flany-kpl 7 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 At one point in the game at the weekend, the ball was dropping from a fair high just at the side line (enclosure) where I was sitting and I knew that Aird was going to mis-control it, which he did. It probably was a difficult ball to control but as a professional footballer it really should be a basic skill for the players to be graspingIt had me thinking about players, past and present, who would have killed it dead and I'm wondering what player(s) other people think had the best control?I rated Hemdani highly when it came to pulling the ball out the air with his feet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammer93 15,057 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 De Boer, first touch was always class Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingWilBEARy 4,319 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Ronald De Boer and Mols were the best I've seen. Mols could kill the ball and turn the defender at the same time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuvah 146 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Ronald De Boer and Mols were the best I've seen. Mols could kill the ball and turn the defender at the same time.defo mols the ball would be controlled and moved in whatever direction he wanted in one fluid movement. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flany-kpl 7 Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Both Brilliant shouts, makes you wonder why other professionals aren't even capable of killing it dead never mind turning away from an opponent at the same time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigo 32,534 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Laudrup. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammer93 15,057 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Ronald De Boer and Mols were the best I've seen. Mols could kill the ball and turn the defender at the same time.I wouldn't deny you mols Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingWilBEARy 4,319 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Laudrup.Yep, seen him kill a few balls which must have had ice on it when they came down. Also his ability to accelerate while retaining total control of the ball was a joy to watch.Gazza as well, always one step ahead of everyone else. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR 1,480 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 DeBoer & Laudrup. I remember the latter pulling down a cross field ball by flicking his heel up behind him and taking the pace off it. Just brilliant. My pet hate is a professional footballer that can only use one foot. A prerequisite for any pro should be his ability to use either. In an interview Davie Cooper said that he could always hit a dead ball hard with one foot, so he practiced until he could do it with either. A decent first touch and two~footed should be the bare minimum requirements of a pro footballer these days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grantos97 6 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Michael Mols Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tannerall 25,935 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Tom Forsyth going in for a tackle. Used to be a rising roar of anticipation as he started a distance away then narrowed down onto the target, then wallop straight through on to the ball, every time.But Mols was the best for first touch and awareness I've seen for us. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyalfollower 1,543 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 At one point in the game at the weekend, the ball was dropping from a fair high just at the side line (enclosure) where I was sitting and I knew that Aird was going to mis-control it, which he did. It probably was a difficult ball to control but as a professional footballer it really should be a basic skill for the players to be graspingIt had me thinking about players, past and present, who would have killed it dead and I'm wondering what player(s) other people think had the best control?I rated Hemdani highly when it came to pulling the ball out the air with his feet. mols 1st touch would see him beat almost all of his opponents. Some are natural raw talent. Others have feet like elephants Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
elephants stoned 2,994 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Mols or Arteta for me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corky True Legend 2,682 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 JR. I take it from your comments that you did not rate either Jim Baxter or Ferenc Puskas then. Both one-footed, left, no jokes now, but brilliant at ball control. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigo 32,534 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Yep, seen him kill a few balls which must have had ice on it when they came down. Also his ability to accelerate while retaining total control of the ball was a joy to watch.Gazza as well, always one step ahead of everyone else. That's what I remember, high balls controlled to perfection, sometimes with the outside of his foot. Mols was different in that he had more of a transformative first touch, in that he could turn a mundane pass to himself into an offensive opportunity in an instant. De Boer as well to an extent. Both brilliant but manifested slightly differently a lot of the time. As a wee curve ball, Mark Walters also had a great tough. He was technically very good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trueblue68 2,497 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Davie Cooper. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluepeter9 5,167 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 At one point in the game at the weekend, the ball was dropping from a fair high just at the side line (enclosure) where I was sitting and I knew that Aird was going to mis-control it, which he did. It probably was a difficult ball to control but as a professional footballer it really should be a basic skill for the players to be graspingIt had me thinking about players, past and present, who would have killed it dead and I'm wondering what player(s) other people think had the best control?I rated Hemdani highly when it came to pulling the ball out the air with his feet.On a tangent to this subject - when I was younger one of the things we used to marvel at was the ability of 'foreign' players to kill / trap a ball - which is kinda of a sad indictment of uk skill levels at that time ( mid 70's) - skill levels have much improved Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEPPS BOY 74,010 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Andy Little has a touch like a trampoline..To answer the question, Michael Mols. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigo 32,534 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Andy Little has a touch like a trampoline..To answer the question, Michael Mols. Yep. Worst first touch I've seen in some time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mearns loyal 2,717 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I think a lot of you are either too young or have forgotten about Mark Walters. He could take a goalies kick out with ease... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1st_Jan_1994 4,868 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 De Boer Don't laugh - Ian Black I'm not comparing him to De Boer, Cooper, Mols, Arteta I'm just meaning he has a fantastic first touch IMO it's something I've noticed a lot recently Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigo 32,534 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I think a lot of you are either too young or have forgotten about Mark Walters. He could take a goalies kick out with ease... Got me on ignore, huv ye? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR 1,480 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 JR. I take it from your comments that you did not rate either Jim Baxter or Ferenc Puskas then. Both one-footed, left, no jokes now, but brilliant at ball control.Well you could take it like that, but you'd be wrong. And both of them could do more with their weaker foot than most today with their stronger. Perhaps I didn't make my point as succinctly as I first thought. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mearns loyal 2,717 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Got me on ignore, huv ye?No. I thought I had posted it earlier then came back and redid it but now am thinking maybe you're cyberstalking me and snapshotting my screen... I look forward to seeing my 'special photos ' going viral... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Conqueror 78 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Always thought Souness's first touch was excellent, he would control a ball on his chest that most cnuts wouldn't head and if he did lose control of the ball his first touch of the opponent was always a fkng cracker!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.