The Paper Captaincy of Gary Neville

[haven]

Gary Neville is not the captain of Man Utd. Oh, he may wear the armband. He may lead the team out. And I'm sure he'll list it on his CV. It's a nice story - Loyal Lifetime Red Gains Captaincy. How cute. But he's not the captain.

Rio Ferdinand is the captain of Man Utd. Yes, the Rio Ferdinand who held out for a new contract, who alienated the fans by being greedy, who squanders his enormous talent by occasionally looking disinterested.

He's our captain - because he plays like one. On the pitch, Rio organizes the defense. Rio screams at players for messing up, tactically. Rio tells the other players where to pass the ball. Rio is the rock in the spine of the team.

Gary Neville is a nice story. But if a captaincy means anything - it will be given to Ferdinand, sooner rather than later, because he does the captain's work on the pitch.

So as not to confuse the issue: it's not that Rio is captain because he's the better player, but because he's the team's on-field manager and (probably) joint-emotional leader along with RVN (and maybe Rooney).

I don't mean to insult Gary Neville. He's been an excellent servant of the club. He's severely underrated by most England fans who don't recognize how good of a defender he is. And I thought he deserved a shot at the captaincy. It's just obvious now that it doesn't fit him when Ferdinand is also on the pitch.

[JamesA]

Damn Straight!

He blossomed into our true leader.

Maybe that is what Fergie wanted all along. For Rio to sieze leadership of this team. Make it his team, as oppossed to just being handed the armband.

[K_19]

I tend to think that he's probably our best off-field leader, but Rio does fit into that on-field leader role much better than Gary does...

[Sapphire]

I agree insofar as I still think we are still in transition between captains, like we were when Keane first left. Neville is not the Keane replacement, the next multi-year captain of united. I agree that Rio has showed the fire of a captain recently, but in the months before his play and his attitude were poor, as I'm sure we all remember. With a little more long term consistency, I think we'll see Rio take over the armband permanently (if Rooney doesn't sneak up the ranks in the meantime). I'd personally prefer to see Rooney or another younger player take the armband and hold it for a long spell. I like to think that Gary is hanging on to the position while we figure out which player will be our long-term captain in the future.

[JamesA]

I tend to think that he's probably our best off-field leader, but Rio does fit into that on-field leader role much better than Gary does...

I think Rio is our off-field leader as well. Don't forget his...ummm....moment.....with Savage ;)

He's always in the news for being out with the boys and such. I think he is an intergral part, and a go-to guy for the youngins.

[johno]

excellent post.

I agree wholeheartedly with Rio as our captain. I think that after this season we should give the armband to Rio. Gary certainly deserves not to be stripped of the captaincy during the season and Rio also has to prove his loyalty to the club once more. But Rio's been the brain of this team whenever Keane and Scholes have been absent. He's an excellent decision maker and he's almost never in a rut like most of our other players.

Think about it... he's made one or two errors, but prior to this bad patch he had at the start of this season, Rio really has been quite consistent and a stabilizing force in the team. Deployed in midfield he would be super. Not only would he be a perfect anchor, he'd give us experience, strength and leadership in the middle of the field and a deep-lying playmaker who can help us with our build-ups.

[littleman]

I agree insofar as I still think we are still in transition between captains, like we were when Keane first left. Neville is not the Keane replacement, the next multi-year captain of united. I agree that Rio has showed the fire of a captain recently, but in the months before his play and his attitude were poor, as I'm sure we all remember. With a little more long term consistency, I think we'll see Rio take over the armband permanently (if Rooney doesn't sneak up the ranks in the meantime). I'd personally prefer to see Rooney or another younger player take the armband and hold it for a long spell. I like to think that Gary is hanging on to the position while we figure out which player will be our long-term captain in the future.

Ding ding! :D

[littleman]

I think Rio is our off-field leader as well. Don't forget his...ummm....moment.....with Savage ;)

He's always in the news for being out with the boys and such. I think he is an intergral part, and a go-to guy for the youngins.

One picking with Savage and he's the leader suddenly?

What about his handphone ads? What about his reputation as a partier late into the night? And a basic cvnt?

While the signs are positive, we really need to see more of him, more consistently for real appproval.

[haven]

Rooney should not be captain, based mostly on his position. While strikers can be inspirational, they're seldom the guys who are directing play. There's a good reason for this.

(a) defensive solidity depends very much on tactical awareness and making good decisons. while these things matter in attack, "moments of magic" are far more important. if you tried to have a "moment of magic defense," you'd have...oh...3 points at this stage of the season

(b) you want a player to be captain who can see the entire pitch. for obvious reasons, a CB or CM is more suited to this role than anyone else.

[littleman]

Rooney should not be captain, based mostly on his position. While strikers can be inspirational, they're seldom the guys who are directing play. There's a good reason for this.

(a) defensive solidity depends very much on tactical awareness and making good decisons. while these things matter in attack, "moments of magic" are far more important. if you tried to have a "moment of magic defense," you'd have...oh...3 points at this stage of the season

(b) you want a player to be captain who can see the entire pitch. for obvious reasons, a CB or CM is more suited to this role than anyone else.

You're obviously talking about "leader" in a tactical sense.. Cantona led by inspiration and defined a generation of winners. He basically became the talisman of Manchester United. The same could be said of Del Piero of Juve, or Raul (ack) of Real Madrid.. I think there's more to it than just tactical sense.

In my opinion, Rooney should take it in a couple of years. He wants it, and I would be very suprised if he doesn't get it.

[Jayhawk]

Rio is unquestionably the team leader this week. His problem is that he seems to have ADD, or maybe Randy Moss Syndrome. He plays brilliantly for awhile, but then seems to disappear for a stretch. Until he shows he can maintain his professional interest for the entire season, I'd be reluctant to have him wearing that armband, careening around the dressing room yelling "Respect mah authoritah!"

[JamesA]

One picking with Savage and he's the leader suddenly?

What about his handphone ads? What about his reputation as a partier late into the night? And a basic cvnt?

While the signs are positive, we really need to see more of him, more consistently for real appproval.

Rio has no more of a partier rep. than some other EPL stars. In fact I think you'll find Keano Rep. was just as bad, if not worse for drinking/partying when he was 20-25. Again, like most in his position, he never matured until he was 26ish. Much like Rio.

Yes some people call Rio a cvnt. Mainly down to the whole contract negotiations. But in his defense, the contract a player signs at 27 is perhaps the most imporant of their career. It is generally the last big, long term contract they sign before age sets in. Couple that with man u's policy on players over 30, I can slightly see where he was coming from......however 100k+ is a crap load of $$.

As for consistency? Rio was showing those signs ages ago. Way before the drug incident. I figure most people remember our demise in defense after he was banned fro 8 months. Yes he got off to bad start (albeit only a few bad games, some mearly average for his standards). But I don't think anyone can argue he is the the most influential leader of our team.

[JamesA]

You're obviously talking about "leader" in a tactical sense.. Cantona led by inspiration and defined a generation of winners. He basically became the talisman of Manchester United. The same could be said of Del Piero of Juve, or Raul (ack) of Real Madrid.. I think there's more to it than just tactical sense.

In my opinion, Rooney should take it in a couple of years. He wants it, and I would be very suprised if he doesn't get it.

Rooney is at least 5 years away from being our captain. Lets not forget he is still only 20 guys! Why put all that extra pressure on him at such a young age. He is a free spirit, who doesn't need to be shackled with the burden of having to be our captain, leader and on-field general.

There are many similarities between a 20yr old keano and a 20yr old Rooney I think. Both were hugely talented in their relative positions at a young age. Both hot-headed, fiery players. Both came to Man U with huge expectations attached to their massive transfer fees. Keano was given was given time to develop as a player first before becoming captain. How did that turn out? Rooney should be treated in the same light.

[JamesA]

Ooopppss...posted that twice...sorry

[listen_up_fergie]

Yes some people call Rio a cvnt. Mainly down to the whole contract negotiations. But in his defense, the contract a player signs at 27 is perhaps the most imporant of their career. It is generally the last big, long term contract they sign before age sets in. Couple that with man u's policy on players over 30, I can slightly see where he was coming from......however 100k+ is a crap load of $$.


IIRC, Keano also had some contract dispute where he felt like the deal he was being offered wasn't good enough. The only difference was that Keano probably deserved a hefty pay rise whereas many felt Rio didn't deserve more than 100K due to his 8-month ban and poor form.
As far as being a natural leader goes, Rio is certainly one of the best in our current squad. If it weren't for the whole contract saga, he'd be our captain right now instead of Neville because before that whole fiasco Rio often deputised for Keane.

[haven]

Rooney is completely unsuited to the captaincy right now. He's passionate. That's his lone qualification. Oh, he's a great player, but that's a minimal factor, at best, imho (you want a captain to be a routine starter and respected, but that's all you need).

Rooney is hot-tempered, and isn't a true student of the game. He's intuitive in his intelligence - he's not really tactically aware, quite yet, at the conscious level.

Someday maybe - when Ferdinand retires.

[StrikerCW]

I've always been of the htought that GNev was not a real captain, as I have never seen him do anything Captainy on the field. He plays like I do, he just does his job and doesn't really go about yelling at others (occasionally I do but thats not the point). Rio does get vocal, as does Rooney contrary to what you all say.

What does being tactically mature have to do with captaincy anyways? I thought a captain lead HIS team in spirit?

[SirManchester]

I've always been of the htought that GNev was not a real captain, as I have never seen him do anything Captainy on the field. He plays like I do, he just does his job and doesn't really go about yelling at others (occasionally I do but thats not the point). Rio does get vocal, as does Rooney contrary to what you all say.

What does being tactically mature have to do with captaincy anyways? I thought a captain lead HIS team in spirit?

A captain is not only supposed to lead his team in spirit, being tactically mature is very much also part of the equation. Keane was both.

[StrikerCW]

A captain is not only supposed to lead his team in spirit, being tactically mature is very much also part of the equation. Keane was both.
Why? I just would like an explaination maybe I am just ignorant on this.

[haven]

A captain is not only supposed to lead his team in spirit, being tactically mature is very much also part of the equation. Keane was both.

So does Rio Ferdinand. You might complain about his contract saga, but on pitch: he's almost a perfect captain.