The Vanishing Striker: Why Premier League's Traditional No 9 Is a Dying Breed
In the summer of 1998, Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke were virtual strangers when Yorke joined Manchester United. Yet, through dedicated practice on the training pitch, they forged a legendary partnership. Working tirelessly on runs, interchanges, and combinations, they netted 53 goals between them in the 1998-99 season, propelling United to a historic treble. Yorke shared the Premier League Golden Boot with 18 goals, while Cole finished just one behind. That year, the top 10 scorers in the league were all strikers, highlighting the dominance of traditional centre-forwards.
A Stark Decline in Striker Influence
Today, the landscape of English football has transformed dramatically. Finishing drills are now infrequent, possession-based play reigns supreme, and the league's leading scorers are often wingers, attacking midfielders, or false 9s. According to Opta data, strikers scored 41.6% of Premier League goals two decades ago—387 out of 931. This season, that figure has plummeted to just 25.9%, with 291 of 845 goals coming from strikers.
The decline is further evidenced by the rarity of standout individual performances. Between 2007 and 2012, centre-forwards recorded 10 or more hat-tricks in four out of five seasons. In contrast, over the past nine seasons, this threshold has been surpassed only once, underscoring the fading impact of traditional No 9s.
England's Striker Crisis Beyond Harry Kane
Nowhere is the shortage of quality strikers more apparent than in the England national team. Beyond Harry Kane, who turns 33 shortly after the World Cup, options are limited and unconvincing. Dominic Solanke, with three league goals in an injury-hit season, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with 10, were given opportunities in recent squads but failed to impress. Ollie Watkins, with nine league goals, is next in line, yet his credentials remain untested at the highest level.
Without Kane in recent friendlies, England managed just one goal against Uruguay—scored by a defender—and drew a blank against Japan. Their eight shots on target across two games barely masked the offensive struggles. Since his debut in 2015, Kane has contributed 78 goals and 19 assists, involved in 32% of England's total goals. His potential injury before the World Cup would spell trouble, and the succession plan post-retirement looks alarmingly thin.
Why Has the Striker Become a Dying Breed?
"It's no longer a sexy position," says Emile Heskey, a traditional centre-forward with 62 England caps. He recalls watching strikers like Cyrille Regis and Gary Lineker, noting that modern football prioritises possession, leaving strikers often uninvolved in buildup play. "The striker's job, especially in the buildup, is to create space for the No 10 or the wingers," Heskey explains, highlighting the redefined role.
This shift can be traced to tactical innovations, such as José Mourinho's use of a solitary striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation at Chelsea in 2004. Pep Guardiola took it further, reimagining football without a striker altogether, famously deploying Lionel Messi as a false 9 at Barcelona. Even Erling Haaland, a modern outlier, has adapted to Guardiola's system at Manchester City, bending to tactical demands.
The Impact on Training and Youth Development
René Meulensteen, who worked under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United from 2007-2013, recalls dedicating 15-30 minutes daily to finishing drills for strikers. Today, training has become more generalised, with increased matches and a focus on strength and conditioning squeezing specialist time. "Strikers don't get developed, it's as simple as that," Meulensteen stated on the Sacked podcast. "Everybody does the same thing. There needs to be much more specialist training."
Youth academies have mirrored this change, often adopting fixed formations to align with first-team tactics. Dean Whitehouse, who spent 23 years in Manchester United's academy, notes the loss of impromptu strike partnerships. "Is it that we're keeping the ball for keeping the ball's sake and we've lost that vertical thrust?" he questions. "If you're not working on No 9s with back to goal, you're not going to create these real predators."
Hope for a Revival of the Traditional No 9
Despite the current predicament, there is belief that the traditional striker isn't extinct. Gareth Southgate's push for smaller-sided games at youth level in 2011 aimed to nurture technical players, suggesting that with aligned efforts from the FA and Premier League academies, a resurgence is possible. Whitehouse adds, "As soon as people start playing with a paired strike force and success comes from that, everybody wants to jump on board. Then before you know it, we'll have an abundance of No 9s again."
The future may hinge on tactical trends and a return to specialist training, offering a glimmer of hope for the rarest of breeds—the true centre-forward.
