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We all saw what happened to Terry at the weekend, and thank God he isn’t out for the rest of the season. When it happened I was pretty certain I was looking at an ACL/MCL injury (in my professional opinion).
It gets you thinking though, with Terry injured and getting older, and Lampard now resigned to the bench and potentially off to China / America, who would the best candidate for captaincy be? In my opinion, to be the captain of an entire club, a player must:
1. Be vocal. 2. Command respect within the squad. 3. Lead by example. 4. Be tactful when dealing with the referee when a situation gets heated (as situations tend to in football) – a level head is very important. 5. Be a continuous starter.
The player that has been used in the past is Cech. I can understand why- he has become a Chelsea legend and as such commands a great deal of respect. He is vocal and commanding, as all great keepers must be, and he does lead by example, as much as a goalkeeper can anyway.
The big problem I have with this though is: he is a goalkeeper. He may have all the perfect personality traits but I, for one, do not like goalkeepers as captains. I think a captain should be outfield, ideally in central defence or midfield, because part of their responsibility is to settle disputes, calm players down sometimes and lead from the front. I’m sure Cech would be capable of all this but sadly, his position limits the impact he can have.
I expect people will disagree with me on this. After all, some of the greatest managers in the world do! There have been various goalkeeping captains, Casillas and Buffon being the best examples. For me, though, the captain must be an outfielder.
So lets skip to the chase and look at other potential candidates: Luiz, Cahill, Ivanovic, Mata and (perhaps controversially) Mikel.
I like Luiz more than most Chelsea fans, but as a captain, I don’t think he would suit us. I don’t think he is particularly vocal (especially for a centre half) for a start. My main problem, and I’m sure everyone else’s, is that he is too erratic, makes mistakes, and that is the last thing you want from your captain.
Ivanovic is a great candidate. He has been a strong personality in the squad for a long time. Loved by the fans, leads by example, starts whenever he is fit and he even captains his country (as does David Luiz). I think he would be capable of dealing with the referee too and on the face of it, there isn’t a great deal you can say against him!
I also think Mata is definitely a candidate for the job. He may not have been at the club for long, but as one Chelsea fan said to me on twitter, that doesn’t Mata (unintelligent pun intended). He’s one of our most charismatic players and I think he ticks all the boxes. He’s a very mature individual who has earned not only the respect of the club and the fans, but of the whole Premier League; and although his name isn’t thrown into the discussion much, I can’t see any reason for why he shouldn’t be considered.
Mikel is the underdog in this discussion. I’m a big fan. He gets unjust criticism. I find it hilarious when he makes one little error, often a small one, and then the opposition score two minutes later and all of a sudden it’s Mikel’s fault. I think he would fit all of the criteria I outlined at the beginning of the article, except for one, number 4. I don’t think he is particularly level headed, and often gets carried away in the moment. I could never see him dealing with the referee, so at this moment in time, it’s a no from me (maybe one day though).
Cahill. Now here’s a great candidate. Loud, respected, calm in heated situations, leads by example, and as an added bonus, he’s English! The problem – he isn’t a regular starter for some crazy reason. Until he becomes a regular starter, I can’t really see how he can be made captain. The moment he is though, look no further.
So here is my pick from all of this, the man to fill in for Terry, and to potentially take over his role in the long run is:
BRANISLAV IVANOVIC! At least until Cahill is a regular starter.
Carefree & KTBFFH!
