Reds captain Steven Gerrard suffered a hamstring injury during Liverpool's 4-1 victory over West Ham on Saturday, and with a series of crucial games coming up over the Christmas period, leadership on the field is going to be absolutely vital. With Gerrard possibly out for up to six weeks, who should replace him as captain during the his time on the sidelines?
There are several viable candidates for the role:
* Daniel Agger: Current vice-captain, and the natural choice, but he's something of bit-part player this season, and probably won't play every game.
* Lucas Levia: Will inevitably play most games now with Gerrard out. Not the most vocal of players, though.
* Martin Skrtel: An everpresent this season, but like Lucas, doesn't appear to be a natural leader. Rodgers brought Jamie Carragher back into the team last season precisely because Skrtel and Agger lacked the vocality required at the back.
* Glen Johnson: Replaced Gerrard as captain against West Ham.
* Jordan Henderson: Captains the England U21s, and will probably continue to start most games now that Gerrard is out.
All decent candidates, but I have a feeling that Rodgers will throw a curve-ball here and hand the responsibility to Luis Suarez. After the problems he's caused Liverpool over the years, it could be argued that he doesn't deserve the honour of captaining the Reds, and I somewhat agree with that. However, the Uruguayan has paid the price for his 'crimes', and after serving bans/paying fines, players arguably deserve a clean slate.
As such, Suarez is a great captain candidate for the following reasons:
* His conduct/demeanour on the pitch this season is, for the most part, exemplary.
* Suarez clearly has the respect of the players.
* He leads by example with superb, performances week-in, week out.
* He has the fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude required of a good leader.
* Suarez has captained Ajax and Uruguay in the past.
* He'll start every game when fit.
I'm not the greatest fan of Suarez, but there's no denying his qualities as a footballer, or his obvious leadership ability, and if - as I suspect - Rodgers makes him captain in Gerrard's absence, it will be well-deserved.
Author: Jaimie K
There are several viable candidates for the role:
* Daniel Agger: Current vice-captain, and the natural choice, but he's something of bit-part player this season, and probably won't play every game.
* Lucas Levia: Will inevitably play most games now with Gerrard out. Not the most vocal of players, though.
* Martin Skrtel: An everpresent this season, but like Lucas, doesn't appear to be a natural leader. Rodgers brought Jamie Carragher back into the team last season precisely because Skrtel and Agger lacked the vocality required at the back.
* Glen Johnson: Replaced Gerrard as captain against West Ham.
* Jordan Henderson: Captains the England U21s, and will probably continue to start most games now that Gerrard is out.
All decent candidates, but I have a feeling that Rodgers will throw a curve-ball here and hand the responsibility to Luis Suarez. After the problems he's caused Liverpool over the years, it could be argued that he doesn't deserve the honour of captaining the Reds, and I somewhat agree with that. However, the Uruguayan has paid the price for his 'crimes', and after serving bans/paying fines, players arguably deserve a clean slate.
As such, Suarez is a great captain candidate for the following reasons:
* His conduct/demeanour on the pitch this season is, for the most part, exemplary.
* Suarez clearly has the respect of the players.
* He leads by example with superb, performances week-in, week out.
* He has the fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude required of a good leader.
* Suarez has captained Ajax and Uruguay in the past.
* He'll start every game when fit.
I'm not the greatest fan of Suarez, but there's no denying his qualities as a footballer, or his obvious leadership ability, and if - as I suspect - Rodgers makes him captain in Gerrard's absence, it will be well-deserved.
surveys
Author: Jaimie K
Surely if BR snubs Agger in this situation then he will look to move away in the summer.!
ReplyDeleteOr January. Sell him whilst his value is high IMO.
ReplyDeleteHopefully Suarez gets the arm band,but still believe its between lucas and Johnson,then with Gerard,enrique n sturridge out,i believe our season is done,the team lacks depth and spurs are foing to take us for one heck of a ride this weekend,
ReplyDeleteYou are forgetting Toure.
ReplyDeleteHe won't play every game. Needs to be someone who will play most games.
ReplyDeleteI think I just saw a pig fly by...
ReplyDeleteWhat the bloody hell was Rodgers doing leaving Gerrard on for 90 minutes against Norwich for? We dont know that lead to this injury but why take the chance?
ReplyDeleteyeah i would love to see Suarez as captain...even if it's only once. I really hope BR gives it to him.. but i think Johnson etc would feel disappointed being overlooked.. as they have been there longer than Suarez.
ReplyDeleteDon't be such an Eeyore.
ReplyDeleteWhen BR starts with agger you say then why he doesnt play a 17m sakho, when he plays sakho then you say why doesnt he play agger the vice captain? You should understand its always going to be one of them you cant play two left footed central defenders cant you understand that, so one of them always going to be on bench and the other playing, this discusion should stop I think. As for stevie what a terrible news I fear for that top 4 now more than ever, if he could play just in those three games we have away but no also sturridge out, we might lose the fourth just there, very pity and unlucky, could lose the whole season by it, if we can win one of those games at spurs chelsea and city it will be great for me and a draw with the squad we have right now but im fearing it will be all three defeats.
ReplyDeleteJaimie, it looks like you're starting to love Suarez. Have seen a definite change in your stance towards him. Very pleased to see it and whilst I agree that Suarez would be an excellent choice, I also highly rate Agger and Johnson, so snubbing them in favour of Suarez could bring some undesirable consequences.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it may be best to leave Suarez to do what he's currently doing best and not dilute that with captain's responsibilities. Though, in all honesty, I think Suarez would take that in his stride. Would also be fun to see him interviewed post match.
Thinking as I'm typing, maybe with the difficult games ahead he would be the ideal choice to show leadership, as long as he doesn't lose his discipline through frustration. Not sure that I'd want to be BR right now.
I think we should sign ross barkley, you wont find a better replacement for stevie than him but would the blues let him join us.. Very unlikely!
ReplyDeleteWe will see lesser sides than us have put Spurs to the sword this season.
ReplyDeleteWhen BR starts with agger you say then why he doesnt play a 17m sakho, when he plays sakho then you say why doesnt he play agger the vice captain?
ReplyDeleteWith respect, this is untrue. I've never argued either of the above points.
* I've never called for Sakho to start games. I've merely highlighted the fact that it seems stranger that Rodgers would spend €19m on a player and then leave him on the bench for 4 consecutive games.
* I've also never argued that Agger should start when Sakho is selected. I want LFC to sell the Dane (possible last chance whilst his value is high0 so I'm not fussed whether he starts or not (even though I do like him as a player.)
Good point about leaving Suarez to concentrate on scoring goals. And as you suggest, Rodgers could be left with egg on his face if Suarez loses his head again.
ReplyDeleteI treat all players the same, whoever it is. If they do something wrong, I'll highlight it, but I also believe in fairness. If I held a grudge against Suarez (as many people argue), I wouldn't be in favour of him becoming captain.
I've always loved Suarez as a player, but it's not right (IMO) to simply ignore negative behaviour just because of someone's ability.
Yeah, that would be great, but doubt it will ever happen.
ReplyDeleteI don't think he will snub Agger... i think he will revert back to 3-5-2 with Skrtel, Agger, Sakho at the back. So i think Agger will be captain. If he does snub Agger, i would like to see Suarez as captain. He leads by example on the field every week.. at least for this year anyways haha.
ReplyDeleteIn the past I got the impression that you'd hold his past behaviour against him forever. It's nice to see you accept that he's paid the price and got a clean sheet.
ReplyDeleteI think he paid over the odds in both the Evra and Ivanovic incidents, but on some occasions he got away with no punishment, so overall probably fair.
I wonder if Suarez has done enough for you not to want to cash in, but keep him instead if at all possible?
CAPTAIN HENDOG!
ReplyDeletei know this is off topic. But Jamie, how much money do you think FSG will give to BR to spend in January transfer?
ReplyDeletePrior to Gerrard, Sturridge and Enrique getting injured, I would've thought around the £20m mark, but BR's case for more funds is strengthened now, and if the club is in the top four come January, I think FSG will relax the purse-strings a bit more. I think we'll see a back-up striker, another left-back, and a star midfielder come in during the transfer window.
ReplyDeleteIf Lucas is captain he will inspire everyone to pick up cards! I'd assume he's next in line if Agger is not playing and he is a respected pro and member of the club. I don't see Johnson as a leader. It's good Hendo has the prior experience and Dalglish made Skrtel captain once, but I'd go with Lucas.
ReplyDeleteGiving Suarez the captaincy just proves we are overly reliant on him. Just let him score goals.
Anyway, I think the days of influential captains and leaders of the pack are coming to an end. Gerrard is a Liverpool lad so it makes sense for him to be captain along with his passion and ability, but him being the driving force behind any of our success over the last 2 decades is because he was the best player we had, not because he was captain.
Interesting shout, 3-5-2 might be back. Lucas-Allen-Hendo, it might work. The complaint was that Gerrard was not mobile enough in that system. I'd stick to what we are currently doing but it's an interesting idea.
ReplyDeleteI guess i was being too optimistic haha.. i was thinking around 40 million pounds even before the injuries occurred. Yeah i hope so. I would love to see Tello, Montoya for the striker/left back positions...and Koke for the midfield. Not sure how much that would cost all up. I think Koke is valued at 20 million alone.
ReplyDeleteYeah the question is though.. is Aspas going to be playing again before the January transfer? Otherwise who would play next to Suarez up front as the other striker. I really want to see Aspas given one more chance before January. I think BR should give him another chance in one of these games coming up... and use this formation.
ReplyDeletePlot twist: Joe Allen to be captain!
ReplyDeleteHaha! Can you imagine?
ReplyDeleteMan I really want him to do well and recapture his form, so far for the past 2 games he has looked promising!
You forgot Mignolet. I felt he is captain maid ever before the injury. I think it's: Agger, Johnson and then Mignolet on my books.
ReplyDeleteListen, this is the worst injury we had in a long time. What's the options for the right XI?
Against Tottenham: Johnson, Skrtel, Sakho, Flanagan, Lucas, Allen, Henderson, Coutinho, Sterling, Suarez?
I think Lucas, Allen, Hendo is a really bad balance. All are un-confident on their own players; None of them brings confidence; they depend on how the team is playing.
That's really really bad. I have no clue what to do. The only way i see is to stick Alberto there somehow and just give him back to back games. So you gotta give up either Lucas, Allen or Henderson. ? Surly right now it can be either one, or of course none. They will probably get chosen but if they mess up this time it will be hard for me to ever think they are good enough again.
Jamie, did you mean to put Skrtel on the vote instead of Sakho?
ReplyDeleteAnyway its Skrtel for me.
I fear for we won't have the deadly pass mainly. I'm terrified for our midfield in the games coming up.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking that as well. Probably Mitroglou as the striker.
ReplyDeleteWould love either Strootman or Xhaka to come to Anfiled.
I think Stevie was on top form lately both attacking wise and defensively (!). Worst injury in a long time.
ReplyDeleteI am really against having a goal keeper as captain.
ReplyDeleteI've been critical of him but it's beneficial for all parties if he comes good. The time for him to do that is definitely now though so lets hope so.
ReplyDeleteOright. Seen the results. Weird. I think Johnson will do good if Agger doesn't play. S
ReplyDeleteMitroglou does seem like a bargain.. but I would rather see that Spanish trio signed in January.
ReplyDeleteI will be having the last laugh :-)
ReplyDeleteAgger, surely. If he blows his chance, or doesn't play the next match at all- Johnson. End of discussion- other candidates are not to be considered if those two are playing..
ReplyDeleteKoke 16, he would be great!
ReplyDeleteSterling!
ReplyDeleteI don't know what you're talking about ;)
ReplyDeleteWouldn't hurt to have JONJO SHELVEY now, would it?
ReplyDeleteNah i never rated old Jonjo. Would rather the midfielders we got at the moment haha
ReplyDeleteI know right, he has that fight in him, I preferred if we had loaned him out instead of selling him.
ReplyDeleteof course you don't...
ReplyDeleteMoses ;) ?
ReplyDeleteBR bought Alberto to not give him a chance till he has to and than it's too much pressure on him.. Jonjo never had that problem- he can play Real fearless.
ReplyDeleteBR bought Alberto to not give him a chance till he has to and than it's too much pressure on him.. Jonjo never had that problem- he can play Real fearless. Future England starter.
ReplyDeleteReally hope Allen has a good game against Spurs. Just hope Sandro doesn't bully him into the ground...which is probably on the cards lol
ReplyDeleteExactly. Or Suso.
ReplyDeleteAllen as captain? God no, or we'll never hear the end of it ;-)
ReplyDeleteAh, crap. You're right - I missed off Skrtel! Darn...
ReplyDeleteIts a bit hypocritical jaimie that you say he deserves a clean slate, i couldn't agree more but you tear him apart for any slight misdemeanor and quite deservedly for his indiscretions, more from the perspective as such games against Mansfield when you accused him of deliberately handling the ball and all of a sudden your backing him for captaincy
ReplyDeleteI was not referring to him being captain :-)
ReplyDeleteHow is it hypocritical?! In football, as in life, people make mistakes, and they receive the consequences. Suarez made mistakes, and received punishment. As such, he's paid his debt, so why shouldn't he have a clean slate?
ReplyDeleteIt would only hypocritical if I ignored any future problems, which I won't. If an LFC player dives/cheats/stamps etc, I will highlight it, whoever it is. Just over the weekend, I highlighted the Flanagan tackle.
There's no hypocrisy at all. It's called fairness. Or should we just condemn people for life when they make mistakes?
Imagine seeing him captain Liverpool to a 3-0 victory against Spurs on the weekend.. with him getting a hat-trick lol boy would we all be having a chuckle that night :D
ReplyDeleteI really don't think this injury is as devastating as some. for the most part allen has done very well. I think putting him next to lucas provides thats mobility that stevie lucas lacked. allen looked good in the first half of last season, he seems to be coming back into that form. plus his passing looked a lot better against west ham and everton. I think him and hendo work well together also. we will defiantly miss gerrards leadership but saurez I think would be the best replacement. the never die attitude is gerrard type plus he is very vocal and is always demanding the best. but if not him I say mignolet because his outstanding performances and vocal ability.
ReplyDeleteDisagree...Jonjo is just hendo without the running ability. I'm glad he's gone.
ReplyDeleteToure when he's playing. Suarez when Toure is not playing.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree about Toure, mentioned it at the bottom myself.
ReplyDeleteYou typed hames instead of games Jaimie.
ReplyDeleteOut of the options Henderson and Lucas are the most vocal. Lucas usually in a more personal way. He would be my choice.
ReplyDeleteAll depends on availability though. I don't think they will buy for the sake of it.
ReplyDeleteThe same was being said about Diame vs Allen so our fan might have to spare more blushes...
ReplyDeleteAgger when he plays. He's vice captain.
ReplyDeleteSuarez when he doesn't. Johnson burned his bridges saying he would run his contract down for a free transfer
Haven't read the rest of the comments, so I'm not sure if this has been picked up on yet, but every Premier League team Kolo Toure has captained, has won the title.
ReplyDeleteJust throwing that in there ;-)
These are all good choices and would improve the team, not squad, team, immensely. Tello is regarded as a better player than Delofeuo and we're all seeing how good he is this season!
ReplyDeleteNar.
ReplyDeleteYeah I think those targets are possible too.. i don't think they are out of our reach..especially if we are in the top 4 in January :D
ReplyDeleteGood point!
ReplyDeleteGood spot. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAgreed although I still have this dream that somehow, someway, BR convices Mata to jump ship and join the red army. I'm hoping he's frustrated at being ignored by Jose and BR uses all his experience and leverage to get him to come...and a ring from Rafa would do nicely:)
ReplyDeleteNow that would be a star signing! (also think it will depend on where we are in the table come January)
By the way, Gerrard and Sturridge both out at the same time reminds me of when Gerrard and Torres were both injured...what a nightmare...
ReplyDeleteIn my view, Luis doesn't deserve the honor of captaining the team. While I have defended him on many occasions (and criticized him on others), and while he's paid the price for his crimes, there are other players who I'd prefer to wear the armband.
ReplyDeleteSuarez has disrespected the club on too many occasions to be allowed the privilege of captaining the side.
Agger is the Vice Captain, and when he plays he should be the captain while Stevie is out. After him, I'd go Johnson and then Lucas.
When did Johnson say that? Link?
ReplyDeleteI agree... The biggest element that Stevie brings is the ability to hit that long cross which can completely catch a defense on a counter attack.
ReplyDeleteNo one else in the league does it as well
Well, after all, he is the Welsh Xavi.
ReplyDeleteThe only problem i see with that is we can't play Flanno as an attacking wingback. Maybe Johnson on the left and Henderson on the right? I'm not too sure about this either, but in a 5 at the back situation i don't know how many options we have...
ReplyDeleteIt has to be Suarez. We need a Captain like SG - someone leading from the front & someone automatically qualifying in starting XI, if fit. There might be attitude problem, but this guy is a street fighter. If made Captain, Suarez 'll get the best out of his players.
ReplyDeleteEven for his deputy, I don't think Dagger fits the bill. I don't think he should be a starter (no 352, we are best in 4231 or 433) & he is too laid back. Might surprise most, but I would have made Sakho as VCp.
While there's a couple that could take the role. It would be well deserved on Suarez's part, given his exceptional contribution, and exemplary behavior as of late. His mentality can rub off on others, and an added bonus, he knows all the refs on a first name basis.
ReplyDeleteProps JK for suggesting this.
True I wouldn't mind Hendo at right and Glen on the left. I think they need to limit Spurs getting a goal at all cause we will get one no doubt with the way Suarez is playing..even if it's a penalty...he will make something happen. But the formation we are playing atm is still allowing teams so get too many goals.. time to go back to 3-5-2 and see if it works better this time. Would be so happy with a 1-0 :D
ReplyDeleteI can't see that happening at all. Mourinho will be angry if Liverpool are above Chelsea in Janury or even around the same points. I don't think he will sell any of his players to EPL clubs...especially rivals. Even though he's on loan.. look at Lukaku now making Everton a top 4 threat. Would be great to see Mata in a red shirt though haha
ReplyDeleteIve never thought that but am goin by the things you have said before about selling him before he does anymore to drag the clubs name through the dirt, i don't disagree with your current opinion but just think you have changed your tune so to say, you quite rightly castigated him for his ill discipline but ive always disagreed that we should sell him, why have you changed your mind so drastically?
ReplyDeleteI don't think a forward should be captain. But I would not be surprised if BR did that as I think he'd do anything that might make Suarez stay. ;
ReplyDeletePoor Ross. Hey bro it's not personal it's just business. Suarez made God awful mistakes even while scoring a lot of goals for his club. Jaime pointed them out and criticized him for it like any journalist would. You wouldn't let a child get away with bad behavior no matter how much you loved him or her so why should a spoilt millionaire player who scores a lot of goals get away with bad behavior?
ReplyDeleteLIverpool is a business first and foremost. Players are here to win games for us and nothing more. When a player becomes disruptive to the point that his behavior starts to affect other players he needs to get a talking to or be punished by way of fines. Suarez was criticized when it was called for and is now on his absolute best behavior. Constructive criticism never hurt anyone, Suarez is a better player for it.. It's all in the past now Ross no need to dig it up again. Suarez deserved all that happened to him. Now the player and the team have both moved on and so should you.