But it's never really been about tackling, though. Even back in the day, the midfield hard men weren't necessarily good tacklers, their job was essentially to put the opposition fancy dans in fear for their ankles and knees.
Whereas these days it's about intelligent covering, tracking back and interceptions, and your defensive mids really need to be good in possession. My point is that in a league like the Premier League, having a big athletic bugger in the middle can be a big advantage, particularly as there are so many aerial 50-50s to challenge for in that area.
