How the Barclaysmen trend links to the England team
A trend I’m sure a specific generation of football fans has enjoyed as much as I have, the term Barclaysmen describes players or a team which personifies how the Premier League used to be.
The term Barclaysmen, coined by the Cultras Football Podcast, has been furthered into a trend by football compilations partnered with 00’s indie music.
I loved watching these videos, and it got me thinking about the comparisons between then and now, not so much to do with the teams involved but with the style of play and how things differ from then to now.
Why the Barclaysmen trend has become so popular
Personally, and in the opinions of many people who have interacted with these videos, the top flight of English football has become quite stale.
In May, I wrote an article titled ‘Is obsession about possession making football boring?’
This article predominantly looks at the Premier League and how coaching has changed, mainly because of Pep Guardiola and his proteges, who have placed an impetus on possession-based football and minimising risks in the final third.
A case study I looked at was Jack Grealish and how his game has changed because of the coaching of Guardiola and, most importantly, minimising risk.
The art of being a winger from the ‘Barclays’ era to now highlights an entirely different skillset.
Take, for instance, this Ashley Young compilation.
Ashley Young – Black and Gold#Barclaysmen pic.twitter.com/q8u43IiHq1
— Penno (@penno_9_) September 10, 2024
Young’s direct pace, the number of lofted crosses into the box, and running at full-backs unafraid about losing the ball, you don’t see it as much anymore because it’s coached out of the game to minimise risk.
The build-up play from the bigger teams is methodical. A slower tempo while the cracks appear, less focused on individual moments of brilliance.
Take this goal from Arsenal vs Liverpool in 2009, where Robbie Keane scores a spectacular goal, profiting from a long punt forward from Daniel Agger. This moment shows individual brilliance resulting from one kick forward, a finishing technique I would like to see current Reds striker Darwin Núñez attempt.
It’s undeniable that Premier League players are fitter now than they used to be. But now, it feels like they’re cogs in a tactical configuration instead of being allowed to express themselves.
How the Barclaysmen trend fits into the England national team
A main criticism of England’s most recent Euros campaign was that the players weren’t expressing themselves, mentioned by Anthony Gordon in his ITV interview last week, someone who ironically didn’t play much football for the Three Lions this summer.
Throughout Euro 2024, it seemed like England’s slow possession play was without any real purpose, a mindset interim boss Lee Carsley will look to change, and made great strides to do so in the 2-0 victory against the Republic of Ireland.
Grealish played as a no.10 through the middle, providing plenty of space to express himself, creativity sorely missed in the England team this summer. Gordon started on the wing with Bukayo Saka on the other side, two players with frightening pace used to their advantage, with Irish full-back (and Barclaysman) Séamus Coleman constantly forced to backtrack because of the pace in behind the Irish defence, causing them to run towards their own goal.
Harry Kane missed runners off of him in the Euros, and Trent Alexander Arnold’s sumptuous long-range defence-splitting passes certainly helped England out. It was direct football, but not done in a way by a manager branded as a so-called dinosaur.
Also, when the players are played in their actual positions and not shoehorned into somewhere unnatural, they tend to perform to a higher standard. Seeing Alexander-Arnold play as a full-back for England, a position he has thrived in for Liverpool, is refreshing. As much as Kyle Walker has been a reliable hand in the England team for many years, his Euros campaign was far from stellar, being at fault, especially in Spain’s winning goal in the final.
Walker is a Guardiola full-back with attacking vigour removed from his game. An option in attack for a sideways or backwards pass. The City full-backs now tend to be converted centre-backs, and again, the full-backs in this configuration won’t get forward as much and attack to minimise risk. The players are good enough, especially in Alexander-Arnold’s case, playing riskier passes and getting forward.
Having mentioned Coleman earlier, it’s only fair to show what an attacking full-back used to look like, so here’s one of those compilations showing what Coleman used to be able to do.
Seamus Coleman x The Hives #Barclaysmen pic.twitter.com/CG8qkdMdPW
— Seán (@donalseancarey) September 9, 2024
Also, Carsley was a centre-midfielder in his day, someone who can boast the Barclaysman tag, having played mainly for Everton, Birmingham and Coventry in the 00’s.
What can change for the future?
As much as this article may sound a bit like ‘old man yells at Cloud’ from The Simpsons, my point is that I wish that football was how it used to be when I was growing up. It’s a valid argument that nostalgia can make you view something or someone through rose-tinted glasses (believe me, I’ve been there before), but I miss the risk-takers, the mavericks of the older game and not the robots of today.
I’ll leave you with Jay-Jay Okocha, who was eliminated from the World Cup of Barclaysmen yesterday.
Jay-Jay Okocha x From The Ritz To The Rubble#bwfc #Barclaysmen pic.twitter.com/BJYTqYzD2x
— 𝐃-𝐁𝐨𝐰 χ𝖔 (@danrbowen) September 9, 2024
My vote for today’s final will be The Yak. If you know, you know.
