Football Daily | Iliman Ndiaye, Harlem Globetrotters skills and sobering stats

3 hours ago 5

YOU’RE TELLING US THERE’S A CHANCE?

If you haven’t seen the clip of Iliman Ndiaye snatching a soul at Everton’s training ground with some sort of reverse bouncing nutmeg, it’s a good watch. In executing a move so nasty that it would have been better suited to a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition match, the skill immediately shut down what was meant to be a lighthearted kickabout to end what had been – up to that point – an illuminating interview on how amateur players can earn a second chance at making it after being released by professional academies.

Ndiaye, who played Sunday League football directly before being signed by Sheffield United at 19, is expertly placed to be interviewed on the matter. “Don’t focus on the rejection and one day your luck is going to come through,” he told the BBC and Kevar March-McKenzie – an 18-year-old rejected by Coventry City – shortly before deploying said ninja move on his victim, in doing so perfectly illustrating the gulf between the Premier League and amateur footballers he had been attempting to dispel.

Ndiaye isn’t the first professional footballer to take things that little bit too far. Prime Michael Owen gleefully humiliating a 13-year-old goalkeeper in front of a smouldering Neville Southall is obviously the gold standard in this particular niche – “GAME, SET AND MATCH: OWEN” – but the former Liverpool man is far from the only offender. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have reduced toddlers to actual tears with a series of brutal nutmegs, although Football Daily is sure the latter was at least inspired by the Japanese player’s social media disgrace caption – “this frustration makes a person stronger” – and the accompanying hashtag of #friendship.

Kagawa’s former Dortmund teammates Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the good grace to lose their match against 100 children when the trio lined up during the half-time break of their farewell game for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that included Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso were not so generous when they took on 109 Chinese kids in a similar experiment. But back to the start. It’s estimated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing organised youth football in England will ever play in the Premier League, a sobering statistic for toddlers and teenagers across the country. Here’s hoping March-McKenzie channels the spirit of Lloyd Christmas to achieve his dream.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

Football took me but it never abandoned me because I never abandoned my dream. I went from place to place. The love of football carries you. I couldn’t always see where it was taking me. But today I have the answer” – Serbia coach Veljko Paunovic takes time out from his preparations to kindly get his chat on with Sid Lowe and do a nice set of snaps outside Wembley.

Nice to hear that Kevin Mac Allister isn’t going to be left home alone by Argentina (yesterday’s Football Daily). Hopefully, if he goes to the Bigliest Most Peaceful Cup next year, he’ll read up on how to get about the host cities – wouldn’t want him to end up lost in New York” – James Humphries.

Big Website reports that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been suspended due to alleged involvement in a betting scandal. It would be fantastic if that number could be bumped up to the same level of typical pedantry associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my math, that’s about 33 more pedants. If I volunteer to be banned from playing professionally in Turkey (not a huge sacrifice at my age and, um, skill level), are there 32 more folks willing to join in my search for symmetry?” – Mike Wilner.

As a daily reader and Florida resident, can I proactively complain about the upcoming week-plus of published letters about which highway one uses to get to various locations in your island nation (yesterday’s Football Daily letters)? I mean, I was caught in a traffic jam on I-4 at 2am on a Tuesday night driving through Orlando once, but that’s the whole story. There’s no rewarding moral to the tale. (I-4 connects Tampa on the Gulf Coast to Daytona on the Atlantic via Orlando/Walt Disney World, and can have traffic issues at any time)” – Rasteen Nowroozi.

Apropos Wythenshawe FC (yesterday’s Football Daily letters), I recall many years ago playing for a Sunday, very social side, Turnpike Lane Hibs, on Clapham Common. One morning a bloke introduced as ‘Danny’ turned up to play. I have no idea who brought him along. Apparently he was an actor; he had a useful left foot. (Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis)” – Jason Steger.

Together with some colleagues and friends, I play a game of football each Friday afternoon. Our oldest player is pushing 80, while the youngest are in their late-20s. To ensure a good time for everyone, we have a simple rule of thumb regarding the quality of player: you can be fast or skilled, but preferably not both. We occasionally have players who violate this rule, but usually manage to drag them down to our level over time” – Lars Esbjerg.

Send letters to [email protected]. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winner is … James Humphries. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, can be viewed here.