One of the problems with copying the keepie uppie tricks is that the ends of your fingers just don’t bend the right way to act as feet. Not without corrective surgery, anyway. So I created my own little boots to help me. Here’s a little film of them in action.

One of my mates has been critisising my drawing abilities - so he made his own player. I never claimed to be an artist - just a sportsman! I love his shot though. Can you tell who it’s supposed to be?

Shame he can’t do any of the moves though. He’s all looks and no talent (like a number of premiership players I could mention!)

I’ve been working hard on my ball control. I used the boardroom table after a late night meeting yesterday. Playing on something that size is like the difference between 5-aside and a full sized pitch. I’d have kept going if the cleaners hadn’t disturbed me. They gave me some funny looks, I can tell you!

My father always used to tell me to use the right tool for the job. (He also used to tell me that Leighton Orient were a great team - but we can overlook that for now.) So I’ve been trying out different types of ball to see what works best. Most of these were done with stuff from the office stationery cupboard.

The Post-It note
This is what I started with. If you don’t roll it round enough it can be a bit random.


The Post-It note with elastic band
The weight of this feels pretty good. The rubber outside also helps to grip the surface of the table. It’s particularly good for practicing ball control


Sticky tape
The tape they’ve got in the office isn’t actually very sticky. So this didn’t work for me at all. The ball wouldn’t hold together! Your office may not be as stingey as mine. It’s worth a bash if you’ve got decent tape.


Packing tape
Not too bad. But a bit skiddy for my liking. Ooh! I am a fussy one, aren’t I?


Masking tape
It takes a few attempts to make a round ball with this stuff. But it feels pretty good. It’s quite heavy and you can make it pretty smooth.


Rubber bands
Making this ball was very therapeutic. I can imagine it taking over from basket-weaving in care homes. But the ball felt a bit heavy and had too much bounce in it for my liking.


Marble
Ouch!


White tack
The blue stuff is just the wrong colour! This is the easiest ball to make. It’s a bit too heavy for keepie uppies but it’s great for dribbling. If you find it too sticky, just roll it on the carpet to pick up some fluff!


String
Alright for weight - but too slippy on my desk. It just didn’t have enough grip and it kept unravelling as well! It might be alright if I coated it with rubber glue. But there wasn’t any in the stationery cupboard!


Fluff
A nice little ball of fluff from the inside of a cushion or collected from a colleagues jumper can make a good trick ball. Wrap it lightly in thread and it’ll travel slower and pick up more air.

Like most football fans I'll often spend idle moments fantasising about being on the pitch myself. I'll dream about scoring the winning penalty in the FA cup final. Imagine myself curving the ball into the top corner of the net from the half way line. Wonder what it feels like to run onto the pitch to the roar of a capacity crowd. But whereas most football fans keep it all in their head - I moved the fantasy onto my fingers.

So a few weeks ago I was watching a film of one of those football jugglers on the web. I just love what these guys can do with their feet! So I thought I’d have a go at doing some of that stuff with my hands. I kept slowing the film down to get a better look at what they were up to. So here's my attempt at some freestyle fingerball. Hope you like it.