One kept hearing and reading that this season was supposed to mark the return of defense — a subtler skill and an acquired pleasure — as a dominant story line, after two decades in which relentless slugging had rendered the game "generic," in Bobby Cox's estimation.
And he began to demonstrate a quality that would mark his later career: a subtle political skill, a soft touch that helped smooth out arguments and move deals along.
He conveys Raymond's dependence on routine and habit with subtle skill and fills his performance with expressive detail: one notices the way his hands trace the outline of a menu as if in search of security.
The difference is that, quite apart from using his own intimidating physique to impressive effect, Bony's game is much more about guile, cunning, subtle skill and intuitive positional sense than Altidore's.
You start to feel the subtle skill.
Only 33,859 people were present, low by United's standards, despite what the Guardian called "a breathtaking spectacle replete with dramatic incident, subtle skills and half-a-dozen excellent goals".
In one of his best-known books, "Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances" (2002), he replaced the popular image of the powerful "I can do it all" team leader with that of someone who, as he wrote, had the subtle skills "to get a team established on a good trajectory, and then to make small adjustments along the way to help members succeed".
Could Tuilagi and Burrell, both direct runners, play together without the team missing the silkier, more subtle skills of a traditional passing 12? "The logical feeling in rugby now is, get your best players out there," says Farrell. "And that means your best players at centre might be much of a muchness.
KEVIN LOVE 6-10, U.Center Center A big man with great hands and subtle skills; also physically imposing in the paint.
