Burnley Defender Appears On TV Show Countdown And Joins A Long List Of Football Stars Excelling Outside Of Football

Burnley defender Clarke Carlisle appears on quiz show Countdown, where he will attempt to dispel the myth that footballers are, educationally challenged.

The 30-year-old said he fulfilled a "lifelong ambition" when he recorded his appearance earlier this month. Carlisle is a notable candidate for the show, having won Britain’s Brainiest Footballer back in 2002, and expectations are high ahead of his appearance on the words and letters game, presented by Jeff Stelling. He said: "It was fantastic. I know it’s a bit geeky but it’s fulfilled a lifelong ambition for me. "I am used to playing football and I have a routine for match day that copes with nerves and anxiety. "But sitting in front of that studio in front of the Countdown clock, Jeff and all the lights I was so nervous." Here are some more footballers with more than their fair share of brain cells. Carlisle is not the first player to go on Countdown. That honour goes to Neil MacKenzie, formerly of Notts County, who won five games on the trot in 2008, before eventually losing in the quarter-finals. Queen of the South midfielder Ryan McCann found the absence of a TV acted as a springboard into German philosophy. McCann said: "As daft as it sounds, I never even had a telly in my flat, and you don’t know how much you miss it until you don’t have one. When it’s not there you end up reading a lot of Nietzsche and things like that." Frank Lampard dispelled the myth that public schools are not on par with private schools boys. He passed 12 GCSEs, including an A* in Latin, and earlier this year it was reported he has an IQ above 150 enough to qualify for Mensa. Matthew Lawrence turned professional at 21, having completed a degree in American Literature at Hartwick College in the US. He went on to write a column in the Daily Mirror. He now plays for Crystal Palace. Former Barcelona man Oleguer Presas is arguably better at writing than at football. The economics graduate’s first book dealt with subjects such as childhood anorexia, the antifascist struggle and the Gulf War. He then courted controversy by questioning the validity and independence of legal and judicial processes in the Spanish state. Iain Dowie had all but given up hope of becoming a professional footballer after being rejected by Southampton as a 16 year old, so began to study at the University of Hertfordshire for a master’s degree in Aeronautic Engineering. On completion of his degree, he became an employee of British Aerospace before moving into football, and uses motivational books like ’Beyond Winning’ and ’Chicken Soup for the Soul’ in his managerial career. After Gudni Bergsson left Bolton in 2003, the defender began to study to become a lawyer, which he took up full-time after his retirement. He is also the president of the Former Players Association, in addition to his roles as a youth scout and presenter for Icelandic TV show ’4-4-2’. Theses are just but a few of the great things players have achieved during and after their playing careers.

Published 03/03/2010 | Ref: KRIS IRWIN

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