Hi,
“The winger drifts in from his station on the right before playing a sensational through-ball, doing the entire Fulham backline with the eyes. They all went one way, he passed it the other,… A wonderful pass. Maybe he needs to be played in the hole…”
–1) “…doing the entire Fulham backline with the eyes.”[open in amazement?] or “doing them intentionally”?
2) “to be played in the hole…” = in a hole (in a difficult situation)?
Thank you.
I believe “doing the entire Fulham backline with the eyes” means fooling/tricking the Fulham defenders by looking in one direction but passing the ball in the other direction.
“the hole” is footballing jargon for a position on the field between the midfield players and the strikers.
(By the way, the “difficult situation” meaning is always “in a hole”).