Post by Lobster on Oct 16, 2017 11:47:08 GMT
Ever since we got back in the Conference, a recurring problem is that we've had a captain who is either out of form, regularly out injured or both.
It started in our first season at this level when Horan was retained as captain, but this level was probably a little to much for him and he was soon dropped and didn't feature a great deal that season. Since then, we've had Sharps struggling in the twilight of his career, and the less said about Luke George last season the better. The closest we've had to a reliable and consistent captain was probably Matt Brown, and he always looked like he was playing a bit above his level too.
Now we've got McCombe, who has already been dubbed 'Captain Marvel'. That's probably a little harsh, but it's fair to say he hasn't wowed us so far.
If the captain is playing badly, it makes it very difficult for him to gee up the rest of the team, especially the younger players. In the worst case, they end up being dropped and the manager faces the unenviable and potentially morale-affecting decision of stripping him of the armband.
With Kane being named England captain recently, I've heard some pundits suggest that the best thing to do is often to simply give your best performing player the armband. With us at the moment, that's unquestionably Ryan Astles.
It started in our first season at this level when Horan was retained as captain, but this level was probably a little to much for him and he was soon dropped and didn't feature a great deal that season. Since then, we've had Sharps struggling in the twilight of his career, and the less said about Luke George last season the better. The closest we've had to a reliable and consistent captain was probably Matt Brown, and he always looked like he was playing a bit above his level too.
Now we've got McCombe, who has already been dubbed 'Captain Marvel'. That's probably a little harsh, but it's fair to say he hasn't wowed us so far.
If the captain is playing badly, it makes it very difficult for him to gee up the rest of the team, especially the younger players. In the worst case, they end up being dropped and the manager faces the unenviable and potentially morale-affecting decision of stripping him of the armband.
With Kane being named England captain recently, I've heard some pundits suggest that the best thing to do is often to simply give your best performing player the armband. With us at the moment, that's unquestionably Ryan Astles.
