There's much talk about who will stay, who should leave, and potential player acquisitions.
I believe above all of these, the most crucial of these decisions must be the choice of captain. And I have concluded that this most probably needs to come from outside the current squad of players.
To this end, I believe we should be scouting potential players that could be brought in possessing the leadership skills to bind the current crop of players - plus those acquired over the summer months - and lead the team on the pitch.
Previous experience is key to the role, and on that basis, we would have to accept that it might be a player at the end of his career (a nod to Frank McLintock's appearance at half-time yesterday):
Here's my shortlist - accepting that most will be very unlikely (towards the end of the list) - but nonetheless:
Hal Robson-Kanu - Reading
Mile Jedinak - Crystal Palace
Scott Brown - Celtic
Mark Wilson - Stoke City
Aiden McGeady - Everton
James Collins - West Ham United
Glen Whelan - Stoke City
Michael Dawson - Hull City
Peter Crouch - Stoke City
Gareth Barry - Everton
Andy King - Leicester City
Mark Noble - West Ham United
Adel Taarabt - Benfica B
I believe above all of these, the most crucial of these decisions must be the choice of captain. And I have concluded that this most probably needs to come from outside the current squad of players.
To this end, I believe we should be scouting potential players that could be brought in possessing the leadership skills to bind the current crop of players - plus those acquired over the summer months - and lead the team on the pitch.
Previous experience is key to the role, and on that basis, we would have to accept that it might be a player at the end of his career (a nod to Frank McLintock's appearance at half-time yesterday):
Here's my shortlist - accepting that most will be very unlikely (towards the end of the list) - but nonetheless:
Hal Robson-Kanu - Reading
Mile Jedinak - Crystal Palace
Scott Brown - Celtic
Mark Wilson - Stoke City
Aiden McGeady - Everton
James Collins - West Ham United
Glen Whelan - Stoke City
Michael Dawson - Hull City
Peter Crouch - Stoke City
Gareth Barry - Everton
Andy King - Leicester City
Mark Noble - West Ham United
Adel Taarabt - Benfica B
