Author: Joseph Zebedee

Being a forward, specifically a striker, is probably the most envious position to play. Goals are the currency of football, goalscorers are more well-known than say a technical midfielder to the layman. A striker can have a poor game, but as long as they find the back of the net once it doesn't really matter.  So what about the breed of forward whose play style encompasses more than scoring? The idea of having a striker who is there for more than just scoring, or even isn't supposed to be scoring at all in theory, is not a new idea. The idea of the False Nine, a striker who drops deep and acts like an attacking midfielder, was around in the pre-war era. The great but sadly unheralded Jimmy Hogan had a direct influence on the Austrian Wunderteam of the 1930s and the Hungarian Mighty Magy...

I like kit numbers, there I said it. I'm weirdly invested in what numbers players wear, why? God knows, best not to question it, leave that to the litany of therapists who'll try and work out why I know about Serie A number assigning in the 1990's and not why I cry myself to sleep. In 2023 they're wild, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I believe as a self-styled kit number aficionado we could all do with a refresher. The origins of kit numbers Kit numbers were first spotted on the backs of players in the 1910s, and by the early 1930's they were beginning to catch on, having first featured in European football competitively in 1928, but were still different to what we would see now. There were no set rules on how numbers should be assigned yet, so in the 1933 FA Cup Final Everton ...

No. 10 on the back of a footballer means more than any other number historically, it means they are a special player. Someone with magic in their boots and the privilege of being purely offensive, at least it did. In 2022 as football becomes more positionless the era of the pure attacking midfielder might be dying out.  Diego Maradona, Rivaldo, Francesco Totti, Michel Platini, and Ronaldinho. Those are just a few names in the pantheon of great attacking midfielders. Purely offensive footballers, out on the pitch to do the undefendable and inadvertently become sources of joy for millions watching around the globe.  Bruno Fernandes, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Joelinton, and Jamal Musiala are all currently listed on Transfermarkt as mainly being attacking midfielders. De Bruyne ha...