ToxtethBlue
Player Valuation: £50m
Another good opening post.
There are quite a few players in our team capable of wearing the captains armband.
I can't help thinking that giving Jags the captaincy carries a little romance in the concept, even though I'm sure he is capable.
Having said that, we really do need to look to the future, as Nev won't always be a starter.
If we look at our potential leaders, Neville aside, we are left with Pienaar, Arteta, Saha, Distin, Jags, Heitinga, Yobo, Cahill, Howard, and Donovan.
Straight away, we can take out Donovan, as though he has the qualities, he isn't our player.
Howard, I'm not sure is in the best position to lead a team, and is also, despite many objections to the fact, not getting any younger. He does have good experience though, both with United and USA, and isn't scared to shout at his defence.
Cahill is too much a jack the lad to be captain, even though he is currently vice captain, and his form has been poor, so much that when our midfield are all fit, his starting place is under threat. He is also of the age that he is no longer part of our long term future, despite International experience, and brief captaincy spells at Everton.
Yobo has leadership experience, both with Everton and a little with Nigeria, and on form, is still a match for any of our defenders. However, his form has been patchy lately, and captains need to lead by example in many scenarios. He is still of the age though to be part of our immidiate and long term future, and is better than some of our fans would have others believe.
Distin is not part of our long term plans, and is another player who has been inconsistent this year. Don't get me wrong, most of our team have been inconsistent, but for me, his age is a stumbling block.
Arteta has led our team before, has a confident personality, and has the respect of the other players. He is part of our immidiate future, and young enough to still be considered long term.
He plays in a perfect position to lead the team, so should remain a contender for captain.
Pienaar, like Arteta, plays in a perfect part of the pitch to lead the team, and has International leadership experience, plus European experience from his pre-Everton days.
He has a get stuck in attitude, and is one of the players in our squad to maintain improvement in his game. Ajax academy history gives him good skills as a player, but is his heart with Everton?
Saha is highly capable of leading the team, though not always fit enough to maintain a starting place, or compete for 90 minutes. His current form is patchy, despite having a good goal tally and a great season, but his age, like others, dictates how long he will remain a blue, and despite his 2 year contract, I feel he may move on in the summer. Either way, he is not part of our long term plans.
Jags has had one good season, before luck ran out with his injury. I can understand many wanting to see him as captain, but I can't help but feel a little of this is romantic, due to his return after time out.
He has no experience of being captain, other than a brief spell when Sheffields Chris Morgan was absent, and has little more than 1 season in the Prem under his belt having been given his chance in Yobos absence.
He has still to prove himself in the current squad after a long term absence, and a large percentage of his mind will be on getting fit, and another will be on the World Cup. One for the future, and definitely in our long term plans, but possibly a little too early to be giving him the arm band.
Heitinga certainly looks the part at the moment. Like Pienaar, he came from the great emergence of Ajax academy players, and has European experience both with Ajax and Atletico Madrid. He has managed to keep a regular place at International level despite patchy form, and is up for the battle.
He's certainly part of our long term future, and has a few trophies in his locker too. He speaks at least 3 languages which always comes in handy, and like Jags is very versatile. Whether his recent arrival warrants captaincy is down to Moyes, but I don't see a problem myself.
So to summarize, in my opinion, our preferred captains, Neville aside, would be Pienaar, Arteta, and Heitinga, with Jags and Yobo hovering.
Pienaar needs to prove his heart remains with the club, so this makes me feel he drops slightly below Arteta and Heitinga in the pecking order.
We do need experience though, so can't dismiss our older players outright, as their captaincy qualities are still invaluable because of that experience.
However, if we must make a change, I would look at Arteta most of all, due to his long term relationship with the club, and experience of the Prem.
Yes, Jags has qualities, as do the others, but for me, it's too early for him yet.
Arteta for me. Heitinga Vice. Nev Club.
You've said this a few times and it's inaccurate, Jagielka played 30 odd games at centre back during the 07-08 season and impressed, Moyes raved about his form at the time.
Not only that, but he was a regular in the Premier League with Sheffield Utd the season before. He was widely recognised as there best player.
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