got to admit I was disappointed when I heard him say that, thought the way he got rid of Evans and Hobbs showed he wasn't the sentimental type..hope it extends no further then yesterday team selection wise.
I like Koren been a great player for us, good pro etc. But i cant see him playing much this season, certainly not as a starter. He may want to stay and retire at the end of the season or if someone offers him a two year deal he may leave by deadline day as he may want to play regularly.
I don't think it will, I think SB thought it unlikely to get anything from the game whatever team he put out, so better to give the players that did get us there their moment of glory. After that it is not so difficult to leave players out, as I he said he was mindful of keeping the good dressing room togetherness in tact. I think he got it spot on with Hudders and Livermore bring them on for the last 30 mins, as bring them on from the start, could have dented their confidence.
Does it really matter who wears an armband? Natural leaders are apparent with or without it. As for Koren, I expect him to be a valuable squad member, at least until january.
Would like to see Davies as captain, more vocal and as a central defender can see the match in front of him. Koren is OK as an impact sub, and Club Captain, but nothing else.
I don't really get this thing of centre backs making good captains because they can see what's going on in front of them. Firstly it's not as if other players just face one direction all match and ignore the play if it's not on their chosen side of the pitch, and what do they even need to see? A captain is nothing more than a leader. It's not like cricket where he has to get into the tactics. He just needs to set a good example and motivate people.
My admiration for Koren has been well documented on this board. I thought he played ok yesterday, especially in the second half but I don't think he should be captain. All this talk of Chester doing the job is nonsense. Let the lad concentrate on learning his trade in the big league. CD is the obvious choice but personally I'd go with Huddlestone. He's already muted that he thinks he can get back in the England squad whilst with us so why not make him King Dick? I obviously don't know the bloke personally but he might be one of those blokes who rises to the occasion.
Captaincy should definitely be given to someone with lots of PL experience. Therefore they're used to the pressure of the big league and are used to the big occasions. That leaves Thud, Rosie, Davies, Figueroa and Faye (Can't see him playing much). Out of them 5, I'd prefer to see Thud as captain as I expect him to run a lot of games and should spur on the rest of the lads to perform like him. Also, he's used to playing regularly for a top team in the PL so the added responsibility shouldn't phase him.
Koren was statistically our best passer yesterday, and though I accept he let his go for the first goal, I also feel that the was probably a symptom of widespread disarray in our defence and mid-field caused by the quality of Chelsea's pace and movement in the first 25 mins and it is a bit harsh to blame him. We're always going to be in trouble if the likes of Koren are defending the edge of the area because our defence has been pulled out of position. I think it is telling that he was more more effective off the bench last season - and he's a year older and playing at a higher level now. I don't think it will surprise anyone if he remains club captain but doesn't start so often this year - though I'm sure he's capable of making a meaningful and valuable contribution when he plays. We are going to need all of our squad this year due to the punishing and relentless nature of the league we're in. That said, he was behind Quinn and Meyler last season, We now have Brady vying for a central spot and have added Huddlestone and Livermore to the mix. I think he'll be on the bench more often than not, coming on when we need a goal late in games. I'd expect Davies to be our regular starting Captain. I don't know what Huddlestone's leadership qualities are so wouldn't necessarily suggest him just yet. Figueroa is probably one with the most premiership experience in the squad, but again is he a natural leader and organiser? Is he influential enough in the dressing-room?
I tend to disagree with you there PLT. The biggest danger a team faces during a game is when attack turns into defense. When your team has forward momentum (attacking) and the ball is turned over and the opposition regains possession, a central backline player is in the best position to assess the lie of the land and give instructions to his team-mates to re-position themselves for any danger that might develop. A goalkeeper is typically too far away to make himself heard. A forward &/or attacking midfielder would most likely need to be reversing direction and be unable to get an immediate "global view" of the developing situation in order to marshall the troops optimally. A vocal centreback, who's respected by teammates will usually have the best vantage point for this important function. Creative midfielders (in City's case Huddlestone) I don't believe should have the added( primary)major responsibility of organizing on-the-fly defensive situations. My vote for on-field captain would therefore go to Davies as he seems to relish the role and I'm not too sure Huddlestone would. By all means he should be calling the plays when City are in attack mode. I realize that formations/tactics have changed over the years, but in the days of having "sweepers", who tended to do all the organization duties, if he hardly had to touch the ball in the game he had most often than not done his job well. That "organizational" role these days is best suited to one of the centre backs, IMO.
In my view of the Captaincy, be a leader off the pitch in the dressing room & it's their job to encourage players on the pitch, organise things when the shape is being lost, step in when a player seems to be losing it, can have a word with the ref when needed & knows what to say as well. Finally he is the one who carries out the managers orders on the pitch, makes sure player x is doing what he has been told & if not then, "have a word." For all Koren's ability, he lacks most of this on the pitch, the other day I didn't see him really saying anything, if he did, then I must have missed it. It may have been he was out on the right for a lot of the game, so he was never really close to the ball for long periods.
I think it's one of those popular myths on here that Koren isn't vocal. He's always down his players throats, always shouting at people for twatting about, he's just not big or a presence so he doesn't have the same look of command about him that players like Ashbee did. There's two reasons I think Koren should be captain. 1) How many of our players have captained and international team at World Cup finals? 2) He's the most experienced player who's going to get anywhere near being a regular. I still think Koren will be a key figure in most games. 3) If we've got a character in the dressing room he will be that same character on the pitch regardless. All the captains for nowadays really is for talking to the referee, and as professional Koren is, I can't think of anyone better to do that.
Davies will still organise the defence so I think a midfield player is in the best position to be our captain. I would leave Koren as captain this season and many things will change and then it can be looked at next season.
Tactics and defensives shapes aren't just dreamt up by the captain during games. They spend weeks training that sort of thing before matches and by the time a game comes round, any good team knows where they should be based on that practice. You've sort of missed the point I was making: captains aren't tacticians. They don't give out tactical instructions or come up with strategies. They just need to lead and nothing more. What BSM said above is about right: all a captain really does nowadays is talk to refs.
Amazing, we have fans who can't spell the names of our players correctly. Maybe you are mixing him up with a well known book?
