Dribblers

[Superblades]

Webber was also decent. The year we got promoted he would run up the pitch from kick off coming close a few times.

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

Just for that one amazing goal, I forgave Tony Field for being crap

Tony Field seemed to lack confidence most of the time , and the fans on the terrace were always on his back. Another player we can list as a scapegoat at the lane.

UTB

 

[bornablade]

John McGeady in another era could've been our best

 

[Barney Rubble]

Best two dribble goals i have seen in a red and white shirt was Tony Field ( one may have been against Ipswich ) .

The other guy who could dribble was Stuart Scullion . ( i remember him hitting the bar for Watford in a promotion game at the lane which we won 3-0. )

Does get bums off seats .

UTB

We signed Scullion after that match. Early in the following season we were beating Chelsea 1-0 at home, but hanging on to the lead when one of our players, probably Eddie Colquhoun, had to go off injured.This may have left us down to ten men and we were now under more pressure than ever but we got the ball out to Scullion near the half way line. He got the ball and dribbled past 2 or 3 Chelsea players and with no-one to pass to turned and went back and dribbled past them all again.

A couple of minutes later the ref blew for time and we went home top ofthe league. Sadly the following week we went to Old Trafford and Best knackered us with some dribbling skills of his own.

 

[Jehovah]

Cotterill.

 

[Benny and the Blades]

The trouble I found with most of the players that could dribble with the ball was they were never happy with beating their man just the once ......

 

[Bergen Blade]

This just appeared on my fb feed:


"We live in a world of passing, but the common thing at PSG is they are all dribblers. They can go one vs one and then they make a pass. Dembele, Barcola, Doue, they all go at you first. They are not scared of you. That's very interesting to see from a dominant team." - Arsene Wenger

Dribbling to attract defenders is a fundamental tool for disrupting organized defensive structures. When a player runs directly at an opponent, it forces a defensive reaction—either a challenge, a delay, or a shift in shape to provide cover. This movement creates a momentary imbalance in the defensive line, often drawing multiple defenders toward the ball. As a result, spaces open up around the dribbler for teammates to exploit, whether through diagonal runs, third-man combinations, or simple positional adjustments.

In dominant teams like PSG, players such as Dembélé, Barcola, and Doué use this method consistently—not as isolated flair, but as a deliberate strategy to provoke defensive decisions and unlock space. It’s a proactive way to break structure, rather than waiting for gaps to appear.

***

Brooks and Seriki as a pair had their break through this season, and their dribbling and running on the ball have added a lot to us. I hope they stay and that we keep looking for players who offer both the mobility and the skill to get past an opponent. This goes for the academy as well. All academy players seem comfortable on the ball and always look neat and tidy. But only a few seem to be great dribblers.

 

[Balham]

Brooks and Seriki as a pair had their break through this season, and their dribbling and running on the ball have added a lot to us. I hope they stay and that we keep looking for players who offer both the mobility and the skill to get past an opponent. This goes for the academy as well. All academy players seem comfortable on the ball and always look neat and tidy. But only a few seem to be great dribblers.

British [academy] football is often about minimising risk. That's why dribbling is discouraged. It's also seen, wrongly, as selfish.

Part of why Ndiaye was so effective for us was that he'd not come through the traditional academy route. The next one on our books with a similar grassroots background is Lamine Sidibe. It'll be interesting to see how he goes in the U21s next season.

 

[JohnDenver]

British [academy] football is often about minimising risk. That's why dribbling is discouraged. It's also seen, wrongly, as selfish.

Part of why Ndiaye was so effective for us was that he'd not come through the traditional academy route. The next one on our books with a similar grassroots background is Lamine Sidibe. It'll be interesting to see how he goes in the U21s next season.

We’ve had a Diego. Now we have a Lamine.

 

[Blades1971]

By the looks of players been suggested, dribbling could take on a whole new meaning

 

[Silent Blade]

Ndiaye, best dribbler since I started watching the Blades in 1970.

 

[Houston_Blade]

British [academy] football is often about minimising risk. That's why dribbling is discouraged. It's also seen, wrongly, as selfish.

Part of why Ndiaye was so effective for us was that he'd not come through the traditional academy route. The next one on our books with a similar grassroots background is Lamine Sidibe. It'll be interesting to see how he goes in the U21s next season.

I’m going to slightly disagree. At a young age they want the flair and creative ability for the academy teams. Kids who can problem solve and get out of sticky situations are the first ones picked up (unless it’s Forest, they want a team of Usain Bolt’s at every age group!).

The problem is, the longer they spend in the academy, the more this is coached out of them as they look to enforce the first team style of play on the academy lads.

This is not just a Blades problem, it’s a lot of the local clubs.

 

[KMC-1889]

Tom Cannon would be great at dribbling if you put some jam on the team bus’s window.

 

[Balham]

I’m going to slightly disagree. At a young age they want the flair and creative ability for the academy teams. Kids who can problem solve and get out of sticky situations are the first ones picked up (unless it’s Forest, they want a team of Usain Bolt’s at every age group!).

The problem is, the longer they spend in the academy, the more this is coached out of them as they look to enforce the first team style of play on the academy lads.

This is not just a Blades problem, it’s a lot of the local clubs.

Not sure that counteracts anything I've said? The academy system takes the best young players - and let's face it, at 6/7/8 the best ones are the ones who are running rings around their peers and scoring loads, not the ones hitting pinpoint 20 yard passes - and puts them into The System, at which point it becomes more about their role in the collective than their role individually.

 

[Houston_Blade]

Not sure that counteracts anything I've said? The academy system takes the best young players - and let's face it, at 6/7/8 the best ones are the ones who are running rings around their peers and scoring loads, not the ones hitting pinpoint 20 yard passes - and puts them into The System, at which point it becomes more about their role in the collective than their role individually.

Maybe not, but I actually think decent grassroots teams focus more on the ‘team’ and passing than academies do, until it gets to u15/u16, at this point they have to ape the first team.