Liverpool FC Forum

by **priv** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 3:59 pm

After watching Traore on Tuesday night it brought one of my pet hates to the for.

How can you be a professional footballer and be so abjectly useless with one of your feet.

Towards the end of the game he was sprinting down the left wing got cut off, turned back on to his right foot and then was desperately looking for someone to pass to, rather than cross the ball with his right foot. You could almost see the look of horror on his face when he realized he would have to attempt a cross with his right foot, this inevitably ended with the knee high cross being cleared by Crystal Palace.

Going back to his amazing own goal against Burnley, this IMO inability to use his right foot caused him to attempt some kind of jiggery pokery to clear the ball when a row Z punt with his right foot was clearly required.

Traore is not the only Liverpool player suffering from this one footedness, Riise, Kewel (I think but I can’t remember which foot I haven’t seen him use either for a while) etc. This is a problem throughout the professional game, and it really gets my goat.

You would think with all the time they have on their hands (or feet) they could have the occasional training session when you are only predominantly allowed to use your wrong foot. Surely this would cure the problem after a couple of months.

Even, I, yes a 16stone lump of a human being can cross with both feet!!!!!

So come on lads, your right foot isn’t just for standing on!!!!!

My First proper post and sorry about the RANT. But it is so infuriating while watching a game.

PPS Don’t get me started on sh*t corners.

by **neil** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 4:04 pm

priv wrote:PPS Don’t get me started on sh*t corners.

I hear you man, pretty painful. I suggest a sopository(sp) prior to launch.

by **Garymac** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 4:20 pm

priv wrote:How can you be a professional footballer and be so abjectly useless with one of your feet.

In my opinion you are being extremely kind to Traore saying he is useles with just one of his feet, Personally i think he is fu*king woeful with both.

But on the subject of one footed players i find it staggering that you use Traore as an example when surely Risse would have been a better player to use (even though you do name him later on in this case).......Or is that because in 5 years he managed to have a shot against Anderlecht with his right foot, even though the reason for this because there was no way he could have used his left.

It is always something ive found staggering because growin up i was always told you must be a 2 footed player, you have a prefered foot but you must have the ability to use your weaker foot

by **priv** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 4:25 pm

May be, Garymac. It's just his impression of Bambi on Ice tends to exagerate the problem!

by **Espionage** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 1:06 am

priv wrote:After watching Traore on Tuesday night it brought one of my pet hates to the for.

How can you be a professional footballer and be so abjectly useless with one of your feet.

Towards the end of the game he was sprinting down the left wing got cut off, turned back on to his right foot and then was desperately looking for someone to pass to, rather than cross the ball with his right foot. You could almost see the look of horror on his face when he realized he would have to attempt a cross with his right foot, this inevitably ended with the knee high cross being cleared by Crystal Palace.

Going back to his amazing own goal against Burnley, this IMO inability to use his right foot caused him to attempt some kind of jiggery pokery to clear the ball when a row Z punt with his right foot was clearly required.

Traore is not the only Liverpool player suffering from this one footedness, Riise, Kewel (I think but I can’t remember which foot I haven’t seen him use either for a while) etc. This is a problem throughout the professional game, and it really gets my goat.

You would think with all the time they have on their hands (or feet) they could have the occasional training session when you are only predominantly allowed to use your wrong foot. Surely this would cure the problem after a couple of months.

Even, I, yes a 16stone lump of a human being can cross with both feet!!!!!

So come on lads, your right foot isn’t just for standing on!!!!!

My First proper post and sorry about the RANT. But it is so infuriating while watching a game.

PPS Don’t get me started on sh*t corners.

I agree but Kewell is actually quite good with both feet. I think that to be a good player in modern football (and especially for a winger/fullback) the ability to cross with both feet makes you much more of a threat.

Unless you are Arjen Robben :sniffle

by **stapo1000** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:30 am

In fairness to riise, he's been using his right foot a lot more lately, like when he cut inside and had a shot against anderlecht. That wasn't a bad effort. Riise actually has a decent enough right foot when uses but he always looks very intent on using his left which a times can be his downfall.

Traore has a terrible pass, shot and cross no matter what foot he uses. I cant believe he got a four year. The lad would probably still look :censored:

if he were playing in league 2

by **louie garthie** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 8:35 am

Every cross failed to reach the heady heights of 5 feet.Gerrards corners are woeful and it makes me wonder whether he has it written in his contract that he alone shall take the corners and any free kick.

by **bigmick** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:33 am

On the subject of Gerrard taking corners I would differ and say he generally delivers a good ball in. I do remember him as a young player though scoring goals from headers at corners, and he also posesses the best shot in the team aswell so I wouldn't have him taking them if it was me.
Generally in sport you should do what the opposition would least like you to do. I reckon if I was the manager of the team facing Liverpool, I would be quite happy to see Gerrard taking corners.

by **Fernando Morientes > 19 <** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 11:19 am

Djimi Troare won the champions league and i still can't believe that....

by **Hotrod** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 11:40 am

Troare is a horrible player you can clearly see in games that carra and the other defenderss clearly do not want to pass the ball to him if they can help it beacuse he is so bad on the ball he cant cross and like hamman for being freakishly tall he is not that good in the air.
I personally think Warnock is a much safer option, has a good left foot and not a bad right one clealy has much more pace than Troare graunted he is a bit small for a defender but is very good on the ball for a young lad and he will only get better.

by **thegreedo** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 11:42 am

Could Djimi be officially the worst player ever to win a C/L winners medal??

by **Garymac** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:08 pm

stapo1000 wrote:In fairness to riise, he's been using his right foot a lot more lately, like when he cut inside and had a shot against anderlecht. That wasn't a bad effort. Riise actually has a decent enough right foot when uses but he always looks very intent on using his left which a times can be his downfall.

Traore has a terrible pass, shot and cross no matter what foot he uses. I cant believe he got a four year. The lad would probably still look if he were playing in league 2

Risse has decent right foot

and using it once doesnt exactly count as a lot more

by **stapo1000** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:44 pm

Garymac wrote:
stapo1000 wrote:In fairness to riise, he's been using his right foot a lot more lately, like when he cut inside and had a shot against anderlecht. That wasn't a bad effort. Riise actually has a decent enough right foot when uses but he always looks very intent on using his left which a times can be his downfall.

Traore has a terrible pass, shot and cross no matter what foot he uses. I cant believe he got a four year. The lad would probably still look if he were playing in league 2

Risse has decent right foot and using it once doesnt exactly count as a lot more

He also set up a goal for morientes against portsmouth and had a decent shot well saved by cech against chelsea(in cl semi final) last season. The point is, he is too eager to use his left and it could improve him as a player if he wasn't so reluctant to use his right

by **bigmick** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:55 pm

The one that really sticks in the mind with Riise is the one against Chelsea when Garcia played him in. Needing only a sidefoot with his right to level the scores he opted for a silly flick with his left and the chance was gone.
This is by no means a new phenomenon though. Players throughout the ages of sometimes dazzling talent have used one foot for standing on only. Those old enough to remember will recall the left foot of Liam Brady being able to open a tin can while his right was good for merely the crushing of one.

by **JBG** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 4:50 pm

Riise had a good shot excellently saved against Anderlecht with his right foot.

However, I have seen him in countless situations in the box where the ball falls perfectly to his right and he tries to hit it with his left, such as in the recent Champions League game against Chelsea.

It perplexes me as you will see a lot of good Sunday league players being perfectly comfortable with both feet.

My own feeling is that there has been a culture of fear in coaching in England (and other places) from about 1988 to the late 1990s, where players were told to never take risks and to always use their stronger foot. This has been evident in the Premiership throughout the 1990s, although the problem is not as bad now, with more and more English/British/Irish players comfortable with both feet. For example, John O' Shea of Man UTD is a right footed player but he will use his left foot for crossing and passing when playing on the left.

A lot of the problem lies with confidence. If a player feels under pressure then he is less likely to try something that he perceives as being risky. When a team plays well and confidence is up you'll start seeing amazing situations like a Gary Neville (hardly the most skilful player in the world) cutting in from the right on his left foot and curling the ball into the top corner. On the flip side of the coin witness Jamie Carragher playing right back for LIverpool in 2003.

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