LONDON • About a decade ago, The Wall Street Journal writer Sam Walker had the idea of trying to identify the most objectively great teams in sporting history, and seeing if he could discern any common traits.
He found they all shared a single characteristic - for every team, the duration of their success coincided with the lifespan of a captain, who could elevate a team to perform beyond the level of their natural ability, from Hungary's Ferenc Puskas to Carles Puyol of Barcelona.
In short, he theorised the one thing the greatest teams have in common is great player leadership.
Walker's findings provide an interesting counterpoint to an inconspicuous but intriguing trend of this Premier League season.
At many teams, the club captain has been an impermanent or peripheral figure.
Gary Cahill has barely played for Chelsea, likewise, Everton's Phil Jagielka, and Southampton's Steven Davis, now on loan to Rangers.
LEAD BY EXAMPLE
You don't always need vocal captains... You can lead by example as a creative player. If the likes of Hazard or Silva are picked as captains, for me, that's a sign that those guys should be able to inspire the team.
NIGEL WINTERBURN, former Arsenal defender, on how individualistic attacking players can break the archetype of the vocal and defensive captain.
Manchester United's Antonio Valencia and Manchester City's Vincent Kompany have started five and six league games respectively.
Seven clubs (Arsenal, the Toffees, Fulham, City, United, Newcastle and the Saints) have had four or more captains this term.
All of which begs a question: Is the ever-present, totemic captain an endangered species? And does it matter?
The first thing to point out is that there does not appear to be an obvious correlation between consistency of captain and success based on the small sample of this league season.
City do not appear to have suffered for rotating the armband.
In fact, it is easy to disparage the importance attached to captaincy as old-fashioned - a peculiarly English hang-up.
When pundits - usually from the generations of retired former players - bemoan the lack of leaders in modern football, it feels like they are often harking back to that monolithic figure of English folklore.
The blood-soaked Terry Butcher, or Captain Marvel Bryan Robson, or John Terry or Tony Adams shouting and pointing fingers.
But Nigel Winterburn, who played under Adams at Arsenal, says that the presence of an old-school skipper in the ranks was not something he or his teammates considered a particularly important factor in their success.
"It didn't give us anything extra," the former England defender says.
"I never really worried who was captain, it didn't interest me."
When Winterburn moved to West Ham, the captaincy was less consistent unlike at Highbury, yet he "didn't personally notice the difference".
Is the lionisation of a single captain out of step with the reality of modern football then, a prehistoric obsession in an era of advanced analytics and player rotation?
As Michael Cox pointed out in an article for ESPN on Arsenal's perceived lack of leaders in 2016, every generation thinks it had better leaders.
As early as 1938, then Gunners boss Herbert Chapman was lamenting: "Football today lacks the personalities of 20 or 30 years ago."
A lack of leadership is often a retrofitted criticism applied to underperforming teams, while teams that succeed, despite lacking archetypal leaders, escape censure.
However, it would be wrong to say the idea of captaincy is something that is incompatible with the analytical side of modern football.
It is possible that the cult of the captain has seemingly declined in parallel with the rise of the cult of the coach.
The advent of meticulous micromanagers such as City's Pep Guardiola and Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp, whose coaching depends in large part on intensively rehearsing movements and systems, ensures their teams are never unsure of what to do in any phase of the game.
It seems there has also been a change in the type of player considered for the captaincy.
In the past, that office was usually the preserve of vocal, charismatic, defensive players.
But a new breed of captain has begun to emerge. This season, Arsenal's Mesut Ozil, David Silva at City and Fulham's Tom Cairney have worn the armband in the league.
These are all attacking players, most of the individualistic variety, none especially loud.
But Winterburn, who was captained by Joe Cole in his final season at West Ham, believes they can do the job.
"You don't always need vocal captains," he says. "You can lead by example as a creative player. If the likes of (Chelsea's Eden) Hazard or Silva are picked as captains, for me, that's a sign that those guys should be able to inspire the team."
While Winterburn still prefers the single-captain model, he adds, "There should be 11 captains out there."
It seems that is the way we are heading but by rotating the captaincy, are you multiplying leadership or spreading it more thinly?
Therein lies the paradox - with 59 players and counting having skippered a league team this season, is captaincy in decline? Or is it in fashion?
THE TIMES, LONDON
Hazard late show rescues Chelsea in Wolves draw - Vanguard News
Youth Group Lesson on Faith. DOWNLOAD THE PDF OF THIS LESSON. Bottom Line: Use this lesson with your youth group, student ministry, youth ministry or youth sunday school class to teach "trusting the voice".
The Priorities, Challenges, and Trends in Youth Ministry
The Merlion Cup returns for an eighth edition this June in a new format after a 10-year hiatus. First introduced in 1982, the invitational tournament was an annual affair until 1986 and saw
Merlion Cup returns as U22 tournament featuring Singapore
THE Premier League voiced "significant concerns" over potential reforms to the Champions League yesterday, saying the changes would damage the thriving domestic game. Reported reforms being
Premier League voices fears over proposed UCL reforms
Singapore striker Ikhsan Fandi is hitting a purple patch in Norway as he found the net in his third consecutive match for second-tier club Raufoss in just 11 days. On Wednesday, the 20-year-old gave his team a 33rd-minute lead at third-tier Fram Larvik in a Norwegian Football Cup second-round tie.
Vasileios Zikos Chua, 17, included in Fandi Ahmad's Merlion
Iran coach Queiroz set for Colombia switch after Asian Cup. (AFP) — Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said yesterday that he was "honoured" to be courted by Colombia, who want the former Real
Iran coach Queiroz set for Colombia switch after Asian Cup
Palatsides tipped for FAS technical director role, Football News & Top Stories - The Straits Times The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has cast its net far and wide for a new technical director and could well settle on someone from Down Under.
Director Fas Jobs, Employment | Indeed.com
Barcelona can end the hopes of title of real madrid in el clasico? Barcelona can end the hopes of title of real madrid in el clasico? Skip navigation Sign in. Search.
La Liga: FC Barcelona end Real Madrid's title hopes after
We lack trust in ourselves when we question our actions or decisions. Sometimes we might even question who we are. That can hurt. Build trust in yourself by breaking your habit of questioning your
In Ourselves and Each Other We Trust - Robin Morgan
Play at 'world-class' level, Poch tells Spurs
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was frustrated with Manchester United's inability to take their chances against Barcelona but says they can still progress. Solskjaer Rues
McGeeney rues missed Orchard chances in replay defeat - bbc.co.uk
Jan 01, 2019 · Mauricio Pochettino: Tottenham's win at Cardiff gives us title belief This article is more than 3 months old • 'A massive three points to make us believe that little more'
Tottenham Hotspur news: Mauricio Pochettino hails 'massive
Football: Cardiff to pay Sala fee if necessary, Football News
0 Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen