On Matchday 5 of SACKED!, we sit down with former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen — and what starts as a chat quickly becomes an identity crisis for the modern game.
Who killed the No.9? Why don’t wingers like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Andrei Kanchelskis take on full-backs and whip crosses in for a centre-forward anymore?
Meulensteen reflects on an era when United fans were spoiled by elite finishers such as Wayne Rooney, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham — a golden generation of No.9s who defined a dominant period in the Premier League.
Those days feel long gone. Today’s game is different — more systems, fewer mavericks — and fans are crying out for creativity, drama and exuberance from modern stars.
Meulensteen also delivers brilliant insight from his time working alongside Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, offering a rare glimpse into the standards, psychology and philosophy behind one of football’s greatest dynasties.
It’s a fascinating, honest and provocative conversation about how — and why — the modern game has changed.