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
The Premier League voiced "significant concerns" over potential reforms to the Champions League on Friday, saying the changes would damage the thriving domestic game.
Premier League voices fears over proposed UCL reforms
Liverpool, who had failed to score in their last two games against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Manchester United in the Premier League, could have bagged even more as Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah also ran Watford ragged. The result kept Liverpool top of the Premier League on 69 points, just ahead of Manchester City on 68 points
Stylish Liverpool thrash Watford to stay top | Free Malaysia
Eriksen demands strong finish - theworldnews.net
Football: Liverpool's TV income may top record £250 million after Champions League victory. The previous record was held by Liverpool and Real Madrid at £222.6 million in the 2017/2018
Football: Liverpool's TV income may top record £250 million
allmysportsnews.com/soccer/football-liverpools-tv-income-may-top-record-250-million-after-champions-league-victory/
LONDON (BLOOMBERG) - Liverpool's victory over Tottenham Hotspur to take the Champions League title on Saturday (June 1) will let the club make another claim: It'll become the first global football team to bring in more than £250 million (S$433.7 million) in a season from broadcast income.
Liverpool TV Income May Top Record 250 Million Pounds After Win
Saswa eyes SPL title glory. Ex-Singapore international Saswadimata Dasuki, who won the Malaysia Cup with the Lions in 1994, has been appointed the new head coach of Home United. The 49-year-old
Saswa eyes SPL title glory - theworldnews.net
ABU DHABI (AFP) - Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said on Friday (Jan 18) that he was "honoured" to be courted by Colombia, who want the former Real Madrid boss to join them after the Asian Cup.. Read
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz set for Colombia switch after Asian
Neymar has paid a visit to Brazilian football legend Pele, who has been in hospital in Paris since April 3. The Paris Saint-Germain forward posted a photo on his Instagram account on Monday of
Neymar visits recovering Pele in hospital
Wes Brown recognises Ferguson fingerprints at Manchester United under Solskjaer Since replacing Jose Mourinho in December in a caretaker role, Solskjaer has put forward a near-perfect case to take
Former Manchester United stalwarts Dwight Yorke and Wes Brown
chennaiyinfc.com/former-manchester-united-stalwarts-dwight-yorke-and-wes-brown-meet-chennaiyin-fc-stars/
Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke was a special guest at the Indian Super League encounter between reigning champions Chennaiyin FC and Delhi Dynamos FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Saturday evening.
ISL 2017: Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown signs
If you're new, Subscribe! →
Football: Zohore gives Cardiff 2-1 win over Southampton in thrilling finish Cardiff City's Kenneth Zohore celebrates scoring their second goal with team mates. PHOTO: REUTERS
Zohore gives Cardiff 2-1 win over Southampton in thrilling finish
Search the history of over 356 billion web pages on the Internet.
The Straits Times Audio Features - omnycontent.com
Female staff member of Hougang United charged with CBT over $278,000 clubhouse funds. PHOTO: Hougang United. "The Football Association of Singapore is aware of this matter, and had raised
Female staff member of Hougang United charged with CBT over
AC Milan miss out on top-four finish despite SPAL win a bittersweet 3-2 win at SPAL in the last round of the Serie A, finishing the campaign outside the top four after their nearest rivals
AC Milan miss out on top-four finish despite SPAL win
It descends from California's Purple Dragon and Thailand's landrace sativa known as Green Thai, and this genetic fusion is evident in Game Changer's twisting hues of vibrant green and deep
World Cup: USWNT's Carli Lloyd is a 'game-changer' whether
Football: Australian Joe Palatsides set to replace Belgian Michel Sablon as FAS' new technical director
FA Singapore set to announce former Australia international
watch coppa america live streaming dailymotion
watch soccer live streaming kenya vs ethiopia
watch coppa america live streaming rcti
watch live premier league football streaming online for free iraqgoals
watch champions league soccer live streaming
watch champions league live streaming bein sport
watch premier league live streaming vf
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online reddit
watch soccer online free live streaming livetv ru
watch soccer game live now
watch premier league matches live streaming
watch bangladesh premier league live streaming online free
watch barclays premier league online live streaming
watch coppa america live streaming vf
watch live streaming soccer games
watch coppa america live streaming qatar
watch soccer online free streaming live without registration
watch indian premier league live streaming
watch coppa america live streaming bola
watch soccer live stream app
watch karnataka premier league live streaming
super soccer tv live streaming indonesia
watch coppa america live streaming online
watch uefa champions league draw live streaming
watch live soccer game today
watch soccer online free streaming live canada
live ipl live streaming- watch indian premier league 2013 online
watch soccer online free streaming live p2p
watch soccer online free streaming live liverpool
watch coppa america live streaming zip
watch soccer online free streaming live batman
watch uefa champions league draw live streaming free online
watch champions league live streaming pc
watch soccer game live espn
watch the champions league live stream
watch coppa america live streaming live
watch live soccer streaming free android
watch soccer live streaming juventus
watch champions league live streaming zee tv
watch coppa america live streaming putlockers
watch epl live streaming on iphone
watch soccer live stream hunter
how to watch uefa champions league live streaming
watch soccer online free streaming live iphone
watch indian premier league live stream online
watch champions league final online free live streaming
watch coppa america live streaming totalsportek
watch uefa champions league quarter final draw live streaming
watch coppa america live streaming canada
watch champions league live streaming video
soccer tv live football streaming reddit
cpl 2018 live streaming watch caribbean premier league t20 2018
watch soccer live streaming hd
watch bangladesh premier league live streaming
watch english premier league live streaming free
watch soccer live stream apk
watch uefa champions league draw live streaming youtube
watch premier league live streaming yify
watch soccer live football streaming - ronaldo7.net
watch coppa america live streaming uk
watch soccer online free streaming live
watch premier league live streaming video
watch champions league live streaming match
watch afghanistan premier league live stream
watch soccer online free streaming live english
watch coppa america live streaming english
watch soccer live - live football streaming
watch sky sports premier league live stream
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online india
watch champions league live streaming crictime
watch hd soccer live streaming free
watch coppa america live streaming tv
watch champions league live streaming vk
watch soccer live stream links
watch premier league games live stream
watch champions league live streaming cricfree
watch champions league draw live streaming
watch english premier league live streaming
watch tamil nadu premier league live streaming
watch champions league live streaming now free
watch coppa america live streaming nz
watch coppa america live streaming xfinity
super soccer tv live streaming napoli vs juventus
watch soccer live streaming xfinity
watch coppa america live streaming mexico
watch soccer online free streaming live youtube
watch champions league live streaming bt sport
watch champions league live streaming live free
watch coppa america live streaming jamaica
watch coppa america live streaming hd free
apps to watch live streaming soccer
watch champions league live streaming vf
watch soccer live streaming zee tv
watch coppa america live streaming usa
watch coppa america live streaming india
watch champions league semi final draw live stream
watch champions league online free live streaming hd
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online youtube
watch live soccer online free streaming now
watch champions league live streaming pakistan
watch coppa america live streaming yify
soccer tv live net stream
watch premier league darts live stream
watch premier league live streaming youtube
watch soccer live streaming qatar
watch premier league live streaming online - soccer portal
watch coppa america live streaming eng
how to watch champions league live streaming
watch premier league net live stream channel
watch everton vs tottenham live soccer streaming
watch soccer online free streaming live app
watch soccer live streaming jamaica
watch premier league live streaming vk
watch coppa america live streaming bt sport
watch premier league stream reddit
watch premier league live streaming jamaica
watch coppa america live streaming zee5
soccer tv live football streaming garuda select
watch soccer live streaming reddit
live football watch free live football streaming free soccer
watch champions league live streaming eng
watch champions league draw live streaming free
watch soccer aid live stream online
watch coppa america live streaming game
watch premier league net live manchester united stream channel
watch champions league live streaming bola
watch soccer online free streaming live south africa
#cr7 #nationsleague #panini #freekicks #arsenalnews #rockstar #4Series #transfernews #girlsniteout #bayern #freekick #premierleague #lovefootball #calciatoribrutti #nutmeg #premierleague #streamingbolaid #soccerbible #ucl #livesports #coys #PartyTime #alissonbecker #tokyo #leicestercity #manchesterunited #thebeatles #livestreams #hoffenhiem #frasirap #henderson #cristiano #barcelona #goal #roadtrip #salah #soccer #nikesoccer #neymar #copaamerica #mane #footballstreaming #Fcb #juventus #league1 #Bar #serieatim #afcnews #thomasmeunier #coutinho #golazo #adidasslipon #vip #football #league2 #championsleague #arsenalfantv #oasisengland #JUVENTUS #liverpoolfans #portsmouthfc #liverpoolcity #ronaldo #championship #oasisandbeatles #lfc #kopisusu #oasisofficial #soccer #zidane #ignoranza #frasitrap #cappucino #comics #Liamgallagher #messi #kroenkeout #acmilan #england #sumbertv #ballondor #insegreto #goodday #footballmeme #433skills
0 comments:
Post a Comment