Over the past few seasons, and going back a bit further for most other clubs at this level, i think it's fair to say that we have seen a concerted effort for players to play a more possession based style of play, more build up, movement, cutting between the thirds, pulling the opposition out and exploiting pockets of space, it doesn't seem to work for the majority of clubs at our level, differing degrees of success and all that, but it got me thinking about intelligence levels and speed of thought in order to execute that kind of style of play.

There are younger more progressive managers (in terms of footballing style) coming through, have been since Pep revolutionised the game with Barca, certainly in the modern era. The question i ask myself is are these coaches and managers intelligent enough to play in a way that emulates the greatest players and coaches on Earth? I suppose that it is always best to emulate the greatest, raise standards, improve individuals and the team, but are the majority of championship players capable-is footballing intelligence the same as the intelligence needed to be the best and most innovative at whatever a person does for a living, at the highest level?

People like Pep are borderline genius, out there by themselves, they can take brilliant players and make them world beaters,they can add another dimension to their game, plus, these players are clever to start with-The question is, what are we and others trying to achieve?

Shouldn't we as a club work towards getting the best out of the players in terms of intelligence and ability, make it easier and more comfortable for them? Strike some kind of balance between good football and well worked play and not overloading poor-average players with things that they will never achieve, or do we as a club employ the likes of Morison, Hudson, etc just because they have completed the paper work and have an admiration for a style of play that is incredibly difficult to carry out when the staff employed aren't bright enough to carry it out, and i include the coaching and managerial staff in this.