they were a good team despite their tactics, I dislike this present City team because it is set up so that they can't be beat, I have to accept City are a great team but dislike them more than any that went before, all teams struggle with injuries at the end of the season except City as they are able to call on their 2nd string where each and every one would walk into most teams, that is the reason they come good, they have cheated the rest of the league, they shouldn't be there

Souness is correct that he’d be ok in today’s game. The elite players have a mindset that would enable them to adapt in any era. He’s being slightly obtuse though about midfielders taking it off the back 4. It’s not simply to stat-pad….though I’m sure some do….but also to move the midfield around, otherwise without the ball people would simply retreat into a low block and it would be the most boring spectacle ever, watching defenders pinging 150 passes around and going nowhere! 😂

Simon Jordans greatest achievement in life 14 seconds in

Correct Souness is easily the best mid field player I have seen. One year there was a video of the 10 worst tackles of that season - he featured in 7 of those ! But apart from that he could pass, tackle, defend, attack and shoot !

The biggest difference between then and now is the quality of the defenders today and the fact that back in the day defenders got away with much more than they can today - of course Souness could play today but then the top players today could have played back then too - it’s a totally stupid argument all round

"Liverpool only had Man Utd in the 80's" "Man Utd only had Arsenal in the 90's" Man City only had Liverpool the past 6 years.

First time i agree with sounness completely😂 it really grates on me that they compare teams out of eras it is ludicrous!

Obviously the best would of been able to compete, but to say football hasn't evolved is silly, Germany were always the best European nation but their football became old, which they had to adapt. Brazilian football is still based around individuals, which is what football was before spain took football to another level. The game has become more tactical and more about the whole team.

Players would have been booed off the park for passing backwards when I was a kid. You can't compare today's game with before but it was more competitive. Nowadays, clubs like Man City, Real Madrid and Bayern buy continued success. In the past, more clubs had a chance of winning trophies.

Did Graeme fart at 0:14?

the game is quicker and more athletic, i beg to differ

Who knows? Souness may well be correct. However, he played in an era when a player could play back to the goalkeeper who was entitled use their hands. In other words, it was far easier for the midfielders und defenders back then, as they pretty much always had an easy get-out option. Unfortunately, I'm old enough to remember those games in the 70's and 80's., and believe me, there was a lot of very dull, overly- cautious, slow-motion football played....

My guess is Souness was talking about Ray Wilkins. Don't do a Ray Wilkins.

The main and biggest difference is the physical fitness thanks to much more advanced sports science and supplements. Imagine the best players from the past with the same resources they have today. The second biggest difference is the fact that the Premier League has de facto become the World League since it attracts almost all the best players in the world given that it’s the richest. All that said, the best players of yesteryear would no doubt be successful today if they had the same access to today’s dieticians, supplements and advancements in physical development.

Sourness wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes with VAR scrutinising his antics.

I think you probably have to be more of an athlete now compared to the old days but I think generally you had more skilled players in the old days and a skilled player can get more fit but a fit player cant get any more skilful.

Midfielders in todays game arent expected to be able to attack and defend. Tackles back then were ruthless and attacking players were not protected like they are with the rules on whats a foul now. Modern players should be fitter and not in a drinking culture but plenty still are. 70s and 80s compared to today, too much time has passed to really compare.

The physical demands of the game today are higher. Pros used to get on the beers 2-3 times a week only 10-15 years ago. Sport Science, Technology within Sport and overall competition is more advanced across the board. If I was souness I’d fight my corner too as it does undermine him getting asked the question on national radio 😂 that said I think the average pro today is better than the average pro of his era

He would had it not been for VAR and getting red cards every other week

"doing a Wilkins".... as in Ray.

It's so funny when someone from my gen thinks humans were lazier or more casual in the past by saying it's more competitive now. As if the human instinct to thrive and succeed is something special to our own times. It's always BEEN THERE!

Back in my day

Agree with souness harder tackling less injuries proper men.

No you'd get sent off every game

Souness a proper man who played football.

If Graeme was playing nowadays, he'd be picking up more cards than a professional Poker player!

I think Graeme Souness would thrive in the modern game. My only question mark would be the ball-winning/hard tackling aspect of his game. That's not tolerated in the modern era.