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spike220
21-06-2011, 05:02 AM
I was watching the recent training video posted on here and was watching the ball control and dribbling ability of the players. I was remebering how well John Barnes used to control the ball - it looked as thought it was glued to boot half the time.

I was wondering who was the current and past hibs players most with the best control and dribbling ability? (George Best doesnt really count)

A few come to mind:

Past: The wee moroccan, Miller, Deeks and Weir

Present: Booth looks handy, Wotherspoon promising.

Thought and opinions?

GGTTH

Callum_62
21-06-2011, 05:42 AM
Ball Control - David Murphy

Currently - will need to wait till next season! Booth looks no bad tho

AlbertK86
21-06-2011, 06:17 AM
johnny collins and russell latapy best by miles in my time

Tricla
21-06-2011, 06:26 AM
johnny collins and russell latapy best by miles in my time


:agree:

forthhibby
21-06-2011, 06:26 AM
Scott Brown

KazHibby
21-06-2011, 06:39 AM
Alexander Hector McMillan "Ally" McLeod :thumbsup:

Hibrandenburg
21-06-2011, 06:39 AM
Alex Edwards

Spike Mandela
21-06-2011, 06:52 AM
Kevin MacAllister, Latapy and John Collins.



best ever (non hibs) Messi:aok:

Cropley10
21-06-2011, 07:22 AM
Edwin De Graff

Jack
21-06-2011, 07:55 AM
John Blackley.

I recall a report I read of a Scotland game in Brazil where the Sloop was a sub. At half time he was ‘warming up’ and doing all those wee ‘skill school’ things. When he finished he was given a standing ovation by the crowd – praise indeed. :agree:


The other side of JB was also a joy to watch, as a Hibby. :greengrin If it wasn’t the fitba he came away after a ‘fair’ tackle he would arrange the opposition players baws round their throat like a necklace! :faf:

Hamish
21-06-2011, 08:00 AM
Cropley, McLeod, McAllister, Latapy, Murphy

Peevemor
21-06-2011, 08:02 AM
Those that immediately spring to mind for me are JC, Crunchie, Latapy and, strangely enough, Dougie Bell.

Ollie Reed
21-06-2011, 08:06 AM
I'd imagine Willie Hamilton and Gordon Smith would be up there.

Phil MaGlass
21-06-2011, 08:12 AM
John Collins and Benny Brazil.:greengrin

soproni1
21-06-2011, 08:54 AM
Best dribbler I've seen is benji - not the quickest but the ball was always in his control, sometimes he didnt even have to touch it to make defenders fall on their a*se (see 2007 cup final goal).

On the other end of the scale, Scott Brown's pace and drive from the middle on occasions was (and probably still is) brilliant to watch and caused all kinds of havoc, he took a few good kicks doin it mind you (see goal at parkhead in yellow strips)

frazeHFC
21-06-2011, 09:00 AM
Benji, Murphy, Zemmama and Latapy had good ball control. Booth has good ball control now.

dangermouse
21-06-2011, 10:44 AM
Benji, Murphy, Zemmama and Latapy had good ball control. Booth has good ball control now.

Booth reminds me of Murphy the way he traps the ball.

ChicoM1875
21-06-2011, 10:45 AM
Ivan for sheer velocity. Was like like watching Benny Hill at times. Murphy had a sublime first touch. Benji for me though.

RIP
21-06-2011, 11:14 AM
When I first saw the thread title I was suddenly staring into my own medical abyss :greengrin

Anyway - back to fitba - Alex Edwards and Eric Stevenson for me

Greentinted
21-06-2011, 11:31 AM
Collins, Crunchie, Russell spring immediately to mind as does Arthur Duncan.

Non Hibs - although he was a bigotted wee cretin, Davie Cooper couldnae half keep a baw on his toes.

Franck is God
21-06-2011, 11:44 AM
in my time watching the Hibees the best dribblers or players on the ball are.

JC, Mickey, Crunchie, Jacko, I also agree with Dougie Bell, Latapy, Beastie was good on the ball.

In more recent times I was always comfortable of keeping possession when Boozy had it & Murphy. For pure drive and control Scott Brown was outsanding.

FRes Hibbie
21-06-2011, 11:46 AM
Ivan for sheer velocity. Was like like watching Benny Hill at times. Murphy had a sublime first touch. Benji for me though.

Disagree with Sproule, his pace (velocity) IS very handy but his ball control and dribbling ability is quite poor - going by his first spell anyway. I think he's indicative of the impact-sub-type-winger, when he gets the ball he doesn't actually beat his man for skill, just kind of knocks it ten yards past him and runs, like Walcott, Babel, etc.

Not really sure if we have any particularly good dribblers in our current squad but from the last couple of years Zemamma sticks out. Obviously non-Hibs but I thought I'd give Nasri and mention too because he's pretty exceptional in both those departments.

sahib
21-06-2011, 12:23 PM
When I first saw the thread title I was suddenly staring into my own medical abyss :greengrin

Anyway - back to fitba - Alex Edwards and Eric Stevenson for me

From that era I would add Jim Scott.

Septimus
21-06-2011, 03:22 PM
Bobby Johnstone. Non Hibs... Willie Fernie. Fernie used to be Ivan Sproulish in the way that the park was always a few feet short for him.

Best first touch at Hibs was Steve Archibald. Murphy had that skill too.

Franck Stanton
21-06-2011, 03:35 PM
Alough he wasn't with long, John Connolly dribbled past opposition players as though they weren't even there.

Dan Sarf
21-06-2011, 03:38 PM
Gordon Smith was considered by many to be better than "The Wizard of the Dribble" himself, Stanley Mathews.

(Personally, I thought Gordon was miles better - he seemed much faster to me and had lots more ways to beat his man than Stan who always seemed to do his famous sudden-lurch-to-one-side trick that left opposition defenders on their ars*.)

Not an expert on Sir Stan - only saw him on TV - so apologies if I've undervalued him. But Gordon was definitely better. Fact.

erin go bragh
21-06-2011, 03:41 PM
Best ive seen has to be latapy,pretty sure mcleish said they could put him in a phonebox and still not get the ball of him ! :not worth
ggtth

heretoday
21-06-2011, 04:02 PM
I'd imagine Willie Hamilton and Gordon Smith would be up there.

Correct! Willie Hamilton used to "ghost" through defences with the ball "seemingly tied to his feet" as the Evening news and Dispatch would have it.

I started watching Hibs in 1963 and count myself fortunate to have seen all Hammy's home matches.

ancient hibee
21-06-2011, 04:07 PM
If you watch a video of the Real Madrid game you'll see Hammy beating guys when he's still 5 yards away from them.

Wheat Hound
21-06-2011, 04:14 PM
Defo agree wee Crunchie was a fantastic winger. We sold him too early as he had another few cracking years at Falkirk. The summer of 1993 where we bought him, Leighton and Michael O'Neill was one of our best transfer periods. The subsequent run to the LC final was thrilling.

Cropley10
21-06-2011, 04:25 PM
Gordon Smith was considered by many to be better than "The Wizard of the Dribble" himself, Stanley Mathews.

(Personally, I thought Gordon was miles better - he seemed much faster to me and had lots more ways to beat his man than Stan who always seemed to do his famous sudden-lurch-to-one-side trick that left opposition defenders on their ars*.)

Not an expert on Sir Stan - only saw him on TV - so apologies if I've undervalued him. But Gordon was definitely better. Fact.

But he missed that goal in the Cup Final :confused:

ancient hibee
21-06-2011, 04:28 PM
But he missed that goal in the Cup Final :confused:
Very naughty.

Haymaker
21-06-2011, 10:41 PM
On the other end of the scale, Scott Brown's pace and drive from the middle on occasions was (and probably still is) brilliant to watch and caused all kinds of havoc, he took a few good kicks doin it mind you (see goal at parkhead in yellow strips)

Watching the rangers 0-3 games on youtube scott brown looks like a completely different player to the one he is today... such a shame and waste.

Dan Sarf
21-06-2011, 11:29 PM
But he missed that goal in the Cup Final :confused:

Oh my sides.

confused
22-06-2011, 04:40 AM
Pat Quin was another who could take it for a wee walk , but few were better than Eric Stevenson .

Pete
22-06-2011, 05:01 AM
Murphy stands out as having an excellent first touch and great ability to kill the ball.

However, when you look at decent players from practically anywhere outside Britain a touch like Murphs is almost expected. That's the first thing they learn.

Sproule and Brown have their assets but in a way they are everything that is wrong with the game in this country and why we will never amount to anything on the national or club stage. You can't change a countries culture but why are teams from certain countries so relaxed and comfortable on the ball? It's as if they use their energy efficiently while we encourage them to run about like headless chickens.

They get the basics right first...only then can the players with dribbling ability excell and improve the team.

aberhibsfc
22-06-2011, 07:45 AM
When I read this title, I couldn't help think about my last trip to the toilet.

I'm hitting that age where every drop counts.

Dribblers at Hibs, I enjoyed:

Weir
Lennon
Crunchie
M O'Neill
Latapy
Zemmama

Hmm, stuck now, can't really say Sproule either as that's more about pace getting past a player.

soproni1
22-06-2011, 08:47 AM
Murphy stands out as having an excellent first touch and great ability to kill the ball.

However, when you look at decent players from practically anywhere outside Britain a touch like Murphs is almost expected. That's the first thing they learn.

Sproule and Brown have their assets but in a way they are everything that is wrong with the game in this country and why we will never amount to anything on the national or club stage. You can't change a countries culture but why are teams from certain countries so relaxed and comfortable on the ball? It's as if they use their energy efficiently while we encourage them to run about like headless chickens.

They get the basics right first...only then can the players with dribbling ability excell and improve the team.

The Hibs team with these two at their best was the most entertaining and the most succesful that I have seen.

Tbh I think that Barca have been so good recently that everyone thinks that is the only way that anyone should play - I enjoy seeing players with a wee bit of fire about them and although it may cause them to lose their discipline, technique or position every once in a while, I think that is what makes our game (British football) exciting. It may be great to watch xavi/iniesta make 17 perfect passes from their own goal line in order to get over the halfway line, but there is nothing which gets fans going, IMO, than someone driving forward with the ball (kind of) under his control at pace. Just because they don't do it with the same style and flair as Messi or Ronaldo doesn't mean it is wrong.

ChicoM1875
22-06-2011, 05:38 PM
Disagree with Sproule, his pace (velocity) IS very handy but his ball control and dribbling ability is quite poor - going by his first spell anyway. I think he's indicative of the impact-sub-type-winger, when he gets the ball he doesn't actually beat his man for skill, just kind of knocks it ten yards past him and runs, like Walcott, Babel, etc.

Not really sure if we have any particularly good dribblers in our current squad but from the last couple of years Zemamma sticks out. Obviously non-Hibs but I thought I'd give Nasri and mention too because he's pretty exceptional in both those departments.

There were times when his control was very good and he went past players with ease. That takes skill at the speed he was going. But on the flipside he was inconsistent.

Pete
23-06-2011, 02:20 AM
The Hibs team with these two at their best was the most entertaining and the most succesful that I have seen.

Tbh I think that Barca have been so good recently that everyone thinks that is the only way that anyone should play - I enjoy seeing players with a wee bit of fire about them and although it may cause them to lose their discipline, technique or position every once in a while, I think that is what makes our game (British football) exciting. It may be great to watch xavi/iniesta make 17 perfect passes from their own goal line in order to get over the halfway line, but there is nothing which gets fans going, IMO, than someone driving forward with the ball (kind of) under his control at pace. Just because they don't do it with the same style and flair as Messi or Ronaldo doesn't mean it is wrong.

I'll agree it was entertaining but only because these traits made them stand out. I might be being a bit harsh on Brown but the Sproule that I remember couldn't trap a bag of cement or finish his tea. There might have been the odd exception but I'm sorry, he was a cult hero for effort, pace and excentricity...not footballing ability.

Remember when Dnipro came to Easter Road. Every one of them had Murphys touch and ability to kill the ball and pick a pass. Their were no superstars there and all they did was pass the ball to each other and never looked like they had to boot the ball up the park at any stage. They comfortably held our golden generation at bay and looked pretty dangerous when coming forward by simply doing what they do. They aren't Barcelona but they might as well have been because the British game is as equally far behind the Spanish way as it is the Ukranian, or any other Eastern or Southern European teams way.

Watching England and Scotlands U21s is depressing. You'd think they would learn and get the basics right but they're just clones of the full teams. No touch...just athletes with pace who don't know how to press properly and use their energy efficiently. Listening to those who are in charge of the game doesn't suggest that they are going to make any changes to the way they develop at the very bottom...I'm talking about five year old kids. That's where it needs to start. Not putting ideas into their head but making them comfortable on the ball and not afraid to have it.

It's pathetic that we lord over players with "good touch". If Sproule or Brown grew up in Portugal, Serbia or Italy they might well be playing at the top table due to their basic grounding on top of their natural ability.

Mixu62
23-06-2011, 08:38 AM
Mostly wingers for me, crunchy, Mickey Weir and Michael O'Neill. Also in his brief spell with us, Didier Agathe showed some great touches. But for sublime first touch, it has to be big Franck.

CMcP
23-06-2011, 11:17 AM
Mostly wingers for me, crunchy, Mickey Weir and Michael O'Neill. Also in his brief spell with us, Didier Agathe showed some great touches. But for sublime first touch, it has to be big Franck.

:agree: Sauzee is the only player I have seen who regularly beat a player, or made space for himself before he had even taken a first touch. Awareness and body movement were just incredible. :not worth

heretoday
23-06-2011, 03:07 PM
If you watch a video of the Real Madrid game you'll see Hammy beating guys when he's still 5 yards away from them.


All the great players do that don't they? Put the defence right off balance and avoid close contact if possible. George Best did that.

It's just a talent for seeing a step ahead of everyone else. Unfortunately it doesn't necessarily extend to life off the park!

fat freddy
23-06-2011, 10:31 PM
not better than a lot already mentioned but a word of praise for Tony Higgins...for a big guy he had brilliant close control and was a clever footballer