Alan Shearer now says there's one type of player missing from the Premier League

Football has changed a lot over the years and things you could have got away with ten years ago would see you banned for months nowadays.

In the 1990s and 2000s, long before the days of VAR, players were able to get away with a lot more than they can now.

Cheeky elbows and studs-up challenges were a regular part of the game and if it went on on the blind-side of the referee then they'd often go unpunished.

Alan Shearer was asked in a Q&A for The Athletic who stands out in the modern game as a 'hard man' but the former Newcastle United striker failed to name one.

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Old-school footballers used to come off the pitch with battle scars

In his answer, Shearer acknowledged that it's probably for the betterment of the game that those types of players aren't around any more, but he did count himself among them.

"I’m not sure you can be a tough guy in the Premier League anymore! The game has changed from when I was playing and it’s probably changed for the better. Some of the things they — and I — got away with… Well, it was a different time.

"Patrick Vieira was as tough as they come, ditto Roy Keane. But it was the Arsenal back line who always stood out for me. Martin Keown, Tony Adams… I’ve still got the scars, a twice-broken nose, popped lips and more! I also gave as good as I got. That was my game; to survive, you had to look after yourself. I loved that physical element."

Players can't get away with anything these days

Those players were definitely a different breed, and while you still have the odd dirty player, it's usually more about playing the victim than being the aggressor these days *cough*Ben Brereton-Diaz*cough*.

We're not saying we want to see players kicking lumps out of each other per-se, but it was entertaining as hell.

Nowadays you can get a three game ban just for facing off against a mouthy little git of a player, can't you Fabian Schar?