Captain, leader, realeased at contract's end...

[Contexx]

After grinding out the Bundesliga title with Hoffeinheim, playing some of the most stubborn, filthy, grimy, rusty defensive football (conceded a total of 10 goals all season), my captain and vice captain approached the end of their contracts.  Through player development and signings, they were becoming more and more redundant.  By the end of the season, they were playing less and less, and their attributes and style were no longer necessary or even suitable for the team.  Eugene Polanski, the captain became more of a symbolic figure, tutoring youngsters but increasingly peripheral within the first team.  The same can be said for the vice captain.  Maybe it was the Wenger in me, but as their contracts expired and wage demands a bit too high for their roles, I decided not to renew and let them both go.

The problem is, it's left a bit of a leadership gap in my suddenly young squad.  When choosing the captain, I've had to pick a player with high determination to compensate for lack of anyone over 22 with "leadership" higher than 13.  When I finally did choose the new captain, who happens to be a well respected defender, morale and "pr's" shot up and the squad seemed pretty happy.  Also, squad harmony is in the upper 80's and while the previous captains had very high mental attributes, they were by no means crucial or highly admired by the rest of the team.

Approaching the new season, I'm wondering what others' experiences are with captains.  How much of a difference do they make and how significant is the "leadership" attribute to his influence on team performance?

 

 

[TheJanitor]

Since Leadership is a visible attribute on the Player Profile page, it affects the happenings on the pitch.

I don't have much experience with teams that lack leadership, but what I guess is, a team short of leaders will lack players who "round up the troops" during a cup final or championship deciding match, and this could result in under-performance (or over-performance if you have more leaders). For this reason it is not important that every player is ranked high for leadership, but every top team have a few of this players.

[tmason122]

Another thing to take into account is the consistency of the player. I like my captains to be consistent performers who also enjoy playing in big games. This is something I feel many people overlook. If your captain is a model of consistency and is a leader when you most need it it will spur the other players on. No use having a captain who doesn't show up one game or would rather be hiding in the dressing room when Barcelona come to visit, haha.

One of my best captains (Adam Forshaw, FM16) was a very average premier league player. But he was consistent, played well in the big games and had a good range of stats (attacking, defensive) and played in the CM position. This meant that he was involved in all our play, whether we were attacking or defending and was never on the periphery. Generally he always played well (avg. >7.15 over a season) and that I always felt pushed the team on... We definitely missed him when he didn't play. 

[Ö-zil to the Arsenal!]

This is an interesting topic and conveniently timed after Gerrard's retirement.

Talismanic figures - such as Gerrard, Terry, Keane, Vieira, Totti, Adams and too many more to mention - seem to be a dying breed.

Running a search towards the end of my 3rd season of anyone with leadership 18 or above and of the top 10 most valuable players, all 10 are over 30. Setting an age restriction at 30 or below and the only Champions League player is Carrico at Sevilla, who is currently 30 himself. The rest of the list is made up from clubs like West Ham, Sporting Gijon, Brighton, Burnley, Peterborough, Celta Vigo and AS Nancy Lorraine.

My current captain is Davy Klaassen who - at 26 with 16 leadership - may yet join that list. But, at most clubs I don't expect that luxury.

In general, I'd look for a captain with a good personality and somebody who personifies my style of play. In Ajax' case, Klaassen does that perfectly and bonus points for coming through the academy and playing for the national team.

It could certainly be argued that the importance of an individual captain is diminishing in favour of leadership across the whole team but the old romantic in me still enjoys seeing an out-and-out leader.

Also note than influence rises quite sharply, I made Bazoer vice-Captain at 20 years old after establishing himself in the first team and the Holland national team and he's risen to the challenge fantastically, influence rising 4-points from 10 to 14 at 22 years old.
 

Now, the only question for Bazoer is keeping him at the club.

[Contexx]

Quote

a captain with a good personality and somebody who personifies my style of play

Yeah that's very important.  John Terry in his Mourinho-charged pomp, or Antonio Conte when at Juventus, Gerrard, Zanetti - those would be good examples.  I think in today's game, especially among top teams, squad rotation and frequent player movement make it very difficult to have those types of characters.  It's offset by having strong personalities all around, with different players willing to step up.  In my view there are four types of captains:

1. The talismatic superstar -  Think Messi for Argentina. He leads by example, scores the odd goal or three, and is the star of the team. This type of player is so good that he makes others around him better and influences overall performance and morale.

2. The Senior Leader - He's been there forever, goes about his business in a highly professional manner, and commands the respect of his teammates.  The ideal example would be Zenetti when he was at Inter.  He would rarely get the attention, but he's been there through the eras of Ronaldo, Vieri, Mourinho, and played until he was 250 years old.  I think young teams with a lot of skillful but sometimes volatile players and clubs with a lot of staff turnover and upheaval are very suitable for such a player.

3.  The club legend - A lot of Italian teams have those.  Think DiNatelle at Udinese or Totti at Roma.  He becomes synonymous with the club, and he must play, regardless of his age.  Perhaps Gerrard was similar in his last year at Liverpool, and we saw the type of fun that occur as this player ages with Totti at Roma last year.  I guess this is very much a dying breed, though this type of player, through his ability and personality, becomes ingrained in the club's dna.

4. The General - usually a midfielder and in the center of the action, he dictates play, has a very strong tactical acumen, and seems to be the extension of the manager on the pitch.  During the last international break, Croatia were playing against Iceland, and Modric, the captain, entered in the second half. the game was played in an empty stadium, and I happened to be watching it on a dodgy stream with no commentary.  It seemed like Modric never stopped talking and shouting.  Needless to say, the entire team got its act together and really picked up their game.  Modric himself didn't do anything spectacular, was his usual, brilliantly understated self, though his influence on the pitch went far beyond passes and tackles.

 

Obviously, some of the best captains will tick more than one box.  Also, there are so many players who for one reason or another, don't necessarily wear the armband but have a high captain like influence.  In spite of being captain, few would argue that David DeGea contributed more to "captaining" Manchester United in the last couple of years than Wayne Rooney.  So ultimately, it does make me wonder how much of the captain role is cosmetic, and how much influence does it really have on the overall play of a team.

[samuelawachie]

That's some Context right there! Very nice write up