As my old Uncle used to say, ‘Beware of cheap imitations’. Yes, Ransacker may have only been showcasing the best in boot warfare for the past three months or so, but in that short space of time we have become widely regarded as a stud-startling information source for great reviews, features and trivia on the latest boots, plus more importantly, the insight and information that all savvy footballers need in order to know where to pick up the best deals online.
In those short months we have sniffed the insole of the footy boot market, peeled soggy mud off the soles of the best sale items, and most definitely tightened the laces of those manufacturers seeking to baffle and bamboozle with tough terminology.
At Ransacker, we break down the boundaries and call it straight. If a boot smells of cat wee, then we’ll tell you it smells of cat wee… and this year, quite a few have!
So it is with great pleasure and no small amount of head-scratching, that Ransacker presents its 2008 Boot Of The Year Awards. Remember, unlike some other online reviewers, we have no allegiances to manufacturers – we’re 100% independent, dedicated, and more than a little bit daft.
First, the Minor Awards:
RANSACKER ‘BOOT WARS’ WINNER
Over the past few months Boot Wars has seen some of the world’s best footballers go head-to-head in the ultimate soccer showdown. We’ve been taking Premier League, Championship, UEFA Cup and La Liga fixtures and mercilessly pitting players (and their respective boots) up against each other like mere puppets of fate. With a crack team of performance analysts at the ready, we’ve assessed how each boot has compared when in combat, and the results have been astounding… well, astounding to anyone with a medical over-reaction to statistics.
The end result, and still unbeaten this season, is that the Ransacker Boot Wars 2008 Winner is the Puma V1.08, with honourable mentions also going to the Joma Imperial, Nike Mercurial Talaria, Umbro SX Valor, and Adidas F50 TuniT.
RANSACKER ‘BEST LOOKING BOOT’ WINNER
For every great design this year there has been a ludicrous one. Black, white, pink… think of any colour, add any logo, and the chances are you can find that boot somewhere on the market. A category that will divide opinion across the sport, from the simplistic and traditional adidas adiPure, to downright outrageous Puma V1.08 designs, to the chic simplicity of the Nike Mercurial Talaria, there have been so many to choose from.
But with all the voting complexity of the Countryfile Calendar of the Year Competition (and yes, even Jo Brand helped out), the winner of the 2008 Best Looking Boot Award is the Nike Mercurial Vapor SL . Dashing, dynamic, daring, and displaying the kind of danger that you’d associate with one of its biggest fans, Ronaldo.
RANSACKER ‘BOOT LONGEVITY’ WINNER
Boot longevity, for the player whose team goes into Cup matches playing for penalties; for the player so intensely keen on the beautiful game that he wants to compete in the league, League Cup, Charity Cup, County Shield. Heck, he even turns up for pre-season friendlies and testimonials. If you are that man, you’re going to need a boot that lasts, and 2008′s Simon Cowell cleat (so named because it never seems to tire or go away) is the Nike Total 90. This boot seems to have been around for an age, and while Nike have made subtle adjustments in the Laser, Shoot and Strike models, the winning formula has been maintained. In an age where there’s money to be made from constantly offering footballers new footwear to showcase, it’s rather telling that the likes of Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres and many others have stuck steadfastly by their 90s.
RANSACKER ‘BMW BOOT’ WINNER
The BMW Boot is one bought by the few for the plain fact that it’s a decent boot, by lauded over by many because it’s brash, ballsy, a boy-about-town, and for the most part, totally unnecessary. While it won’t end up on the hard shoulder, most wearers may find themselves steering into the central reservation of boot politics, with an assured arrogance that would put even Nicolas Anelka to shame. Soccer celebs and cleat catwalkers step forward, because the BMW Boot for 2008 is most definitely the Nike Mercurial Vapor IV. And no more needs to be said…
RANSACKER ‘COMFORT IS KEY’ WINNER
Scoring a hat-trick is all very well, but not being able to walk for the next two or three days due to severe blisters could be considered something of a downside. The launch of the Nike Mercurial Talaria seemed to have offered the industry the ultimate sculpted boot, but for sheer design know-how, and the kind of background knowledge and experience that you’d only otherwise associate with an episode of QI, Ransacker’s Comfort Is Key 2008 Winner is the Adidas Predator PowerSwere. We’ve been here before with this cleat, and doubtless we’ll be back again, but it’s quite simply a superbly built boot. End of.
RANSACKER ‘UNCOOL BUT ULTIMATELY A GREAT BOOT’ WINNER
Fair enough, you wouldn’t want to turn up for a footy game in your Dad’s 1982 Kelme boots, but sometimes we’re all guilty of style over substance. If you’ve grown tired of judging a boot on how many colours it’s available in, or on how dense the boffins in the lab have declared the 100% kangaroo leather uppers, then maybe it’s time to get back to basics. Sometimes there are boots that do the job in the old-fashioned way… heck, some are even black, and for us the one model that has stood out above all others this year for being a sturdy, unspectacular cleat, and a boot that calls-a-spade-a-spade-even-though-it-can’t-call-a-spade-a-spade-because-boots-can’t-talk-though-I-suppose-they-do-have-tongues-don’t-they… is the Mizuno Morelia boot. Basic, unpretentious, and with an aforementioned tongue that doubles as an advertising billboard, this is a boot from the very core of professionalism. Japan’s finest export.
And now for the big one:
RANSACKER ‘BOOT OF THE YEAR’ OVERALL WINNER
So now we come to the crunch. Individual awards have been dished out like broken cutlery at a Greek wedding, but who is left holding the bone china, and who the 1980s Tupperware?
As usual, our manufacturers have bombarded us with new designs, science, technology, and endless messages telling us how great we can be if we pull on their latest clogs. But if you still end up playing more like Old King Cole than Joe Cole, fear not. Football is a lifestyle, and when you slip on that pair of boots you are signing up to the best club in the world. You’ve got style, grace, energy and passion, and as heavy as your feet may be feeling on a sodden Sunday morning, that frame of mind will carry you to the loose ball on the right flank, glide you effortlessly across the playing surface when tracking back to defend, and help you believe that you really can get your laces around that spinning ball, hammering it into the roof of the net.
Football is belief, and one boot has stood out more than any other this year for pure faith in the game, and that’s the Nike Mercurial Vapor IV.
Hated by some, adored by most, it’s incredibly lightweight, sheer, clinical and fast, with a comfort threshold only previously reserved when you’ve discretely slipped on your Mum’s fluffy slippers… or maybe that was just me.
In a range of colours that have waved two fingers at the footy traditionalists, and with glowing endorsements for all who have bought into the Vapor’s footy revolution, this is without doubt the best boot of 2008.
Other Recommended Reading
- Ransacker Running Shoe Awards 2008
- Welcome to the Ransacker Football Boot Blog
- Ransacker Running Shoe Awards 2007
- Boot Boffin: Nomis Glove Football Boots
- Ransacker Rated: Umbro SX Valor II Football Boots
About the author
James is an experienced football journalist who edits two leading Premier League club mags. He has worked for Sky Sports and is endlessly complaining about shin splints. And Mark Lawrenson. His favourite boot is the Adidas Predator Powerswerve. Although it's rumored that he once owned a pair of Nicks boots!
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