Leader on the field

[B*ue dragonstander]

Without a leader on the field Worcester City will achieve nothing. Discuss.

[ab]

There is always a leader on the field (ie the captain), by dint of wearing the armband. There are many different types of leader. What kind of leader would you suggest we discuss - do you mean the captain?

The converse is that with a leader on the field, Worcester City will achieve something on the field. Does this necessarily follow? All 22 teams in the CN will have a leader, but up to 20 of them cannot achieve anything, under the format of the league, irrespective of the nature of their leadership.

[Tim Munslow]

A good captain can be an inspiration to younger players - those of us old enough can remember Roy Paul and what he did. Emeka Nwadike would be the man for me - Chris Smith isn't vocal enough.

[LeedsWCFC]

timmunslow said:

Chris Smith isn't vocal enough.

He's too vocal for me when he continually moans at the referees.

[jeremypitt]

Apart from calling heads or tails, the captain in football has little else to do. He doesn't call the plays, he doesn't take any responsibilities for his players, and he has no rights to talk to the ref - no more than any other player. All you need is someone who has the respect of the rest ofthe players. Steve Fergosun was hardly very vocal, but he was respected. Barry Williams never wasted energy talking too much. I've always been told by those who remember, that Roy Paul joined City for the money, and left when the money wasn't there any more, hardly inspirational. Andy I think what you say is wrong, that 20 teams cannot achieve anything, what you mean is 20 teams cannot gain promotion, and for some teams in the league, there can be more achievement that winning the league, for many teams the acheivement will be stayin in the league.
I'd like to see a football captain given the type of responsibility of a rugby captain in terms of responsibility for the behaviour of his team on the pitch, and with that the ability to discuss decisions with the referee, maybe that would bring about a better level of respect for referees by players. Also I'd like to see more captains making play calls, at set pieces, corners , throws etc. I am assuming that teams do work on routines and set plays, and have little codes that they call before the play. Being "vocal" means very little if its just lots of shouting.

[dorothy]

As I see it a defence needs a leader. Not necessarily the best player but one with vision and and a good voice. Defences need organising more than any other area of the pitch. Tracking back, pushing out and offsides all need organising. With a back 4 I'd prefer the left back to take the role as the full backs can see across the line as a linesman, and much of the play would be in their channel. Not sure how the system would work with wingbacks though as the wide players would normally be in a more advanced position and the central 3 would tend to be rather narrow in the centre.

Leadership in an attacking role? I'm not sure about that. I would prefer to rely on a bond between strikers built up with the experience of playing together over a prolonged period and the natural flair of the midfield.

The role of a captain in football is more motivational and as a link to the management. Personally I'd never go for a striker as captain, they need to be self centred to a degree, neither would I chose a keeper, they're generally either barking mad or mentally fragile.

[jeremypitt]

Yes Dorothy I agree that every defence needs a leader, regardless if thats the captain or not, someone has to decide upon where the line is held, someone has to organise who's marking and who's covering space at set pieces. My personal view on playing 5 at the back is that it confuses the central players, and with no natural leader in there, you end up with 2 players or no players going for high balls etc. Defensive leader though should be in the centre of defence to make sure the fullbacks on both side are ahead of the centre backs. How it works with 5 at the back with so called wingbacks is anybody's guess - and there's probably a fair bit of guesswork in there at the moment, as there was last season.
The role of a captain in football is no more than an armband, which often gets swapped from player to player!!!

[B*ue dragonstander]

I agree that there is little that 3 central defenders can do that 2 cannot unless you are playing one as a genuine sweeper.

A captain should be able to organise and help execute the managers plan. He should also help reorganise the team during the match on instruction from the bench. He can also inspire and motivate. You need to be a good player with total commitment and also a winner. A captain should also set an example on the disciplinary front.

[jeremypitt]

Yes BDS, but most managers prefer to bawl instructions directly at the player they want to bawl at, as opposed to going through the captain. Football is just too fast a game with not many breakdowns to be able to use a captain tactically. Some clubs have a club captain who isn't captain out on the pitch, which is strange. Rugby teams have a captain, but also a pack leader, and a backs leader, so effectively 3 captains, which makes some sense considering a front row has no idea what a fly half really does, and vica-versa!!! Cricket games are won and lost by the decisions of the captain, football isnt that binary. In terms of inspiration and motivation, yes a captain can do that, but isn't the managers cliche something along the lines of "I want 11 captains out there!!!!!"