Swans Captaincy

[NMWBloods]

My picks would be Crouch, Mathews, Kirk.

[Plugger46]

I don't agree that Micky wouldn't make a good captain. He's always giving us the spark that we need, and pumping the boys up. I think he'd be a reasonable captain.

Why would Mathews be a good captain?

Schaubs has to get on the track before he worries about captaining a side.

I would go for any of Hall, Goodes, Leo, Kirk, Micky.

[Dave]

Hall, Goodes, Kirk for me

[NMWBloods]

Mathews always seems the type of player who is always involved in the game, acting as a general along the half back line. No idea how he is with the players, but I think you could pretty much say that about everyone's views abotu every player.

[Charlie]

Left field... no captain.

Statement that all are equal. That all players are capable of contributing to the leadership of the team.

Not really advocating it in particular, but what would you all think?

[Mike_B]

So who would toss the coin? Roos? Cyggy????

[Charlie]

Originally posted by Mike_B
So who would toss the coin? Roos? Cyggy????

Whoever wants to, I suppose. It's not the most strenuous of tasks.

I never liked co-captains, but with a change of captain to come either this year or next year, I don't like the thought of one of Hall, Mathews, Williams, O'Loughlin, Barry, Bolton, Schauble, Crouch, Kirk or Goodes being elevated above the others... they are all deserving candidates.

[Nico]

I find it hard to nominate because I don't know what true leadership qualities the players have. I would suggest that you first need some brains and are able to acquire a healthy respect from other players.

From what I know Maxfield has those qualities. Paul Williams seems to be the obvious one to me but most would see him as too old.

Also you need to be a player of top quality and I think that cuts out the likes of Bolton and Matthews (toilers) and Barry Hall sadly misses out on the old grey matter.

Kirk and Goodes are the 2 that lead by example, with Kirk being the frontrunner purely on that basis.

[ScottH]

I said to a friend when Jude Bolton, first started he will be our next captian!!

So, I was wrong but I still think he will be our next Captain. He might thrive on it and become the superstar that we all hope he can be.

[CureTheSane]

Interesting idea Charlie.
Don't know if it would work, but might be worth looking at.

Perhaps a team of 5 or 6 'motivators' which IMO is basically what a captain does anyway.

Anyway, I always say it is hard for us to pick a captain, because he isn't just a good player (although he need to be able to hold his place in the team)

I have seen Crouch trying to fire up the team when they were down. And he played in the midfield which I think is desirable (although not the be all and end all)
I enjoyed seeing that.
So I of course am going to stick with Crouch as my pick.

In the end though, the right person will be picked by the club and I will be happy with their choice.

[Charlie]

I was formerly of the opinion that we should nominate 2 or 3 players as vice-captains, with the assumption being that they were the ones in the running to take over when Maxi either retires or steps down.

Not now... there's simply so many viable options... that limiting it to two or three would only be shooting ourselves in the foot. Players like Barry Hall and Brett Kirk, who weren't in the running a year ago, are now. That's a credit to them and an indication that we have such diverse leadership - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Combine Crouchy's self-discipline with Hall's powerful personality, Jude's selflessness and Willo's experience, add a touch of O'Loughlin flair, Kirky's persistence and Goodesy's self-belief... the 'leadership' becomes more than one man - even Paul Kelly - could provide.

I think the current leadership team is made up of Mathews, Williams, Maxfield, O'Loughlin, Barry, Bolton, Schauble, Ball, Crouch, Kirk and Goodes. I'd like to see Hall, Saddington and Kennelly join them, as all are capable... some may rise their eyebrows at Saddo and Tiger, but they've long said 'leader' to me.

Some may say 'too many chiefs, not enough Indians' - I don't see it that way. I think if someone has leadership qualities, they should be encouraged as much as possible to exhibit them. If that means that 34 players are in the leadership team - excellent.

[Alec]

Originally posted by hemsleys
I said to a friend when Jude Bolton, first started he will be our next captian!!

So, I was wrong but I still think he will be our next Captain. He might thrive on it and become the superstar that we all hope he can be.

Yeah I remember having the same feeling about him when he first showed up. 99 was such an appalling season, but he was a glimmer of hope on the horizon for us that year. He'd definitely be in the running.

Large leadership groups are certainly the way to go, and it's good that we now have enough leaders to cover most areas in the game. But I still like the symbolism of having one man in the top job.

I reckon the captain should embody the soul of the club. He's gotta be the guy that even the stars in the team turn to when the scoreboard starts to look ominous.

Stewie's doing a fantastic job. But if I had to nominate a successor, that player is Kirk. Discard to champion. Never stays down no matter how hard he's hit. Phenomenal work rate.

The ripple effect that went through the boys when he rose to his feet after Byron smashed him in the final says it all really.

[BAM_BAM]

Crouch for me

[Captain]

Captain Kirky for sure.

The guy is gutsy, courageous, determined and a born leader. The way he gets up after being knocked down in inspiring.

He plays a consistently good game which for mine is a crucial facto in a captain.

[monopoly19]

For me it's either Crouch or Kirk. Crouch because he reminds me of Maxfield in terms of work ethic (and because he's the only Swan I've ever met and was a complete and utter champion) and because he seems to have a very good head on his shoulders; Kirk because he's just a tough nut, and you don't have to look much further for inspiration. To think that Roosy told him he'd have limited opportunities when he took over as coach

As for Barry Hall - as much as I like the guy, I think Saturday reinforces why he's not yet ready to be captain. Sure, he got the rough end of the deal on a whole heap of umpiring decisions, but to me he just looked like he lost it and was basically a liability towards the end of the game. I've got no idea if he did anything to Grant, but something must have happened. Sometimes he seemed so intent on telling the umpires off that he took his eyes off the play, when he could have been applying pressure in the forward line. He's not quite there yet, imo (but credit to him for getting where he is - if he wants it bad enough I think he could get it).

Goodes/B1/Fosdike/O'Loughlin seem to me to be players who can't afford the extra pressure that being captain would put on them, but I'd love them to prove me wrong.

Wouldn't mind giving it to Schuable or Williams, but gut feeling says they're too old.