I'm not really sure what's meant by intelligence in the context of football. I guess that you don't mean academic intelligence; if so I believe that the 2012 promotion winning side was probably more qualified (to do other things) than any other team we've had and the gaffer was held in high esteem by the local University. Of course, former manager Iain Dowie was famous for being a rocket surgeon so you have expected some intelligence there. It didn't help our survival prospects though.
It would be interesting to define what is meant by intelligence in context of football. It seems to me that it is most commonly associated with anticipation and decision making. People talk about players "reading the game". But there are a whole number of things to this, accurately estimating where (or where not) the ball is likely to go, second-guessing what your opponents might do in any given circumstance, prioritising the biggest threats (for defenders), seeking out the best opportunities (for forwards), being aware of your colleagues' capabilities, thinking about how to achieve the same outcomes whilst expending less energy, having an awareness of the rules of the game, awareness of time and circumstances, awareness of psychological factors and knowing how to lift your own and others' spirits, understanding different strategies and knowing which tactics are more likely to be effective in any particular situation. That's quite a few things off the top of my head and I am sure that there are many other things that could be described as intelligence in the context of the game.
If these are the sorts of things you have in mind then it's difficult to disagree that they are important. I think though that just as in wider life the concept of general intelligence has largely given way to specific and multiple intelligences it may be useful to think like this for football. My other concern with the use of intelligence as a term is that it implies some sort of conscious cognitive effort. I'm not sure it is always like this. There's quite a bit of evidence that the better players (at least some of the really gifted ones) don't consciously think through what they are doing whilst playing, instead they seem to have an innate sense of what to do at any given time. I'm not sure if this sort of 'intelligence' that you have in mind. Are we looking for players that can think things through, players that have some sort of innate skill that is beyond the rest of us or some mixture of the two?
I find the whole 'football intelligence' thing fascinating. From experience of coaching (for a short time) 10 year olds, I think its a spectrum and players fit into various categories. One kid on my team is a different class to the others - I actually asked him the other day what he thinks before making an inch perfect pass or reading what the opposition might do - his response was 'I don't think coach, it just happens'! On top of that, he's very analytical and will ask me when he looses the ball - 'how do I make sure that doesn't happen again, would it be better if I did xyz'. So I guess he's the perfect combination of natural, innate intelligence and a willingness to deliberately analyse every aspect of the game. Many of the rest seem to be able to learn the analytics (to varying degrees) if they are constantly reminded. Others just don't engage their brain at all and rely on pure athleticism. It's really interesting to watch and if I stay in Canada long enough, will be keen to see how the different traits develop as they get older.
I reckon the two are connected in that the more he knows, the better his instinct will be as it's ultimately an instant reaction based on previous experience. I remember understanding very little of what I was being told, just stared at the coach blankly while thinking about scoring a cracker. When the tactical understanding came, I was technically shit. So many regrets!
As an athlete he is relatively slow and short, but his intelligence and footballing brain propels him above pretty much everyone. One of the most intelligent footballers I've ever seen at Charlton.
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I think Guy is going for balance here, ability, athleticism and football intelligence.
As an athlete he is relatively slow and short, but his intelligence and footballing brain propels him above pretty much everyone. One of the most intelligent footballers I've ever seen at Charlton.