"Fastest player in the league"

[Pogue Mahone]

Who is the fastest footballer in the Premier League - Ronaldo, Lennon or AJ?

No it's not pixie pacemen Aaron Lennon or Shaun Writh-Phillips - amazingly both of them are slower than Sunderland's big man, Kenwyne Jones, who is fourth fastest.

Less surprisingly the Premier League's speed king is Manchester United's Ronaldo, who has been clocked racing to the ball at 20.9mph and run with the ball - obviously, not dribble, but more of a kick and chase - 0.1mph faster.

The sprint parade top 10, commissioned by Nike and put together by Opta Sportsdata, is as follows (the first figure is to the ball, the second with it):

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd): 20.9mph -- 20.8mph
2. Andrew Johnson (Everton): 20.6 -- 20.7
3. Fernando Torres (Liverpool): 20.5 -- 20.6
4. Kenwyne Jones (Sunderland): 20.7 -- 20.2
5. Ashley Young (Aston Villa): 20.4 -- 20.3
6. Aaron Lennon (Tottenham): 20.6 -- 19.6
7. Cameron Jerome (Birmingham): 20.3 -- 20.1
8. Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea): 18.9 -- 21.2
9. Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth): 20.4 -- 19.2
10. David Bentley (Blackburn): 20.0 -- 19.8

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...tml?in_article_id=514146&in_page_id=1779&ct=5

Not sure I buy this to be honest. Should really be "Top 10 fastest attacking players, sponsored by Nike". All a bit meaningless, when you exclude non-NIke players and defenders.

Still, some interesting results in there. Who would have thought that Bentley was quicker running with the ball than Lennon or Defoe?

And how the hell is SWP so quick with the ball but so slow without?

 

[rimaldo]

can't see how these figures can work, you surely can't be quicker running with the ball than without it, or we would see olympic sprinters dribbling down the 100m track to get quicker times.

 

[Ekeke]

Agbonlahor has somehow been missed out... He's faster than Young thats for sure and would possibly be 2nd or 1st on the list.

 

[Solius]

Wright-Phillips, Johnson and Torres all run faster with the ball ay..

and yeah where is Agbonlahor?

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Agbonlahor has somehow been missed out... He's faster than Young thats for sure and would possibly be 2nd or 1st on the list.

There's a head to head, between him and Lennon on the Nike website. Haven't watched it, so I don't know who won. Dunno why he's been excluded from the top 10.

 

[Raven Blade]

How about who is the fastest player overall? They should do a test with everyone, not just Nike players.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

can't see how these figures can work, you surely can't be quicker running with the ball than without it, or we would see olympic sprinters dribbling down the 100m track to get quicker times.

I reckon that's because they are still accelerating when they reach the ball, give it a kick, then run the 2nd part of the course faster than the first?

The people who are faster without the ball are probably hitting top speed before they reach the ball but unable to sustain that pace afterwards.

 

[demapples]

Wright-Phillips, Johnson and Torres all run faster with the ball ay..

and yeah where is Agbonlahor?

Sponsored by Reebok. Maybe.

 

[Scholesy]

Anderson would be up there

 

[RedRonaldo]

I thought Martins is the fastest.

 

[Solius]

Micah Richards, Evra, and Clichy are all pretty nippy too, or is it just strikers.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Micah Richards, Evra, and Clichy are all pretty nippy too, or is it just strikers.

I think it's just strikers. Strikers who also happen to be sponsored by Nike.

Hence my quotes round "fastest player in the league"

 

[GE]

Hargreaves claims he's the fastest player in the United squad i remember him mentioning it on Soccer AM's TeamMates.

 

[GlastonSpur]

There's a head to head, between him and Lennon on the Nike website. Haven't watched it, so I don't know who won. Dunno why he's been excluded from the top 10.

Lennon won. He was very fractionally slower without the ball, but significantly quicker than Agbonlahor with the ball - and so judged to be quicker overall.

But this Nike so-called speed test is pretty meaningless, as it just used two types of test amongst many possible. It ignores (for example):

* sprint speed from a standing start in a straight line over 15m, or 25m or 50m

* top speed when running flat out in a straight line

* reaction times to any given event

There were also several quick players not even tested by Nike. Darren Bent, for example, has clocked up an Olympic standard time over 100m.

 

[FortBoyard]

Darren Bent, for example, has clocked up an Olympic standard time over 100m.

really? Olympic standard when was this?

unless of course you mean Olympic standard for the Faroe Islands Sprint squad.

 

[demapples]

There were also several quick players not even tested by Nike. Darren Bent, for example, has clocked up an Olympic standard time over 100m.

What time would that be?

Sub 10.50 would be Olympic standard and I don't imagine he's that fast. Or is he?

 

[Dyslexic Untied]

I`ve always thought Kolo Toure was fast as hell.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Hargreaves claims he's the fastest player in the United squad i remember him mentioning it on Soccer AM's TeamMates.

He did say Ronaldo was away at the time, to be fair.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Lennon won. He was very fractionally slower without the ball, but significantly quicker than Agbonlahor with the ball - and so judged to be quicker overall.

But this Nike so-called speed test is pretty meaningless, as it just used two types of test amongst many possible. It ignores (for example):

* sprint speed from a standing start in a straight line over 15m, or 25m or 50m

* top speed when running flat out in a straight line

* reaction times to any given event

There were also several quick players not even tested by Nike. Darren Bent, for example, has clocked up an Olympic standard time over 100m.

Eh? We're talking about footballers here, not clay pigeon shooters.

 

[Merman]

silvester

 

[Spammy]

Well, it's obviously piffle, isn't it.

 

[B Cantona]

Surely John Utaka deserves a mention, he is lightning?

Honestly, I cannot see how anyone is faster than Aaron Lennon. I've seen him a couple of times in person, and he scares me. So tiny, but the speed he can reach... I wouldn't want him crashing into him at full pace. He frustrates me in an England shirt, he could roast any full back alive with sheer pace alone, but a bit like Giggs and his dribbling, he often seems a little reluctant to use his gift

 

[Ekeke]

Lennon being so small probably tricks the eyes a little. Though his tiny little legs move so fast, does he really cover more ground than the likes of Kenwyne Jones in full flow?

I haven't seen him in person however.

 

[GlastonSpur]

Eh? We're talking about footballers here, not clay pigeon shooters.

Reaction times are key in almost any sport. In football I'm talking about reaction times in relation to things like a pass played ahead (or behind) you, a deflected ball, a defender's mistake, a rebound off the cross-bar etc.

It's a question of mental alertness as well as physical reaction time.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Surely John Utaka deserves a mention, he is lightning?

Honestly, I cannot see how anyone is faster than Aaron Lennon. I've seen him a couple of times in person, and he scares me. So tiny, but the speed he can reach... I wouldn't want him crashing into him at full pace. He frustrates me in an England shirt, he could roast any full back alive with sheer pace alone, but a bit like Giggs and his dribbling, he often seems a little reluctant to use his gift

I think I've mentioned this before but I was listening to a footy podcast where they had one of the GB sprint coaches talking about how they could improve football training.

He was asked if he's ever watched a Premier League footballer and though he could give them some useful tips on how to improve their sprinting?

Without a moment's hesitation he said "Araron Lennon". Apparently his running technique is absolutely shocking, feet pointing the wrong direction, badly timed arm pump, poor body position, the works.

Yer man reckoned he could get him 10-15% quicker "at least" with a bit of coaching. Which is a scary thought.

EDIT: Before anyone else cracks the obvious joke, I used to go out with a girl who had the same problem with a "badly timed arm pump"

 

[GlastonSpur]

What time would that be?

Sub 10.50 would be Olympic standard and I don't imagine he's that fast. Or is he?

When he was a schoolboy athlete he ran the 100m in 10.5.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Reaction times are key in almost any sport. In football I'm talking about reaction times in relation to things like a pass played ahead (or behind) you, a deflected ball, a defender's mistake, a rebound off the cross-bar etc.

It's a question of mental alertness as well as physical reaction time.

All true. But why not expand this to include shooting accuracy and spring? We're talking about speed across the ground here, let's try and keep this on-topic.

 

[GlastonSpur]

.. We're talking about speed across the ground here, let's try and keep this on-topic.

Reaction time is a part of any comprehensive speed rating. If a player reacts (e.g. starts running) to a given event a few hundredths of a second quicker than the average, it will obviously improve his overall speed rating compared to to average.

 

[Raven Blade]

Players with height like Kenwyne Jones or Adebayor should have an advantage over players like Lennon. The one with the shorter legs needs to work harder to keep up with their long strides. Now if the longer legged players sprinted as hard as the shorter legged players they would not be caught.

 

[CapeTownRed]

Surely John Utaka deserves a mention, he is lightning?

Honestly, I cannot see how anyone is faster than Aaron Lennon. I've seen him a couple of times in person, and he scares me. So tiny, but the speed he can reach... I wouldn't want him crashing into him at full pace. He frustrates me in an England shirt, he could roast any full back alive with sheer pace alone, but a bit like Giggs and his dribbling, he often seems a little reluctant to use his gift

Eh? I've always thought that Giggsy ran and dribbled with the ball at every opportunity.

 

[wancolos]

What a load of cack.

 

[Ronaldo07]

The list doesn't just have Nike players. Defoe and Wright Phillips both are sponsored by adidas for a start

 

[REd FUn DevIl]

Adebayor is pretty fast also.

 

[KingEric7]

Lennon won. He was very fractionally slower without the ball, but significantly quicker than Agbonlahor with the ball - and so judged to be quicker overall.

But this Nike so-called speed test is pretty meaningless, as it just used two types of test amongst many possible. It ignores (for example):

* sprint speed from a standing start in a straight line over 15m, or 25m or 50m

* top speed when running flat out in a straight line

* reaction times to any given event

There were also several quick players not even tested by Nike. Darren Bent, for example, has clocked up an Olympic standard time over 100m.

Aye. I'm sure Ronaldo Luis has been clocked at an absolutely phenomenal speed previously. Not sure where i read that.
Dennis Rommedahl was ridiculously fast. If i remember rightly, he has been clocked at signifcantly under 10.5 in the past.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Apparently James Vaughan (Everton) once ran 100m in 11.3 sec.

When he was 13 years old

 

[B Cantona]

Eh? I've always thought that Giggsy ran and dribbled with the ball at every opportunity.

He's a different player these days and clearly doesn't run at his man so much. But even back in the day, yes when he took his man on he beat him, but he'd go through phases I guess of confidence lacking, and stop doing it. I remember fergie even commenting on it on several occasions. Particular time that comes to mind is the period just before he produced that magnificent display away at Juve when we beat them 3-0 - a night I had the great fortune to be present. That night he was classic Giggs, but previously he'd been poor and stopped running at his man. In fact I think he started on the bench against Juve and came on early due to an injury? Certainly there were heavy links with him and Inter at the time, and a lot of United supporters were thinking it made good financial sense to sell

 

[68-99-08]

Nedum Onuoha is a fast motherfecker. Never knew Bentley was that quick.

 

[Gio]

Lennon won. He was very fractionally slower without the ball, but significantly quicker than Agbonlahor with the ball - and so judged to be quicker overall.

But this Nike so-called speed test is pretty meaningless, as it just used two types of test amongst many possible. It ignores (for example):

* sprint speed from a standing start in a straight line over 15m, or 25m or 50m

* top speed when running flat out in a straight line

* reaction times to any given event

There were also several quick players not even tested by Nike. Darren Bent, for example, has clocked up an Olympic standard time over 100m.

I agree that this test aint the best.

Bent doing 10.5 for 100m - is this genuine? After all, a hand timed 10.5 is often the equivalent of 10.8 or more.

A 10.5 at school level would put him among the very elite, but there's no mention of him here .

Agaghowa is lightning.

 

[Dreaded]

Ronaldo's 100m time would be 10.75 with the ball!!!!

 

[Alex]

silvester

Good call, he was faster than Henry in his prime