Just saw Frank Lampard scoring, so I thought this yet again, what I've been thinking for a long time:

• ARE THERE ANYMORE #10 ROLE PLAYERS THAT ARE ACTUAL GOAL SCORERS?

What I mean by this is players like Lampard, Gerrard, Litmanen & Kaka in their prime. Lamps has scored 22 goals in his best season in BPL, Gerrard 16, Kaka scored 14,15 and 16 goals in his best three seasons & Litmanen scored 26 goals in 30 games at Eredivisie in 1993 and was the topscorer in 1995 Champions League season.

#10 role players (Central attacking midfielders) nowadays seem to be more like playmakers to me, like Özil, Silva, Mata, Cazorla... etc etc. They score 4-7 goals a season, but what they do best is giving +15 assists a season.
I don't really know if there are anymore players who I mentioned before. Closest to me would be Fellaini in 2012 (scored 11 goals), you could see that he really sucks in Man Utd when he's played at #6 role in front of the defenders. Another one that came to my mind is Yaya Toure, scored monsterous 20 goals last season.

What do you think? Are there any goalscoring CAMs anymore - am I totally wrong, which players are like that? If there aren't - what is the key reason behind the transformation / change in players?

Isco and Messi are the only two I can think of off the top of my head. The game itself has shifted to rely on wingers for goals. Menez, Ronaldo, Bale, Neymar, Lavezzi, Robben, Ribery... these players are hitting the figures that one would've attributed to attacking midfielders about 10 years ago. I'd say that Robben and Ronaldo have something to do with this.

What about Jame Rodriguez circa world cup and currently?

@Dynastian well said agree.

@billywalendom ye true, but I still see him more as a winger. But yeah he played cam in World Cup & most of the time in RMA.

Naturally #10 players or CAM are very versatile. They tend to be used as wingers or as regular CM to fit in a certain squad. Their position is not very used these days because having wingers and CMs is seen as more appropriate for a balanced formation.

I actually think the CAM position is the coolest there is. If I were a player I would love to play in that position, they are the link between midfielders and strikers they assist and score goals.

^ what this man said..even in Fifa pro clubs the only position i tend to play a lot is CAM!

Mario Gotze?

Rooney plays the #10 position for us. He drifts between CAM, CM, (when he starts as a CAM) and the forward positions. He scored a goal against Pool from the #10 position today. In fact, he has been doing that for the past 4-5 years consistently. Even when he played a second fiddle to Ronaldo, Rooney used to play on the wing or drift into CAM from that striker position. Like someone said above, natural #10's are very versatile, and you can see that in Rooney. I'm sure when he calls quits, he will end up as a CM.

Gerrard was never a true #10. He was always a drifter, and used to go with the flow of the game. His natural position is the CM. Lampard on the other hand was more of a #10. He always had someone else playing CDM position, but he was also a drifter. He stayed in his CM position due to his old age. His natural position is CAM. They are 2 different players, and you can not compare them. I believe saying this would open a can of worms, but saying Gerrard is a #10 is heresy if you've been watching football for more than 5 years.

Yaya Toure is a CDM/CM. He is box to box, not a CAM. CAM for City has been Nasri/Silva, but they do not score that many goals. The players you mentioned in the EPL (Ozil, Mata, Cazorla, Silva, Oscar)..etc do not score goals. You are absolutely right in that the systems they play in make more open lanes for the strikers than themselves, which is why you find them making assists more than taking shots on goal.

Don't watch other leagues that much, so can't comment on them.

^I know that Gerrard is not pure CAM, but the margin between attacking CM & CAM is little - also 4-4-2 was more common back in the days so there isn't CAM but 2 CMs. These days Gerrard is playing the #6 role due to his age. And Yaya's case - he's been CAM too, trust me - City play either 4-2-2-2 where he's box to box CDM/CM and 4-2-3-1 where they put him in #10 position at times - not particularly this season though.

Yes, about that 4-4-2... one of the midfielders used to be defensive, and the other attacking. There is actually a lot of difference between CAM and CM. One position requires a lot of stamina, the other not so much. In a traditional 4-4-2, one would act as CM/CAM and the other CM/CDM. If you actually look at their heat maps, you can see the difference. Ex: Look at Scholes vs Hargreaves for England in the past. England hasn't really played the 4-4-2 for sometime now, but Wilshere and Barkley would be a good fit there if it were a 4-4-2. Yaya has been deployed in that role due to injuries and the physicality of the opposition. But that is not the role he plays for City. Its like saying Welbeck for Arsenal plays as a winger (depending on the opponent) but he plays the position of striker for you.

Not at all.

In fact, I think this is the era in which anybody can score! Nowadays, many players get the freedom to roam around the pitch. You got players like Gotze, Rooney, and James ( Not so much but still) who are constantly looking for openings to score/ assist. Same as Ronaldo, a winger who has more goals than Top-Class strikers. So no, I do not think so, not a little bit. The Beautiful Game has changed, friends :).

Well... Mata is our top scorer so the CAM role has stopped scoring probably because they have been backed into CM position or into Wingers. The players are the same but the role has been compromised by modern football. Formations and strategic lineups have decreased significantly the appearance of the famous #10.