[Siberian Spireite]

Is it April 1st?

[Bonnyman]

MA was doing a good job of fooling us till he made that clown captain

[Essex_Spireite]

metallilad, on 18 July 2018 - 06:05 PM, said:

He looked good last night.
Comfortable on the ball, breaking most of their attacks up and getting forward aswell.
Maybe he has found his level?
Maybe MA can get something out of him that JL couldn't?
Maybe the style of football we play suites his game better?
We'll see. But I hope that people will be man enough to accept that IF he has a good season they will acknowledge it.

He looked good...against Gainsborough.

We saw him last season against sides like Lincoln, Mansfield, Coventry, etc and he was garbage.

The fact he is staying is bad enough. The fact he is captain is just ridiculous.

[Middle East]

Essex_Spireite, on 18 July 2018 - 10:07 PM, said:

He looked good...against Gainsborough.

We saw him last season against sides like Lincoln, Mansfield, Coventry, etc and he was garbage.

The fact he is staying is bad enough. The fact he is captain is just ridiculous.

He looked good against Donny in the last pre-season and got his contract as a result....and that was the last really good performance I've seen from him!

Let's hope MA and a drop in division suit him.... but captain????

[Tora Tora Tora]

A motivator is MA and he is doing what he feels will get the best out of Weir.

I hope it works. As long as the team perform as a whole. That’s what matters.

[danblue]

I think you'll be surprised re Wier and the captaincy.
Last season was a right off, but IMO, I think he might be at this level we find ourselves at.
He's a good talker on the pitch and maybe making him Skipper will move him up a notch.
He also covers a couple of positions.

[Phil V 72]

Does it really matter who the Captain is? It strikes me that MA is more interested in the collective attitude of his players than the having an individual 'leader'. At this stage, only an impression but suspect there will no 'sacred cows' - if someone doesn't perform they won't be playing.

Gary Lineker recently on being England Captain - "...in terms of altering the team's performance (it doesn't matter) one iota. It doesn't make a blind bit of difference. Fact. It's not Cricket. You get no say in tactics. The Manager will decide everything".

There are probably some honourable exceptions - Tony Adams, Gerrard, Keane - who make a difference on the pitch but for the most part, the identity of the Captain shouldn't be significant if the team has the right characters, should it?

[danblue]

I see it as a trust position on the pitch.
It's someone the manager trusts for other players to look up to and listen to. For the manager to channel his ideas through on the pitch and make sure they are implemented. A singular person to have dialog with the ref during the match. A guy who make sure players are one their toes and make sure heads don't drop when things go wrong.
He must see that in Wier.

[clarevoyant.]

Phil V 72, on 19 July 2018 - 08:49 AM, said:

Does it really matter who the Captain is? It strikes me that MA is more interested in the collective attitude of his players than the having an individual 'leader'. At this stage, only an impression but suspect there will no 'sacred cows' - if someone doesn't perform they won't be playing.

Gary Lineker recently on being England Captain - "...in terms of altering the team's performance (it doesn't matter) one iota. It doesn't make a blind bit of difference. Fact. It's not Cricket. You get no say in tactics. The Manager will decide everything".

There are probably some honourable exceptions - Tony Adams, Gerrard, Keane - who make a difference on the pitch but for the most part, the identity of the Captain shouldn't be significant if the team has the right characters, should it?

In this case you're right. A captain plays a vital role with a more reserved manager, but in our case after listening to decibel levels eminating from the technical area at gainsborough all tactical instructions, bo11ockings etc, will be delivered from 1 yard off the pitch (if the 4th official does his job)

Our captains main job will be one of diplomacy when dealing with refereeing disputes.

[Spire-Power]

If Weston Westbury and Carter are good I'd guess that Weir will play better than he did alongside McCourt and the rest of last seasons midfield. Ditto McCourt in a better midfield.

[Brookie]

We'll not know until they have played 5 or 6 competitive matches in the league

[firedodger]

Phil V 72, on 19 July 2018 - 08:49 AM, said:

Does it really matter who the Captain is? It strikes me that MA is more interested in the collective attitude of his players than the having an individual 'leader'. At this stage, only an impression but suspect there will no 'sacred cows' - if someone doesn't perform they won't be playing.

Gary Lineker recently on being England Captain - "...in terms of altering the team's performance (it doesn't matter) one iota. It doesn't make a blind bit of difference. Fact. It's not Cricket. You get no say in tactics. The Manager will decide everything".

There are probably some honourable exceptions - Tony Adams, Gerrard, Keane - who make a difference on the pitch but for the most part, the identity of the Captain shouldn't be significant if the team has the right characters, should it?

Disagree, regardless of the make up of your team or the strength of character of your manager you need a leader on the pitch.
Listening to Allen speak about when he was made captain early in his career he sees the value of the position and his choice won’t have been made lightly.

[Phil V 72]

firedodger, on 19 July 2018 - 10:00 AM, said:

Disagree, regardless of the make up of your team or the strength of character of your manager you need a leader on the pitch.
Listening to Allen speak about when he was made captain early in his career he sees the value of the position and his choice won’t have been made lightly.

And if Weir breaks his leg in the first game? I suspect there are 3 or 4 senior players who could take on the role - I agree that the decision might have been about getting the best out of the player though, maybe with the extra responsibility it can enhance his performance.

[h again]

Spire-Power, on 19 July 2018 - 09:46 AM, said:

If Weston Westbury and Carter are good I'd guess that Weir will play better than he did alongside McCourt and the rest of last seasons midfield. Ditto McCourt in a better midfield.

Sums it up nicely. Most of last seasons players suffered from a collective condition of low morale and a complete lack of confidence, and it showed. Put any one of them into a successful side and they wouldn't be world beaters but they'd start to show why they've made it as far in professional football as they have. Robbie Weir is the mosty likely to come into that category, as MA must have spotted.

[Spire-Power]

Players of moderate ability, none blessed with much height, strength or pace either. Total powderpuff midfield as a group last season

This post has been edited by Spire-Power: 19 July 2018 - 10:34 AM

[ash_cfc]

Voiceofjoe, on 18 July 2018 - 06:49 PM, said:

I’d heard he was a bit of a divisive figure in the dressing room last year. If that was the case then hopefully MA has changed him, or brings him to task pretty sharply.

Most of last seasons squad aren’t here for it to be an issue. Divisive figure = Sid Nelson said he was a prićk

[Spire-Power]

Bonnyman, on 18 July 2018 - 09:55 PM, said:

MA was doing a good job of fooling us till he made that clown captain

You think he's just all blah blah and won't deliver? Surely better to see how the season goes before issuing put downs.

[Spireite Stone]

I remember watching Robbie Weir when he was on trial with us last year. Despite coming back from a serious knee injury, we were all giving him standing ovations for his performances against Doncaster and Sheffield United. I think last year, everyone's performance dropped as we got into a losing habit. This year, with the winning habit returning and a year of football under his belt after that injury, he could well be a good player for us.

[Phil V 72]

Spire-Power, on 19 July 2018 - 10:45 AM, said:

You think he's just all blah blah and won't deliver? Surely better to see how the season goes before issuing put downs.

Yes - Controversial opinion but I think MA’s managerial record might just suggest he knows what he’s doing.

[hilly81]

Phil V 72, on 19 July 2018 - 08:49 AM, said:

Does it really matter who the Captain is? It strikes me that MA is more interested in the collective attitude of his players than the having an individual 'leader'. At this stage, only an impression but suspect there will no 'sacred cows' - if someone doesn't perform they won't be playing.

Gary Lineker recently on being England Captain - "...in terms of altering the team's performance (it doesn't matter) one iota. It doesn't make a blind bit of difference. Fact. It's not Cricket. You get no say in tactics. The Manager will decide everything".

There are probably some honourable exceptions - Tony Adams, Gerrard, Keane - who make a difference on the pitch but for the most part, the identity of the Captain shouldn't be significant if the team has the right characters, should it?

I agree. The role of captain is vastly overrated by a lot of people. If Allen says there were 7 candidates then I would expect all 7 to behave as captains while on the pitch.