Post by QPR Report on Jan 16, 2009 8:08:56 GMT
According to The Times - although of course, this is "education" level as opposed to bright people who might not have gone to university.
Ben Smith/The Times - Football's top ten clever clogs
He may not be able to go a season without making a glaring goalkeeping error or two, but when it comes to matters of the mind David James certainly sees himself as one of football's true academics.
After all it's not every day that you hear a Premier League goalkeeper quoting Isaac Newton. When asked whether Pompey fans should boo Harry Redknapp, their former manager, when they face his Tottenham side on Saturday, James offered this response: "As Isaac Newton said 'there is an equal and opposite reaction to every action'. I think it is a celebration of his birthday this week, a hundred years or so."
Profound indeed David, and to spare your blushes we'll skirt around the fact that Newton was born some 366 years ago on January 4.
Anyway here are our brainiest footballers. Let us know if there was someone we weren't clever enough to include.
1. Steve Palmer
It's hard to top the academic achievements of Mr Palmer, the former Watford and Ipswich defender, who can boast to be the only professional footballer in the modern era to have gained a degree from Cambridge University. It may be in software engineering, but impressive none the less, and extremely useful when the kids' PlayStation goes on the blink.
2. Shaka Hislop
The former West Ham United goalkeeper is right up there in the ranks of football's brainiest men. Not only did he graduate from Howard University in Washington DC with an honours degree in mechanical engineering, but he was also an intern at NASA.
3. Iain Dowie
Some would say that managing a football team is not rocket science, but Dowie probably wishes it was. He may have been sacked by a string of football clubs but before that Dowie graduated with a master's degree in engineering from Southampton University. He also worked for British Aerospace while playing for non-league Cheshunt.
4. Steve Heighway
The 1970s was a time when footballers were footballers and men were men. So that makes Steve Heighway's degree in economics from Warwick University even more impressive.
5. Socrates
Shares his name with a Greek philosopher and the comparisons don’t end there. As if captaining one of the most entertaining Brazil sides of all time wasn’t enough, Socrates also completed doctorates in medicine and philosophy.
6. Frank Lampard
The former pupil at Essex public school Brentwood was more than just a whizz on the football pitch during his formative years. The England midfielder walked away from school with 11 GCSEs, including an A-star in Latin.
7. Arjan de Zeeuw
The former Wigan and Portsmouth defender is no slouch when it comes to mind games. He has a degree in medical science and is planning to go into sports medicine when his football career is over.
8. Slaven Bilic
The former West Ham defender has got his Croatia side out of jail once or twice and it seems he has all the qualifications to do just that. Bilic has a law degree and is reportedly a fan of reading American psychology books in his spare time.
9. David Wetherall
The former Bradford and Leeds United defender boasts four A grades at A-level as well as a first-class degree in chemistry from Sheffield University. Bradford supporters acknowledged his brain power during a game against Rochdale last March by turning up wearing lab coats.
10. Brian McClair
The former Manchester United striker has a degree in mathematics from the University of Glasgow.
timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2009/01/footballs-top-t.html
Ben Smith/The Times - Football's top ten clever clogs
He may not be able to go a season without making a glaring goalkeeping error or two, but when it comes to matters of the mind David James certainly sees himself as one of football's true academics.
After all it's not every day that you hear a Premier League goalkeeper quoting Isaac Newton. When asked whether Pompey fans should boo Harry Redknapp, their former manager, when they face his Tottenham side on Saturday, James offered this response: "As Isaac Newton said 'there is an equal and opposite reaction to every action'. I think it is a celebration of his birthday this week, a hundred years or so."
Profound indeed David, and to spare your blushes we'll skirt around the fact that Newton was born some 366 years ago on January 4.
Anyway here are our brainiest footballers. Let us know if there was someone we weren't clever enough to include.
1. Steve Palmer
It's hard to top the academic achievements of Mr Palmer, the former Watford and Ipswich defender, who can boast to be the only professional footballer in the modern era to have gained a degree from Cambridge University. It may be in software engineering, but impressive none the less, and extremely useful when the kids' PlayStation goes on the blink.
2. Shaka Hislop
The former West Ham United goalkeeper is right up there in the ranks of football's brainiest men. Not only did he graduate from Howard University in Washington DC with an honours degree in mechanical engineering, but he was also an intern at NASA.
3. Iain Dowie
Some would say that managing a football team is not rocket science, but Dowie probably wishes it was. He may have been sacked by a string of football clubs but before that Dowie graduated with a master's degree in engineering from Southampton University. He also worked for British Aerospace while playing for non-league Cheshunt.
4. Steve Heighway
The 1970s was a time when footballers were footballers and men were men. So that makes Steve Heighway's degree in economics from Warwick University even more impressive.
5. Socrates
Shares his name with a Greek philosopher and the comparisons don’t end there. As if captaining one of the most entertaining Brazil sides of all time wasn’t enough, Socrates also completed doctorates in medicine and philosophy.
6. Frank Lampard
The former pupil at Essex public school Brentwood was more than just a whizz on the football pitch during his formative years. The England midfielder walked away from school with 11 GCSEs, including an A-star in Latin.
7. Arjan de Zeeuw
The former Wigan and Portsmouth defender is no slouch when it comes to mind games. He has a degree in medical science and is planning to go into sports medicine when his football career is over.
8. Slaven Bilic
The former West Ham defender has got his Croatia side out of jail once or twice and it seems he has all the qualifications to do just that. Bilic has a law degree and is reportedly a fan of reading American psychology books in his spare time.
9. David Wetherall
The former Bradford and Leeds United defender boasts four A grades at A-level as well as a first-class degree in chemistry from Sheffield University. Bradford supporters acknowledged his brain power during a game against Rochdale last March by turning up wearing lab coats.
10. Brian McClair
The former Manchester United striker has a degree in mathematics from the University of Glasgow.
timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2009/01/footballs-top-t.html