daft question: who is club captain?

[mrkint]

forgive me for being silly but who is the captain? I was expecting there to be an announcement, or something, over the summer. Is it just a given that Zatyiah has taken it over from Cyril?

[Lost Leopard Spot]

forgive me for being silly but who is the captain? I was expecting there to be an announcement, or something, over the summer. Is it just a given that Zatyiah has taken it over from Cyril?

I think he is. But equally, I don't think anything is official as such, yet.

[ChrisC]

Zat has had it in pre season and it was passed to Eagles when Zat was subbed last game.

Dougie said in his Q&A that he would take his time picking his captain and see who was willing to put themselves on the line and give their all for their team mates.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Andrews had it first two games didn't he? And again when Eagles went off (after Knight did).

Small but important thing: I don't think we'll have a "club captain" any more, just a captain of the team on the day. Which is fine by me: club captaincy is a nice meet-the-kids ambassadorial role but it becomes a problem when it's assumed that the club captain is undroppable.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Back in the day, we had a club captain (McGinlay) and a team captain (Bergsson). The roles are different.

A good team will have several leaders, who will not be afraid to raise their voice or make a point if it helps the team. By all accounts Dawson didn't stand on ceremony – Zat Knight has been quoted as saying he was good to play with as he was always talking - and I suspect Freedman has had this kind of temperament in mind while recruiting. I would hope that Baptiste would add more of that, and Tierney seems the type too, while Andrews is also a leader.

[Whookam]

Captain means feck all, as it should.

[boltonboris]

The on-pitch captains role, isn't anywhere near as important as is made out.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

All I'm saying is that changing who it is every few matches will, at least in my opinion, cause fragmentation and division between the various "captains".

I think you're jumping at shadows. I'm not advising we have a different skipper every week - it might just be Knight or Andrews, depending who's playing. But if Knight is ceremonially anointed captain (as opposed to just being given the armband at Burnley) it makes it that bit harder to drop him.

Captain means feck all, as it should.

Tell it to Cruyff, who flounced from Ajax to Barcelona when the Dutch club decided - democratically, of course - that he shouldn't be captain. Not that Tato Martino will be beckoning big Zat to the Camp Nou if Dougie picks someone else, although it would allow Clive Tyldesley to keep mentioning "Zat Knight in Barcelona".

[borgetti_wanderers]

Is it just me who's created a conspiracy theory in my head that he hasn't announced the captain yet because he plans on bringing in Dawson / Spearing and making them captain?

Just me? Thought so.

[boltonboris]

It's possible..

[Lost Leopard Spot]

It's not. Spearing isn't returning. I rest my reputation as a top notch prognosticator and seer on that assertion.

[boltonboris]

It's possible that he might be waiting on somebody. Not neccesseccesarily one of those 2

[Lost Leopard Spot]

It's possible that he might be waiting on somebody. Not neccesseccesarily one of those 2

Now, on that assertion, I can agree wholeheartedly.

[PC1978]

The on-pitch captains role, isn't anywhere near as important as is made out.

It isn't always, but it can be if you get the right captain. Just look at that dirty Irish cvnt who played for the red scum. He made other players play up to his standards and he led from the front.

[boltonboris]

I think the fact that they all played for Manchester United make them play to his standards to be honest.. They tend to be better than most at football.

It's a positive thing off the pitch, but on it? Nah, doesn't really matter too much in my opinion

[PC1978]

I think the fact that they all played for Manchester United make them play to his standards to be honest.. They tend to be better than most at football.

It's a positive thing off the pitch, but on it? Nah, doesn't really matter too much in my opinion

You need the kind of player to be vocal, put his body on the line and run the extra yard when needed. Why not make a player like that your captain?

[boltonboris]

Well, you would make him captain obviously. But if you need somebody on the pitch like that to carry the rest of them, you're signing the wrong type of players.

[bobo the clown]

I think the fact that they all played for Manchester United make them play to his standards to be honest.. They tend to be better than most at football.

It's a positive thing off the pitch, but on it? Nah, doesn't really matter too much in my opinion

I don't think who they CALL the captain matters, but having someone who organises, leads, directs and won't let other players drift off or lose the plan is important.

It's clear that someone like, say, Cahill, never had that. Other players, maybe of less talent, do. Dawson certainly brought that to the table when he joined and it made a big difference.

[Harry Genshaw]

Tell it to Cruyff, who flounced from Ajax to Barcelona when the Dutch club decided - democratically, of course - that he shouldn't be captain.

Didn't that happen when he left Ajax for a 2nd time to go not to Barca but to Feyenoord?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Tell it to Cruyff, who flounced from Ajax to Barcelona when the Dutch club decided - democratically, of course - that he shouldn't be captain.

Didn't that happen when he left Ajax for a 2nd time to go not to Barca but to Feyenoord?

'73, wasn't it? The mardy arse.

On captains, Allardyce always said there were two types: those who led by troop-rallying and force of will (Butcher, Terry), and those less vocal types who led by quiet example (Beckham, Bergsson). The fans only really notice the sleeves-rolled type, and as Boris says you shouldn't really need someone to be bawling at you, but it helps to have a (wisely) vocal leader or two when you're up against it.