State of old goalkeepers.

[Revan]

Like in every position, modern players are much better than the players back then. Just that because of the nostalgia, we have to overrate the legends in comparison with the modern players.

 

[VorZakone]

Like in every position, modern players are much better than the players back then. Just that because of the nostalgia, we have to overrate the legends in comparison with the modern players.

Why has crossing gone to shit though? I've watched lots of 90s highlights videos and the crossing was amazing. Modern players except for a few make crossing look hard as feck.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

Why has crossing gone to shit though? I've watched lots of 90s highlights videos and the crossing was amazing. Modern players except for a few make crossing look hard as feck.

Crossing is worse, there are fewer long shots and dribbling is far less common. The fact a classic number 10 is fairly redunant in the modern game. These are all because of analytics teams pointing out it's a "low percentage action" but it has taken some of the joy out of the game. Goal of the Seasons were better years ago, not just based off nostalgia. I enjoy football more as a tactical battle these days and I marvel at how well teams are coached but some of the most enjoyable parts to watch have been diminished.

 

[Revan]

Why has crossing gone to shit though? I've watched lots of 90s highlights videos and the crossing was amazing. Modern players except for a few make crossing look hard as feck.

It could be that the game has become more possession oriented and crossing is not an important part of the game anymore.

 

[edcunited1878]

I remember goalkeepers complaining about the Fevernova ball before the start of the WC 2002.



Would be interesting if they did as an experiment a 10 game test with 10 different balls from the last 30 years

https://www.popularmechanics.com/ad...a-brief-history-of-the-world-cup-soccer-ball/

Fevernova ('02), Teamgeist ('06), Jabulani ('10) all had significant modifications. Agree with the in-game testing and wind-tunnel type testing with official match balls, would be neat to see the outcomes.

 

[Member 113277]

It’s daft. The Mile world record has only dropped about 20 seconds in 80 years.

Goalkeepers haven’t got THAT much better at diving, jumping, reacting. They just played a different game that asked different things of them. Balls, refereeing, rules, gloves, training, nutrition, pitches, have all changed far more.

You're right, the game was different v today e.g. Tom Finney v Cristiano Ronaldo - Finney was well before my time watching football - people who saw him described a player similar in capability, but the factors you mention make direct comparison challenging.

I think the same is even truer for goal keepers


This is the clip of Bert Trautmann breaking his neck, subsequently being allowed to play the rest of the game (for avoidance of doubt, nobody reliased his neck was broken, due to the rudimentary nature of medical support). That wouldn't happen these days and the protection for goal keepers is so much higher.

One thing I'd comment on is that keepers like Banks and Yashin seemed to catch more and punch less - I don't know to what degree that is influenced by the modern, lighter, balls swerving more and being harder to catch.

 

[Member 113277]

Haven't seen much of Banks aside from his World Cup performances

Banks was 'Mr Reliable' IMO - I saw quite a bit of him before his car accident and he was very solid - he did some spectacular saves, the most famous of which was from Pele in 1970, but my memory is of an unfussy keeper who did the 'bread and butter' work with care and attention.

 

[Le Red]

Crossing is worse, there are fewer long shots and dribbling is far less common. The fact a classic number 10 is fairly redunant in the modern game. These are all because of analytics teams pointing out it's a "low percentage action" but it has taken some of the joy out of the game. Goal of the Seasons were better years ago, not just based off nostalgia. I enjoy football more as a tactical battle these days and I marvel at how well teams are coached but some of the most enjoyable parts to watch have been diminished.

Football is constantly changing. We are in the middle of a very pragmatic tactical approach to the game that will soon hit a roadblock in the lack of creativity and improvisation. Then you'll see a resurgence in the value of players with those attributes over mechanical delivery. Shouldn't take long.

 

[SER19]

I'm not sure. Excluding the change in the role itself and allowing for the improvement to player conditioning etc, I think it's harsh and a similar number of videos could be made today.

Jordan pickford is worth 30m and makes a mistake every week. Keepers like green, Foster, Hart, Carson were all internationals and Pl keepers with seriously sketchy form. Barring the top international imports I'm not convinced it was worse

 

[SirScholes]

I disagree with the title I think goalkeepers are worse than they used to be
There isn’t as much presence, the odd couple are good on the ball
Be interesting to see a top 5 and how many of the current lot would break into it

Only couple I could think would be Cech but again he’s retired
Buffon and van der sar were both from another era just lasted

 

[SirScholes]

I'm not sure. Excluding the change in the role itself and allowing for the improvement to player conditioning etc, I think it's harsh and a similar number of videos could be made today.

Jordan pickford is worth 30m and makes a mistake every week. Keepers like green, Foster, Hart, Carson were all internationals and Pl keepers with seriously sketchy form. Barring the top international imports I'm not convinced it was worse

100% agree with this

Throw David James into that mix as well, what the hell was he doing near the international team
Kepa from Chelsea is absolutely awful

I do think that it isn’t easy to find a solid gk, it’s such a high pressure position that only a certain few will really shine, the rest make 1 mistake then get binned

 

[Skills]

Why has crossing gone to shit though? I've watched lots of 90s highlights videos and the crossing was amazing. Modern players except for a few make crossing look hard as feck.

There's two sides to crossing - one that's equally as important is the guy getting on the end of it. How many teams do you see now are committing to having 2 brutes attacking the crosses into the box, and a midfielder or two also trying to get in there too?

There's less targets to aim for so the margin of error is smaller - and its always been a relatively low percentage play.

 

[Member 113277]

100% agree with this

Throw David James into that mix as well, what the hell was he doing near the international team
Kepa from Chelsea is absolutely awful

I do think that it isn’t easy to find a solid gk, it’s such a high pressure position that only a certain few will really shine, the rest make 1 mistake then get binned

It makes one realise how lucky England were to have Banks/Shilton/Seaman in quick succession.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

When guy like Ederson are rated as one of the best in the league, then I don't agree. He's good with the ball at his feet, but as a shot stopper he is weak, particularly at his near post. Neuer was the undisputed best in the world for a long period of time, and he drops some serious clangers, usually because he's caught in no mans land or is trying to do too much. De Gea at his absolute best was an immense shot stopper, but has always been ropey at the basics, and still is now. There's a lot of flaws in the current crop of top goalkeepers. It's always been a flawed position, as it's so specialist, and there's just never that many great ones, nor ones that excel at everything.

Modern football has more exposure via TV coverage, but we're also exposed to way more highlight reels that could make an average player look world class. I don't think previous generations benefit from that. If you had the footage, you could probably piece together a "Pavel Srnicek | Skills & Saves | 1991-1998" reel that would make him look world class.

 

[MiracleInMadrid]

I wonder if the tactical progress of the game can account for some of the explanation of why goalkeepers look better today. Mind that this is based on pure gut feeling, but weren't players free on goal more often back in the days? Being free on goal makes it way harder for goalkeepers to single out what part of the goal the attacker has to aim at. Todays teams are getting better and better at staying compact and hard to penetrate, which limits the possibilities for the attackers to shoot. My theory is that goalkeepers therefore has a better chance of predicting the shot and thereby saving it.

 

[schwalbe]

Modern football has more exposure via TV coverage, but we're also exposed to way more highlight reels that could make an average player look world class. I don't think previous generations benefit from that. If you had the footage, you could probably piece together a "Pavel Srnicek | Skills & Saves | 1991-1998" reel that would make him look world class.

It's the exact opposite. There is so much exposure for players today that every mistake gets overanalyzed and ridiculed. This especially applies to defenders. You only need to go back a few years. When Nesta was making a mistake, there wasn't a gif of it. It didn't get repeated indefinitely on Instagram, Snapchat,Facebook and so on. Let's take Boateng als an example. For a couple of years he was an absolute beast of a defender, strong, quick, quite agile, great long passing and definitely among the best in the world. But he'll be remembered for that one time when Messi made a fool of him.

 

[swred]

New era's & all that.
People talk about CB's & 9's being better in years gone by, it's an era thing.
CB's & GK's wouldn't be able to get away with half the things nowadays that they did in previous decades.

Somebody posted some video's recently of Sourness playing, some of those challenges are borderline assault & would result in straight reds & bans in the modern game, but went unpunished 'back in the day'.

People talk about Pele & Georgie Best being icons of their era/generation, i would confidently say, that whilst they were, they wouldn't be able to 'cut it' in the modern game with the sheer pace, speed & physical attributes required to be a modern day player.

I grew up watching big Pete & i remember him being an absolute beast, but, in today's game i think he'd get found out pretty quickly.

My position on the field is GK & i was very much a rooted to your line kind of keeper, top bin saves etc. however i would concede a lot of 1v1's as i didn't come out very much.
I was told by my then manager that he didn't care if i got chipped, but to play on the front foot & if i got lobbed, then so be it, it's a lot harder thing for a player to execute at pace than a shot, which was very true & my game drastically improved.
I got lobbed twice in a 25 game season & that was by players playing in leagues way below what they should have been.

 

[Member 113277]

People talk about Pele & Georgie Best being icons of their era/generation, i would confidently say, that whilst they were, they wouldn't be able to 'cut it' in the modern game with the sheer pace, speed & physical attributes required to be a modern day player.

That's only plausible if Pele and GB didn't have access to modern diet and conditioning. GB, in 1960s/70s boots was lightning fast over the first 5-10 yards - with modern diet and boots, he'd be awesome - also, one of his great abilities was riding tackles - that would be just as good a skill today.

IMO, they'd be just as effective in the modern game - class always rises to the top - they'd also have more referee protection than in their day.

I also believe that if you took top modern players, 'took them back', they would also rise to the top.

It's difficult to compare eras directly, but the greats of an era are greats.

 

[Murder on Zidane's Floor]

In fairness to the old keepers, you said you were watching a highlight video so, of course, you are seeing all the goals and none of their great saves. Any highlight video showing goals is going to make the keepers look bad. If you watch a highlight video from last year, the keepers are going to look like crap because they are conceding goals.

It's like when some Ronaldo or Messi fan watches highlight reels of Pele or Maradona and laughs at the "shocking" defending and uses that as a stick with which to beat Pele or Maradona yet, if you watch old highlight videos of Messi (or Ronaldo), you see them routinely putting the Boatengs or Milners on their collective arses and it looks like "shocking" defending. Great players make defenders look shocking. It's all about perspective (and that's not to say that goalkeepers haven't improved).

Disagree massively on this. Keepers don't look bad conceding goals. Keepers look bad conceding bad goals. The way some of them dive, the lack of covering their near post, coming out and being small, getting hands to the ball and not keeping it out. Those are poor goals that should be saved. No one minds or judges keepers on not keeping out good strikes or accurate finishes.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

In the end,
Isn't the key difference is the players themselves..? Quality~

For every eras, different "keys/criterias" of football:

• sport sciences
• medical capabilities
• "conditioning"
• types of balls
• type of pitches
• tactical "interest/focus"
• football rules
• protection by refs and officials
• etc

Swap players of this era to play in past eras and vice versa.
Then see who struggles and who prevails.

Basically,
-some players are more suited in one eras than others.
-and then there are the players that seems to have no problems at all and they proved it by playing competitive football in many eras eg. Giggs (is maybe the only one that I can think of the longest). The latter here is difficult to prove, so most players we can only speculate.
-difficult to say really.

Back to thread topic,
-the old goalkeepers similarly.. there are good keepers and bad keepers
-just like current football, new goalkeepers have good and bad keepers.
-the good old keepers if they're playing in this era will either adapt well to the current football, or failed and who are at their best only with the football of before with all those physical battles, rough pitches, heavy balls, etc.

I don't quite get the need to undermining one era for another.

Football change, but quality of footballers per era doesn't.

 

[devilish]

I'd suggest that you all go and check videos of United games in the early 90s. The acres of space the likes of Bruce and Pally would leave behind is Championship level. A goalkeeper in that era had to be a one man army as time and time again he would find himself in a 1 vs 1 situation were his skill, his size, his character and his strength would be all that mattered. Add to the fact that goalkeepers were rarely given any protection whatsoever then you'd have physically powerful players going gung ho on any challenge while hoping that the ball would go their way. I love DDG to bits but he wouldn't last 3 games in that EPL and so would most goalkeepers now

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

Like in every position, modern players are much better than the players back then. Just that because of the nostalgia, we have to overrate the legends in comparison with the modern players.

Players are not better now, the game has just changed. Number 10s from the 1990s absolutely blow away current number 10s. The level of technical ability has dropped if anything, where are the great crosses in the modern game? There is a much bigger emphasis on pace & power in the modern game than there was 20 years ago. Goalkeeping & defending is much better now, I agree with that. I would argue that the game isn’t as exciting as it was 20-25 years ago.

 

[sun_tzu]

In the end,
Isn't the key difference is the players themselves..? Quality~

For every eras, different "keys/criterias" of football:

• sport sciences
• medical capabilities
• "conditioning"
• types of balls
• type of pitches
• tactical "interest/focus"
• football rules
• protection by refs and officials
• etc

Swap players of this era to play in past eras and vice versa.
Then see who struggles and who prevails.

Basically,
-some players are more suited in one eras than others.
-and then there are the players that seems to have no problems at all and they proved it by playing competitive football in many eras eg. Giggs (is maybe the only one that I can think of the longest). The latter here is difficult to prove, so most players we can only speculate.
-difficult to say really.

Back to thread topic,
-the old goalkeepers similarly.. there are good keepers and bad keepers
-just like current football, new goalkeepers have good and bad keepers.
-the good old keepers if they're playing in this era will either adapt well to the current football, or failed and who are at their best only with the football of before with all those physical battles, rough pitches, heavy balls, etc.

I don't quite get the need to undermining one era for another.

Football change, but quality of footballers per era doesn't.

pretty much this
I mean as good as ter stengen is on the ball I wonder how he would have coped with nat loft-house clattering into him with wet heavy balls on a mudbath and the players hes trying to pass it to bollocking him for not picking up the ball and hoofing it
same position - different game
Im sure he could adapt and equally im sure if some of the keepers from the past were given outfield training from a young age, and the protection / equipment keepers have today some of them would be just fine in the modern game

One difference though since WW2 is in general height has increased and we now probably see the average height of keepers almost half a foot bigger than then which when allied to lighter kit, better training etc makes shots which in the past only the very top keepers might have got more pedestrian saves now... probably the advances in video and being able to study keeper positions but it all ties in to the what you say and football changes

You can only really judge the quality against those in the same era

 

[Raees]

I think it is worth saying that in the nineties.. big 'Wall' type goalkeepers were the norm and thus they were more clunkier than previous generations and the ones that came after them. What they brought to the table was freakish agility relative to their size (thus making goal seem smaller in one v ones) superiority in the air, big personality and leadership. Neuer falls into this category, I see him make tonnes of errors but he makes up for it by saving shots that no one really should have a right to save.

I find that most modern keepers are more like their predecessors in the early sixties and seventies in terms of build and agility i.e. De Gea very Dino Zoff/Banks like... but where I give guys like Banks the edge over any modern keeper is that his handling was simply stunning as was his overall decision making and tactical awareness. Yashin was more of a Schmikes in terms of build.

Some old players are more timeless than others.. guys like Banks, or a George Best for instance, would smash it in today's game... other old players wouldn't but you could say that about any era. Also depends on what era you are personally in at that particular time when making the comparison - i.e. Banks would probably be deemed too 'small' if this thread was started in the 90's but right now the trends favour him.

 

[Gordon S]

Watched our game with Liverpool from 93-94 season a few weeks ago and the thing that really struck was how the players were just going for it. Without thinking about leaving acres of space open behind them. Without thinking about the shape of the team. Big change from what were used to these days.
On topic, Giggs scored with a lob over Grobbelaar and it looked quite easy. Grobbelaar was way out from goal early and really gave Giggs great opportunity to score that way. Don’t know if keepers were told to so or if they were also just going at it like all the outfield players.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

I'd suggest that you all go and check videos of United games in the early 90s. The acres of space the likes of Bruce and Pally would leave behind is Championship level. A goalkeeper in that era had to be a one man army as time and time again he would find himself in a 1 vs 1 situation were his skill, his size, his character and his strength would be all that mattered. Add to the fact that goalkeepers were rarely given any protection whatsoever then you'd have physically powerful players going gung ho on any challenge while hoping that the ball would go their way. I love DDG to bits but he wouldn't last 3 games in that EPL and so would most goalkeepers now

Also because they changed the rules of the game. It was easier to get caught offside, so the offside trap was a more common defensive tactic. It's too risky now. So players are less likely to get these 30 yards of space moments they used to when they beat the trap. That's one of the things always catches my eye when watching Holland and Milan teams from 70s and 80s. Just crazy offside traps that you don't see today.

 

[Greck]

That's why you judge players by the standard of their time. You think Messi would play this way if he was born in 1940? The players today have the benefit of techniques compiled over a span of decades that weren't available to the early pioneers. Why we're not even that far removed from managers benching keepers/defenders for taking risks with the ball. Old fashioned philosophies shaped how players trained. Players are better no doubt but stop imagining 2020 players in 1940 and vice versa

 

[dogwithabone]

Banks was 'Mr Reliable' IMO - I saw quite a bit of him before his car accident and he was very solid - he did some spectacular saves, the most famous of which was from Pele in 1970, but my memory is of an unfussy keeper who did the 'bread and butter' work with care and attention.

Yes, that’s a pretty good summary of Banks. Oh and that save ! I’ve said it before on here but that save concluded the best passage of football the game has ever seen. The sublime slide rule ball down the line, the by line cross on the run at full speed, Pele‘s header was text book, he couldn’t have done any better. And the save ! Never tire of watching it !

 

[Member 113277]

Oh and that save ! I’ve said it before on here but that save concluded the best passage of football the game has ever seen. The sublime slide rule ball down the line, the by line cross on the run at full speed, Pele‘s header was text book, he couldn’t have done any better. And the save ! Never tire of watching it !

Certainly in with a shout :-)

 

[Lentwood]

This is just true of all footballers in all positions.

I'll be accused of sacrilege but put George Best up against a Trippier or a Seamus Coleman and he'd get no change whatsoever.

It's just natural that players evolve over time as fitness, tactics and coaching all improve

 

[Member 113277]

This is just true of all footballers in all positions.

I'll be accused of sacrilege but put George Best up against a Trippier or a Seamus Coleman and he'd get no change whatsoever.

It's just natural that players evolve over time as fitness, tactics and coaching all improve

Put George Best up against a Trippier or a Seamus Coleman and he'd get no change whatsoever.


He'd run rings around them. He was a GOAT. The best player I've seen.

 

[jeff_goldblum]

Why has crossing gone to shit though? I've watched lots of 90s highlights videos and the crossing was amazing. Modern players except for a few make crossing look hard as feck.

The simple answer is that it hasn't massively, it's just that defensive positioning has improved massively and there's now more emphasis on drilling a team to defend as a unit. Scoring lots of goals from crosses relies on putting the ball into 'good areas' (i.e - places your forwards can get to but defenders can't) and as even the poorer teams now have the money and know-how to organise a defence, those 'good areas' have become increasingly smaller and more difficult to hit. The game has adapted to the omnipresence of well-drilled defences - tactical approaches at the top level are basically focussed on trying to disrupt the opponent's defensive shape (e.g - counterattacking or heavy pressing to get the ball high up the pitch before the get a chance to get into their defensive shape, possession to drag it out of shape). I wrote about it in a thread on United's 90s style of play:

....increased defensive drilling made crossing a lot less effective. United teams in the 90s scored plenty from crosses. Some were pinpoint crosses to pick out a man, but plenty were balls put into good areas whilst multiple players attacked the box. In the 2000s the rest of the league started catching up to what Arsenal were doing in the early-mid 90s, who themselves were catching up to the likes of Milan in the late 80s. That basically meant that in the Premier League at least, swinging crosses into 'good areas' for forwards to attack was no longer a reliable source of
goals, which is why teams are now far happier to give the opposition space out wide, like in our infamous 82-cross game against Fulham under Moyes after which he was rightly ridiculed for being outdated. There was a lot said about quality of crossing after that game as well, but really it's that defenders are drilled on where to position themselves to clear those types of crosses, so scoring from generally requires an individual mistake from a defender or individual brilliance from a forward.

 

[Lentwood]

Put George Best up against a Trippier or a Seamus Coleman and he'd get no change whatsoever.


He'd run rings around them. He was a GOAT. The best player I've seen.

None of those players he's walking past would get into a League 2 side in modern football.

It's not intended as a criticism of Best, being the 'best' in an era still makes you outstandingly talented. It's an observation about how sport evolves over time.

The curve was obviously much steeper from the 70s to 2020 because there was so much to improve during that time. Diet, fitness, strength and conditioning, tactics, coaching etc....

It will get flatter now as sports science and nutrition has come so far and coaching in the top divisions is led by elite teams of professionals armed with millions of Data points

 

[Lentwood]

Watched our game with Liverpool from 93-94 season a few weeks ago and the thing that really struck was how the players were just going for it. Without thinking about leaving acres of space open behind them. Without thinking about the shape of the team. Big change from what were used to these days.
On topic, Giggs scored with a lob over Grobbelaar and it looked quite easy. Grobbelaar was way out from goal early and really gave Giggs great opportunity to score that way. Don’t know if keepers were told to so or if they were also just going at it like all the outfield players.

This is the most striking thing about footage of old football matches - how much space there is! This obviously gives the more naturally talented players the platform they need to shine. Compare this with how compact teams are now in modern football, it's basically a different game, especially when you factor in the ability of the players to cover ground

On the subject of 'lobs'.....bear in mind the average height of a GK pre-PL era was just below 6ft.....now I believe it's about 6"3/6"4.....that HAS to have an impact - possibly not in the case of Schmeichel though!

 

[Rozay]

I’m one of those that subscribe to the view that all footballers worse worse the further back you go. Even the very greatest players. When I watch old footage of them they all look a little rubbish. I’ve never ever seen a player in black and white who looks better than Eden Hazard for example, who is not the best in the world under any metric. Only a few greats genuinely look like they would be the best players today to me.

 

[Sandikan]

Watch a video of goals conceded today and you'd probably think today's keepers are poor too.

 

[Synco]

I’m one of those that subscribe to the view that all footballers worse worse the further back you go. Even the very greatest players. When I watch old footage of them they all look a little rubbish. I’ve never ever seen a player in black and white who looks better than Eden Hazard for example, who is not the best time the world under any metric. Only a few greats genuinely look like they would be the best players today to me.

I do think average technique, physique & tactics have improved over decades. But stick prime Barca on one of these uneven or muddy pitches, with heavier balls & boots, and I'm sure they'd look a lot less silky. At the same time I'm sure if you gave elite players of the past some time to accomodate to today's pitches & materials, their technique would look much smoother as well. That mitigates the first point somewhat, although I can't say how much.

As an illustration, Xavi's famous complaint:
https://www.tribalfootball.com/arti...al-madrid-not-cutting-grass-1607821#popup-sso

 

[Harry190]

I’m one of those that subscribe to the view that all footballers worse worse the further back you go. Even the very greatest players. When I watch old footage of them they all look a little rubbish. I’ve never ever seen a player in black and white who looks better than Eden Hazard for example, who is not the best in the world under any metric. Only a few greats genuinely look like they would be the best players today to me.

Can't be real.

 

[Rozay]

I do think average technique, physique & tactics have improved over decades. But stick prime Barca on one of these uneven or muddy pitches, with heavier balls & boots, and I'm sure they'd look a lot less silky. At the same time I'm sure if you gave elite players of the past some time to accomodate to today's pitches & materials, their technique would look much smoother as well. That mitigates the first point somewhat, although I can't say how much.

As an illustration, Xavi's famous complaint:
https://www.tribalfootball.com/arti...al-madrid-not-cutting-grass-1607821#popup-sso

Yea no doubt. I’m not even saying those players were not great, it’s just how it looks. By the same token though. I suspect if Barcelona went back in time they would walk through the teams I’ve seen on many black and white videos. That said, they were just a special team in any era.

Ultimately, it’s always a little flawed to compare players from different generations. Quite often, you can often take their relative dominance as the best indicator I think. Otherwise, as I said, I doubt that if I transported the same Eden Hazard I saw running around at Chelsea into the 50s and 60s, he’s go down as the greatest player ever. I know he isn’t of course.

 

[Synco]

Yea no doubt. I’m not even saying those players were not great, it’s just how it looks. By the same token though. I suspect if Barcelona went back in time they would walk through the teams I’ve seen on many black and white videos. That said, they were just a special team in any era.

Ultimately, it’s always a little flawed to compare players from different generations. Quite often, you can often take their relative dominance as the best indicator I think.

Yeah, in the end everyone measures up to the standard of their time.

Otherwise, as I said, I doubt that if I transported the same Eden Hazard I saw running around at Chelsea into the 50s and 60s, he’s go down as the greatest player ever. I know he isn’t of course.

The same way a good contemporary composer transported back 250 years would probably be the most revolutionary musical figure of all times. But his or her skill is ultimately built upon the work & innovations of those that came before.