Opinion First Captain under Walsh?

[Glenno23]

Could I throw a curve ball in to this debate and add Eddie's name to the plate?

I think he would add experience and good leadership to the playing group.

Don't need to be in the leadership group to be a leader.

Eddie has shown great leadership with CC and probably helped Pets and CEY too

 

[ftmch]

Still, if we're moving on from vB (and if we are going to do so I can cop it in this situation because of the drastic changes at the club), I maintain my thought that Tex is the natural successor.

I suspect these 'drastic changes at the club' are a convenient way of you extracting yourself from the increasingly untenable position you got yourself into in support of vB's captaincy.

amiright?

 

[OzSparrow]

Don't need to be in the leadership group to be a leader.

Eddie has shown great leadership with CC and probably helped Pets and CEY too

I agree. But it doesn't hurt to put him in the official group.

I would like to see that.

 

[mulz]

I think after a year in the role either danger or sloaney can take it to a new level, I wont be disappointed with vb either, he has got a tough year after missing a whole season tho.
everything points to sloaney for mine.

at least we have a few options.

 

[Bay62]

Was Walsh at Port when the coaches wanted Burgoyne captain and the Board over-ruled them? And when did Boak take over?

I hope we don't have a wishy washy "everyone's a captain" structure that avoids a hard call.

Can't see this happening given Walsh's comments that the playing group will vote on the leadership group but he will pick the captain. Think he is a fan of the one captain model. Boak is one of the four players he singled out in his first presser as someone who epitomized the team-first philosophy. IMO he will pick a strong leader whose position in the side each week is never in doubt, who is a strong leader and who embodies team-first.

Think it will be Sloane

 

[Bay62]

And..I don't think Phil Walsh will ever have any problem getting Phil Walsh to make a hard call

 

[FR0GGY]

And..I don't think Phil Walsh will ever have any problem getting Phil Walsh to make a hard call

Phil Walsh says Phil Walsh likes this.

 

[DJ75]

im pretty sure phil said the players vote on the leadership group but he will pick the captain

I LOVE that! Give the players some say, but he is the one running the show. EXCELLENT.

 

[NikkiNoo]

Don't need to be in the leadership group to be a leader.

Eddie has shown great leadership with CC and probably helped Pets and CEY too

The players have stated that Eddie's leadership for the whole club was exemplary. So it's not just those blokes he helps out. I loved watching after a goal was kicked when the forwards would come together and it was Eddie and Tex leading the discussions most of the time and giving out instructions to the others.

 

[Crowbots are dead]

Eddie should be a lock for leadership group imo. I also reckon Talia should be in there. His speech at the players awards was awesome and we need leaders across the ground not all in the midfield! With the captaincy I am torn. The problem with VB is there has to be question marks about him being a first choice player every week. The other problem is Danger and Sloane appeared to struggle with the responsibility last year maybe it is 2 years too soon. What about a more experienced first choice player like Douglas. He also puts in 110%.

 

[Emperoar]

Eddie should be a lock for leadership group imo. I also reckon Talia should be in there. His speech at the players awards was awesome and we need leaders across the ground not all in the midfield! With the captaincy I am torn. The problem with VB is there has to be question marks about him being a first choice player every week. The other problem is Danger and Sloane appeared to struggle with the responsibility last year maybe it is 2 years too soon. What about a more experienced first choice player like Douglas. He also puts in 110%.

Talia wouldn't be a bad choice. He just keeps on stamping his presence more and more every season. I agree though, he definitely needs a spot in the leadership group next season.

 

[GROTTO]

I think the timing is right for us to move forward from VB. The changes on and off the ground needed to be made for the betterment of the Club. With all due respect to VB, none of us can say with a degree of certainty that he can comeback and be an effective player in the team after having not played a game since 2013. VB needs to focus solely on his career and making sure he is in the starting 22. If the game has passed him by, what an awkward scenario we have in having to drop our Captain.

The Captain must and foremost be a player that is an automatic starting 18, Im not sure VB is that anymore to be honest. He has not played a game since August 2013 and thats a concern for me, especially given his age. We are fortunate in that we do have options, Danger, Sloane and Talia could all easily step into the role.

 

[Bay62]

I think the timing is right for us to move forward from VB. The changes on and off the ground needed to be made for the betterment of the Club. With all due respect to VB, none of us can say with a degree of certainty that he can comeback and be an effective player in the team after having not played a game since 2013. VB needs to focus solely on his career and making sure he is in the starting 22. If the game has passed him by, what an awkward scenario we have in having to drop our Captain.

The Captain must and foremost be a player that is an automatic starting 18, Im not sure VB is that anymore to be honest. He has not played a game since August 2013 and thats a concern for me, especially given his age. We are fortunate in that we do have options, Danger, Sloane and Talia could all easily step into the role.

Nailed it

 

[6BTS]

I would appoint Van Berlo as Captain. Being a young an critical part of the team structure, as is the case with the guys mentioned here, is hard enough without placing the captaincy on them. Van Berlo is still a leader of men and still has the respect of the players, it makes sense to me to give it back to him this year and let him ease the burden that it would be on a younger player.

Sloane is great and will one day be a great leader, there's no need to rush and give that added weight to his shoulders. Let him thrive as the guy in waiting and give it to him once Van Berlo no longer makes sense. I don't think we need to be rushing to replace captaincy duties if the guy who currently owns that duty is capable of continuing to do it.

 

[Bay62]

I would appoint Van Berlo as Captain. Being a young an critical part of the team structure, as is the case with the guys mentioned here, is hard enough without placing the captaincy on them. Van Berlo is still a leader of men and still has the respect of the players, it makes sense to me to give it back to him this year and let him ease the burden that it would be on a younger player.

Sloane is great and will one day be a great leader, there's no need to rush and give that added weight to his shoulders. Let him thrive as the guy in waiting and give it to him once Van Berlo no longer makes sense. I don't think we need to be rushing to replace captaincy duties if the guy who currently owns that duty is capable of continuing to do it.

Good points except as Grotto says there is a real question as to whether VB is still an automatic choice given the time he's missed

We will find out soon enough

 

[GROTTO]

I would appoint Van Berlo as Captain.

So what happens if VB is not good enough to make it into the 22 or his form drops off during the year having been out of the game for 16-18 months and at the age of 28-29? I think Kedge has VB covered as a tagger easily too.

 

[6BTS]

So what happens if VB is not good enough to make it into the 22 or his form drops off during the year having been out of the game for 16-18 months and at the age of 28-29? I think Kedge has VB covered as a tagger easily too.

That's something that will be identified during pre season training. If he's not capable, then you don't give him the captaincy, which I also wrote in my comment and was not included in what you quoted me as saying. I'm cut from the cloth that doesn't dismiss someone when they're cut down during their prime from something out of their control. He hasn't become less of a leader over the last year, you don't replace that unless you have to.

I have no problems with the captaincy being given to someone else, but if they do it because Van Berlo missed a year of footy, I would be gutted because that would be doing it for entirely the wrong reasons. I think back to my football days and the captain I used to look up to as an inspiration. His abilities declined over the years when he was on the wrong side of 35, but his ability to inspire didn't stop, we won more games of football from him being out there with us, even though he wasn't making much of an impact anymore, plus, we would sometimes lose games we shouldn't have when he was on the sideline injured. His ability to lead superseded his ability as a player . It's for that reason that I don't dismiss our current captain so quickly and I definitely don't think we should change captains because we have the 'chance' to do so.

What happens if it all goes to shit and he can't make the team?, then you put your vice captain(s) in charge. They did the job this year and will do the job next year if it happens. But I would never make a decision of changing captains based on such a speculative scenario of 'what if'. Van Berlo would have to be showing he's not up to scratch on the training track for me to give the captaincy off to someone else.

Again, as I said in my original quote, this is my 2 cents, I'm not trying to convince people to change their perspective. I'm just saying this is what I would do.

 

[GROTTO]

What happens if it all goes to shit and he can't make the team?, then you put your vice captain(s) in charge. They did the job this year and will do the job next year if it happens. But I would never make a decision of changing captains based on such a speculative scenario of 'what if'. Van Berlo would have to be showing he's not up to scratch on the training track for me to give the captaincy off to someone else.
.

Sorry, Im not having a go at your opinion. Neither you nor I are wrong or correct.

However, you refer to a problem if "it all goes to shit". I dont think that applies to this year, because VB was injured and couldnt captain so someone needed to be appointed.

It goes to shit when VB cannot make it into the 22 or even the 18 and then Club has to worry about a PR exercise with the media and fans about dropping its captain. VB will be 29 next year and I do worry if he can come back and make an impact at his age given his injury.

 

[pext]

Dangerfield C with Sloane as VC. VB to mentor Danger and Thommo to mentor Sloane. It's time. They're the clubs best players and dressing room leaders. Would be silly to have VB as C.

 

[macca23]

Walsh's criteria are that the captain has to be someone who can get the job done on the field, and is totally committed to the team. Also Walsh will pick the captain although the players will pick the leadership group.

On that criteria, there is no hope of VB being re-elected as captain, because there is no way he can demonstrate prior to the season proper that he can get the job done on the field. I'm a VB fan and think that he has been an A grade skipper, but he doesn't meet the standards as laid down by Walsh - although through no fault of his own.

To me the logical choice is Dangerfield, as he is undoubtedly our best player. However it would seem to me that unless Patrick commits to the club prior to the choice of captain, then he is making it impossible for Walsh to appoint him as captain as he has not unreservedly committed to the team while his future with us still has question marks over it.

On that basis the one man that currently meets all the criteria in lumps is Rory Sloane, although if Dangerfield has signed by then he becomes the man to lead us.

Patrick unsigned - Rory Sloane captain

Patrick signed - Patrick Dangerfield captain

 

[NTRabbit]

If VB is to not be captain, I'd rather Sloane was captain no matter what the circumstances are with Dangerfield. I don't think he's ready to do the job, not sure he ever will be. He's not circumspect enough on the field.

 

[40porpoise]

Walsh's criteria are that the captain has to be someone who can get the job done on the field, and is totally committed to the team. Also Walsh will pick the captain although the players will pick the leadership group.

On that criteria, there is no hope of VB being re-elected as captain, because there is no way he can demonstrate prior to the season proper that he can get the job done on the field. I'm a VB fan and think that he has been an A grade skipper, but he doesn't meet the standards as laid down by Walsh - although through no fault of his own.

To me the logical choice is Dangerfield, as he is undoubtedly our best player. However it would seem to me that unless Patrick commits to the club prior to the choice of captain, then he is making it impossible for Walsh to appoint him as captain as he has not unreservedly committed to the team while his future with us still has question marks over it.

On that basis the one man that currently meets all the criteria in lumps is Rory Sloane, although if Dangerfield has signed by then he becomes the man to lead us.

Patrick unsigned - Rory Sloane captain

Patrick signed - Patrick Dangerfield captain

I don't understand this though. What if danger and sloane haven't signed by the start of the year? Still sloane?

 

[macca23]

I don't understand this though. What if danger and sloane haven't signed by the start of the year? Still sloane?

Yep. Sloane has come out openly and said he is going nowhere, that he loves Adelaide, his fiancée loves Adelaide, and that his parents are moving here because he's spending the rest of his career here. As they say on 5aa, he has put his flag in the ground that he is staying here.

Patrick on the other hand is evasive and non-committal.

Unless Patrick openly commits as Rory already has, then it has to be Rory.

 

[GROTTO]

Yep. Sloane has come out openly and said he is going nowhere, that he loves Adelaide, his fiancée loves Adelaide, and that his parents are moving here because he's spending the rest of his career here. As they say on 5aa, he has put his flag in the ground that he is staying here.

Patrick on the other hand is evasive and non-committal.

Unless Patrick openly commits as Rory already has, then it has to be Rory.

Interesting view point. I dont necessarily disagree with you. However, neither Sloane or Danger has in reality committed to an extension yet.
Families all the time move interstate so it is not like it couldnt happen.

I wonder if a carrot could be dangled that said the first one to commit to the Club is made captain?

I dont think the Club needs to announce the Captain just yet. Let the heat of this year pass by and maybe appoint someone in middle to late January. This way a solid 3 months has taken place and the Club can make a better informed decision on all the evidence in front of them.

Some good discussion on here.

 

[6BTS]

Sorry, Im not having a go at your opinion. Neither you nor I are wrong or correct.

However, you refer to a problem if "it all goes to shit". I dont think that applies to this year, because VB was injured and couldnt captain so someone needed to be appointed.

It goes to shit when VB cannot make it into the 22 or even the 18 and then Club has to worry about a PR exercise with the media and fans about dropping its captain. VB will be 29 next year and I do worry if he can come back and make an impact at his age given his injury.

I understand that and I'm sorry if I came across abrasive, I was just trying to answer the question the best I could which sometimes goes deep for me and can get a little lost in translation, it was not my intention. I can be a bit of a dreamer and I have faith that Van Berlo is the type of guy that will do everything he can to return to his best football. Both Sloane and Dangerfield are on record praising him as a person and a leader who they both look up to, he must be doing something right if these guys are speaking so fondly of him.