Frédéric Veseli

I'm always right

Well considering he out-thinks many of the best teams in Europe, yeah he'd "probably" comprehensively out-think your 7-a-side team.

marjen

Well, perhaps not - but still, I see what people mean when they talk about Nani seeing a pass, a crossing opportunity or an opportunity to break through a defence which few others would do. That's perhaps more vision than football intelligence, but there you go.

Choosing the unconventional isn't necesarilly a bad choice if you know you've got the ability to pull it off more often than not - see Giggs for an example.

Plechazunga

He doesn't really, though

And Rafael certainly doesn't

Hectic

I think you are spot on about Rafael, but Nani is exactly the type of player I would say is a very intelligent footballer, and has shown on countless occasions that he has a very good football brain.

marjen

The through pass to Evra vs Arsenal is one example of a pass few others would pick out.

Anyway, as I said, it could be argued that Giggs makes multiple bad choices a lá Nani in a match, but just because the outcome or the execution of the choice was bad, doesn't mean it couldn't have paid off. Just because Giggs and Nani plays with higher stakes, it doesn't mean they are less intelligent than someone like say Fletcher(which has been mentioned).

I'm always right

VERY intelligent now?

So to have this famous "football brain" now on the caf, you have to be a VERY intelligent footballer. Well, only the top top bracket of players make it into this group.

Is Rafael an intelligent footballer, god yeah. Cantona, Keane, Rooney have all enjoyed a stamp or 2, or 3 or 4 and in some big games too, that makes them "rash" not lacking a "football brain".

Aside from him being a little rash, Rafael is an intelligent footballer for sure, that's why he's played so many games for Manchester United at such a young age.

And to emphasize my point, here are 2 guys with wonderful football brains:

I'm always right

Wtf?

Plechazunga

Giggs has a fantastic football brain, and quite often when it doesn't come off it's because the others aren't on his wavelength.

Put Nani in a 3-on-2 situation and most times he will choose the wrong option, whether it's to carry it or pass it, or which pass to play.

Vidic_In_Moscow

I think this 'football brain' term is nonsense and could quite easily be substituted for 'vision' or 'creativity' as that's what people seem to be getting at when they accuse someone of not having a 'football brain'.

I'm always right

Car crash of a post.

MikeUpNorth

That last point about the 3-on-2 situation is spot on.

I'm always right

The caf definition could quite easily be swapped with the word "cultured".

Plechazunga

Stamping etc. has nothing to do with this. It's not about temperament or having the intelligence, in the wider sense, not to get yourself sent off. Rooney has a fantastic football brain, as is evident from his passing, his movement, his understanding of when to put his foot on the ball and when to inject pace into a move, his ability when on song to control a game.

I think the problem here is that you don't know what the phrase 'football brain' means.

I'm always right

No it isn't.

Nani is brilliant in those situations.

Dion

People saying Rafael doesn't have a footballing brain are obviously ignoring how good his positioning and generally awareness has been recently. The fact I haven't seen the little midget get beaten in the air at all in quite a while shows he's thinking. As far as 21 year old defenders go he's got a great footballing brain.

I'm always right

Now we're getting somewhere. Let me do something:

"Rafael has a fantastic football brain, as is evident from his passing, his movement, his understanding of when to put his foot on the ball and when to inject pace into a move, his ability when on song to hugely effect a game from right back"

I think the problem here is still the same as it was to begin with, that you don't know what the phrase 'football brain' means.

What you mean is this:

Rooney, Scholes are cultured footballers.

Rafael and Nani are not.

"football brain"... pah!

marjen

I don't agree. If there is space, it's true that he might choose to dribble both players, or one of them, but then again, he'll almost certainly beat his man and either score or lay it off for another player.

In fact, I don't think I'd choose another player to have the ball in a 3 v 2-situation. Possibly Valencia. Nani's lethal in those sort of situations.

I'm always right

I certainly wouldn't want any other player in that situation. It was a bizarre post that one.

This beauty sprang straight to mind

Plechazunga

Rafael has (relatively speaking, obviously), a crap football brain. Happily he has loads of other great qualities.

Well now you're just quibbling with the terminology, regardless of your constant tone of smug superiority. For me 'cultured' has a slightly different connotation, though obviously the two overlap.

Players who get called 'cultured' tend to have a certain grace on the ball as well as other attributes.

You have to have to have a good football brain/intelligence to be called cultured, but not all players with a football brain are. Vidic, for instance, is an excellent reader of the game who makes consistently good judgements, but you wouldn't necessarily think of him as a cultured centre-half.

AVARiCE

Sorry gents, Nani's actually developed since you last saw him, which was apparently three season ago.

Good to see a good discussion about our new signing in here, btw.

Plechazunga

Obviously you can find examples of good decisions. People don't tend to make youtube clips of the many bad ones.

Fortunately he's a fantastic player in an excellent team, so he gets himself in a lot of good situations, and is able to rescue some of the ones where he's made a bad decision through a brilliant bit of skill or passing.

Hectic

Let's continue this strange debate in the other thread dedicated for it please.

Poor Veseli has suffered enough, and by the rate we are going, he probably doesn't have the neccessary intelligence to keep himself alive, let alone play football.

Football intelligence

Plechazunga

That's enough internet anyway.

golden_blunder

wtf? just when i thought you guys couldn't get any gimpier

Sw33t

Both cracking goals them

Hectic

There is no depth low enough for us.

marjen

No, there isn't. At least according to Pexbo in the sea creatures-thread.

Hectic

Sean_RedDevil

..

Anderson8

Sounds convincing.

forevrared

Isn't that what we did with De Laet? And Rafael Leao who still seems to be a body to do nothing but make up the numbers in the reserves.

Cling Bak

I came into this thread hoping to learn something about a player I'd heard little about, our new signing.

Instead it's pages and pages of discussion about footballing brains.

Not that I wish to get involved, but FYI all professional footballers are intelligent on the pitch. Just some more so than others. Shock horror.

Jimy_Hills_Chin

Bit like me that, just can't get the staff.

scholesy legend

Released by City. Must be for some reason. Most probably not good enough. I hope not. But nothing to lose anyway. Free transfer and short term contract.

Anderson8

Deleted his twitter after getting abuse from City fans for the reserve result

Stretch

City let him go as they not interested in developing youth. They buy them ready to go.

Jimy_Hills_Chin

That just isn't true is it?

I don't think that Brian Marwood thought

'this lad will be a World beater in 5 years time, it is just a shame that we are not interested in developing youth, why did we sign any of these youth players in the first place? oh well, contract terminated'

FlawlessThaw

Some players take a lot more work than others to be fair. If this kid is anywhere near the potential to be another John O'Shea then it is worth taking a punt at him.

Burrow

So yeah..

Maciek

If anyone wants to see him playing, he has just come on for injured Cole in the Reserves game against Bolton.

He's playing at right-back though.