"If I paid someone thousands of pounds every week to kick a football, I'd expect them to be able to do it with both feet" is a sentiment I've been boring my mates with for years. I understand that us mere mortals, not blessed with twinkles in all ten of our toes like Mr Messi will naturally have a preference, often a very marked one, with which foot to favour. The same is true of most professionals of course but should any elite footballer, when faced with a clear cut chance ever be allowed to pass it up without at least putting "the old swinger" on it? In this instance I am referring to Jay-Rod's failure to pull the trigger when clean through on Vorm just before he was taken off this weekend. It's not a dig at JR as many others are guilty of it in the PL these days - Defoe, Gervinho and Nasri all spring to mind quite quickly. But it's tough on fans, anticipating a bulging net to not even witness an attempt isn't it? How can you spend all day kicking a ball but not have enough confidence to at least try and score with your "wrong" foot when a chance presents itself? I posted something similar about Michael Owen many years ago and he went and scored a worldy with his left for Real Madrid in his next match so hopefully this will be a case of watch out West Brom!
Yeah, it seems to me that it's something that can be improved with little effort but perhaps many players don't consider it to be important. Billy Sharp has missed a fair few chances by trying to get it on his strong foot first. Also notice Gareth Bale's assist for Dempsey's goal yesterday. He's a very one-footed player and he was out on the right-hand side, but he managed to get a cross in with the outside of his left foot. That's another little technique that can make a player a lot more effective.
Gareth Bale is very one-footed, but he makes up for it by doing things with his left that lesser mortals couldn't do with both feet, both hands, and a stick of dynamite. That cross for Clint Dempsey's goal yesterday was sublime. If you haven't seen it, check it out. I do agree though, HB. Pochettino should try making players use only their "wrong" foot in training. They would soon get the hang of it!
Yeah it's always been a mystery to me too why so many professional players are so one-footed. I, on the other hand, am so bad with both feet that people have often wondered which is my stronger foot, and probably why I never seem to use it.
I know its going back a bit but Bobby Charlton used to practice so hard with both feet that even his own brother didn't know which was his 'natural' foot. It has to be done young to be really effective but practice will help. Its also very noticeable when defenders try to tackle with the wrong leg and often get caught out because it is too close to the player with the ball. Result - free kick/penalty. Jos is a bit guilty of this.
Michu had an amazing chance to make it 1-0 on saturday and took an extra touch that allowed us to close him down. Happens to the best.
would you expect Tiger Woods to tee off with his weaker hand, Cook to open this summer against the Aussies in a right hand stance or Murray to play left handed?. What gets my blood boiling is when a player can not put in a decent corner kick, surely they can practice hundreds of times a day and the only variable that changes is the wind
No but there's no need for Tiger Woods to use his wrong hand, the ball isn't coming at him quickly and he doesn't have other players trying to prevent him from striking the ball!
In five a side, I used to wear a knee brace which covered the area from my sock to my shorts. When I'd haplessly flail my left foot trying to do anything, it genuinely looked like I was wearing a prosthetic leg.
Normally I would sit in your camp, however often being one footed is a good thing. Throughout all of my playing days, from aged 7 upwards I could use both feet. I was naturally right footed but spent years playing on the left hand side and developed my "wrong" foot to such a degree that people used to think I was left footed. For years I thought that was an advantage and often it is, particularly in an instinctive situation. I look back now and realise that at times it hampers me, particularly with one on ones v the keeper. A one footed player automatically makes an angle for his stronger foot and therefore creates a better scoring opportunity; I would often not automatically go one way or the other and thus didn't create an angle and made the keepers job easier. Even at the ripe old age of 43 it still hampers me; I played in an old boys 6 a side competition 18months ago and took a penalty in the semi final shoot out and the final shoot out. I just ran up and hit one with my left and the other with my right... .... Btw, I missed them both!
Both my Grandad and my old man insisted that I use my left foot when I first started playing. One cited Charlton as an example, the other Matthews. They made me practise with it too and eventually I was reasonably proficient. I absolutely always felt like I was swinging Dan's prosthetic though.
I'm not a fan of Cristiano Ronaldo's attitude or personality but one thing he is very good at is practicing and training very hard. He is a robotic and machine-like player at times but is very effective. His strength and speed are obviously something he'd worked hard on as well but something very noticeable is how good he is on his left foot. Even the power he can generate with it is higher than most can generate with their strong foot. I think a lot of players haven't become the player they could or should have because they won't train hard enough. That being said the player widely considered the best player in the world Messi is a completely one footed player lol.
I remember quite clearly, playing for my junior school team and being quite right footed, and it struck me that when I watched John Sydenham, he was predominantly left footed. So I made my mind up to become able to use my left foot as well as my right, and I did, within the time of about 12 months. I think it helped that my Mum was left handed and Dad was right handed, because I really found it very easy to copy across all the feeling of controlling and kicking the ball with the right foot to the left foot. I would say that my left foot was about 95% of the capability of my right foot, and to this day I don't really have a preference. Back then, I used to take the penalties for my school side and occasionally I'd take them with my left foot, just for the hell of it. I don't think I ever missed The most two-footed footballer I've ever seen is MLT, and that's bar none. I know that's a big statement to make but you only have to study him for a few minutes and he is so balanced with his weight on either side, and his weaker foot was better than 99% of other players better foot. You can generally see which side is the natural one, on even the most skilful of players, but not with Matty, except when he took penalties. He always used his right foot then. Perhaps both his parents were right handed.
I'm so right sided it's ridiculous, I once spent about 3 weeks writing left-handed but it never got anywhere near anything resembling English unless I wrote at the pace of a 6 year old. I think it takes either a natural ability or endless practice to be handy with both feet, and I think most players will always have the instinct to try and use their strong foot.
If, by natural ability you mean genetically predisposed, then I would agree with you. For example, I was useless at cricket, yet I decided one day to completely copy John Edrich [a left handed opening batsman of the era] to get into the school team. I succeeded and played left handed from then on, but used to play either handed to left handed bowlers, just to annoy them. Years later, I went along to the excellent municipal golf course at the Sports Centre, in Southampton for my first go at golf. I hired right handed clubs and did OK. I went for weeks and got quite good, but then one day all they had was left handed clubs, so I hired them and was almost as good, first time round. I know it reads ridiculous, but I've always wondered why it is so difficult for some people to swap around.
At the age of about 13 I didn't allow myself to shoot or pass with my right foot for a whole season to enable my left foot to improve. It sort of worked but I think the progress with my right foot slowed which in a sense I guess narrowed the differential between the two.
I'm sure any one-handed cricketers will attest to how hopeless you feel trying to bowl wrong-handed. I bowl like a girl with my left arm, it's embarrassing.
