A new Captain needed

[Yellow Green Army 248]

I''m not one to normally slate players but I really think Russell Martin has had his day as a Norwich City first team regular.

If we are to move onto the next level and survive in the premier league then he needs to be replaced with a better player (Pinto?).

Russell Martin is NOT a premier league defender it is as simple as that. His weaknesses have been exposed regularly throughout our premiership seasons and teams are targeting that now.

He is not a natural leader and he does not poses enough quality to inspire team mates around him.

He has been a fully committed player for Norwich over the years and I am very grateful to him for that but all things must come to an end and I think we may now see his career with Norwich start to tail off.

This leads me onto Jonny Howson. He would be my choice, he has been moulded into a captain from a very young age and is an ever present in the team.

Its also no coincidence that we are seeing him more in front of the cameras week in week out. Russell Martin is nowhere to be seen.

[Clint 221]

Martins footballing ability aside, we really need a new captain anyway.

There''s no leadership at all on the pitch. I''ve not checked this out but how many times have we come back from being behind this season? There''s no real motivator on the pitch.

When we go behind, more often than not we capitulate. We let in goals in quick succession or early on of just after half time. There''s also a lack of discipline, not tracking back, giving away soft penalties, rash challenges etc. We need to focus better, which helps if you have a leader on the pitch.

Not wanting to mention him but a lot of Lamberts signings were captains of previous clubs. The closest we have to a leader is O''Neill and we all saw what he did the other night.

[Essjayess 307]

Howson is likely the best choice in short term, ONeill has age against him in the long term. Maybe Ryan B could be a future Captain, done it before early in his career and was a good un by all reports.

[Capt. Pants 5,014]

Pinto or Wisdom at right back. Howson captain.

[grefstad 0]

Howson perhaps the best skipper material in the squad, yes, but to be frank, we dont have any players suited to the armband.

Howson is not a guy I would typically turn to, for inspiration, etc, if I were a player. He is rather quiet, rarely on the front foot, a bit low key.

Have we got a vocal player at all in the club? Someone who can inspire, kick som a$$ when needed, and be AN´s prolonged arm on the pitch?

I see none, to be honest.

[ZLF 335]

we need leadership in the team, beyond Tettey and occassionally jerome there is none in our squad.

The over reliance on the manager to provide it is ample demonstration of this -how you sign a leader and keep the cosy core of the centre of the squad happy I dont know. But we need genuine gutsy leaders (who can actually play footaball at prem level before anyone yet again revisits champsionship player BJ)

[norfolkngood 1,174]

I don''t know what klose is like but someone fresh with ideas from outside the club and a full international might be good if he signs

howson maybe but does he play to a level week in week out to inspire people ?

pinto at RB

[swjf50 0]

Definitely need a new captain, I am 100% sure.

Martin is good pro and a nice man but he lacks Premiership quality unfortunately. A captain in the Prem needs to lead by example and be an ''ever present'' or be the first person on the team sheet. Martin is far from that.

I don''t think we have many candidates, the only ones I would consider would be Howson (he was captain at Leeds) but may not always keep his place, Tettey, has captained the team before, O''Neil, has experience but again he may not always play, Bennett still relatively inexperienced and Bassong, but I''m not sure he made a great captain before. Perhaps we could have two ie Howson and O''Neil or Tettey depending on who plays.

Or how about Brady? Is he vocal enough. He is certainly one of the first names on the team sheet, but has he been captain before and would he make a good captain?

[mr footy 36]

There needs to be 11captains on the pitch!

[damn that Ralph Coates! 74]

swjf, Brady might actually be a good shout - honest, very hard-working, leads by example and guaranteed starter. Personally already a shoe-in for PoTS by the way....

[JF 694]

mr footy wrote the following post at 17/01/2016 5:42 PM:

There needs to be 11captains on the pitch!

This. It was no coincidence that when Lambert was manager he was targeting players who had captained previous clubs. Don''t want to harp on about his years as manager but the team back then was full of leaders all over the pitch

[ellis206 0]

Martin has captained the club for one season, arguably our best season ever. We don''t need a new captain after a couple of bad team performances, yes Martin hasn''t played great the last couple of games but he hasn''t been half as bad as Bassong and Brady who have just decided to not mark people in the box. Get a grip.

[damn that Ralph Coates! 74]

[quote user="ellis206"]Martin has captained the club for one season, arguably our best season ever. We don''t need a new captain after a couple of bad team performances, yes Martin hasn''t played great the last couple of games but he hasn''t been half as bad as Bassong and Brady who have just decided to not mark people in the box. Get a grip.[/quote]

but we''ll need one on the actual pitch when Pinto plays

[Van wink 2,994]

My kids love captain canary, no change needed.

[Making Plans 957]

Yesterday it was clear for all to see that after a dreadful start to the game there was absolutely no leadership on the pitch.What did the Captain do to try & change things that were happening on the pitch - nothing.And if he was left exposed then why didn''t he, as Captain, do something about it?Martin is not a Captain & never has been & he only got the job because we had nobody else.All he does is pick head or tails & he probably loses that more often than not.There is no organisation, no encouragement, no motivation & no backside kicking - he is Captain in name only.We desperately need a leader on the pitch who can sort things out as & when they happen rather than have to wait until AN tells them what to do at half time.I''d give Howson, who now appears to be the unofficial official players spokesman, a try.

[Van wink 2,994]

Howson would be a better bet a the moment, if Pinto comes in, which I imagine he will for the next game then that will make the decision easier.

I think we miss a big character like BJ, still dissapointed that he''s gone.

[Hairy Kenneth 0]

How is Howson the unofficial players spokesman? Players get put forward for media responsibilities each week so it''s always someone different.

EVERY player has to take responsibility for their play, they should know what they need to do without someone screaming at them.

You say there was no leadership on the pitch? Just because Russ is captain doesn''t mean no one else can step up on the field and be a leader and we don''t have any of that.

And the little jibe about the coin toss is a bit pathetic really.

[Making Plans 957]

[quote user="Hairy Kenneth"]How is Howson the unofficial players spokesman? Players get put forward for media responsibilities each week so it''s always someone different.

EVERY player has to take responsibility for their play, they should know what they need to do without someone screaming at them.

You say there was no leadership on the pitch? Just because Russ is captain doesn''t mean no one else can step up on the field and be a leader and we don''t have any of that.

And the little jibe about the coin toss is a bit pathetic really.[/quote]I think you''ll find that Howson has done the after game interviews on Radio Norfolk more times than anybody else this season and I only recall RM doing it once - after the Liverpool game when he''d been up all night.As for your second point, if Captains have no influence on other players performances then why does every team in every sport have them.Truth is we''ve never had an effective Captain since GH left - he led by example.

[Norfolk Mustard 106]

Decent player, Jonny Howson - hardly inspirational though is he? His interview times could be halved simply by editing the ''erms''...

[Van wink 2,994]

How about O''Neil

[Hairy Kenneth 0]

I didn''t say captains have no influence on other players performance, I said the players have to take responsibility for their play and should know what they need to do without someone screaming at them.

They are professional athletes on £30k plus a week and have a duty to know their roles 100 %. That''s what they presumably practice all week for.

I agree we miss Holt as a captain-Bassong was a poor captain.

I guess Russ has had enough of media duties as he gets slaughtered on Twitter for whatever he says -if it''s positive it''s his "rallying calls" that get mocked.

I remember a few people on social media having a dig at him for recommending Nasmith earlier in the season-seems people are pretty happy to be hopefully signing him now.

[Making Plans 957]

[quote user="Vanwink"]How about O''Neil[/quote]Did a reasonable job when he had it for a couple of games but I guess he shot any credibility he may have had on Wednesday night

[Yellow Green Army 248]

Declan Rudd could be a good shout. He IS inspirational and a NCFC supporter.

[grefstad 0]

Certainly looks like Howson is being groomed for the captaincy, being pushed out to do most of the media talk, etc.

[lappinitup 629]

[quote user="grefstad"]Howson is not a guy I would typically turn to, for inspiration, etc, if I were a player. He is rather quiet, rarely on the front foot, a bit low key.

Have we got a vocal player at all in the club?[/quote]Why does a captain have to be ''vocal''?The most successful captain in English football history was World Cup winner Bobby Moore. He was also one of the quietest, leading by example. No-one else has ever come close to matching his achievements. He never saw the need to be ''vocal''.

[6088m canary 4]

Not sure how vocal Rudd is but best position for a captain is GK, CB or possibly CM. You need someone who can see the shape of the team and organise players who are not where they should be.

With the complete lack of options id be tempted to give it to Rudd and get him to sort out the back four at the very least.

[simmo_2 6]

[quote user="ellis206"]Martin has captained the club for one season, arguably our best season ever. We don''t need a new captain after a couple of bad team performances, yes Martin hasn''t played great the last couple of games but he hasn''t been half as bad as Bassong and Brady who have just decided to not mark people in the box. Get a grip.[/quote]

LOL, Martin was Middlesbrough most creative player at Wembley.

[Hairy Kenneth 0]

How did you work that one out Simmo? Perhaps you could break it down and tell us all about the chances he created for Boro at Wembley?

[Hairy Kenneth 0]

Here you go Simmo-BBC match report from Wembley. One shot on target for Boro.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32776552

[simmo_2 6]

[quote user="Hairy Kenneth"]Here you go Simmo-BBC match report from Wembley. One shot on target for Boro.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32776552[/quote]

Vossens delightful long range effort (Boros closest effort on goal) was set up by Russell Martin, cant you remember that Hairy Kenneth