What I'd want for Christmas if I played on grass

Dear Santa Claus...

That's a sexy boot, no? My football career died a bit of a death when I was 16 and discovered that hangovers were more fun when you had them in bed and not on a football pitch.

Being a bit of a flair player (go on, laugh it up), I opted for wearing a pair of skaggy old boots which had been worn by Paolo Maldini (seriously) more often than not.

These days, my only football is a weekly astroturf outing with a lad from work, a few media types and assorted celebrities.

But if I were out there on grass banging in 29 goals in 26 games these days, I'd be begging for these bad boys when jolly old Saint Nick flies his sleigh over Tooting this Christmas.

The good people at Adidas sent this over and I rather like the idea (and the look). It's the Adidas F50.9 TUNiT boot, a customisable yellow and black number - no pink nonsense here - which allows players to adapt their gear to conditions and playing style.

According to the press release:

"The F50 is the boot of choice for flair players up and down the country and is lighter, stronger and more durable than earlier versions. These customised boots help players feel confident when expressing themselves on the pitch, but more importantly, to ‘skin’ the defender in front of them."

If we assume the defender in question is Joleon Lescott, that brings us nicely on to the real reason I love this boot: Ashley Young wears it. If it's good enough for Ash, it's good enough for me.

Adidas has also launched its new Predators, PowerSwerve. They look pretty cool too.

If the Adidas people are reading, don't forget to let me know if/when these come out in astroturf version. I'd love to have a go, but I'll be buggered if I'm getting muddy at my age.