Author Topic: Are they wingers?  (Read 1364 times)

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Offline usedbustickets

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Are they wingers?
« on: December 23, 2013, 12:27:50 PM »
The term winger is often used to describe the modern day 'wide' player, but are they?  For me the key skill for a real winger is the ability to not only get past the defender (by use of or dribbling) and then get to the bye line and CROSS the ball into the box for team mates to get onto.  Sadly in the modern game you do not see that skill that was used so effectively by such great wingers as John Robertson (my personal favourite in the position) Steve Heighway and George Armstrong.  Today the wide player plays to come inside and if they are going to cross it is more likely to be done 10 yards back and further from the bye line.

Does the lack of ability of the modern wide player to cross the ball from the bye line mean that they are not (indeed deserve not to be called) a winger?



Offline KKOB

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Re: Are they wingers?
« Reply #1 on: December 23, 2013, 12:35:55 PM »
Most modern day footballers are whingers !

Offline usedbustickets

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Re: Are they wingers?
« Reply #2 on: December 23, 2013, 12:40:22 PM »
You aint too wrong with many of them in the modern game, but the question is are they wingers?

Offline Scunner

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Re: Are they wingers?
« Reply #3 on: December 23, 2013, 13:00:28 PM »
If they play on the wing, they are wingers  :)

Offline usedbustickets

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Re: Are they wingers?
« Reply #4 on: December 23, 2013, 13:03:54 PM »
Aye and there's the rub, are they playing on the wing in the modern game, or simply playing wide?

Offline KKOB

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Re: Are they wingers?
« Reply #5 on: December 23, 2013, 14:07:28 PM »
Depends on whether they've passed the square ball or gone deep.

Offline tiggsy

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Re: Are they wingers?
« Reply #6 on: December 23, 2013, 15:43:09 PM »
Todays wide players often double up with an attacking defender, over lapping going forward then tracking back to cover in defence. Some can deliver a perfect cross from the line, the majority can't seem to get the ball past the first defender. Game play and tactics are fashionable and can change every year or so. I guess out and out wingers will return in due course.

Offline Scunner

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Re: Are they wingers?
« Reply #7 on: December 23, 2013, 15:54:25 PM »
I don't recall too many wingers that fit the UBT description above - not English and recently anyway. We seem able to produce the ones that go flying down the wing, reach the bye line, then deliver a cross into row G behind the goal. Stuart Ripley was fabulous at that in his Blackburn days, only possibly surpassed since by Stewart Downing. I'm sure others can add to those two.

I too was a big fan of John Robertson, maybe begrudgingly Marc Overmars too.




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