‘Bunch of robots’ – Ex-Premier League star stopped watching top-flight because big clubs lack mavericks like Gazza
DAVID McGOLDRICK has branded Premier League and other elite footballers such as Jude Bellingham a bunch of robots.
And the Notts County striker — who played in the top-flight for Sheffield United — says our crown jewels of English football have become so devoid of mavericks that get you off your feet he does not bother watching.
This weekend there is a break in Premier League football because of the international break — and McGoldrick believes more fans are turning to the EFL because it is more exciting and less predictable.
McGoldrick, 37, played most of his career outside the top flight playing for the likes of Southampton, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby, Coventry, Port Vale and Ipswich.
But he made the big time when the Blades got promoted in 2019 and played 63 games at the top level during two seasons.
Asked how the game has changed from when he first made his debut as a teenager for County 21 years ago, he told SunSport: “It’s like a different sport.
“Twenty-odd years ago there weren’t all these stats, we weren’t wearing GPS vests and worrying about all the things they do now.
“We used to do meetings about oppositions but not as much. A lot of it was 4-4-2, play in their half, win your duels.
“That is still in the game now but there are so many patterns of play, it’s so robotic, especially the top teams.
“When you watch football in the Premier League or other top divisions, it’s so robotic.
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“In my day there was Ronaldinho, Paul Gascoigne and those kinds of players who were great to watch.
“I don’t watch as much football as I used to, not because I don’t love it but because some of the top games are not enjoyable to watch anymore because there are no mavericks.”
McGoldrick believes top football clubs have sanitised the game with the way they educate and bring through their talent — almost programming them like machines.
And he fears the days of top stars playing off the cuff and showing their personality both on and off the field will not return.
He said: “I wish to see more mavericks playing but I’m not sure if there will be.
“The way kids get brought up in the academies these days with the running stats, how hard they’ve got to run and certain things like that, I can’t see it.
We’ve got some great English players like Phil Foden and Bellingham, who is a fantastic player but even he is half a robot!
David McGoldrick
“Back in the day you had the likes of George Best and not too long ago even someone like Abel Taarabt at QPR — these players were mavericks.
“We’ve got some great English players like Phil Foden and Bellingham, who is a fantastic player but even he is half a robot!
“Bellingham will cover the most distance and score goals — but he won’t get you off your seat and make you go and buy a ticket. And that’s two of our top players right now.
“Erling Haaland is a machine but again not a maverick but that’s just how the game has changed while I’ve been playing it.”
The break in Premier League football suits McGoldrick fine as he prefers watching EFL games instead because they are more entertaining.
The County ace — whose promotion-chasing fifth-place team host Crewe in League Two this weekend — believes more fans are turning away from the Prem.
He said: “If you go down the leagues, you see players who are more free spirited and that is probably why they’re in the EFL and not at the top because they have that side to them. It’s a bit more off the cuff.
“There are some good players in the EFL and maybe some will get their move to the top and if it doesn’t work out they end up back down again.
“We have some good quality players in the lower leagues and a lot of people tell me they would rather watch the EFL than a top game nowadays.”
McGoldrick freely admits he has never been a maverick but during his two seasons in the top flight played the best football of his career.
And that includes when he went TWENTY-FIVE Prem games without scoring for the Blades but the team finished an expectation-defying ninth in 2019-20 following their promotion from the Championship.
He said: “I enjoyed playing in the Premier League. I was at the perfect club at the perfect time. I wasn’t a maverick, I was a link player, but was given the freedom to express myself.
If you go down the leagues, you see players who are more free spirited and that is probably why they’re in the EFL and not at the top because they have that side to them. It’s a bit more off the cuff.
David McGoldrick
“I might have gone 25 games without scoring but the input I was giving to the team and the manager was important. The manager Chris Wilder never dropped me while the fans took to me and kept me going during the time I wasn’t scoring.
“I was playing some of the best football I’d ever played and that was because the team and club looked after me. They let me be a free spirit to go out and enjoy myself.”
McGoldrick joined his boyhood club County in June 2023 and has scored an impressive 26 league goals from 52 starts.
His two recent goals took most people’s breath away. His strike in a 2-1 win at Gillingham in February won him the SkyBet Goal of the Month gong – and his goal at Grimsby in a 2-0 win had boss Stuart Maynard calling him “Superman”.
While McGoldrick does not feel he possesses super-hero qualities, he is looking after his body by sometimes ducking out of running during training and working on exercise bikes or doing gym work instead.
The striker’s contract expires in the summer but is open to penning a new one and prolonging his career.
He said: “I’m relaxed. It might depend on what league we’re in or finances. I’m not oblivious and deluded.
“But the club are happy with me, I’m happy being here and want to carry on playing. I’m thinking with nine games left, the main objective is to secure promotion.”
And McGoldrick certainly will not be feeling any pressure during the business end of the season.
He said: “You’ve got to trust yourself and play your normal game.
“Pressure is for tyres. It’s just a game of football. Give it your all and be free spirited.”