GOOOOOOD EBENING.
Late one for the folks back in the UK today. Maybe it’s nearly beer o’clock? Well, have I got product news for you… I am working on a hard seltzer brand. It is fizzy water and alcohol (5%). 100 calories. It’s mental. I use booze to mostly medicate my life, now I’m medicating at 100 calories… give it a crack.
You know what else I need alcohol to medicate for? Unai Emery.
I know that people think I have it in for him, but it’s not true… I just find some of the things he does utterly perplexing.
Let’s talk about the captains armband.
Leadership is something you look for in all players. Everyone should hold themselves accountable, all must fight for the team, every last man must step forward when needed. Shared leadership is a mindset, it should be part of the culture, but let’s not kid ourselves it is a substitute for a real captaincy.
The idea of ‘captaincy’ is not dead. We can’t woke-wash away the basics of leading men. Leadership is real, it cannot be shared. You need a focal point for the team.
Topline, there are two ways that captains armband is dished out.
You either have someone that is an outrageous talent and they lead by example with goals, assists and match-winning performances (Cesc). This approach is usually a way of grounding an ego in ‘team.’
The second way – and generally more popular, is giving the armband to the standout leader in the squad. They might not be the most popular (Roy Keane), they might not be the most talented (G.Nev), but they are a bonified warrior that leads you into battle (Adams/Vieira), holds everyone to account, and does the dirty work on the shop floor (hairdryer/boot throwing/ rabble-rousing).
Last season, Unai Emery – fresh out of a new age business grad school – elected for a socialist approach to the captains’ armband, probably an idea born out of the Wenger handbook of management named ‘HAPPY EVERYONE.’
A year on, 4 of the 5 are now firmly off the roster. Aaron Ramsey was binned after a month when Unai realised he didn’t fancy him. Koscielny went on strike in the close season. Petr Cech moved to Chelsea as the Sporting Director before the Europa League final, Mesut Ozil took sick leave so many times it became an HR issue… Granit Xhaka, is still here, waiting in the wings.
So where are we right now? It’s September 26th 2019. We’ve played 6 Premier League games, 1 league cup match and we’ve had an away day in the Europa League… still no decision on the captaincy. Our default is Granit, who is being booed by the fans already.
Today, the press has leaked that Emery is holding a vote.
I cannot tell you how ridiculously juvenile this approach is. It’s Boy Scouts stuff. It’s someone that’s bad at people thinking this is a good way to bond the squad.
Here are some topline issues.
It tells the players the manager is insecure:
This is palming off responsibility. This is walking away from a decision. This is a man worried about what the squad thinks of him. It’s also an excuse if it goes wrong.
‘Don’t blame me, you voted!’
This sort of micro-beta-male action might not bite now, but the thought will linger. If I know my boss cares whether I liked them, I know they are weak, I know I can strike at them when they are down, I know I can cut at them when they are indecisive.
The manager is struggling to understand basic connections of the squad:
This one is a worry, but one that doesn’t surprise. Emery struggles to manage egos. He doesn’t seem to understand the causal effects of his behaviour in general. It should not shock that he cannot identify a strong leader, because he doesn’t seem to be one himself. If you outsource communication to your assistant, you are probably struggling to interpret the language of the club. My worry here is that if he can’t understand what’s going on at a basic level, like, who is the standout leader, how can he understand the lighter nuances that happen in the day to day that you need to be on top of to manage a group?
He believes it is better to be loved:
The basic premise seems to be that he thinks great leadership is tied to popularity.
I present to thee: Emmanuel Eboue.
Lad was absolute banter, did you see the tiger outfit? Squad LOVED him. Captain material?
Extreme case, no one would invite him to be a leader, but my point is this: You don’t always know what is right for you from a leadership perspective.
The ideal person to manage you is often not the sort of person you would ask to manage you. Are you going to invite a fox into your warm metaphorical chicken coop? No fucking way. That’s why Rob Holding thinks Granit Xhaka is a great leader. He’s a top lad, he’s a bit shit, and he probably doesn’t hold anyone accountable because he does not have the performance cache to do so.
Voting for your leader is for politics, not the army. Tony Adams once said, ‘It is better to be feared than loved’, wise words, no doubt, but seriously, if there is an end of the spectrum we need at Arsenal, it’s closer to ‘feared.’
Donald Trump once said he believes you only have so much energy in life, which is why he doesn’t bother with exercise.
I think there’s a reverse version of this in management. You have a credibility power bar that you can grow with great decisions. You can also drain it with bad ones. Phil Brown lectured his players on the pitch at halftime, that drained his tank, it was over. Jose Mourinho threw his physios under the bus in the media, which told the squad he had the back of no one. Unai Emery is chipping away at his with confusing tactics, odd management behaviours (player reviews) and meek decisions. There comes a point in a season where all the mico-fails culminate into something very bad. We likely won’t see that until the back end of the season, but when he surveys the wreckage, it’s moments like this that he’ll likely curse.
IN OTHER NEWS.
Some Wenger quotes doing the rounds about the United job, I read they are fake.
I did a SOLO podcast.
“What the fuck does Emery see in that garbage player?!”
Sauce!!
Isn’t it strange for the past ten years we always seem to have at least one dumbshit playing for us who is a managers pet.
Sid – yes it does which is why the majority of players (at any club) are not fit to be managers
Emery should never have delegated – period and he takes complete blame for his cowardice.
We may have a lack of leaders but that wasn’t an excuse. if there are difficult decisions to make then that is what you pay a manager good money to make.
It took Emery the 2nd part of season 2018/19 and 8 games of this season to make us feel exactly like we felt for years under Wenger. #emeryout
Xhaka:
Very poor decision. It also means that Xhaka is now virtually a shoe-in to be picked for every game – regardless of the overwhelming evidence which shows he is a bad player who lacks natural leadership qualities.
Spanish Moyes really wants to be sent out kicking and screaming like later year Wenger, such a shame he’s an absolute moron this Emery.
I can only assume that Emery and his called footballing staff live in some sort of bubble.
A world where they don’t listen to outside feedback and don’t listen to the fans
An not expecting them to plough through the comments on Le Grove but it was in the national press and TV that Xahka was booed off.
A week later he is captain.
Now Emery has some excuse as he doesn’t understand English but where are Freddie and Mertesacker etc!
Wenger is definitely Unai’s idole.
Arseblog makes a good point, everyone knew Emery wanted to pick Xhaka so he should have done it a long time ago. Now it has become a massive issue and the fans base has gone into meltdown about it.
*idol
Terrible outcome. Xhaka should not be in the starting XI going forward, but his being made captain means he likely will be. Emery has made a massive mistake here.
We can expect to see more of xhakas pretend hard man routine now, when we all know he’s a pussy. Cue ridiculous challenges and squaring up to people to prove what a leader he is. Been serving up shit on toast for 3 seasons and his reward is club captain. Bye bye dick.
Though I am not as harsh in my criticism as most are of Xhaka, I do feel it’s time to try something different in centre mid. I am a little sceptical about this vote for the captain though it could be a cunning plan by the players to dispose of a Emery. The players I’m sure would have a feeling that all is not right with the fans regarding xhaka , so for them to supposedly choose him is slightly baffling. By all accounts Xhaka was booed off at the weekend as was Mustafi earlier in the season. Strangely enough… Read more »
Theresa May levels of leadership from Emery.
To those comparing Pep to Emery: if you win everything, then you earn the right to do things differently and be an innovator. But most people – who haven’t achieved that level of success – are expected to take care of the basics before they start going in for new age management techniques. They will, rightly, be accused of charlatanism.
Just because somebody successful does some specific thing, or has a certain gimmick, doesn’t mean everyone else should imitate it, or that to do so is not a ludicrous pretension.
National frigging radio! What a fiasco. Emery has cut his own throat( maybe a deliberate ploy, I really don’t know). Xhaka as captain, it’s official. One senses it may be the players way of saying to the manager ” you don’t know what you’re doing, so let’s make it easy for you” Sorry, this whole thing is shambolic. This means that Xhaka will be entrusted to lead us against MU on Monday night, knowing full well that Arsenal fans are up in arms about this. What a great bit of team bonding by Emery. I mean, what the hell do… Read more »
The votes for Haka
1. Ozil
2. Mosdafti
3.AMN
4.kola (split vote)
5.sok
6.haka
U heard it here 1st!
In the recently highly applauded Arsenal shirt launch video, Ian Wright says these excellent words…
“When you put on our shirt, you turn and face, you never hide.”
Can we truly say Xhaka embodies this?
Xhaka knows he is not popular amongst the fans.
I think we’ll all be having a few stiff drinks on Monday night.
Good old Arsenal!
Sid
You are probably right.
“We have to cut back on our mistakes”
Um, thanks for the pep talk Granit.
Ain’t you the one making all the fudging mistakes though?!!?
Why oh why has it come to this?
Where the fudge are my bloody meds?!!
Can’t stress enough how ridiculously stupid it is to give that man the captains armband. Been a major contributor to the decline of Arsenal as a whole especially in midfield since he joined. He should be dropped and sold not rewarded for being a bad player.
Receding
As I said on the previous, there is a difference between what Guardiola is doing and what Emery has done. Or at least I think there is. Emery has turned to the players because he didn’t know what decision to make, I think. Guardiola has asked the players because he thinks that is the right process for their squad at this given moment, not because he doesn’t know what decision he would make if he made the decision himself.
There’s still no difference between two managers doing the same thing but one is considered stupid and the other one is a genius. Either letting the players pick the captain is a good thing or it isn’t there isn’t a double standard that’s just bullshit. Plenty of double standards though. Emery struggling away from home it used to be the players and investment needed to address it got laughed down. Poch struggling with Spurs away from home it’s not his fault it’s the players he needs to be able to spend in January to address it. It’s just the way… Read more »
Let’s hope Emery finds his way to leaving Xhaka out of the XI going forward despite his being captain. That is our only hope. And his.
All is not lost. We may end up wining those Cup competitions then.
Fucking clueless manager appointing and even more clueless captain….
It’s a near universally unpopular opinion this Xhaka thing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the fanbase so united
So is it confirmed then? Emery gave the players the choice to vote for 5 captains so if Xhaka is the leading vote getter/players choice nothing can be done about that.
I’m very suprised its not Auba or Laca but it seems the whole lateness/collecting fines thing is some as important as being a leader on the pitch.
Tommy V, Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscelny now Granit Xhaka.
How to devalue the captaincy.
So what happens when Xhaka does a Xhaka and costs us in repeated games, will he be dropped? Who will hold Xhaka accountable for being Xhaka!!
“Tommy V, Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscelny now Granit Xhaka.How to devalue the captaincy.”
Spot on, Leeds. I could do the same things with the last 5 Prime Ministers too.
The manager has signed his own sacking notice with this decision. It’s baffling, but Emery has continued to underwhelm.
Bob, Xhaka has been making errors game after game. The manager considers him undroppable. It makes no sense. The guy is a paper tiger too.
The cunt also seems to be immune to injury.
Never thought I’ll witness an Arsenal first captain less capable for it than Gallas. Oh, well, that day came. Thank you Emery.
The cunt also seems to be immune to injury.
Cause he’s never really busting a gut to do anything closing down getting into position influencing the game nothing. Half floating around the pitch and making errors comes naturally to him.
Worth pointing out that there’s big drama brewing in the Swiss national team set up over the captaincy as well. He’s a very polarizing player and you don’t give those types of players the captain’s armband.
Moray – your right it makes no sense to have him in the first 11 let alone being the so called leader of the club.
Durability and fine collecting seem to be what Emery values above actual football ability and fan opinion.
It’s hard to disagree with the comments here this afternoon,
A sad day when players like Xhaka are not only in the squad, let alone the team but actually given the captain’s armband.
And all this only days after being booed off the pitch !
The writing must surely be on the wall for both after this ?
The good thing about this situation is that we know for sure we won’t have to wait 10 years before the manager is replaced.
Per Mertesacker > suffered anxiety before games
Laurent Koscelny > broke down in tears at a team meeting
Granit Xhaka > confessed that the team was scared
What a load of pu$$y’s we’ve had/have as captain.
I might as well add my voice to this outrage of Xhaka as captain, for more unanimity.
So physically and technically limited, and dumb as a brick.
Recent history shows we sold all our ex-captains so hopefully Xhaka (and El-Dicko) will be gone next summer.
Moe,
… and slow.
The HMS Queen Elizabeth turns quicker than Xhaka.
At least Wenger earned the right to be ridiculous before he became ridiculous. Who does this stranger think he is? Sticking out the middle finger to fans.
And you all gonna sit there and allow this?
Absolute hysterics over an armband, who wears the thing is of little consequence. Did great leaders like Vieira and Adams need an armband to exert any influence? No, no they didn’t. Just a continuation of the Arsenal giving the captaincy to model professionals vs talismanic players. The big takeaway from this is Emery has absolutely no spine. Also, Xhaka is quite blatantly a well respected and popular man at the club – irrespective of whatever views had about his on pitch credentials. Says a great deal about the state of affairs when the captains armband is causing such fanny flare… Read more »
Certainly, the “let’s wait and see” excuse with Emery must be well over now.
I don’t think any sane person on this forum believes Valentin has a clue what goes on at Arsenal football club
He gets 100% of his info from The Sun
Anyway Emery has picked his captain as he is entitled to.
Picking a captain is no biggie and shouldn’t even feature in his KPI
Points tally, Defensive record, style of play to an extent and improvement of players individually are the remits of his job not who wears an armband.
And right on cue, the village idiot shows up !
Xhaka, well respected? Yeah, by anyone who hasn’t been watching Arsenal the past 3 years. Talking to you Emery.
Picking a team leader on the pitch is no biggie…………priceless!
“Picking a team leader on the pitch is no biggie…………priceless!”
Moe leaders don’t need an armband to lead
If we had an obvious captain we would not have spent the past months suggesting virtually half the squad as potential captains
Even Chambers was thrown in at some point
He would have been better giving it to David Luis if it’s purely down to being a leader,
Surely, ability has to come into the equation somewhere ?
Xhaka was booed off the pitch, days later Emery made Xhaka captain.
The message couldn’t have been clearer….this a big ‘fuck you’ to the fans.
We must not allow this to ride for one single home game.
The point people are obviously making is that the cunt should be nowhere near the side, let alone in a recognized leadership role. Captaincy maybe a bit of a sideshow but dick has picked the least appropriate person to fulfill it.
It’s very disturbing how a shit player can become Captsin
Let me make this clear, if we weren’t losing 2 goal leads to shit opposition and making relegation fodder look like Real Madrid, I also wouldn’t give a shot who our captain is.
We have disrespected the armband for years now at Arsenal. The point is well made.
I find this current Arsenal side difficult to warm to (with the exception of a handful of players).
Anyone else feel the same?
A captain should inspire, motivate and instil fight in the squad when our back is against the wall. When we were losing against Villa, with a man down… was it Xhaka that inspired? Nope. It was Guendouzi that did that job.
Isn’t Xhaka due to go on paternity leave anyway? After a month or two off, he’ll need weeks before he is match fit again… hopefully the amount of damage he’ll do will be limited and he’ll be sold on in January…
The message couldn’t have been clearer….this a big ‘fuck you’ to the fans.” Spot on The message has never been so loud and clear, Emery is making an announcement here that he’s the boss and the fans can do one,what an idiot this total nobody Emery hates the fans, I knew he’s making Xhaka captain straightaway the moment the fans jeered Xhaka, thats more or less a slight on him even though that subbed ensure we won Villa with a man down what small man syndrome this Mr bland has, gives no fvck about fans opinions and now think he… Read more »
The usual suspects are shooting off through their backsides. On no account should a player booed off the pitch by the fans be made captain just a few days later. Emery by so doing has shown blatant disrespect to the fans. On paper Emery works for Kroenke but when you dig out all the factors, Emery works for the fans! If the Madrid or the Barca fans boo off a player and a coach in charge makes the booed player captain few days later, the said coach is an instant toast! And you wanna win things like Madrid and Barca… Read more »
CC cannot grasp the real problem here. Let me explain it to you again: Emery naming Xhaka as his first captain makes Arsenal fans think that Emery will most certainly rely on Xhaka and play him in almost all important games. The problem is not naming the captain just for naming it. It’s that this guy will be the spine of our team for yet another year. Kapish? CC: “Also, Xhaka is quite blatantly a well respected and popular man at the club – irrespective of whatever views had about his on pitch credentials.” And how does that even matter… Read more »
Gentlebris
So true.
Maybe Emery’s understanding of the English language is worse than we thought.
Is booing seen as a compliment in Spain?
Does Emery want to be “instant toast”?
Something is not right here.
Watch this space.
CC, My source told me that Xhaka was a loner, not well liked and some of the senior player resented his big time Charlie attitude. Initially I did not believe her, hence my question to Pedro. However since, every newspapers has pretty much confirmed that the squad has factions, that many are confused by his instructions (Alan Smith reported the same) and bored during the video sessions, I am giving her the benefit of the doubt. When I was at school, every years we had to elect two representative for our class. Three years in a row, one guy was… Read more »
raptora
The fact you have to explain this to people(CC), just beggars belief.
Of course that the usual hipsters are here to play the opposite of whatever the masses want. Makes them feel special. Not even slightly surprised.
At least, Emery has finally achieved what the players could not on the pitch, he has UNIFIED the fan base… AGAINST him .
I meant the other way around. On the pitch Xhaka may be a circle player in a square peg at Arsenal, but off the pitch he may be the best organiser the squad has.
CC Eboue was loved by his teammates. Could he have been captain?
Also can’t see how the likes of Auba,Laca, Guen will accept this, those 3 run themselves to the ground in literally every game to get the team over the line for what? A total loser in Emery and now he pays them back with this, making them Player under the leadership of a far more inferior Player that was openly jeered by the fans, that’s tough Auba especially seemed to be swinging some sly digs to Xhaka and his boss after the Watford draw, wouldn’t surprise now if they decide to downtools so they send him packing ASAP The man… Read more »
People gives way too much importance to the official role of captain. During the second half against Aston Villa, Guendouzi played like a man possessed. His refusal to lose was for all to see. You don’t need the armband to show leadership. The only worry that I have with choosing Xhaka as Captain is that it gives the impression that he is undroppable when his performance do not warrant him a place in the starting eleven. Off the pitch he seems like an eloquent speaker, somebody who does not seem easily rattled by curved balls thrown by interviewers. Usually the… Read more »
Emery put a lot of importance on training. Unfortunately, Xhaka’s weakness will not show up in training. He is leak of defensive awareness. He is too slow to fill the gaps in front of the CB. He must be doing quite well during training.
Let’s see how Emery set up the team on Monday.
Okay. Today I learned that the armband is not given to the biggest leader in the team, but to the one that makes the best coffee. Good job, Xhaka. If only Theo was here he wouldn’t have needed to make bets for coffee machines.
But you can’t have a captain who doesn’t fit on the pitch itsbthe weirdest idea ever The captain is supposed to be the leader ON THE PITCH just as much as off it Is collecting fines really all it takes deary fucking me Auba is a player who puts the team on his back by scoring every single game. He is known for being very good and welcoming with the youngsters like martinelli. He plays the game with a smile on his face and makes the players around him happier and he’s really encouraging to his team mates like Pepe… Read more »
A couple of flat-Earthers questioning Valentin’s sources.. Shame on both of you!
Everyone knows this was a classic bait-and-switch from the club taking corrective action after #leakgate.
“Psst! Xhaka isn’t well-respected, is a loner, has an attitude problem, and there are factions within the club. Pass it on!”
A week later, Xhaka voted club captain by a majority of his colleagues.
“Psych!”
Mission complete.
Does attracting opposition penalties and cards bring forth a fine?
If so, Xhaka is going to be penalising himself more than anyone.
China1, You miss my point. You don’t need to be the official captain to be the real leader on the pitch. For example Aubameyang took the decision to give the penalty to Pepe who needed a confidence boost. He didn’t consult with Emery or Xhaka, he saw a potential problem and fixed it. That’s real leadership. You listen to Ceballos, Martinelli and the younger players about who went out of their way to helped them integrating into the squad. It is always Lacazette and Aubameyang. Neither need a title of captain or vice captain to be seen as the real… Read more »
Can’t get a first team selection right √
Can’t stick to one formation of play√
No discernable style of play√
Shambolic defensively √
Weak ass and outrightly disrespectful to the fans √
Worse manager in the league√
Can’t speak a word of English to save his life√
Can’t name a deserved team captain√
Could literally go on and on…Total clown we have as manager this season, got to feel for the quality players at the club,they really don’t in the slightest deserve this guy.
“Okay. Today I learned that the armband is not given to the biggest leader in the team,”
Raptor who is the biggest leader at Arsenal? Who is this obvious candidate for captaincy Emery ignored?
“Raptor who is the biggest leader at Arsenal? Who is this obvious candidate for captaincy Emery ignored?”
Aubameyang.
Produces on the pitch, welcomes youngsters and newcomers, and thinks about the good of the team — not just himself… plus he’s a golden boot winner in the EPL.
RH,
Doh. Obviously it’s Xhaka.
Auba
Laca
Holding
Torreira
Any of those would have been far better choice than Xhaka
Xhaka is the Mustafi of midfielders, error prone and unbelievably shocking, no surprise he’s a fan of Emery.
“During the second half against Aston Villa, Guendouzi played like a man possessed. His refusal to lose was for all to see.”
True. And yet we named a captain the guy who is a serial dogshit player who always plays the game the same way winning or losing. Literally zero change in his pace or attitude if we have to defend a lead or chase a game. He’s consistently dogshit. I have a great idea. Let’s give him the armband.
However since, every newspapers has pretty much confirmed that the squad has factions
You mean like in every walk of life? No way.
Vic again surprised to see that you continue to post here you piece of shit. Do everyone a favor and fuck off
No worry about Emery. More and more players will be like Chambers, They will have their own initiatives and ignoring what Emery told them. We’ll have a team of 11 captains on the pitch. >:(
Torriera as captain has to be the silliest call yet but then again it’s Victorious
Valentin but what’s the value of having real leaders in the squad and giving the captaincy to a crap player who is only good at collecting fines
The armband is supposed to mean something other than administrative work when players are late to training
It is a symbol of the club. We don’t need to make excuses to justify why a shit captain should be allowed to keep the armband. There are no excuses. Let the leaders be the leaders and make one of them the captain and another the vice captain. It’s just basic football management
In France, they talked about having different leaders in a sport team. The taskmaster leader is the one who reminds everybody on or off the pitch their role and responsibilities. The technical leader who is the best player on the pitch. The one who by his performance lift the rest of the team. Zidane in France 98 was the technical leader, but Deschamps was the captain the task master leader. The spiritual/psychological leader who is the one who people will turn in case of mental issue. Somebody with a positive attitude who can find the right word in difficult situation.… Read more »
Nobody needed to explain or justify our captains in the old days We didn’t have to sit down and try and work out or explain why Adams was the guy. Because he was the guy. We didn’t have to explain or think about why vieira was the guy. He was quite clearly the guy. Sol Campbell. Thierry Henry. Cesc Fabregas. RVP. Something happened after this where the club decided to buy wankers and reward them with captaincy. That’s a bit harsh on arteta as he was a solid player and obviously has a good brain, but he wasn’t a special… Read more »
Raptora Bit rich you claiming anything about being unable to grasp what’s going on, you’re somehow unaware of Emery’s reliance on Xhaka as a starter in the team. Did you think that was suddenly making a dramatic u-turn? Good one. Arsenal haven’t had a club captain in the manner you’re alluding to for years, we’ve had good professionals get the armband (on that merit seemingly) and it’s not been indicative of them getting games. Seem to recall us on more than one occasion having our elected club captain on the bench for almost the entire season, was it Per? Cech?.… Read more »
Lol waffle-twat Marko telling folk to fuck off,the painful irony,got a suggestion for you idiot,how about you halt sniffing away at my rectum and tell us more of how your god Emery is doing a fine job for us so far?
and i honestly mean this when I say you’d be the brightest Postman in Ireland if you devote half of the attention you put in monitoring my posts or embarassing yourself on legrove into your work u little weirdo
Valentin I’d bin your source mate, she’s told you Xhaka is a loner that’s not well liked and he’s been voted club captain by the players the next fortnight. Obviously she has you on a string. Agree with what you’re saying about captaincies though on the whole, there’s always been high praise for Xhaka as a professional and I imagine that’s what’s influenced the decision here. I’m less bothered by it because I’m not one of those vehemently claiming Xhaka as the omission to cure all our ill’s, but the fact the armband is causing so much fuss is a… Read more »
the Armband is only irrelevant because it’s been devalued to this state. This is just a cheap attempt at justifying why xhaka, a player who you like but who really is the worst captain we’ve had in decades should be allowed to retain it, because it ‘doesn’t matter’
You’re getting it the wrong way round. It doesn’t matter because xhaka has it.
not sure anyone cares about the captain label it is about Emery picking a player every week who actually destabilizes the team and especially defensively anyway Emery is done way to weak to be giving the fans the finger stupid stupid move , don’t think he realizes how powerful the fans can be .If he looses with xhacka as captain at old traffed to a depleted and let’s be honest a poor MANU then he really is in hot water , just don’t think he realizes that
China1,
I think that in your judgement of captaincy you are blinded by your opinion of the players.
Sol Campbell and Thierry Henry were marvellous technical leaders, but were not great captain. The authority came from their personal quality, but off the pitch they were not taskmaster.
Henry and the shoddy way he treated Reyes does not demonstrate a real captain attitude.
Campbell and his disappearing act can hardly be used as a shining example of character leadership.
Jordan Henderson is Liverpool captain by the way, I couldn’t think of a less talented/talismanic player among their squad. Sometimes it simply isn’t about that, certainly modern day. Yea sure, folk will hop on his coat tails and claim him supreme vs Xhaka (when in fact he’s been harassed and booed by his own fans too), but the point is Henderson is captain for his leadership in a general sense. It’s a storm in a teacup at Arsenal because there’s fuck all to be content with at the club as it stands, next up is the shade of magnolia used… Read more »
but the fact the armband is causing so much fuss is a terrible indictment on the state of things at the club under Emery.”
Not just the captaincy issue CC,but literally every other decision Emery has made since his inception, what exactly has he gotten right since he took over?
Making Xhaka captain only further highlight how painfully clueless and weak he is.
Emery has several issues with the fans and this is just one of them but any manager with this squad who still gives it to xhaka is going to get shit from the fans because the player is trash
This is literally the equivalent of going back to circa 2000 and imagine if wenger gave the armband to stephanovs because he was good at collecting fines and liked by his team mates
It wouldn’t matter that we still had Adams, vieira, known etc as true leaders in the squad, it would still be patently bullshit and really annoying
China
I’ve touted Laca for captain the past month, so good effort but once again wrong. It doesn’t matter to me because…..it doesn’t fucking matter, the players are all the same irrespective of who dons the piece of elastic around their arm.
I wouldn’t suddenly think our fortunes are about to change if Laca did indeed get the armband, it doesn’t come with any divine power. I don’t believe in Santa or the tooth fairy either you absolute turnip.
Vic
You know where I sit re: Emery. This furthers my view on that frankly, we’re generating a heated discussion of something utterly irrelevant. That’s the level of this “transition” we’re seeing.
A proper manager in this side picks his man, backs him, gets the fans on board (or puts them in their place) and away we go to more important issues. Not this one, we’re managing to see micro-decisions get royally fucked and become a bone of contention. Bodes well moving forward…..