McManus turn in your armband.

exactly, it's a team effort. Why isnt there a tgread about naka and samaras having a * game, had those gone in the defenders wouldnt have looked so nervy.

 

Yeh I agree with that, he wasn't even the worst defender last night and there wasn't any thread like this when he was defending for his life at Old Trafford and against Man Utd at Parkhead.

Main reason we didn't win last night was for squandering so many chances.

 

Didn't expect such a * statement to come from a "super-moderator".

 

paul hartley for captain

 

we need someone who can can scream and shout lennon done
that for us remember he started on mcgeady. someone like roy
keane hartley is closet to that

 

First of all i don't understand this idea of playing a "captain's role" what is it? Does it matter? I don't think so. The current CL and EPL champs won their haul last year under the mighty captaincy of ... Gary Neville. The idea that pro footballers on 20k a week will be inspired by thumping of chests or blood and guts in naive.

The captain is there to represent the team on and off the pitch. Captaincy is about shaking hands before the game, doing post match conferences and taking presents to sick kids at Christmas.

Even if you could take the captaincy away from a still young and always starting player (which you can't so it won't happen), who would you replace him with? It seems to me there are only four other options and those are the four other player that are pretty much guaranteed a game - Boruc, Brown, Naka and Caldwell. Boruc would be an embarrassment to the club with his on and off field antics, Brown is too young, still has to reign his aggression and is monosylabic in interviews, Naka doesn't speak English.

This leaves Caldwell, who if the skippers armband was being given out now would have a decent shout for it. But anyone who has been on here any decent length of time will remember, for the first year and a half Caldwell was hounded by fans for being * and not being "Celtic class". In the last year he has really started to play well, he comes across well in interviews and doesn't get into trouble on or off the pitch.

So to me Caldwell and Mick are fairly even. The only difference being that Mick came through the youth ranks here and has been in the team for a year longer. Personally i'm delighted that it is one of our own bhoys who is skipper, not that it matters much.

As for him being ashamed of his performance last night from what i watched of the game he was our most solid defender. Loovens beside him had a stinker but i think Mick has started to pick it up in the last month. He cleared many high balls in to their strikers and was putting in crucial challenges.

If you are looking for scapegoats then i think you should be looking further up the field. The game should have been buried by half time. After we had scored the front six lost all sort of shape and ability to pass, losing the ball cheaply time and again, bringing waves of attacks on to us. Even when they had so much time in our third they were restricted to long range efforts in the main and hopefull punts in the box. Sometimes you get lucky with these - they did last night.

 

I'll get pelters for this probably, but I see Barry Ferguson as a better captain than McManus. He constantly rollicks his team mates and puts a bit of fear into them to get them to raise their games. I just don't see that fire in McManus.

 

He's a centre half with limited ability captaining a team full of players with limited ability. Sounds like perfect captain.

We lost the game last night because the manager spent so long trying to decide if he should go for it or take the draw and probable UEFA Cup qualification, that by the time he'd decided we were a goal down.

Responsibility for last night lies fairly and squarely at the feet of the manager for his lack of bravery and indecision when it was obvious some players could barely break into a jog, nevermind chase and track back.

Pointing the finger at individual players is worthless.

 

Relating to your second paragraph only.

Captains are there to -encourage, inspire, moan at, insite, *, chastise etc all players he is supposed to be the leader of when on the pitch.

 

Totaly correct.

 

I'm sorry but if you think that a professional footballer who has spent 15 years playing every day for big clubs and their country is going to be motivated by someone screaming in their ear then i think you are wrong.

People see players like Keane or Terry putting everything into playing and they say they are playing a "captain's role" but the truth is those players were playing that way before they were captains. It doesn't make any difference. Once again, the best team in the world last season, Man Utd, got by okay with Gary Neville as their captain. Who was chosen by fergie presumably as he was among the most appearances made, didn't get into off field trouble and spoke well in interviews.

 

I don't think he did a thing wrong, and has been solid for weeks, I'd just prefer Caldwell as captain. Won't happen though and i stick by WGS decision.

 

No offense but this is a silly, silly thread. Big Mick has been playing well recently and i didn't see anything last night to justify people wanting his to hand in the armband. The reason we are out of europe is because our attacking players failed to do their job and take their chances, it had absolutely * ALL to do with the defense who have been solid recently. Two freak goals and a loss of confidence and composure at the vital time also but Mick can hardly be blamed for that.

 

These 2 don't even play every match.

 

A good point about Keane and Terry, but we don't have those luxuries.

It is still a captains duty to be able to lift the spirits of the players when their heads are down and they are up against it.
I see in lots of games it's Caldwell who is doing the organising of the defence for corners and free kicks against us, a lot more verbal to the players than Mick.

 

Can i ask what did you make of Neil Lennon when he was a player for us?

 

The last paragraph is very, very, true. I think we've improved in terms of performances in the league this season, but in the big games we've been diabolical. The defence and mental attitude of this side needs to change if we are ever to make any progress from our current position.

It won't be long till the coefficients from this * poor European season kicks in (Celtic/Filth/Q o S/Well) and there will be no automatic place, and likely only one CL place as well.

If we don't improve by then our chances at a decent European run will be very low for a season or two, meaning finances will be drastically hit.

The board shat it this summer and let the fans and the club down big time by their tight fistedness, and now we, the fans, as usual are paying for it.

 

Human psychology is human psychology, I don't care if you earn 200 a week or 200,000. People respond to leaders and teams play better when they have the belief and organization a good leader can give them.

That said, my biggest gripe with McManus is his propensity to welly balls up the field without even bothering to look where the * thing is going. It's like watching a lower league centre back from the 1970's sometimes.

 

for all the people saying they want this person that person and the other as captain need to get a grip !! so what happens to mcmanus if he STRIPPED of the captincy what would that do to the boy and to the team ? and although caldwell has been outstanding what would people have says if strachan had given caldwell the armband when mcmanus took it over because that was at the time not to many people liked caldwell , there would have murder!! so grow up n get a grip