are footballers the least talented sportsmen

[lucky green trainers 0]

lets face it we can all kick a ball.  however, most footy players

find it difficult to put a decent cross over, it usually goes miles

over everybody or straight onto a defenders head, even though there may

be an equal number of attackers/defenders in the box - why is that?.

How many times does a corner fail to beat the first defender and why

doesn''t an attacker make a near post run just in case - they''d be

successful more times than fail.  How many times does a player sky

a goalbound shot over the bar when its easier to score, or

frustratingly when given an opportunity kick it straight at the keeper,

when there is acres of space either side?  How many times when one

on one with the keeper do they shoot so weakly the ball virtually

dribbles into his arms or they miscontrol it. Or when they have bags of

time, they either freeze or rush and scuff their shots/passes? Are they

Stupid?

Darts players throw reletaively tiny missiles very precisely into small target areas.

We all know how difficuly golf is, yet the pros regulary hit a tiny

ball hundreds of yards with pieces of metal regulary to within

feet/yards of a tiny hole, and in all weather conditions.

Tennis players run and hit furry balls with pieces of stringed carbon

at great speed over a net to get it to land in a relatively small court

with great skill and aplomb.

any more examples.

 

[Saint Canary 0]

I don''t really think you can compare football to any of those sports.

Ok darts players do throw with a high degree of accuracy but at no point does their opponent chase them or stand next to them trying to grab the dart off them.

I think you have grossly under estimated how skillful footballers actually are, yes anyone can "kick a ball" but it''s about the ability to play the game with little time and space while being under pressure.

[Making Plans 936]

[quote user="lucky green trainers"]
Darts players throw reletaively tiny missiles very precisely into small target areas.
We all know how difficuly golf is, yet the pros regulary hit a tiny ball hundreds of yards with pieces of metal regulary to within feet/yards of a tiny hole, and in all weather conditions.
Tennis players run and hit furry balls with pieces of stringed carbon at great speed over a net to get it to land in a relatively small court with great skill and aplomb.

[/quote]

Fair enough but the 3 examples you give all have one thing in common - that is, in none of these sports do you have your opponent trying to stop you, kick you up in the air or pull the shirt off your back while you''re playing your shot.

How good would Tiger Woods be if his opponent was able to do virtually anything to put him off ?

[charlies dad 0]

Having watched Louis Jean, Thorne, Jarrett, Hughes, Colin etc. etc. ad nauseum.. its hard to present an argument to that statement.

[lucky green trainers 0]

[quote user="lucky green trainers"]

 Or when they have bags of

time, they either freeze or rush and scuff their shots/passes? Are they

Stupid?

[/quote]

Yeah, but even when they have time they seen to screw it up.  How

about penalty kicks, and corners, free kicks, 2 good un''s out of 10

isn''t much of a return. tiger hits greater % than that under huge

pressure, he''s playing for a title & prize pot, whereas cossetted

footballers get a salary pain whether playing or not.

[Ken Aries 0]

I have to say I agree with you here, LGT. Many''s the time I''ve watched Premiership games on Sky TV, and couldn''t believe some of the feeble goal attempts from so-called top professionals. Didier Drogba is one of the best examples of an overrated footballer I can think of. His 1st touch is invariably not much better than mine, and I never could claim to be a footballer. This general incompetence amongst professional footballers, often leads to matches being ruined as a spectacle - with a little help from referees of course!

[Mark .Y. 351]

For the most part it is because they don''t practice enough, footballers probably do less "training" hours than any other sport. When you hear of boxers/athletes/swimmers getting up at 5 o''clock every morning to train it is a complete joke that some players can only kick with one foot. What would be wrong with a footballer spending an extra hour every day kicking with his "wrong" foot, nothing  - except for it would get in the way of taking the missus shopping in the afternoon. Much as I love my footy, I don''t think that anybody can argue that football players do less to earn their salary than any other type of sportsman.

Mark .Y.