There are plenty of sports stars who transfix us with the ball in their hands or at their feet. The way they carry the ball attached to them as if by string keeps us similarly attached to our screens.
There are few however, who can keep us just as entertained when the ball is nowhere near them.
These are some of the most dangerous, the sleeper agents, deployed between the lines to disrupt and destroy opposing teams before they have even pulled the trigger.
Perhaps the best exponent of this in world sport is Steph Curry.
The Golden State marksman is by more-or-less all accounts, the greatest shooter of all time.
What really makes him such a killer however is his movement without the ball in his hands.
It truly is a spectacle to behold, Curry is impossible to pick up on defence simply because he just does not stand still. After receiving the ball, he offloads it to an available teammate and is off again, running past screens to lose his pursuer, creating space to receive the ball again or leave a teammate open.
It plays havoc with opposition defences because of his threat as a shooter, defences simply cannot afford to not follow him and leave him open given that he shoots roughly 50% from wide open threes.
Granted, this percentage doesn’t drop too much when shooting contested threes but with Curry it is very much a case of making the best of a bad situation.
The issue with the need to draw a defender out to follow Steph is the fact that this obviously leaves other teammates open to receive a pass from the man himself or without the ball even touching him in a move
Real power.
In football, the role of a second striker or false 9 often puts a heavy emphasis on this constant movement.
Manchester City put Kevin de Bruyne to work as their false 9 (more due to the refusal of Pep Guardiola to actually sign a backup striker) and he excelled.
Floating between the lines for City, de Bruyne caused absolute havoc with the Chelsea backline and midfield creating a loss-loss scenario for any player making the decision whether or not to follow him.
This position was utilised to great effect by France in the 1998 World Cup with Youri Djorkaeff bridging the gap between the midfield and the strikers perfectly.
The threat with this position is it means the defence are always unsure as to whether or not to pursue the drifting attacker and be pulled out of position- or – stay put and allow the player to have full control over the pocket of space which they inhabit.
Two of the most destructive and intelligent ‘movers’ in world football are Fran Kirby and Vivianne Miedema.
Miedema is probably the best striker in the world but to watch her is to watch a true all-round attacking genius.
She appears everywhere across the attacking third, dropping deeper to receive the ball, moving it on and maintaining a great economy of possession. All of this whilst prowling ready to pick up possession around the box, where there is no one better at finding the target.
December 1st 2019 was when this ability reached a zenith with Bristol City put to the sword. When they pressed Miedema she provided for a teammate to score, when they left her free, she scored herself, finishing with six goals and four assists.
She is 24.
At the weekend, Reading were on the end of a similarly dominant, intelligent performance from former Royal Fran Kirby.
Kirby is a striker by trade but flourishes in a slightly deeper role behind Sam Kerr and Chelsea are all the better for it.
Against Reading Kirby was involved all over the pitch both with the ball and without.
The uncertainty she created in her more withdrawn role meant she profited from Sam Kerr drawing the attentions of the Reading back line. Her first goal came through the perfect execution of such a situation, Kerr dropping deep and winning the flick-on which Kirby duly dispatched.
Just like Chris Gayle causing bowlers to bowl more illegal deliveries just through his disruptive presence at the crease, Kirby benefitted from similar chaos that her clever movement invoked.
Latching on to a loose pass out from the back, Kirby finished with aplomb, 20 minutes later she had a perfect hattrick after drifting away from her marker in the box. All of this came after finding a pocket of space and rattling the woodwork from distance.
So, turns out some of the best parts of ball games happen without the ball, who knew.
Just look up videos of any of the players mentioned here and you will not be disappointed.
Michael Vince on Sport 
Personally Fran Kirby is the one who can sort out Frank Lampards problems
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