The Football Insider with Mikael Silvestre: Where have all the strikers gone?

Khaleej Times

17-03-2025

Watching the weekend's action, it struck me just how unusual it is to see a top-class out-and-out striker playing in England.
The league was built on goalscorers who could excite fans with every team having someone capable of hitting the back of the net.
Often, they would hunt in pairs, and I remember always having a tough time against Sunderland with big Niall Quinn making the space for Kevin Phillips to get plenty of chances.
The toughest opponent I had was Les Ferdinand as he was a massive physical presence who was also lightning quick with loads of skills.
You could not rest for a single minute against him and to be honest even the teams facing relegation would have a striker that you had to keep under control – both at home and away.
But these days the art of the number nine seems lost. It starts at youth level where teams only seem to play a striker if they have a player who wants to take on that position.
Most youngsters in attack want to play out wide so they have plenty of the ball and can show off their tricks and skills. They don't want the tireless job of making runs up front in the hope of getting a chance.
I was so glad to see Rasmus Hojlund get a goal for United at the weekend as he really needed it after so many weeks without one despite all the energy that has gone into his work.
But his situation perfectly shows the point I am making that the number nine role is a lost art.
Hojlund has arrived at Old Trafford far from the finished article but has been thrown into the team and told to bag some goals.
He has nobody to learn from and is in a team that is struggling pretty much every week – so how can he progress?
On top of that the players around him are more concerned of getting on the ball and creating chances for themselves.
I really feel for the lad and just hope he has the mental strength to keep persevering.
Over to the League Cup final and I think pretty much everyone in football not connected to Liverpool will be delighted for Newcastle.
They deserved the win and after 70 years without a domestic trophy, the fans in the North-East will be celebrating for many weeks to come, I am sure.
Eddie Howe has built quite a side, and you can only see them using this as a platform for the future and if the right players come in, I can see them mounting a title challenge in the next couple of seasons.
Speaking to friends in Holland I am not that surprised Liverpool are fading at the moment – Arne Slot does have a reputation of creating teams that excel at the start of the season and then struggle for energy in the final weeks.
I don't see them losing the league but it will be telling to watch just how well they do between now and the middle of May – and that might be enough to give other sides some hope for next season.