Is there a point to captains in football?

[Spike]

2 hours ago, Stan said:

And how does my comment negate that 'yes'? 

It agrees that there should be captains? 

Mate read the poll question lol

[CaaC (John)+]

18 hours ago, Stan said:

But I think there should be more than one leader on the pitch. When you look at all the successful squads or iconic teams, they had leaders all over the pitch. 

As per my posts, the likes of United and Liverpool under SAF & Paisley rotated their captains where former captains still played beside the new captain, thus, what you said, leaders all over the pitch, the likes of Rio, Evra, Keane, G. Neville etc who all played together so a lot of the young lads looked up to them. captain and former captains, the same as Pep now and his captains.

I remember reading an article where Keane once said he looked up to Cantona when he was captain and he always wanted to follow in his footsteps which he did.

[Azeem]

8 hours ago, Spike said:

I can name one coach in cricket, and that is Brendan McCullum. He never shuts up and loves the attention. I know the last name of Australia’s coach but I know little of him.

Misbah was also very assertive as a coach and even as a player. He used to send chits to Babar during matches to even decide who will bowl next. 

[Stan]

6 hours ago, Rucksackfranzose said:

The question you answered with yes was " Are captains pointless?", though.

 

6 hours ago, Spike said:

Mate read the poll question lol

I missed that and just read the thread title

 

[CaaC (John)+]

Quote

The author of the isport360 article, Sara Puskar, writes coaches should have the responsibility of picking out younger athletes to lead the team in warmups or tossing the coin in choosing what side of the field they want to start on, for example.

“I think it’s important that a coach picks the captains so kids don’t turn the process into a popularity contest and feel excluded because that can create unwanted tension between players,” she wrote.

“Authority figures can be intimidating. Having a team captain can be an important resource for players on your team because it gives kids a way to express their concerns or frustrations with a teammate before going directly to their coach. Captains can act as the middleman between coaches and players if their teammates need it.”

Give the young, responsible kids a chance to show their stuff, not just during competition. It’s a great way for them to stay engaged and to develop lifelong skills.

https://www.thegazette.com/iowa-prep-sports/captains-can-play-key-role-on-youth-teams/#:~:text=Having a team captain can,if their teammates need it.”

 

[Pyfish+]

I also misread the poll  

[Coma+]

Poll results invalid.

[Reluctant Striker]

In football it is all ceremonial isn't it?

The coin toss. The shaking hands.

Officially someone who can talk to the referees.

I do wonder if perhaps way back whenever that a captain would have been the 1 who arranged lots of things. Before managers, coaches, scouts, etc.

Generally it is a player for most other players to look to, for example. Perhaps to talk to, rather than direct to a manager. The captain could also report back to managers & coaches.

I guess there may well be some value seen in the above, as many clubs have a series of captains. e.g. Villa last year had McGinn as actual on field captain. Emi Martinez officially & perhaps suitably the 'vice' captain. And Ashley Young was club captain. And I'm sure I have heard of various similar arrangements.