The Better you get at football, the easier it is to play?

Think about it.

When most of us play for Sunday league we play on shite pitches, with shite balls and have no time to do anything with the ball or else were kicked in the air by some lunatic charging at us.

When most footballers play in professional leagues they play on great pitches with great balls and seem to have plenty of time to do what they want.

Now obviously they deserve to be playing where they are, but still.

Wait what the fuuu

So if a Sunday League player played in the Premier League he'd be able to hack it?

The best players create their own time and space, they can do it on any pitch, and at any level.

I agree. When I played for Bradford on nice flat training pitches I was really good but as soon as I came back to Sunday League the pitches were shocking and I struggled as it's sooooo much harder for technical players to play on these kind of surfaces.

Danny wrote:So if a Sunday League player played in the Premier League he'd be able to hack it?

No, i'm saying that it's more annoying that the further up you get the easier it seems to play. Like premier league teams seem to get plenty of time on the ball. When Sunday league play people just charge you down

Jay wrote:The best players create their own time and space, they can do it on any pitch, and at any level.

This.

Mc Babel wrote:

Danny wrote:So if a Sunday League player played in the Premier League he'd be able to hack it?

No, i'm saying that it's more annoying that the further up you get the easier it seems to play. Like premier league teams seem to get plenty of time on the ball. When Sunday league play people just charge you down

Because they can take a first touch and get the ball under control quicker. In Sunday league these charging buffoons expect you to take longer on the ball

Well playing for Southend United U16's atm, I can tell you that in Sunday League they charge at you like a headless chicken as the game is so fast paced compared to playing with Tactically-minded players that are more about marking and pressing, not just about getting the ball and hitting it 40 yards to there lanky striker.

Errrrrrrrrrrr no

It's not easier to play against a higher standard of player. If you placed a top attacking player against a team who "charged you down", that team would end up with like 5 men sent off.

When I was playing for a semi professional team a sunday league pub match was like a holiday. I've never had so much space or time in my entire life. Sure the pitches weren't all that great, but we could litteraly just walk with the ball, pass it around for fun, and still win by a hell of a lot.

I once saw Rosenborg player Per Ciljan Skjelbred play against a pub team, and I don't think I remember seeing him tackled a single time, one turn and and he was away

The point on the pitch is very true.

I know for a fact the quality of football would go down drastically if you were to move a professional team to pitch on the park. It's actually a health hazard. I've played on pitches where there are like potholes that you can fit your whole foot in. If your foot goes in that while you're at full pace, you're fucked.

Also, striking a ball is about knowing where the ball is and your brain telling your foot to kick in that location. If the ball is rolling then it's about your brain making a judgment about where the ball will be when your foot arrives at the ball. This becomes 10x harder when you're not on a flat surface. You don't just have to judge how far the ball will roll, you have to judge if the ground is higher/lower, whether it will hit a hole and bobble.

When I played for united I had all the time in the world, scored 30 goals a season with ease... I dropped the divisions and struggled! Unfortunately my PS3 crashed and I had to start again

Its true but if you can handle a shit pitch then you will play better on a full sized pitch. Brazilians play in fucking sand or marshes or any old surface and I believe this helps them when they play on proper pitches.

Mc Babel wrote:

Danny wrote:So if a Sunday League player played in the Premier League he'd be able to hack it?

No, i'm saying that it's more annoying that the further up you get the easier it seems to play. Like premier league teams seem to get plenty of time on the ball. When Sunday league play people just charge you down

I know exactly what you mean. Once you get the ball, the players just go charging at you at will. Once you get your first touch they are already right there

Typically playing in shitty fields improves your touch with all the potholes. It looks like professionals have time because they press, if not they'd get blown by.

Ben wrote:I agree. When I played for Bradford on nice flat training pitches I was really good but as soon as I came back to Sunday League the pitches were shocking and I struggled as it's sooooo much harder for technical players to play on these kind of surfaces.

Funny you should say that it was also the Bradford pitch I played on that I first realized how much easier and better it was to play on

Were you a part of the youth teams or just a youth trialist ?

The pitch is definitely a big thing.

Played on Colchesters pitch like a month ago and I got groin strain and lots of other injuries in just 75 minutes.

I know players do come charging at you at times in Sunday league games, but it's probably that the better teams can find and exploit the space left by these players. So higher quality sides defend more as a team so the opposition doesn't just cut right through you.

When I was at school in Poland, some Cracovia Krakow players came to the school's field once to train as their training pitch was waterlogged or something and our school's was the only proper pitch they could find in short notice.. The coaches let some of the reserve players play a practice match against the school footy team, the school's team looked like the aformentioned raging barbarians but the Cracovia players just moved to the side, turned, moved the ball out of the way et cetera before the raging bafoons even got near them.

Only guy that didn't look out of place was a guy that if Facebook is correct, is currently playing professionally in the Polish second division.

It is a difference of class.

Jelavic18|RFC wrote:The pitch is definitely a big thing.

Depends how short you are.