Elliott Collier (Unattached FC)

<p><a href="https://www.chicago-fire.com/post/2018/02/28/chicago-fire-soccer-club-signs-2018-mls-superdraft-picks-diego-campos-and-elliot" target="_blank">Chicago Fire has signed Elliot Colier for the 2018 season with club options for 2019, 2020 and 2021</a></p>

another Ole player

Ryan Thomas, Elijah Just, Callum McCowatt....., I was meaning another player to come from Ole

6ft 4 - big lad!

Gouldie would love him.

There's also a few of us playing for Brooklyn Masters

There are a few Olé players of various vintages in MLS teams or their affiliates at the moment. Adams, Brown, Colier, Gleeson...

Careful Lemon.  

Don't get sucked into the Rufer like world where anyone who once said hello to him or walked past a park he ran a session at is claimed as a WYNRS graduate.

Good feet for a big man must be one of the most over-used cliches in football. It's about time we realised that not all tall people lack skill, as much as all left feet are not cultured

Someone has cloned Peter Crouch

Peter Crouch is a legend...

What would you be in you weren't a professional footballer Peter?

hmmm, probably a virgin still!

Has some good skills as well.

There's a lot of small players with a rubbish touch too, see Appiah.

Zinedine Zidane had a good touch for a big man

It's a rubbish cliche

He also had a good headbutt!

It's a cliché from back when British centre forwards were often big brutes, frequently used at both the front and the back. Football has moved on as a game and any decent player needs to be good with their feet.

That's fair. He is good with his feet for a striker of any height then. Some very tidy touches that I wouldn't expect from most strikers at that level. Y'all are focussing on the "big man" bit too much and ignoring the "good with his feet" bit which is the point of the comment.

anyone dropped him a congratulatory email?

Collier is the same height as Patrick Viera, who had decent feet!

Scored in a pre season friendly against Tulsa Roughnecks. Chicago won 2-1

Video of goal here

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/world-game/101960630/kiwi-striker-elliot-collier-fires-for-chicago-fire-in-major-league-soccer-preseason

So, ball control's not part of a 'big man's' game?

If not, what are they doing on the pitch?

I think you just p1ssed Chris Waddle (188cm) off :-)

You can't deny that a 5'7 footballer is far more likely to have better ball control than a 6'4 guy. If someone were to graph ball control vs height there'd no doubt be a correlation

Shorter = lower centre of gravity = higher balance = better agility = easier control

Does everyone else think "good with their feet" just means dribbling though? >90% of football is played with the feet, so I imagine some people here are inferring it to mean having good technique in general, which has increased massively in importance for players in the traditional big guy positions. I think this is where Reg is coming from. 

On the bench as Chicago play their first MLS match this season against Kansas.

Probably more likely but its not due to physical limitations but more likely due to environment etc. From an early age kids who are taller end up being used in certain positions more than other positions because of their size. Mostly from coaches who are either keen dads helping out and lacking the sort of long term understanding or coaches who subscribe to historic ideas on positions and physical attributes. Because of that the taller kids all the way through their junior and youth years are more likely to experience coaching that doesnt value ball control and technique as much as they need.

Chicago lose 2-0. Collier not required but good effort to get a bench spot already. The Fire obviously see something in him. Good stuff.

Surely will be a part of the new NZ setup, especially given our lack of depth up front. Will be interesting if he accepts the call, or chooses to push for a starting spot in MLS. Given he's on the bench now, it could be quite a decision to make for him

Collier came on in the 87th minute to make his debut. Subbed on for Christian Dean.

Final score 4-3 to Sporting Kansas City.

Whoops must have been looking at HT score or something. Good for him. Any AWs call up should wait, plenty of time for that later.

All the MLS Kiwis can have a video link chat to the new AWs coach or something. Most need to prioritise their MLS careers over Canada game.

Another good young player that by-passed the Phoenix