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
Soccer Football - Champions League - FC Barcelona Press Conference - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - May 6, 2019 FC Barcelona's Luis Suarez during the press conference Action Images via Reuters/Lee
Champions League news: "Our defence looked like schoolboys
United made a highly aggressive start to the game, but too often, their forwards chose the wrong option or failed to deliver the right pass, although Marcus Rashford and Pogba both tested PSG's 41
PSG take charge with 2-0 win at Manchester United, Paul Pogba
Fulham, yet to keep a clean sheet this season, stayed rooted to the bottom of the table with nine points from 17 games, while the Hammers' fourth league win in a row lifted them to ninth place on 24 points. New Fulham manager Claudio Ranieri had been looking to build on the four points his side took in their first two home games under his charge.
West Ham beat Fulham 2-0 to post fourth win in a row
Furious Maurizio Sarri says Chelsea players lack motivation Description: Chelsea remain in fourth place but are only three points above Arsenal and Manchester United after goals by Alexandre Lacazette and Laurent Koscielny condemned his side to defeat.
Pablo Fornals' Late Show Stuns Frustrated Champions Fornals goal as Villarreal earned a smash-and-grab 1-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu. by a poor one-on-one miss by Ronaldo and some good
Toni Kroos Winner Rescues Real Madrid, Atletico Lose More
Pep Guardiola [Photo, Courtesy] Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said Old Trafford is no longer a "scary" place to visit ahead of Wednesday's derby at the home of Manchester United. Victory
PREMIER LEAGUE: Old Trafford 'not a scary venue anymore' says Pep
Cardiff claim they are shocked by a report that the pilot in the plane crash that killed Emiliano Sala was not qualified to fly at night. The Premier League club said they remain "deeply concerned
Cardiff 'shocked' by Sala pilot report | theScore.com
Arsenal legend Ian Wright says Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should drop error-prone goalkeeper David de Gea for the remaining two Premier League games. The Spaniard has made several costly errors in recent matches including Sunday's game which saw Chelsea claim a point at Old Trafford.
Paul Parker backs Solskjaer to be next long - talksport.com
SINGAPORE, 9 MAY 2019 - Philippe Aw's national Under-15 team will take on DPR Korea, Hong Kong and Guam in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-16 Championship 2020 qualifiers later this year. Singapore will host all the matches in Group
2011 - Football Association of Singapore
Soccer Football - Women's World Cup - Group A - Norway v Nigeria - Stade Auguste-Delaune, Reims, France - June 8, 2019 Norway's Guro Reiten celebrates scoring their first goal as Nigeria's Tochukwu O
Soccer: Hegerberg-less Norway canter past Nigeria | News | 99
Rafael Benítez fumes after Wolves deny Newcastle with stoppage-time equaliser says Benitez (Sky Sports) Rafael Benítez must hate it when the fourth official holds up the board for added time
Rafael Benítez fumes after Wolves deny Newcastle with
Socceroos will bounce back, declares Arnold the Socceroos most certainly have Palestine covered. But the same was true last week in Al Ain, when a ferocious and focused Jordanian outfit pulled
Socceroos beat Palestine, live to fight another day at Asian Cup
Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has admitted sending a member of his coaching staff to spy on Derby County before their English Championship match on Saturday (NZ time). Derby said earlier
Leeds manager Bielsa admits sending spy to Derby
watch usa soccer live stream
watch coppa america live streaming australia
watch coppa america live streaming ronaldo7
watch live soccer online free streaming now
free watch soccer live streaming
watch afghanistan premier league live stream
how to watch champions league live streaming
watch epl live streaming on iphone
watch champions league online free live streaming hd
watch karnataka premier league live streaming
watch live premier league football streaming online for free iraqgoals
watch soccer online free streaming live bbc
watch soccer live streaming juventus vs manchester united
watch champions league live streaming jamaica
watch coppa america live streaming match
watch coppa america live streaming game
watch sky sports premier league live stream
watch soccer games online free streaming live
watch arsenal southampton premier league live stream
watch soccer live stream hunter
super soccer tv live streaming napoli vs juventus
watch live english premier league online free streaming
watch premier league live streaming vk
watch live soccer stream android
watch bangladesh premier league live streaming
watch soccer live streaming xfinity
watch soccer online free streaming live english
watch coppa america live streaming rcti
watch live soccer streaming on iphone
best site to watch live soccer streaming
watch hd soccer live streaming free
watch coppa america live streaming bola
watch champions league live streaming malaysia
watch coppa america live streaming crictime
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online india
watch coppa america live streaming espn
watch premier league live streaming xbox one
watch coppa america live streaming portugal
watch coppa america live streaming putlockers
watch coppa america live streaming mobile
watch soccer live streaming zee tv
watch premier league live streaming juventus
watch soccer live streaming jamaica
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online reddit
watch coppa america live streaming dailymotion
how to watch soccer live streaming free
watch uefa champions league draw live streaming free online
how to watch premier league live streaming
watch the premier league live stream
watch soccer online free streaming live no registration
watch coppa america live streaming quality
watch champions league soccer live streaming
watch live streaming soccer world cup
watch premier league net live manchester united stream channel
watch english premier league live streaming free
watch soccer online free live streaming hd
watch premier league live streaming live
watch coppa america live streaming reddit
watch coppa america live streaming xbox
watch coppa america live streaming zee5
watch coppa america live streaming youtube
watch champions league final live streaming online
watch soccer online free streaming live youtube
watch tamil nadu premier league live streaming
watch uefa champions league final live streaming free online
watch champions league final online free live streaming
watch uefa champions league draw live streaming youtube
watch champions league live streaming match
watch soccer online free streaming live liverpool
watch us soccer live stream
live ipl live streaming- watch indian premier league 2013 online
watch champions league live streaming now tv
watch sky sports premier league online free streaming live
watch champions league draw live streaming free
watch premier league live streaming yify
watch coppa america live streaming hotstar
apps to watch live streaming soccer
watch soccer online free streaming live cricfree
cpl 2018 live streaming watch caribbean premier league t20 2018
watch coppa america live streaming sub eng
watch champions league live streaming pakistan
watch soccer live streaming xbox
watch coppa america live streaming bt sport
where to watch free live soccer streaming online
soccer tv live football streaming garuda select
watch soccer live stream links
watch champions league live streaming zee5
watch premier league live streaming qatar
watch soccer aid live stream online
watch champions league live streaming vf
watch champions league semi final draw live stream
#433skills #Suarez #panini #liverpool #bundesliga #footballmeme #tokyo #watchlive #kickoff #soccerbible #valcea #kopisusu #thomasmeunier #arsenalnews #commentimemorabili #crossfit #league2 #villarealcf #nikesoccer #coyg #hotcoffee #MSport #oasis #MyDubai #freekickerz #nationsleague #Vip45 #footballstreaming #girlsniteout #soccermemes #gym #manchesterunited #messi #ucl #oasisengland #champion #oasisofficial #ballondor #copaamerica #ignoranza #trollfootball #Sunday #knuckleball #kroenkeout #mensnightout #footballdubai #Barca #livestreaming #visubal #acmilan #chocolatecoffee #PartyTime #fut #thebeatles #midnight #soccer #adidasslipon #comico #pagani #satira #uefanationsleague #coutinho #goal #Liamgallagher #Bar #golazo #footballfans #cristiano #football #league1 #afcnews #realmadridcf #manchestercity #premierleague #arsenal #salah #londoncity #risate #GarageCafeDxb #serieatim #juventus #championship #liverpool #lovefootball #liverpoolfc #paulmcartney #championsleague #americanfootball #Barcelona #Liverpool #myfootballuniverse #JUVENTUS
No comments:
Post a Comment