Speaking on the BBC Radio Five Live Football Daily Podcast, James Collins and Nigel Reo-Coker have been discussing the lack of personalities in modern football and Declan Rice.
We’ve just enjoyed a fantastic FA Cup weekend full of upsets, and one of the great things about such a brilliant set of fixtures is the characters that emerge from these smaller sides.
Whether it’s Russell Penn leading the dressing room celebrations at Kidderminster or Adebayo Akinfenwa diving on top of a pile-on for Wycombe. You often see these lower-league players and managers having so much fun, and it’s incredibly refreshing.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many instances of this in the Premier League these days, but Collins believes that Declan Rice is an exception to that rule, labelling him a throwback.
What’s been said about Rice?
Collins and Reo-Coker were discussing the lack of personality in top-level footballers these days.
“You can clearly see the players which have personalities. It doesn’t exist anymore in the modern game, and the one person in the Premier League who has a great personality is Jack Grealish, and a lot of these players seem robotic, and I say these players are great athletes but not great football players,” Reo-Coker said.
“I think Rice Rice Baby might have an issue with that, he definitely deserves a shout as well,” The host added.
“He’s a throwback though Dec, he’s an old-school player. He should have been playing when I was playing Dec,” Collins concluded.
Throwback
Collins is absolutely right about Rice, he’s a real throwback to a former era where players would show more personality.
Jamie Carragher has previously said that Rice would make an excellent pundit one day, and we’re inclined to agree.
He’s more than happy to have a laugh on the pitch, but that doesn’t come at the expense of his performances. After all, he remains one of the best midfielders in England.
Hopefully, more players will follow Rice’s example in the coming years.
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