there is another thread on leadership councils if youre into that sort of thing, but im more of an actual leadership and accountability kind of guy. i think the manager (poch) needs to be the voice and we need a strong captain on the pitch. there are different directions you can go, the two most common being the best player/lead by example (ex dempsey, pulisic) which tends to work best in tandem with a more controlling manager, but can fairly internalized. puli, in our case, is the face of the team in every way, though, so thats not really a hinderance and hes obviously a top candidate. the other is the rah-rah, lets get these f'ers "natural leader"- (ex boca, zim- who isnt currently in the team), those guys are rarely best "public faces", though, so they work best with a more publicly engaged manager- which poch allegedly is (or will be). i think adams is the closest we have to that who is definitely in the team when fit- though i have pretty serious problems with the selfishness shown by repeatedly putting himself ahead of the team, jeopardizing his own career in the process. a distant third (for me, at least) is the experienced/organizational model (ex ream), but for me that doesnt rise to the level of "captaincy", its more of a role in the team. basically im hoping we can unravel this leadership council/captain by committee/everyone gets a trophy lack of actual leadership we find ourselves in now. which brings in another aspect of captaincy- using it as a tool to focus, to harness a players ability and leadership qualities that may not be as immediately apparent. that is far more common in club ball than intl play, but i think all things considered mckennie makes a very intriguing potential captain. "leadership by example" implies a consistency i wouldnt say his (technical) play necessarily shows- its simply not his nature as a player- but his intensity, his heart, his eagerness to fight for his teammates are qualities this team this team sorely lacks (which i attribute to a large degree to the general culture over the last 5, 6 years). i think that all things considered- poch as both a publicy engaged/controlling manager, puli as our most constantly best and professional player (already the face of the team) and wes as the outgoing leader and heart of the team lends itself well to my preference for mckennie as our captain, with puli as vice-captain. no subgroups or committees needed. we absolutely need more organizational leadership on the pitch, which is where i think adams and zim can contribute a lot but i dont know that either can/should be in the team consistently enough to be considered for the captaincy. thats really more similar to needing a real asshole or two in your team (picture heydude teaching donovan to always keep his elbows up in the "our way" doc), which i think gio and dest provide. im not denying we are in a very poor state of leadership by any measure currently, but im not entirely sure we dont have far more "mental" toughness than has been suggested very recently/over this last ridiculous clown show of a window. anyways, thoughts on the captaincy? your pick(s)? any darkhorses out there ready to blossom? and again, theres a thread for leadership councils, so you can direct all comments and certainly defenses of to that thread.
Sebastian Berhalter or Roldan for captain. Or I’m good with Pulisic. He’s clearly the man on the field, I trust him to step up when needed more than anyone else. That’s enough for me even if he’s not a guy who will scream at his teammates or punch out windows or something.
My pick would be Jedi. He checks a lot of boxes for me. I think TA has the most leadership qualities and probably commands respect from his peers more than anyone else in the pool. I worry about how often he will be healthy to lead the team and I'm not sure if he will be starting quality by 2026 depending on how Poch wants to play, as unfortunate as that may be.
It’s Pulisic. This is his team. Besides, only him and Jedi are irreplaceable. Everyone else is either injury prone or erratic.
Nobody, because no one has grabbed any leadership roll for themselves and the only player we have with any reasonable skill does not seem to want the responsibility.
It's a tough choice on this team.. I think it has to be someone who is a lock starter. So, along the front line, that means Pulisic. In midfield? Well, Adams isn't a bad choice but we need someone while he's still out injured and we will need someone before he gets back. I had thought McKennie could step into that kind of role when he was bringing intensity to the team, but he's too often been looking lackadaisical for quite some time and that's the last thing needed. Musah seems more like someone looking for a leader than being one. In the back, Dest is hurt now and hasn't shown the type of consistency you'd like with the bad red card and lack of discipline. No center backs are really locks, maybe Richards but I don't know that anyone has ever considered him a leader. Antonee is a lock and seems to maintain a high standard for professionalism. The position in goal is in flux. So I guess for me, I think you have to look at Pulisic, Robinson and maybe Adams when he gets back. And I think most of the team already looks to Pulisic so for me, he's got to be the guy almost by default. He's one of the handful of guys we have who is experienced and a lock starter, players already look to him, he gives solid effort every time out. And after him, I think you have to look at Antonee and potentially Adams when he returns. After that trio I struggle to think who else would even be considered at all.
I wonder if at the beginning of each window, the guys could meet at Par 3 golf course and take a single swing in a hole-in-one contest - nearest the hole serves as captain. Talk about pressure! This would encourage everyone to put in the necessary work between windows.
The best players aren't necessarily the best captains. Carlos Bocanegra seemed like a great captain, while Donovan has said he didn't like the responsibility. We're not in the locker room to see who the vocal and emotional leaders of the team are. To be honest, it sure doesn't seem like Pulisic is. From the outside anyway. Who the hell knows? [If people think the USMNT had a bad mentality during the pre-Copa friendlies, Copa America and this recent window...................who was the captain? it was Pulisic. He wasn't captain against New Zealand. He was captain for the previous 6 games, only one of which was a win. Bolivia.] It sure seems like Adams was the leader at the World Cup. Who was it that we heard was dealing with Gio Reyna on a personal level during that kerfuffle? It was Adams. He was captain for half of the World Cup qualifiers and for the entire World Cup. Then he went out of the team for a year and a half and others stepped up.
Ah, thought that was what you were referring to, but it's about the lack of leadership in the pool. Not a council.
What are we? English? The role of captain is so overrated. Do you think Adams won't be rah rah if he's not captain? Or other players will ignore him if he doesn't have the armband? Do you think Pulisic will stop leading by example if he's not captain? I say Pulisic or Adams if he is/ remains healthy. Maybe McKennie.
Don’t really care, I think leadership and the captaincy get blown way out of proportion by the fan base with no actual clue what it’s like in the locker room. Having said the I’d vote for Pulisic because he’s the best player, or JAB because it would be hilarious.
Too early to pick a captain because they need to be an auto starter and we only know a few at this time.
Captain candidates? Adams? Injury prone and may never play again. Pulisic? Limited Charisma and a captain should be one to help protect our most dynamic player when he is fouled. Jedi I like this idea he seems to be our only other locked in starter. Wes? The lovable goofball who didn't take the summer seriously and came in out of shape. No Musah too young. Dest currently injured and a bit of a hothead see his double yellow freak out. No other player is close to being a locked in starter.
Rotating the captaincy was one of the most idiotic things Berhalter did. All it did was dilute leadership and prevent a true, authoritative voice from taking control on the field. Pulisic is the guy. Wouldn’t have said this two years ago but he has clearly grown into the role. Clearly respected by his teammates. Plus, he is the one guy who always busts his ass 100% of the time, and evidences in his intensity what representing the crest should mean.