Mails: Why not have the captain as the manager?

Mails: Why not have the captain as the manager?

Please keep those mails coming, fast and furious. Send them to theeditor@football365.com…

Why not just make the captain the manager?
I think the whole player power argument has raised an interesting thought. With players seemingly able to make these decisions as to when and when not to turn it on for their manager does this now make the role of manager / coach defunct?

I know it sounds like a bit of a mad one but I have always considered how much influence the guy in the suit or the 1980’s tracksuit (yes Pulis I am looking at you) can have on a game. Ultimately the 11 players on the pitch are the main people with the ability for getting a result.

There are probably a few holes in this idea (with how subs work etc) but is it possible that we could move to a time where the team captain (nominated by the team) leads the team and how they play on the pitch? I mean it happens in Sunday league when most of the time our ‘managers’ play with us. So why can’t the captain make the call?…… ‘John you have been nutmegged 4 times this half, sit this one out, Gary you are on, but close your legs a bit more!’

Football management just seems to me a lose-lose situation. We have a Premier League with probably half a dozen of the top ten coaches in Europe, but still they are derided by fans and the media every single week for things that should have done or things they shouldn’t have done. In reality they may have been severely let down by the players on the pitch who did not listen to their instructions. Even my wife who doesn’t really follow football that much commented the other night on how cut throat the whole business is. (maybe she has a fancy for grey haired Italian men, but she really does have a point)

If the buck stops solely with the players it might make them a bit more accountable for the situation they face themselves in and it can give fans no doubt who is to blame for a lacklustre performance.

It would be very interesting for the teams to play without a manager or coaching staff on the bench, stick them all in the stands and see what changes for one game.
Ross (I know this is mad, but it does make you think) Jenkins WHUFC

On Liverpool’s new CEO
News in the last few days I’ve not seen reported much on the football pages, but seemingly average-to-small news on the other websites I peruse, the venerable games journalism sites ; Peter Moore has been announced as the new CEO of Liverpool FC.

For those of you that don’t know (most I’d imagine) Peter rose to infamy in the early noughties as Corporate VP of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business Division(rolls off the tongue). He basically oversaw the Xbox and 360 become the powerhouses they rose to, going toe to toe with the established behemoths of Sony and Nintendo.

Within Gamer circles he will however forever be known as the corporate monkey who came on stage at E3 to reveal the release dates of some of the biggest games of the year not once, but twice with large, bicep covering tattoos.

Now Halo 2 and GTAIV were admittedly massive announcements and brilliant games, but the level of corporate douchebaggery did not go unnoticed.

Since leaving the big M he went on to spend a decade at EA Sports, so prepare for a few years of Lallana, Coutinho et al on the cover of your favourite sports gaming franchise (unless you play Pes like me, in which case digital high-five)

So there you have it, born in Liverpool, presumably an LFC supporter, perhaps he has plans on once again taking his plucky underdog(Xbox/Pool) to the top against the big dogs(Ninty/Sony/Utd/City) once again.
TGWolf

On Newcastle and Brighton
I’m not sure if there’s a particular appetite on this site to read about the Championship & Newcastle United but i’m going to carry on anyway. I’ll keep ploughing away while receiving virtually no support from anybody else and keep doing my best to keep us relevant. This must be how Jermain Defoe feels….

Last night saw the top two in the Championship square off as Brighton faced Newcastle at the Ammex Arena. Brighton had been in scintillating form, yet we were coming off the back of a drab home draw with Bristol City. It looked as if the cracks which had been evident all season were going to derail our promotion push, with three 2 2 draws coming in the previous six league games.

Rafa sprang a surprise with his starting 11. Gouffran and Diame forming a strike partnership which offered a lethal combination of being ponderous on the ball and almost totally static off it. That’s maybe a little harsh on the Gouff who pressed high up the field and caused plenty of problems for an unusually jittery Brighton back line, but it was clear nothing was going to come off.

Having trailed 1 0 to a soft penalty given for some penalty box grappling, Rafa introduced Murphy on 75 minutes and changed the game. Diame moved back into the centre where he became far more effective and scored a bizarre goal, with the ball hitting the outside of his boot and veering into the top corner. Perez was introduced five minutes later and scored a crucial late winner. Ritchie’s searching pass finding Atsu who’s touch evaded the excellent Brighton full back, before delivering a low cross for Perez to sweep home.

The win had an air of the smash n grab about it, but it was thoroughly deserved. Shelvey was once again phenomenal and some special praise has to go to Paul Dummett, who seems to catch a disproportionate amount of flak for the few gaffes he commits. He’s far from perfect, but in the big games this seasons he turns up.

Onto Huddersfield on Saturday and what i anticipate will be a much harder game. Brighton have not impressed me on the few occasions i’ve seen them this season, but i hope Hughton can get his team over the line. With our frankly outrageous away record i wouldn’t be surprised to see the lads claim 3 points at the John Smiths stadium, at which point it’ll be time to get the bunting out.
JC NUFC
(MC – A great Mail. We love Football League emails. They’re our favourite. We get accusations of ignoring the Football League, but we’re all fans of Football League clubs. The issue is that we have three members of staff, and thus can’t cover every weekday evening and every game. So rather than spending the time questioning why we aren’t covering it, send in a mail about your club.)

A shorter take
I love Rafa.
Paul, NUFC

Ritchie Rich
I watched the last 5 minutes of the Brighton v Newcastle game last night and what a pleasure it was to watch the Newcastle winning goal.

The ball from Matt Ritchie was as good a pass as I can remember seeing. Sumptuous!
Plato, MUFC

A watershed defeat for Liverpool
It’s telling that there has been little grasping for silver linings, because this feels like a watershed defeat.

Our terrible run in January did have mitigating factors of sorts, self-inflicted or otherwise: rotated sides for cup games, massive fixture congestion, missing some of our best players to injury and ACON. For this game we had almost a full strength side, which had a lovely bit of R+R in the sun to recover from January exertions and still well over a week to work out how to defeat a team that has failed to score in all of its last 6 league games and conceded 13 goals in that time, plummeting towards the foot of the table, in managerial disarray and coming off the back of an intense European away game. You couldn’t ask for better preparation.

So, naturally, Liverpool play like a group of narcoleptic strangers. No cohesion, no inventiveness, no discipline. Torpid in attack and panicked in defence (I would say it’s surprising what happens when you play 3 midfielders in defence, but the same thing happens when we play defenders there so it’s not that). We clearly missed Henderson and his ability to neatly if unspectacularly hold the midfield together; I don’t think any of the three CMs completed a pass last night.

Our best players returning made no difference. An extended break made no difference. Klopp’s tactical changes made no difference. We might (might) beat Arsenal up next, but then it will be straight back to matches like this one. We look like we’re sinking back into the familiar purgatory of 7th and at the moment it just doesn’t look like Klopp knows what to do about it.
JG LFC

Yeah, Fergie had a Plan B
Dear Matthew, Belfast

Example(s):

– Sir Alex, who really was a 4-4-2 kinda guy( invite you to look of all the attempted but failed CAM signings Veron, Shinji, Ando etc etc) was known to play a 4-5-1(Tevez, Berba or Rooney) in Europe, called a 4-2-3-1 nowadays and an old school 4-4-2 in the League(Tevez/Berba + Rooney, sometimes + CR7 too).

– in games where CR7 was struggling to make an impact on the right wing(usually against Ashley Cole), he would swap wings with Nani/Giggs, and then sometimes swap back.

– after we got walloped by Milan in the rain, Sir Alex came up with the quite brilliant idea of putting a Defensive Attacking Midfielder(Ji Sung Park) on Pirlo to disrupt their play, worked a damn treat.

That’s Plan B, C and D for the 2007/2008 Premier League and Champs League winners.

As for “Klopp doesn’t need a plan b” (*rolls eyes), 2 wins in 13 this year says he does, ESPECIALLY if you want to play in the Champions League, ESPECIALLY if you want quality players in the summer.
Cortez(“doesn’t need a..” I can’t even)MUFC, Botswana

The moment football died
Re Jamie, LCFC’s mail on football being dead, for me (Clive) it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when it happened, but I think I’ve narrowed it down to one of three: when Inter Milan stole Atalanta’s colours; when Newton Heath changed their name; or when Arsenal dropped their “Woolwich”.

Regards,
James T, Kanazawa, Japan

Scandinavian truths
Scandinavia consists of the following countries: Norway, Denmark and Sweden. (Hence no Gudjohnsen or Jaaaaaskelaaiiinen in the top ten Scandinavian players)
Tord H

Errr yeah, don’t worry about it
I’ve just started a new game in Football Manager. I will set up a tactic independently of the quality of my players. I will stick to this tactic regardless of the score. I will report back to you how well I do.
Nick