Christmas? Done and dusted. That was followed up by two epic match days of EPL football, it has certainly been a feast of the football kind in the past week! And as we gear up for another big day of EPL on Thursday (well, bar the rather delicious Swansea vs Liverpool clash later today), there is no better way to get your head in the game than with a good old boot spotting from The Instep! Usual procedure guys, you know what you have to check it out.

Bacary Sagna (Manchester City) – Nike Mercurial Superfly IV

Bacary Sagna Manchester City SF IV edited

There has been a lot of mid-season chopping and changing between boots for players this season, and Bacary Sagna is the latest player who has grabbed for a new pair of boots. The full back has made the change to the Superfly IV, even though he has been wearing the Magista Obra this season (he has gone from one Dynamic Fit Collar boot to another, so I guess he has not gone too far). Sagna has only recently been wearing Nike boots though, he spent quite a bit of time with Puma before moving to Nike. We are glad we got a photo of Sagna in the 1st half of the game against West Brom though, boot spots were near nigh impossible with all that snow they had later in the game…

Theo Walcott (Arsenal) – Nike Mercurial Vapor X

Theo Walcott Arsenal Vapor X edited

Sure, we have not seen much of him since the Superfly IV got launched (man, he has been out for ages with injury), but in the few snippets we have seen Walcott, he has been wearing the Superfly IV. However, the road to recovery has seen the winger trade in the Superfly for it’s Dynamic Fit Collar-less brother, the Vapor X. He joins a large number of players who keep opting for the Vapor X, and while myself and Andrew love the Superfly ourselves, the growing number of pros in the Vapor X does tend to say something about the general feeling about the Superfly…

Tim Cahill (Australia) – New Balance

Tim Cahill Australia NB edited

Sure, the pros over in Europe are getting their whiteout or blackout boots brandished with NB on the side, but it seems Timmy Cahill has not quite had his pair sent over in the post yet. The Australian talisman is still going with the plain white-out NB boots as Australia start getting ready for the Asian Cup, but it would be in New Balance’s best interests to get Cahill’s boots to him as soon as possible, considering the diverse audience that will be watching the Asian Cup starting up in a few weeks time.

Paul Pogba (Juventus) – Nike Magista Obra (Custom)

Paul Pogba Juventus Nike Magista Obra custom edited

Good old Paul Pogba, this kid always gives me a good boot spot every few weeks too. Off the back of rocking a custom Magista Obra and the Predator Accelerator Instinct, the Frenchman has hit up NikeiD once more that nails down his love for stunningly simple boots. This time, he has gone for a predominantly red boot that has been finished off with a white Nike tick and a black Dynamic Fit Collar and outsole which he debuted in Juventus’ loss to Napoli in the Supercoppa Italiana held in Doha (yeah, bet you would not have called Doha hosting that 10 years ago).

Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading) – adidas Messi mirosar10

Hal Robson Kanu Reading Messi F50 edited

We have probably seen way too many Messi F50 adiZero releases this year (think it is 7 by my count), but there always seems to be a player or two that picks up on the trademark boots of the little Argentine wizard. Hal Robson-Kanu is the first player we have seen wearing the latest Messi release, the mirosar10, which pays homage to Messi’s upbringing in Rosario. It may be the last Messi boot based on the current F50 though, as we are expecting the next generation F50 to be coming out in the next month or so.

Arouna Koné (Everton) – Nike Mercurial Vapor IX

Arouna Kone Everton Vapor IX edited

Arouna Kone…now that is a name I have not heard in a little while. The striker has played less than 10 games for Everton since his transfer from Wigan at the end of the 2012/13 season, that probably explains that then. He scored his first EPL goal for Everton yesterday in the Electro Purple Vapor IX, one of my personal favourite colourway releases for the Vapor IX. We are pretty sure that more game time will see Koné splash out for some more updated boots, but until then, it is nice to see the Electro Purple Vapor IX hit the pitch once again.

David Carney (Newcastle Jets) – Asics

David Carney Newcastle Jets Asics edited

There is more to Asics than just running shoes, but not a huge amount is known about Asics’ soccer boots. While they do have a pretty loyal following in Australia and Italy, the rest of the world has not quite caught on to Asics’ boots. David Carney’s Asics seem to be constructed from a leather upper, and their relatively low profile design probably means his boots are not overly heavy, and while we do not know what they are called, they are a rather fascinating boot either way.

That is it for our boot spotting today, what was your favourite spot this week? This will be the last boot spotting of 2014, so this is my opportunity to say thanks to you guys for sticking around. I know I am prone to the occasional clanger in my articles, but I still enjoy doing the article each week for you guys, the readers. Catch you in 2015!

 

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