As bad as it looks, the game is leading in this direction as players are so unbelievably skilled to get deft touches out which creates space and run, you need to shepherd, but often it's a hard call between the two, and it can come off and look ugly or it can look absolutely brilliant, it just gets noticed 10x more when it doesn't come off.IMHO, it's an unfortunate bi-product of the contemporary game. When I was taught to play, back in the Flintstone era, that was what you did. A teammate went for the ball while you assisted by shepherding his opponent. It was expected, and it was reflex. These days, players forgo the shepherd in an attempt to create run and space.