What was the best era to be a footballer?
Darren Bent surprised a few people this week when he chose the 2000s as the decade in history he would go back to.
“The music was better back then,” Bent explained, although the decade also coincided with Dazza’s goalscoring (and presumably shagging) pomp.
https://twitter.com/talkSPORT/status/1534181637604274177
But it got me thinking – when was the best time to be a professional footballer? Here are my rankings…
1. The 90s
Unquestionably the golden age. The big money has arrived, and so has the fame. But Arsene Wenger’s Mars Bar ban has yet to fully usher in the soulless hyper-professionalism that would turn playing football into an actual job.
Players still get their dentist chair nights out, and while increasingly hostile, the press haven’t started rummaging through their bins yet. Shagging is still a virtue and the fans are a lot less terrifying than in the 80s.
2. The 2000s
More money, more tabloid hell. This was the decade where the papers fully turned on footballers, hacking their phones and exposing England’s golden generation with a series of mean-spirited stings like the News of the World’s moral panic about spit roasting and that weird (false) rumour about Ashley Cole, DJ Masterstepz and the mobile phone. Plus, you had to take fitness seriously.
Otherwise, it was basically a continuation of the 90s.
3. 1960-1980
Let’s deal with the big glaring con first of all – there was nae money in it. In 1961, the average top flight player earned £20 a week – £17k a year in today’s terms. By 1979, when Trevor Francis became the first million pound player, they earned the equivalent £90,000 a year. Hardly terrible, but it doesn’t fly your extended family to Mykonos every summer.
But put cash aside, and this was an incredible time to have the job. On the pitch, it was one of the great romantic eras, as the World Cup expanded and clubs carved out their identities in the new European competitions.
And yeah, a wonderful time to go on rampage of boozing, shagging and drug-taking. If that was your thing.
4. The current era (2010-22)
There’s a lot to like about being a footballer today. The game is more skilful and fast. The money is simply ridiculous, even for lesser stars. The press are both weaker and kinder than they once were. Managers are softer too. And the entire world seems to care about what you do.
But… what the fuck is up with the fans? If they aren’t hounding you on social media, they’re invading the pitch and harassing you for a selfie like you’re a zoo animal.
The online abuse is the really bad part. It’s one thing to hear 40,000 people chanting that you’re a “cheating little cunt” once a week, but to have it pumped to your phone every few seconds is something new and soul-sapping.
Due to fitness demands and the terrifying public, it’s extremely hard to have any kind of “normal life” outside football. So you retreat to your gilded cage.
5. The 1980s
A dark decade. In it’s defence, the 80s was the last era of innocent charm, before the big money Premier League washed it all away. The FA Cup was still the pinnacle of the sporting calendar, and Maradona brought unimaginable mystique and stardust to World Cups and European club football.
But the cons list is long: Hooliganism. Tragedies. Empty stands. Very overt racism. Bastard managers and violent defenders.
Great music though.
6. Before 1950
A simpler time – when 300,000 fans wearing ties and collars would cram into Wembley to watch the Cup final. Players moved freely among fans, without the stresses of celebrity status.
But in every other respect, it was a pretty bad time to be a pro. The cash was almost non-existent, and for most of the period your status as a top athlete didn’t preclude you from scrubbing factory floors or choking on chlorine gas in some lice-infested shell crater in Northern Europe. So for that reason, it’s in last place.
