Is the Premier League harder now than it's ever been? Eras analysed and verdict reached

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My era was better than your era. I had it tougher than you. These are all comments made by players who cross paths with someone who came 20 years earlier or decades after.

Some of the greatest Diego Maradona cheerleaders will claim that comparisons with Lionel Messi are redundant. 'Look at the pitches he played on' is one of the lines often rolled out, as an example.

There is a school of thought that claims the numbers churned out by Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are like nothing we've ever seen before. Incorrect. Prolific goal scorers are rare, but not unheard of. German great Gerd Muller broke the 30-goal mark for 12 seasons on the bounce, something Ronaldo never achieved, which included single-season tallies of 66, 50 and 48.

Moral of the story: It doesn't matter your generation or era - great goalscorers will always scorer regardless of pitch, opposition or system.

Former Premier League frontman Benni McCarthy has does however believe there were "more world-class strikers" in his era. In 2006/07 the South African, in his debut campaign at Blackburn, scored 18 times but finished second to Didier Drogba in the race for the Golden Boot.

That was a year before Ronaldo claimed the Ballon d'Or and McCarthy narrowly outscored him and is adamant that there aren't as many high-quality strikers as there used to be.

He told BestBettingSites : "You didn't want to be outdone by your rivals. Players like Drogba, Wayne Rooney , Louis Saha, Emmanuel Adebeyor, Thierry Henry, Jermaine Defoe, Robbie Keane. Oh my God. The list goes on.

"There were just more world class strikers in the Premier League and in world football at the time. Nowadays you don't see that many recognised strikers anymore. Robert Lewandowski, he's still one that's out there. Cristiano Ronaldo is still doing it at his age."

Ronaldo and Messi are the outliers. Capable of claiming they did it 'back in the day' and kept that up to compete with the modern day defenders. They've come up and done it against Virgil van Dijk, Ruben Dias but also had to battle with Fabio Cannavaro or Carles Puyol.

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There is a theory that suggests the level of defending has dropped off over the past decade. The increased onus on being able to play out has come before more hardened defensive qualities. McCarthy, Drogba, Rooney and co had to come up against players like John Terry , Rio Ferdinand , Nemanja Vidic and Fabio Carvalho.

The numbers both prove - and disprove - McCarthy's argument. So perhaps we'll call it a draw. Some claim the numbers posted nowadays are because its easier to score goals, owing in part to defenders of lesser quality. And maybe that explains why the 1997/98 Golden Boot was won with only 18 goals. It was the same number a year later. In 2000/01 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink top scored with 23.

But in that same era Kevin Phillips, a man playing in the First Division, stepped up to score 30 Premier League goals in his first top flight season. So maybe it's not that hard?

In 2003/04 Henry scored 30 times. Four years later and Ronaldo's one and only Golden Boot was won with 31 goals. So when Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah win Golden Boots with 30 plus goals - throwing the 'it's easier to score now' card doesn't really register.

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McCarthy has claimed: "You don't see the goals that us strikers back then scored in, in very tough conditions in the Premier League. The difference was the pitches were much more waterlogged and heavier than when we played compared to what it is now. Now there's proper draining systems and so the pitches are perfect.

"Every weekend we didn't have that, but the amount of goals that all these strikers scored back in the day - we still smashed them in! So, you would say our generation of strikers were better."

Ultimately you'd be hard pushed to find anyone who claims Haaland couldn't do what he's doing now two decades ago. If anything the old school No 9 is back in fashion. Proving they are still around. A tall, strong frontman who plays on the last defender and runs in behind is proving a big hit.

Lowest totals

1997/98 - Michael Owen, Dion Dublin, Chris Sutton - 18 goals

1998/99 - Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Dwight Yorke, Michael Owen - 18 goals

2008/09 - Nicolas Anelka - 19 goals

2006/07 - Didier Drogba - 20 goals

Highest totals

2022/23 - Erling Haaland - 36 goals

2017/18 - Mo Salah - 32 goals

1995/96 - Alan Shearer - 31 goals

1999/00 - Kevin Phillips - 30 goals

The game will evolve and go through waves. The likes of Haaland, Lewandowski and Harry Kane have led the re-emergence of the No 9 following an era that perhaps saw wingers come to the fore. Which is why Salah and Sadio Mane, as wide players, can win Golden Boots with Roberto Firmino, their No 9, playing as their facilitator.

There's been an obvious shift, maybe since the 2000s, with the game going more technical over physical. That's not to say one has a greater impact or influence than another. Yes you'll get trailblazers and throwbacks. Ferdinand was lauded for how he played out from the back when we'd never really seen defenders take that approach.

More recently someone like Antonio Rudiger saw his physicality come the fore when he established himself as one of the game's elite centre-halves. Van Dijk is clearly a blend of all the best things a defender can offer. Even McCarthy has conceded that, with defenders having more strings to their bow, the challenge posed to a striker is perhaps greater than it was in his day.

"It is harder because football has changed," he said. "Back then defenders were much more physical and if you had speed to your game, you could avoid physical contact. With balls in behind, you could beat them with your pace.

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"But nowadays even the big strong physical defenders are still very quick. Look at someone like Virgil van Dijk, not many strikers outrun somebody like him. So now they have physicality, and they've got speed to their game. I think it is a bit more complex for strikers to get the better of defenders in the modern game."

There's no reason that an addition or attention to technical quality detracts from outright defensive quality. Ruben Dias has led Manchester City's defence like a warrior. William Saliba may look like a Rolls Royce on the ball, but he's the linchpin of a defensive line that is being tipped to break the record for fewest goals conceded in a Premier League season.

The dynamics are ultimately endless. The influence of the defensive midfielder has become massive nowadays. Rodri, N'Golo Kante, Sergio Busquets became extra defenders with the way they read the game, cutting off supply to strikers. Doesn't that make it harder to score?

If you're still tuned in you'll find the numbers, stats, plaudits and opinions largely suggest one thing. Yes you can keep having the eras debate, but class isn't limited to a hand full of generations. World class individuals will always appear - in the defensive and final thirds - and despite all the tribalism one thing is clear. The best would undoubtedly have been able cut it yesterday, today and even tomorrow.

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