Brain vs. Football Brain

earthworm

earthworm

Jack Burkitt
This might be a shit thread, I dunno. I was thinking, you d'you reckon of the current Forest squad has the best "footballing brain"?

I think this little phase refers to things like awareness of where players are around you, picking the right pass, or being in the right place at the right time.

And, on a lighter note, who d'you reckon has the best brain full stop, that is, who if anyone strikes you as a clever bugger?

While we're at it, who's the biggest **** in either respect? So, that'd be who's the worst culprit for misplaced stupid passes and things, and who's generally just "da fickest innit" lol
 
Gunter, Earnie, Wilson and McKenna all have the best footballing brains. That is, they anticipate what will happen in front of them and are always one step ahead. Very important attribute which often goes unmissed by fans when judging players. On the contary, players like Morgan and Cohen have a limited footballing brain. They rely on strength and stamina respectively.

IQ wise, Cohen always sounds like a reasonably clever chap where as Dex sounds like he's just been smacked in the head by Calzaghe.
 
Worst footballing brain used to be Perch. Now it's Tyson. Out of the 'regulars' anyway.

Best is Earnie by a long shot I reckon.
 
RobbieLePop said:
Gunter, Earnie, Wilson and McKenna all have the best footballing brains. That is, they anticipate what will happen in front of them and are always one step ahead. Very important attribute which often goes unmissed by ... fans when judging players.
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(other)
 
RobbieLePop said:
Gunter, Earnie, Wilson and McKenna all have the best footballing brains. That is, they anticipate what will happen in front of them and are always one step ahead. Very important attribute which often goes unmissed by fans when judging players. On the contary, players like Morgan and Cohen have a limited footballing brain. They rely on strength and stamina respectively.
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Harsh on Cohen. He adapts very well to different positions almost every other week. The sign of an intelligent footballer, IMO, he takes up good positions as well when cutting in off the flank. I think Raddy is our brightest player in possession, he sees passes and angles that others don't. McKenna and Wilson are good out of possession, in anticipating things and taking up good defensive positions.

I think the majority of the lads that do interviews after the game sound reasonably intelligent.
 
I have no basis for this assumption, but anyone with the nickname Didz can't be that bright, can they? lol
 
Brain and footballer shouldn't really be used in the same sentence...Anyway, Gunter may have spatial awareness but the his stamp and 3 match ban shows he has little between the ears. Same for Camp with his distribution and Tyson for taking the wrong option every time. Ando is another in the thick brigade. Cutting in from the right when everyone is crying out for him to hit the byline and get a cross in.
For awareness on the pitch it has to be Mckenna. He makes up for his lack of technique and passing with some great organisational skills. Raddy probably has the best vision at the club but sadly it's wasted on the players he has around him.Cohen does a lot of unseen work and finds himself in the right positions most of the time.Not sure about Earnie. Isn't he just a livewire who shoots at every opportunity?
I think Lewis's brain is developing now from a mental age of 8 to about 14 this season. We could have the finished article in about 10 years.
 
I was really impressed by Bertrand's anticiapation and ability to see and find space on Tuesday night. The fact that although, he did not receive the ball as often as I would have liked to see, his swift positional sense dictated that Sheff Utd always had to react and use men to cover him.

ps good interesting and thoughtful thread
 
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sedgred said:
I was really impressed by Bertrand's anticiapation and ability to see and find space on Tuesday night. The fact that although, he did not receive the ball as often as I would have liked to see, his swift positional sense dictated that Sheff Utd always had to react and use men to cover him.
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I think one problem with Bertrand is that he is often too high up the pitch. Sometimes it'd be nice if he ran into the space to meet the ball. As it is, he is nearly always receiving the ball when he is facing our goal and is already marked, which is quite predictable.


I would also agree with what's already been said. McKenna, Wilson, Gunter, Earnie and Raddy have good movement, positioning and awareness. People might complain about things like McKenna hoofing the ball up the pitch, but when you've got little other option you end up doing what Wes has does a few times and what Chambers/Moussi did the other night - losing the ball in our own half and conceeding goals from it.

Anderson, Cohen and Blackstock are the frustrating ones for me. They do some very strange things and all of them were guilty of it on Tuesday night. A few times our players got forward onto loose balls and crossed it... to nobody. Very annoying!
 
lard said:
Nigel Clough ..............hate to say it
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Was thinking that too. Could have been class with a smidgeon of pace. Sherringham always stood out as having great awareness despite lack of pace.
In world football, Lothar Mattheus (although a miserable bastard) and Bergkamp both had outstanding "football brains"
 
adam09 said:
I think one problem with Bertrand is that he is often too high up the pitch. Sometimes it'd be nice if he ran into the space to meet the ball. As it is, he is nearly always receiving the ball when he is facing our goal and is already marked, which is quite predictable.


!
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Indeed another side of the coin, but this I atributed on Tuesday, to his anticipation and awareness moves him swiflty, into positions which several of our players do not seem to anticipate as quick, do not release the ball early and often leads to the position for Bertrand you highlight
 
I think Bertie is a great talent and his defensive decisionmaking is excellent for such a young defender. However, he's often looks a little bit clueless in the final third of the pitch. I think this is primarily down to a lack of confidence and experience though. With his pace and his ability on the ball he has the makings of being a really dangerous attacking fullback. At the moment though he often stops and dithers on the ball, although even this is visibly improving week-on-week.
 
He's probably wondering where the f*** the left winger is that would support him ordinarily... or why there's no bugger in the box when he's ready to cross :D
 
The Vicar said:
If only Stan Collymore had a football brain. He could have been the best striker in the world.
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I think his football brain was fine, it was his away-from-football brain that fooked him up!
 
WeAreNottingham said:
Lee camp by a mile.
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I guess Camp has been working on establishing changing his reaction to shots he can't catch. He used to mostly pat them back into the danger zone rather than push the ball wide. Lately he's doing more of the latter, he'll get my vote for 'brain' when he does it all the time.
 
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