Have the ball

[Kontol]

Does "have" in the following sentence mean "possess?" Liverpool possess the ball (a round object)

Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool (90mins +9)​

Liverpool have the ball and want to provide one final twist. They've got two minutes to rescue the win that looks as good as theirs.

 

[5jj]

They have control of the ball.

 

[Kontol]

Does the writer omit the word "control" here? They have (control) a round object.

 

[5jj]

No. The fact that the ball is a round object is irrelevant. Liverpool are, at that moment, controlling the play of the ball.

 

[SoothingDave]

Most, if not all, ball sports are about possession. You must possess the ball, work your way into scoring position, and then try to score.

In American football "time of possession" is an important statistic. If you had the ball for 40 minutes and your opponent had it only for 20, then you clearly dominated the play. (And hopefully got the points to show for it.)

 

[emsr2d2]

Does Did the writer omit the word "control" here? They have (control of) a round object.

Nothing has been omitted. In this context, it's clear what "have" means. That's not to say it wouldn't have been correct to say "They have control of the ball" but "control of" is not required. That's not the same as omission.

 

[Kontol]

Nothing has been omitted. In this context, it's clear what "have" means. That's not to say it wouldn't have been correct to say "They have control of the ball" but "control of" is not required. That's not the same as omission.

Can I also say "Liverpool possess the ball" instead?

 

[jutfrank]

Can I also say "Liverpool possess the ball" instead?

I say no. In football parlance, we don't use the verb 'possess' very much at all when talking about possession. Instead we use the verb phrases 'be in possession' and 'have possession'.

Liverpool are in possession.
Liverpool have possession.

Obviously, this is possession of the ball, and yes, a football is indeed a round object. (Though somebody should really let the Americans know. )

 

[Rover_KE]

To be picky, one of the Liverpool players has the ball.

 

[emsr2d2]

To be picky, one of the Liverpool players has the ball.

That's true but generally commentators either name the player or simply name the team.

 

[jutfrank]

To be picky, one of the Liverpool players has the ball.

Well, equally, the whole team are in possession, so the whole team collectively have the ball just as much as any one player does. In fact, say the ball is in the middle of being passed from one player to another—in such a case the team have the ball collectively even though there's no one single player who has it at his feet. So possession is about the whole team rather than just one player.