Nowadays, we witness more flair, trickery and character in the English game than ever before.
However, there has been one unfortunate loss responsible for many memorable moments in Premier League history.
No, this funeral is not a reference to physicality being under threat due to foreign imports behaving as Hollywood performers.
Actually, the reason for this tragic event is to reflect on a legacy left behind by the likes of David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Gianfranco Zola. The iconic trio were unique in their own ways but all shared a priceless talent of being able to score glorious goals from dead ball situations.
Fast forward to today, and the beautiful game in arguably the best league in the world has lost one of its most attractive features. The statistic nerds have collected data that shows only 2% of Premier League goals are scored directly from free-kicks. In truth, it’s a rather disappointing ratio considering in 2009/10, the figure was a much more impressive 8.5%.
Besides Luis Suarez and Leighton Baines, what other Premier League player in the prime of his career at this very moment has a solid reputation for scoring free-kicks? Robin Van Persie perhaps? Well yes, but he can’t score from the Old Trafford medical room, can he?
Last season, Gareth Bale would have been a legitimate answer but he’s now a Real Madrid superstar torturing La Liga defenders after his record £85.3million transfer from Tottenham Hotspur.
Even Arsenal, a club known for consisting of fine technical players in the last decade, are facing a dilemma with the not-so-technically-gifted Theo Walcott taking the majority of their set-pieces.
But at least we still have Norwich City’s Robert Snoodgrass, who perhaps surprisingly to most, was the Premier League’s most accurate free-kick taker last season, scoring three.
Statistics show that there were more lethal free-kick takers last season in other major European leagues though, including Andrea Pirlo and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Therefore, it would be worth considering whether selecting a Premier League player to score a free-kick on Paddy Power’s Match Specials is really a profitable idea.