Captaincy

[Little Shrimp]

Stephen Robinson made this point in the Q&A, it's been re-made previously on here, and I can't believe it's having to be made again, but:

CHANGING WHO HAS THE CAPTAIN'S ARMBAND WILL NOT IMPROVE OUR PERFORMANCES.

If someone in the squad has a crazy ability to always be able to tell which way up a coin will land, then give it to them. Other than that, it doesn't matter a great deal.

I think Alex Kenyon has always been a very good example to use in these situations. He's very vocal and encouraging towards his teammates. Always displayed some very good leadership qualities, yet never wore the armband that often - only when our first choice captain wasn't playing. The point is, it didn't matter if he had an elasticated bit of cloth around his arm. It was in his character to be a leader, and he would do it regardless of the fact he rarely had the armband.

I would say the same goes for Toums. It doesn't matter if he doesn't have the armband on - he'll still lead in the way he usually does. Just reading/listening to a few interviews, it's very clear how much respect the players already have for him.

On O'Connor - he was massively at fault for their second goal. No doubt about it. The whole team reacted very poorly to the short throw (somebody should have stepped out, not just Cole chasing back), but O'Connor getting drawn towards the ball and losing his man was pretty criminal.

However, he also made two absolutely brilliant tackles in very difficult situations - he was pretty much the last man and the forward had built up speed running into the box. They were goal saving tackles in my book. I also really like the way he takes the ball out of his feet when receiving it and how he pushes the ball in different directions to open up space to make passes. Really nice.

He's not perfect, and he's definitely not the aerial juggernaut that Lavelle is (although far nippier - can't imagine Lavelle making those tackles mentioned above), but people are making out like he's some calamitous donkey when that is simply not the case. The whole team are crumbling defensively far too easily and making too many mistakes. That doesn't happen just because of one player or because you don't like the manager's choice of captain.

There are issues that need addressing that Stephen Robinson has said in an interview that he's aware of. Hopefully these can start to be addressed and the players will start to tighten up and concentrate more.

[redrobo]

I've always maintained on our forum that everybody has a right to express their opinions without any need for hostile feedback. Although i do not agree with the above post Little Shrimp. those with a similar view are more than entitled to their thoughts which makes this forum so open to opposing views.

Long may constructive debate continue and those with contentious opinions be encouraged.

[Keith]

On O'Connor - he was massively at fault for their second goal. No doubt about it. The whole team reacted very poorly to the short throw (somebody should have stepped out, not just Cole chasing back), but O'Connor getting drawn towards the ball and losing his man was pretty criminal.

However, he also made two absolutely brilliant tackles in very difficult situations - he was pretty much the last man and the forward had built up speed running into the box. They were goal saving tackles in my book. I also really like the way he takes the ball out of his feet when receiving it and how he pushes the ball in different directions to open up space to make passes. Really nice.

That's how I viewed his game. Some fantastic play and a really bad error. Actually, I think he made another bad error too, where Wootton covered really well. On balance, he had a pretty average game, some errors, some real quality.

The pieces are all there. We just need them to come together.

[Little Shrimp]

I've always maintained on our forum that everybody has a right to express their opinions without any need for hostile feedback. Although i do not agree with the above post Little Shrimp. those with a similar view are more than entitled to their thoughts which makes this forum so open to opposing views.

Long may constructive debate continue and those with contentious opinions be encouraged.

Contentious opinion? The only thing vaguely contentious is my point about captaincy not making any difference - and even then I've made plenty of true points to back it up. Our best finish under Jim Bentley was with Mark Hughes as captain, who was regularly questioned for his captaincy skills. Being a good organised team will improve our defensive numbers, not having someone else put a bit of cloth on their arm. However, RR, if you want to disagree with Stephen Robinson on this (who cited Pep Guardiola on the matter of captaincy being massively overrated as a factor), then you are free to air your contentious opinions too.

That's how I viewed his game. Some fantastic play and a really bad error. Actually, I think he made another bad error too, where Wootton covered really well. On balance, he had a pretty average game, some errors, some real quality.

The pieces are all there. We just need them to come together.

I must have missed that other error (was standing behind the goal!) but I agree, it was a mixed bag with some of O'Connor's play the other night. I'd say it seems to be errors in concentration more than anything. On Wootton - he's not dug up any trees but he's been relatively solid. I think the main thing we miss from Lavelle is that aerial dominance.