Greatest skill in football

[The Claw]

What is there to chose from? THe contenders would be high fielding, tackling or blocking, kicking off the ground.full spead solo running,kicking outside of the boot.
Mine would be the solo dummy.

[Goats Do Shave]

Read on another thread where Peter Canavan was suggested as the greatest ever footballer.
Maybe true, but if he is how many of the skills was he the 'best' at???

Terrifically brave, very accurate, & good at running with the ball. How good was/is he at high fielding, tackling, blocking..

There must be a better all rounder??

Before you all start attacking me, I'm a big admierer of Peter's talents. He's been a pleasure to watch at both county & club.

[BallyhaiseMan]

flick lift off the ground with the ball running away from you at speed.....

[5 Sams]

THe contenders would be high fielding, tackling or blocking, kicking off the ground.full spead solo running,kicking outside of the boot.

Maurice Fitz had them all + others....(maybe a bit weak on the tackle).....I cant think of anyone else who has the same range of skills.


My favourite for the record..... there's nothing to beat seeing someone field the ball above two or three others in the wee box.

[believebelive]

Your right ballyhaise - for technical difficulty the stab lift with ball running away at full speed without breaking stride is imo the most difficult skill in football

[Bogball XV]

flick lift off the ground with the ball running away from you at speed.....

showy without contributing an awful lot - doesn't work on numerous occasions (at least with me), thus making the player look like a total idiot.
The solo dummy gets my vote - frees up space and more often than not creates a scoring opportunity.

[culchy1]

being a defender
i think the block has to be up there
theres nothing to lift a team better

after all it alone got conor gormley an all-star
conor has since went on to prove he rightfully deserves to be up there with the best!

[BallyhaiseMan]

No doubt its a showy skill...but when it comes off it looks outstanding....
It gets my vote also because so few players can do pull it off consistently.

[milltown row]

what skill? if your big and fit then thats all you need in football

[Over the Bar]

The solo dummy without a doubt.  The ability to fool another top-level player that you are about the kick the ball only to solo & turn him has to be the most difficult.  Frank McGuigan was the first player I ever saw doing it and he turned defenses inside out until they looked foolish.  Canavan couldn't carry it off quite as well as the king but was one of the best exponents of it nonetheless.

[cavan4ever]

can u do it ballyhaise man?

[BallyhaiseMan]

id say ive tried it about 10 times in training and it came off about 3 times...havent tried it in a match so far...as the bollocking from fellow Players , management in training is bad enough in training, cant imagine what it would be like if i fucked it up in a game     

Its one for only the most skilled players to try in my opinion Cavan4ever.

[cavan4ever]

yep ballyhaise man if it works in a game everyone thinks it's great but it doesn't all u hear is "what is that silly bolllox at" or worse :L:L

[Hardy]

It's the high catch for me. In my experience, though, foreigners seeing the game for the first time are impressed by the high-speed solo run more than anything else.

The dummy solo reminds me of another type of dummy I've only ever seen one player perform and he did it a lot and very effectively. John Timmins used to play as a midfielder and sometimes a forward for Dublin. The Hill is Blue will remember him (his kids would have been contemporaries of Timmins ). For a huge mountain of a man with massive shoulders and no neck, he was a very knacky player. He had this trick where he'd shape to kick the ball, but instead of dropping it on his toe and soloing it, as in the dummy solo, he'd follow through with the full swing for the kick, but drop the ball on the ground outside the foot and catch the hop. The would-be blocker was always out of the game when he did it - it was even more effective than the dummy solo presumably because the full swing, as if he was kicking it, fooled the tackler for longer than the dummy solo, where it's apparent sooner (OK, infinitesimally sooner) that it's not a real kick.

[blanketattack]

Greatest skill in football

Being able to give your man a belt without being spotted by the umpires, linesmen or ref..