K.D.D.D.D.Soc
Ian Walker
You've started something now.
-
Dear Guest, Please note that adult content is not permitted on this forum. We have had our Google ads disabled at times due to some posts that were found from some time ago. Please do not post adult content and if you see any already on the forum, please report the post so that we can deal with it. Adult content is allowed in the glory hole - you will have to request permission to access it. Thanks, scara
Football Intelligence
- Thread starter iggyfog
- Start date
You've started something now.
Bedfordspurs
Mark Falco
Well it’s true
People may not like him but his actual
Technique and control is miles better than a LOT of players we have
parklane1
Tony Galvin
I agree, i was lucky to be able to spend time at the Ajax academy for a spell and although they never had the coin they always had the youth players switching positions during their games both in training and in games against other sides.
Grays_1890
Chris Jones
I think this is a perfect summary of it, Sissoko has a poor technical level in my opinion but a high level of game awareness, his ability to spot danger is highly underrated
greatwhitenorf
Edgar Davids
Based on your past remarks, that's big of you.
MKSpur
Christian Ziege
It usually comes about a millisecond after he takes his first touch!
I think players who lack pace usually score higher in this area as they have to predict what is going to happen as they can’t just rely on reactions to defend a position / best a man. If the player is also small, even more so - These players also tend to have more longevity as they are not reliant on physical attributes ans possibly as less explosive / reactive suffer less injuries. I’d say some recent examples of high scorers in this area would be Toby and Jan, Modric, Sheringham, Kane and Beckham
Grays_1890
Chris Jones
I think sometimes its just something players have or dont too, something definitely in some players that can not be coached. That is why despite all the training in the world with some great coaches the success rate with players is so low.
Not entirely true. There are lots of drills to improve football intelligence and decision making. Technology has started to be used a lot as well, including VR to coach players in this area.
As far as I can remember Southampton is involved in using and developing this as well as some German teams.
From a quick Danny Rose: https://www.soccerdream.com/
Grays_1890
Chris Jones
Problem is there are not set ways you can prepare for a totally unique situation which is every game, you dont know what they other player your taking on is thinking and same when you are defending. There is a unique side to game you can not coach.
I don't know how they measure it but these tools have been shown to improve decision making and it is something that can be coached. The extent to which it can be coached is debatable and I have no idea how effective they are. Obviously, there are players that have natural football intelligence that are still going to be ahead of those that have to work on it.
Bullet
Andy Thompson
In terms of "football intelligence" every moment of every match is like one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books:
You are 1-0 down in a 2-leg quarter final against a really strong team, you have 7 men ahead of the ball, 4 of whom are very good in the air. There are 20 minutes of the 1st leg left to play. You know their left back isn't very tall, but their keeper likes to come out and claim crosses. You know your centre forward plans to pull out to that side and challenge him. You get the ball quite deep on your left side and you aren't brilliant at crossing with your left. You can either launch it up towards their left back on the edge of the box or try to nip inbetween those 2 opponents heading towards you, or make a square pass to your talented colleague, or lay it back to the keeper...
You are 1-0 down in a 2-leg quarter final against a really strong team, you have 7 men ahead of the ball, 4 of whom are very good in the air. There are 20 minutes of the 1st leg left to play. You know their left back isn't very tall, but their keeper likes to come out and claim crosses. You know your centre forward plans to pull out to that side and challenge him. You get the ball quite deep on your left side and you aren't brilliant at crossing with your left. You can either launch it up towards their left back on the edge of the box or try to nip inbetween those 2 opponents heading towards you, or make a square pass to your talented colleague, or lay it back to the keeper...
Bishop
John Lacy
Football intelligence is linked to how well the player deals with pressure. You can have all the technique in the world and understanding of how to react to a situation but if in that situation you wilt under the pressure you won't make the intelligent decision. The player will panic and make a poor choice.
You see it with Winks who is technically capable of playing progressive football but when the heat is on, when it really matters he wilts under the pressure and plays the safe ball. Which we might translate into lacking a football brain when in reality he just couldn't cope in the pressure situation and took the easy option.
Another example is with someone like Lamela who when push comes to shove will make the wrong decision pretty much single every time and with him I see it as he tends to combine moments. He runs with the ball into blind alleys without observing what is going around him. He puts himself under pressure to make something happen which leads to a kind of tunnel vision. With the end result being a pass when he should keep it or a dribble when he should pass.
Muller for Germany and Bayern is the exact opposite of this mindset. He was always at his calmest in the tightest of spaces and pressure situations. It's as if the game moves at slower pace for him so he can carefully evaluate all options and make the smart choice rather than the rushed pressure choice, that often fails.
MKSpur
Christian Ziege
I think Mourinho said that we are all good players when we have time on the ball!
For time slowing down in the box VdV was the man for me. What is it that gives elite sportsman the ice in the veins trait, is it self confidence? Is it not fearing the repercussions of missing? Muscle memory? I wish I knew as I go to pieces most of the time!
SteveAWOL
Chris Jones
I hope that Mourinho doesn’t adopt such minimalist team talks for our bunch...
Speaking on MNF, Rooney explained how Ferguson sometimes just used to say, 'Go and win the game,' for his team talks and let them get on with it.
"'You 11 players are better than their 11 players, go and win the game and work it out for yourselves on the pitch.”
"If we got a player sent off, the players would work out how we change the formation themselves on the pitch and if there was a problem the manager would change it. In the big games, that's where he'd get his tactics right."
https://www.sportbible.com/football...gusons-genius-man-management-methods-20180206
Speaking on MNF, Rooney explained how Ferguson sometimes just used to say, 'Go and win the game,' for his team talks and let them get on with it.
"'You 11 players are better than their 11 players, go and win the game and work it out for yourselves on the pitch.”
"If we got a player sent off, the players would work out how we change the formation themselves on the pitch and if there was a problem the manager would change it. In the big games, that's where he'd get his tactics right."
https://www.sportbible.com/football...gusons-genius-man-management-methods-20180206
Bishop
John Lacy
I think it's confidence in technique and being able to cope well under pressure. Some people flap when brick hits the fan, some handle it easily. It is like you say what separates the elite from the good and ok.
braineclipse
Steve Sedgley
I think a part of it is having excellent close control. Being able to look up, look around, get a view of the situation and being able to trust your first touch without having to focus just on the ball from the time it leaves your teammate until it reaches you.
It is and it isn't. There just isn't time to think through all of those things consciously before making a decision. Often I think some of the decisions are made on a subconscious level. I think that's partly why it takes players quite a long time to adjust to new systems, roles, positions. "Knowledge" of what to do is fairly easy, but far from enough. It has to become integrated to the point where it's useful in games without having to go through some decision making flowchart in your head.
Good awareness of what's going on around you, being able to get that from limited information and limited effort obviously helps. Automating that is going to be difficult.
braineclipse
Steve Sedgley
I think only a very limited amount of tactical information can be taken in and applied from a team talk. I think most of the tactical stuff takes place before the pre match team talk. The way I see it it's more about helping the players get in the right mental state to apply what they already know and can do.
Football intelligence is mostly developed over time, over an entire career from early on. The impact of specific instructions before a game or at half time I think is very limited.
Hard to second guess Ferguson on getting that right.