Leadership?

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

This isn't particularly in response to last night (I thought we played fairly well on the whole, but were undone by individual errors), but a more general point about the team this season.

In the past we had a really strong spine, and leaders all over the field: Hart, Kompany, Zabaleta, Barry, Toure, Tevez etc. You could see it on Tunnel Cam, where they'd be cajoling each other before games and the opposition would look apprehensive.

The squad is arguably stronger now, but there seems to be a distinct lack of leaders in the team. The captaincy changes hands on an almost match-by-match basis, and there doesn't seem to be anyone who drags the team through when we're up against it.

Maybe the game has changed, and that sort of tub-thumping rhetoric isn't as important any more, or is it something lacking in the squad that needs to be addressed in the summer?

Oh for the days of Roy Paul!

 

[MarsLlama]

Stones and De Bruyne will both develop into great leaders I reckon. Agreed that we're lacking in that department now having lost Hart and Touré, and Kompany barely playing and Zabaleta running out of time. Fernandinho and Silva aren't quite vocal enough. If Kolarov was a bit more consistent I'd be more than happy to make him our captain for this season. I wouldn't know the ins and outs of how much difference it actually makes but personally I think a club should have one captain who will hopefully be there to help with things like bridging the gap between managers. They need to be someone the fans want representing their club and injecting identity.

In a few years time John Stones will wear the armband- and we'll all be proud to have him wear it, which is the most important thing.

 

[Bluewonder]

We don't have much, which is why I was surprised to see Hart go.

 

[Benarbia]

In a way we are sort of like how Arsenal evolved. There is no voice on the pitch anymore, there is no presence

 

[City Glory While Others Fade]

In a way we are sort of like how Arsenal evolved. There is no voice on the pitch anymore, there is no presence

The manager has publicly stated he will leave it to the players to pick the captain....right or wrong its planned not evolved !!
This thread should be closed and comments transferred to a Pep related thread.

 

[Terra Passenger]

Pep is in charge. 100%.

If it ever appears otherwise, there will be a change in squad followed by a transfer.

And this is as it should be.

Our Captain on the field... not really important.

If anyone is capable of relaying Pep's instructions real-time to everyone else on the pitch... that is extremely important.

I'm not sure that Pep has identified his relayer yet.

 

[Rhapsody in Blue]

Can't remember any alpha males in Pep's Barca and Bayern Munich, more leaders in that sense that they did a great job on the pitch. Xavi and Lahm spring to mind.

 

[arfurclue]

Hi @Ric. Here is maybe a different way of looking at your question, which relates with leadership and change. Roughly, it may be said that there are two basic paths of change. One tries to change the outer first to change the Inner, the other changes the inner to change the outer. Not so much that one is 'right,' the other 'wrong' - just different.
One example of this might a players approach to stretching in warm ups. In the first case, a player might stretch to the point of tension, then push even further to make the body more flexible and so, relaxed and prepared. The second would be more about finding the point of tension but then, rather than pushing further, letting the inner tension dissolve - which allows the mind to be calmer and the body to relax and open in a fluid way. I appreciate if what I write does not come across too clearly but each way may have a different mentality and so a different kind of leadership becomes apparent. In the first way it would be about pushing one self and teammates - where 'tub-thumping' rhetoric may be useful. The second way would be more about helping to dissolve the inner tension, that the team comes together in a relaxed yet focussed way.