Liverpool FC Forum

[redirish]

StMick read your comments agree with some but not all with out SG as our capt do you think that he would have the same reasons to play for us. I no he loves the reds but without that capts armband he could have walked out in the summer to chelsea without to much bother

[Leonmc0708]

I think the role of the captain has changed a hell of a lot. It is no longer about giving the armband to the loudest and most vocal player in the dressing room, and its not about giving it to the best and most skillful player either.

An ideal captain needs presence, vocal skills and the ability to back the big mouth up with.

Sometimes teams do not have anyone with all three qualities, and therefore the selection of captain can be questioned. This is definetley the case at Liverpool.

If this is the case, I personally think you need to have three or four leaders, in the dressing room and on the pitch.

At Liverpool we have three;

Stevie G will lead by example, putting in the yards, throwing himself into tackles and putting everything he has into playing well. He also has the undoubted ability to back it up with, and presence on the pitch is also obvious. Possibly he is not the most vocal.

Carra is probably the most vocal player at Liverpool. At away games the only voice you tend to hear is Carra's, screaming at Dudek, hollaring at Kewell and telling everyone where he wants them and what they have done wrong. His presence on the pitch is not the biggest, but I understand from a friend inside the club he is a big part of the dressing room. Carra will be the first to admit he is not the most skillful though.

Hyypia has the most unbeleivable presence on the pitch. His assured play is a calming influence on the whole team, and this was highlighted when we lost him at the Reebok last week. Sami has a fair bit of class to back up his relativley loud mouth, but when he is out of form, the rest of the team suffer.

What I am saying is we dont have a complete captain, but we have three excellent prospects, and if employed together they can work the team and get the results the gaffer requires.

[115-1073096938]

Carragher is probably the most natural "leader" in the squad. Gerrard has more influence on a game though.

He does however need to learn to use his head at times. Him and Baros against Bolton were simply woeful, i couldn't believe i was seeing premiership players make the decisions they were making. Some of the ball retention... or lack of it was astonishin.

[madred]

For those who havent seen this i thought it would make interesting reading? Taken from issue 42 of The Liverpool Way by Peter Schulz.  STEVEN GERRARD - WHAT NOW?

I have a feeling that not many will agree with me when i say that i was throughly dissapointed with the actions of Steven Gerrard over the summer.While apparently helping to push GH out the door, a man he had publically backed so unmistakably, he was actually considering leaving himself. Now, while no one blames the lad for having amibitions, we should not make the mistake of thinking that the thought of leaving LFC simply "entered his mind" as he said at the press conference. It did much more than that and Steven was as good as a Chelsea player when he returned from his holiday in Portugal. No amount of vociferous claims to the contrary and suggestions that it was all the work of the Chelsea media circus will change that. Gerrard wanted to leave us to go to Chelsea. Not Real, Juventus or any other great team abroad. He wanted to join Chelsea. Upon his return to merseyside it must have finally hit home what he was really doing. How much heartbreak would he have caused in Liverpool, Thailand, Scandinavia and everywhere else and perhaps more importantly, how much he would remove himself from his roots. This was a decision that would not only change his career. Nay, it was one which would be defining of the rest of his life and that of his family, now and in the future. Im not condoning any kind of threats or anything like that(if true) but he must have known that things like that happen in society today. However much we distance ourselves from it, Gerrard would have been persona non grata in Liverpool for the rest of his life. Some suggest it was his Mother while others say his Father who made him realise it would have been the biggest mistake he would ever make. Whoever or whatever it was i now fear the decision to stay could well have been made for all the wrong reasons. Gerrard claimed at the press conference that he was 100% commited to the club but how could he possibly be, if it had taken him 3-4 weeks of courting and negotiating with Chelsea through Terry and Lampard(who would had the deal gone through, surely have earned a new contract with the blues for his work on that deal alone) before he could finally make the decision to stay. I think deep down, Gerrard made the decision out of fear. Fear of people's possible reactions towards him and his family. Looking at it pessimistically, you could argue that he is now staying because his parents still hold power over him despite him being in his twenties. One can only fear that the decision will be reconsidered should we have a poor season under Benitez. It is a possibility with the probable introduction of a different formation and style of play to that under GH. People are now hailing Gerrard as some kind of Messiah, labelling his decision to turn down Chelsea at the last min conclusive proof that integrity still exsists with football today. The romantics are pleased. While part of me is well pleased that Gerrard is staying at LFC, another part if me is not convinced that we will see him at the peak of his abilities because a move to Chelsea or wherever will always be at the back of his mind. How would 2-3 early consecutive defeats in the league or a early Champions league exit affect his ability to focus on LFC 100%. For me that question remains unanswered. The question about him remaining a captain is also a interesting one i think. His weeks of indecision (and thats giving him the benifit of the doubt) will have told the other players ay the club what he thinks of their abilities as opposed to those of the Chelsea players. If i was a LFC player (I can always dream eh) I think i would find it strange to find myself captained by a man who quite clearly didnt think me worthy of a red shirt. While having been a fantastic servant to the club since he was 8, surely this doubt about his commitment (by his own admission) should mean the captaincy being given to the one man currently worthy of it. Step forward Jamie Carragher. It wont be, of course, as that would be Parry and Benitez's public admission that they do not believe him when he says he is 100% commited to LFC. And that wont happen in a million years.

Hard hitting and thought provoking.

[kindaconfuzed]

S & M

Nice topic.

For me Stevie G is the fans choice, young, talented and Liverpool born, athletic and run to the end.

But is he a captain, for me his game hasn't reached maturity yet and he needs to moderate his play and while he's concentrating on this then can he keep an eye on the others.

I guess the captain is being asked to lead and motivate and I think personally Stevie is just a tad off the mark when it comes to this but hes the peoples choice.

I think Stevies motivation is dependant upon him doing the lions share all the time which I don't think is what its all about but then i have no idea who it should be.

To make a choice I think yer need to know the personalities of the players and I dont think the fans are close enough to know that.

[jonnymac1979]

I have to say it's been a while since I read a thread from start to finish but St Mick, and I know it's only two pages long up to now, but there are a lot of long posts.

Long story short, excellent thread this fellas.

I'm not contributing much lately mainly because i'm lazy, but I am reading a lot and this thread has held my attention like no other recently for a while.

Continue by all means.

[A.B.]

Whether Stevie G is a good captain or not, that is up to Rafa if Stevie G will continue to be a captain.

[madred]

It would be nice to hear people's opinions on my post on page 2 of this thread regarding the article about Stevie. Just want to know if people tend to agree with what he has wrote or not and why.

[adayinthelife]

Hey madred it seems to me that Gerrard must have thought about leaving us during last season as we were so far off winning the league for yet another season.

However despite this when he was given the captaincy he amazingly seemed to move up another gear and dragged a mediocre team into the champs lge.

IMO to take away the armband would be a huge mistake and even if we dont get much closer to arsenal he will see that under Benitez we are moving in the right direction.

[supersub]

I read the article and it does hit the nail on the head.
This is a great thread and I don't think st. michael needs to run for cover because it's a thought provoking topic rather than a hatchet job criticism.I doubt whether a change in captaincy will happen unless SG decides himself it would be for the best.I want leaders in all areas of the pitch,which is something we haven't had for awhile.

[madred]

I thought it was a really good article to be honest but not one that all fans will want to read really. What went on in the summer was a sad (s**t some might say) state of affairs and the reason i posted the article is because it seemed to reflect most of what my feelings have been over that proposed move. No matter how much i have tried to convince myself that Stevie belongs here something keeps telling me that it aint right that he is. I dont think many fans will warm to me saying this but its just how i feel. Im starting to get the feeling that we should enjoy Stevie's time at the club because it aint going to be much longer all though of course i want him to stay.

[Shanti]

it's good to re-questioning SG's role since the situation inside has been rapidly changing (rafalution). Verifying this issue is relevant.

[kindaconfuzed]

XSD

I think you are so right about the fact that Raf can't take it off Stevie G now but what could happen is to wait for Stevie G to hit a bad patch (sure hope he doesn't fellas) and then do it.

[kindaconfuzed]

Madreed

My sintiments exactly re Stevie G not being with us for long, at the end of the season if we havent won anything then I'm afraid its offskee. I think the MO move has left him isolated and particularly if MO does well if not then this will influence him in terms of choice of club rather than highest bidder.

Watch in amazement cos it might not be for long.

[jim_morrison_supported_liverpool]

i agree totally with madred's post about Stevie G. i was only in a taxi 15 minutes ago talking to a taxi driver telling him the same thing, and he agreed aswell, so i think there's alot more people who are onto this than it seems.

when he made the decision to stay, it was dead obvious that it was because he'd been informed of what was goin on in liverpool-what people were sayin. his ma and da and mates told him this, and i also believe there's some truth int he rumour that carragher got a grip of him and told him what he thought. 

i wasnt taken in by all the romantic bull**** about loyalty etc, in fact i was still cursing him as i knew he'd only stayed cos people had made him change his mind.

nevertheless, he still proved that even when his heart wasnt 100% there he can play like no other can at centre mid at the moment, purely beacuse he loves the game so much and is determined to succeed.his drive is unbelievable.

i'm on the fence with the captaincy issue. on the one hand i think he's too inexperienced to be captain, but when you see him singlehandedly drag the team into the champions league you think "well who else". like all the other issue concerning the reds at the moment-time will tell