SLOWEST PLAYERS ( past and present)

[LittleMissAlexa]

Reply to Rane

Fast players are Rhythm players you can screw their game up playing slowly thats why Ronnie didnt take his chances

[rivercard]

Slowest players? Hmm, lets see:

Current players:

Peter Ebdon - kinda obvious, although the way he played against Ronnie was exceptionally slow even for him
Rod Lawler - often described as 'methodical' which usually means 'very slow'
Rory McLeod - can be a real grinder
Dave Harold - aka Mr. Is-my-TV-broken / Why-did-the-stream-stop; it's his pause before the shot that makes him very slow

There are a few who can really slow things down if they want, but can be quite fluent as well (Selby, Hamilton, McCulloch, etc.).

Past 'masters':

Cliff Thorburn - The Grinder - enough said
Terry Griffiths - liked to walk around the table a lot
Robbie Foldvari - never seen him play snooker but a heard/read a few horror stories (unrelated, but with a surname like that he must be of Hungarian descent)

[Looki]

Ebdon's not even slow... People always think his game against O'Sullivan in WC 2005. Mind games, probably. But it worked

[FOXMULDER]

We all play faster or slower depending on how comfortable we feel, including ROS. I don't believe it was deliberate and it didn't look that way to me. Ebdon didn't look in good form when you consider the poor position he was playing, he looked like his head had gone to be honest...

It was deliberate if you ask me...

Ebdon has a history of doing it (particularly against O'Sullivan). Whenever he plays a fast player he tries to slow them down, especially in a longer matches. And especially towards the end of the match.

When it gets to the end of the match Ebdon starts taking 2 minutes to think about simple pots. Of course, he will say it's the pressure and situation making him play like that. In reality though he knows what he's doing. It's all about making his opponent lose concentration and get angry.

[hotpot]

I remebmer Dean Reynolds getting warned for slow play by the ref .

[circle]

I remebmer Dean Reynolds getting warned for slow play by the ref .

Indeed lol and i also remember Dean reading a newspaper while his opponent was at the table..........i think he was trying to say something!

Robbie Foldvari - nice bloke - but no list of slow players would be complete without his name being near the top! And I would have Ian Williamson up there too.

[LittleMissAlexa]

Foldvari is a world champion at pool imagine playing someone that slow at pool

[JIMO96]

McLeod, Harold, Hamilton & McCulloch are the 4 worst culprits for me. Any snooker statistician will tell you that when you compile the rankings, it's always one of this lot that are involved in the last match to finish, meaning the rankings can't be finalised until they're done.

It's the negativity that annoys me more than the slowness....the nestling safeties, the tip-tap into the reds, the dirtying up of frames so as to frustrate the opponent, rather than beat them by doing something positive. These guys are one huge advert for shot-clock snooker becoming the norm, and snooker would benefit from a rule change to discourage this type of play. (the "hit a cushion rule", from the Shootout, is a good start!).

It's disappointing in both Harold and Hamiltons case, both class acts and capable of sustained heavy scoring. Where did it all go wrong?

[rivercard]

Foldvari is a world champion at pool imagine playing someone that slow at pool

Actually, here's a video of him playing 9ball (he's the bald one):

http://vimeo.com/15299297

They play 3 racks in 35 minutes and in two of them they pot the 9ball with other balls still on the table..

[LittleMissAlexa]

If someone played that slowly against me in pool id be just looking for plants to get the rack over with

[FOXMULDER]

McLeod, Harold, Hamilton & McCulloch are the 4 worst culprits for me.These guys are one huge advert for shot-clock snooker becoming the norm

No. No. GOD NO! The day the shotclock becomes the norm is my last day as a snooker fan.

However, I wouldn't mind a time limit on matches [that's matches, not frames]. This wouldn't disadvantage anyone and would help TV scheduling.

[circle]

McLeod, Harold, Hamilton & McCulloch are the 4 worst culprits for me. Any snooker statistician will tell you that when you compile the rankings, it's always one of this lot that are involved in the last match to finish, meaning the rankings can't be finalised until they're done.

It's the negativity that annoys me more than the slowness....the nestling safeties, the tip-tap into the reds, the dirtying up of frames so as to frustrate the opponent, rather than beat them by doing something positive. These guys are one huge advert for shot-clock snooker becoming the norm, and snooker would benefit from a rule change to discourage this type of play. (the "hit a cushion rule", from the Shootout, is a good start!).

It's disappointing in both Harold and Hamiltons case, both class acts and capable of sustained heavy scoring. Where did it all go wrong?

Im sure Anthony has asked himself this question many times.