With El Capitan departing, who should be the new club captain? If he's seen as a first choice CB, then Lascelles for me. Yes, he's fairly young and inexperienced, but he just stood out as a natural leader on and off the pitch in the second half of last season and I'm sure he could bear the weight of the role. Alternatives: Shelvey, Mbemba, Janmaat, Sissoko, Wijnaldum? Last 3 will probably leave anyway but if Wijnaldum stays it could be him as he has strong captaincy experience in Holland.
Was Matt Ritchie captain at Bournemouth? Lascelles for me. I think it has to be someone whose been at the club for a bit. Id like us to sign some potential captains, but I've seen people on Twitter saying that we should sign a captain, but im not sure how feesible that is. Janmaat has always been my deputy on FM (well the last few years) Im sure whoever Rafa chooses will be /the correct decision for the club! HTL In Rafa We Trust
I think it depends who is fully committed to the long over the long term. Difficult in this day and age but I do think you must have some understanding that by accepting the captaincy, you are not departing in this or the winter window regardless who comes in for you. I would like a centre back or holding midfielder. They dictate the shape of your team. Preferably a centre back. It would largely depend who Colo's replacement is. If it is a natural leader who is 25 plus then I'd go for them. If not then Lascelles. If Tiote is staying and is committed, then he would be a steady choice also. However the rumours which have dogged regarding transfers and his failed exit, would make me think his interests lie elsewhere... please log in to view this image
Rafa did give it to Sissoko for th efinal 10 games and if he can convince him to stay, probably using the captaincy as the carrot, I'd imagine he'd stick with him. Personally for me it would be Lacselles as he was the one who spoke up last season and put the cat among the pigeons.
Lascelles for me. He had the guts to come and say what he said whilst the other shirkers hid and counted their money.
Being captain's all about being vocal really and leading the team, so Laecelles is the obvious choice, plus central defender is the best position for a captain. Only 22, but not really an issue, Gerrard was captaining Liverpool at 22, and Fabregas captaining Arsenal at that age. Changes of Sissoko staying are minimal and his "I'm off cos I'm too good" speeches should automatically rule him out even if he stays. Gini and Janmaat will very likely go, and their lazy showings last season should rule them out too. Colback should be perfectly at home in the Champ, so he's a possibility, and should be vice cap if it goes to Laecelles. Shelvey needs to establish himself in the team before he gets considered.
Have to agree for the reasons others have said I'd go for Lascelles but as he's the logical rational choice that would usually rule him out. Under Rafa, who knows, that might have changed as well.
Can't wait to see the lad leading the team. No brainier. Vocal, gets the division, gets the club and given his performances could well be the second best CB on the division......behind Mbemba. It seems ridiculous but my excitement for this season hasn't been felt since SBR was in charge. Fck the division we're in. I haven't been to a match for about four years but I'm at Craven for this kick off.
And that's what Newcastle has always been like. Likewise I'm really looking forward to this season. How the likes of Cashley & Co haven't picked up on how to maximise the support beats me. One or two positive, footballing decisions and the Toon Army step up and support. Pleased to hear that the "bug" seems to have bitten you again.
It has indeed, because it has always been about the matchday, the shirt, the badge, the City. What Ashley tried to do was the polar opposite and failure was both predictable and inevitable. We lurched from Kinnear to Hughton (turned good, but who celebrated his arrival) to Pardew to McClaren, each greeted with an accepting grunt because there was fck all we could do about it. The insipid football inspired by both underwhelming managers and pointless transfer policy dulled the senses. Cashley wanted to prove "his" model would work, of low cost high return. The issue was if plucking diamonds from the mud was so easy, why had no other club ever achieved it? What he should have done was looked at Man U c. 1999 and understood that investing heavily in youth would underpin any football success and also be frugal. Everything done on the cheap - and his grand plan of pillaging the French was flawed from day one - cannot succeed. Football is not Moneyball, it simply cannot be. Unlike American Baseball, the pool of talent is fairly limited but - more importantly - the amount of clubs looking for talent is about 100x the size. The MLB has less teams in total, globally, than half the PL. In football, you're competing against 20 PL clubs, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga just to start. These things are not difficult to work out - anyone bothering to read my post already knows all of this. But Ashley's major flaw was employing people he trusted above and beyond people with experience and knowledge. The disappointing thing, for me, is that if we'd done this when KK left, we'd be incredibly well equipped to challenge for not only Europe, but also the PL.
Will Lascelles be a first choice player ?. It seems Watford have accepted a £7 m bid for defender Craig Cathcart from us.
Is that your genuine opinion or are you just trolling? The lad is far from '****'. Or have you spotted something that has completely passed the rest of us by?
He's a prospect at this stage nothing more and until he's proved he is upto it for say maybe even 1 season I might upgrade my opinion is
You just said he was **** a moment ago, now you've upgraded him to a "prospect". He's clearly more than a prospect, he's not just some youth team player with a handful of sub appearances, he was a regular a Forest for over 2 years, and established himself as our first choice centre back at the end of last year. He's already proven over a sustained period that he's up to the championship with Forest and he easily made the transition to the Prem. You mention 1 decent season to prove himself, but he already has several under his belt.
On the face of it, Lascelles is the right man for the job. He's got the attitude for it that would drive the team on, and won't shy away from telling it like it is in the dressing room, and talking to the press which Colo was really patchy at. Of course, with him being as young as he is he would need to be managed in terms of handling the extra responsibility and not letting it affect the rest of his game, but thankfully we now have a manager who is capable of that task.
I think an awful lot of faith is being put in someone who is not proven. Maybe it will be the making of him. I do think the better option is to bring in a leader. The only issue is breaking up Lascelles/Mbemba. I'd be tempted to give it to Tiote if he is staying for 1 season. Lascelles does need to prove himself.
