[Archived] Thick Footballers

[Cheshireblue]

Micheal Owen is a bright as a button. Very clever, very articulate and also very funny.

Mark Hughes is also very bright, and I seem to recall that Ian Dowie has a degree in quantum physics or some such like.

[FourLaneBlue]

Seem to recall that Terry Gennoe studied for a PhD in Biology (or something related to that) when he was at Rovers. There was an article in a Sunday Magazine with photographs of him posing in a lab with skeletons, jars with insects inside and so on. All the cliches about science and so on.

[cletus]

Chesh...."and I seem to recall that Ian Dowie has a degree in quantum physics or some such like."

Does that mean he can go back & forward in time & solve problems for allsorts of people?

[gumboots]

Can't do or Charlton wouldn't be bottom of the league

[bluebruce]

Mark Hughes does generally seem bright, but I saw a brief clip of him on some interview where he was asked a very basic mathematical question (I can't remember what it was, but it was extremely basic, something like 18 plus 8), and he cocked it up completely.

[philipl]

Ryan Nelsen amongst the current Rovers for academic achievement. Brad always comes over as a very intelligent guy.

[Drakefyre]

That's hardly surprising, considering neither of them were playing professionally until after receiving college degrees.

[Lathund]

Ryan Nelsen amongst the current Rovers for academic achievement. Brad always comes over as a very intelligent guy.

Was gonna mention those two. Aki Rihilahti seems sharp enough when reading his columns.

[RovertheHill]

Similar but slightly off-topic - the old but still great stupid interview comments

"If we played like that every week we wouldn't be so inconsistent" - Bryan Robson, Man U, 1990.

"That's great, tell him he's Pele and get him back on." - John Lambie, Partick Thistle manager, when told a concussed striker did not know who he was.

"Richard Keys : Well Roy, do you think that you'll have to finish above Manchester United to win the league ?" - Roy Evans : You have to finish above everyone to win the league Richard.

"If you can't stand the heat in the dressing-room, get out of the kitchen." - TERRY VENABLES, Capital Gold

"It's now 1-1, an exact reversal of the score on Saturday." - (Radio 5 Live)

"Football today, it's like a game of chess. It's all about money." - (NEWCASTLE UNITED FAN, Radio 5 Live)

"I'm not a believer in luck..... but I do believe you need it." - ALAN BALL

"Merseyside derbies usually last 90 minutes and I'm sure today's won't be any different." - TREVOR BROOKING

"Dumbarton player Steve McCahill has limped off with a badlycut forehead." - (TOM FERRIE)

"And I honestly believe we can go all the way to Wembley......unless somebody knocks us out." - (DAVE BASSETT)

"Strangely, in slow motion replay, the ball seemed to hang in the air for even longer." - (DAVID ACFIELD)

"What I said to them at half time would be unprintable on the radio" - Gerry Francis

"I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel" - Stuart Pearce (1992)

[bluebruce]

"That's great, tell him he's Pele and get him back on." - John Lambie, Partick Thistle manager, when told a concussed striker did not know who he was.

"

To be fair, that one's clearly just a joke. The thing about stupid comments out of context is they can be jokes rather than idiocy- and I bet a few of the things in this thread are like that.

[colin]

This is a bit old and completely not what was asked about.

From somewhere deep in the bowels of The Guardian

Footballers are generally regarded as being a bit thick and people such as David Beckham and Robbie Fowler do nothing to improve this image. During Euro 2000 I noticed that there are several foreign footballers who are graduates. Are there any current Premiership players, British or foreign, who have a degree or even a couple of GCSE's? wondered Daniel Davies

Take a bow David Weatherall, who has a first in Chemistry from Sheffield, and several ex-Southampton players, including Barry Horne (who also has a Chemistry degree) and Ian Dowie, who has some sort of business degree. Also on the roll of honour is Watford's Steve Palmer, who is - according to James Lowther - the only current professional footballer with an Oxbridge degree (an Msc in computing).

Those with professional qualifications include Gudni Bergsson, who is a qualified lawyer and plans to practise in Iceland when he retires (says Ben Dudley), and Phil Whelan, who has a degree in accountancy from the UEA (according to Steve Moore). And legendary 40-fags-a-day Brazilian striker Socrates was a paediatrician by training.

[cletus]

Not about 'thick footballers' this, but on the same radio show (christian O`connel breakfast show...virgin radio) the DJ asks members of the public to get 'famous' people to ring the show up for a natter.

This morning he said "we`ve got Blackburn Rovers all time top scorer SIMON GARNER on the phone. this guy`s scored more goals than Alan Shearer for Blackburn".

Simon said just a few words, but Cletus txt`d the show to say how impressed he was that they`d had the 'living legend' that is Simon Garner on his show. My txt got read out anole!

[Rovermatt]

I think the actual thing was someone asked JM to pass over the red sauce - to which he asked, "Which one, red or brown?"

I think Iain Dowie despite him looking otherwise actually has a degree relating to rocket science...

And I think I remember somone saying that Slaven Bilic has a law degree.

Bilic does have a law degree. Dowie has a masters in rocket science.

[broadsword]

That's obviously why the Charlie Tones are bottom of the league.

Buy some decent players, mould them into a team, send them out on a Saturday with the right tactics, get the win ... it's not rocket science is it?

Maybe if it was old Davros would be laughing.

[Rovermatt]

Along with Socrates, Tostao is also a doctor.

[Billy Castell]

Clever footballers (and managers)

1. Arsene Wenger: Speaks 5 languages, and has an economics degree

2. Oliver Bierhoff: Has an economics degree

3. Kasey Keller: Has a Sociology degree

[Radagast]

Hold on, I've got a Social Sciences degree and people don't think I'm that clever.

[Mark Atkins' Bald Patch]

Clever footballers (and managers)

1. Arsene Wenger: Speaks 5 languages, and has an economics degree

2. Oliver Bierhoff: Has an economics degree

3. Kasey Keller: Has a Sociology degree

Philip Senderos tops Arsene as he speaks 6 languages (English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Portuguese)

Not bad!

[Kai]

MARTIN KEOWN......

1. he was approached by a fan and his girlfriend. they asked- "can we please have a photo ?." keown then grabbed the camera and then photographed the couple !

2. he was once asked to sign a football. he wrote on a black panel, with a black marker pen !

I've heard that Keown is quite smart... I think he at least manages to speak French fluently and was almost like Wenger's interpreter when he first came to the UK to help him settle in.

[Rovermatt]

Keown has always come across as very intelligent in interviews.

David James is a very smart guy.

[rover_groo]

With reference to Jason McAteer being thick..........

When told that a friend's father, a cancer victim, had "died of the Big C." he replied "What ? He drowned !"

[broadsword]

That was Ian Rush.

And teh response was: "Oh, I thought he could swim."

[blue/white]

Mark Hughes does generally seem bright, but I saw a brief clip of him on some interview where he was asked a very basic mathematical question (I can't remember what it was, but it was extremely basic, something like 18 plus 8), and he cocked it up completely.

He did attend Stanford Univ. in Palo Alto, Ca. which is an outstanding institution. I'm not

certain if he's a graduate due to his footballing. It still speaks very highly of him.

I've heard that Keown is quite smart... I think he at least manages to speak French fluently and was almost like Wenger's interpreter when he first came to the UK to help him settle in.

It's his hands that hold him back.

Edited October 19, 2006 by blue/white

[hawaii501]

We all imagine that it's better abroad because the guys can usually speak English as well as their own language so we think they must have brains but it's not true. My daughter who lives in Munich said the most embarrassing interview she's ever seen on tv was Lucas Podolski and, I think, Schweinsteiger. She reckons she as a native English speaker speaks better German than either of them do.

The language problem with Lukas Podolski is that he is actually Polish, but plays for Germany.

[Drakefyre]

I don't think Hughes attended Stanford, but Ryan Nelsen graduated in 2001 with a degree in political science.

Go Cardinal!