I have. I'm terrible and so I don't pretend it is the least bit relevant to what these guys do. It's pretty cute that because you played in a Sunday league you have some greater clarity. It's like if I tried to analyze Giannis because I played in high school where no one could dunk.
This is what you don’t get.
Sure, very few of us played at a high level but to loads of us football was life growing up. I played everyday at school, every break from 6-13 years old, I played every Sunday from 8-16 years old for my local team in the top division in my county, I played for my school 12-20 games a year midweek, I trained twice a week for my team and once a week for my school. We weren’t just kicking it around, we were training to become the best we could. We had a lad on Southampton’s books, we played against a team who had ten lads of Chelsea’s books - it’s not just Sunday league, it’s competitive and the results mattered.
Yes, I didn’t play with world class players and wasn’t one myself but I played plenty enough to know finishing is the balance of technique and mental clarity along with the quality of chance provided.
All you’ve done is say that some of the best players have scored less some season - this is not random!
Messi didn’t score as much last year because he’s lost a yard of pace, played a bit deeper, and unlike Barcelona - the whole team isn’t built around him scoring, he’s one of three superstars.
