Captaincy, Leadership & Marc Murphy

[LordLucifer]

At present across all Carlton online forums, rightly or wrongly, Marc Murphy is copping a heap of flack, mainly in relation to his leadership credentials. This is not an easy subject to dissect as most Blues supporters are fully supportive of Marc Murphy as a player, but they may not be as supportive of him as captain believing that he is not the right person for the job due to being uninspiring, too quiet and lacking in genuine leadership skills.

He came to the club as a highly talented #1 draft pick, has played some brilliant football after walking into the team immediately. On the flipside, some people believe that he hasn't taken his game up to another level like most elite players do when they get into that peak 26-30 age bracket.

The club awarded him the captaincy after Judd as he was the next in line as vice-captain. Many would argue that there wasn't a long list of captaincy options and it would of been a tough gig to take especially when you had to play in the team with Judd still there.

Having said that, when you compare him to some of the other team leaders in the competition (Selwood, Hodge, Cotchin etc), there is a stark difference in persona & presence to Murphy which may be one of the reasons that his leadership is being questioned right now.

Therefore, are the supporters right about this and if so, what should the club do about it ??

Or, is he the right man for the job and everyone should get behind our man ??

For mine, I would find it difficult to stand down a captain if they haven't transgressed to such an extent that they have brought the club into disrepute. On the flipside, sometimes you make decisions that seemed right at the time but further down the track prove to be flawed and steps have to be taken to rectify the situation.

Maybe there should be an indepth review to ascertain how much he really wants the job because I feel that he may have been a reluctant recipient initially. If that was the case, then the club could announce that the captaincy is affecting his overall onfield output and make a change, even if it is a short-term one, and then look at who may be the next best coming through the ranks.

I can see both sides of the argument here, he is a ripper player but maybe the captaincy role is too much of a burden for him right now ??

 

[LordLucifer]

Nothing to do with Thursday night but his appointment surprised me two years ago and still does.

He'll become better as he goes along but that doesn't take away that we may have made the wrong decision.

If you are right, would the club be forthright enough administratively to do something about it now ??

The club has never been shy when it comes to sacking a coach either.

Naturally if there were to be captaincy change, it would need to be handled extremely well (ie. tact & diplomacy) which is not an easy thing to do.

 

[RedFury]

I remember most people here thinking it would be Carazzo, and murmurs coming out of the club indicating Carazzo. Then suddenly ... Murphy.

 

[Red Bull]

I think part of the decision to give him the captaincy was to ward off the chance of him exploring free agency .
I've never liked the idea of small players being captain , it's to easy for opposition sides to physically intimidate them which is very deflating to a teams morale ... we have continuously seen these tactics applied to Murphy .
I think it would be best for Marc and the club to make a change though to do this in season would be very difficult .
My choice would be Henderson provided he goes back and STAYS back . I think he's a terrific defender and would organize the team really well in the Maxwell mould .

 

[Azul]

A captain does nothing but toss the coin and look pretty at press conferences.

Unfortunately the real spiritual leader of the club, Jamo, was soundly beaten.

 

[Bronze]

We all love Murph, but he is not an inspirational leader or strong character that demands more from his men. Let's not compare him with Jonathan Brown, Selwood, Riewoldt, Hodge or Jobe Watson. They are the best of the best.

I tend to cringe when I see Murphy talking to the media and can see how nervous he is with a red rash creeping up his neck and his voice cracking. Poor guy is more of an introvert which is not ideal for an AFL Captain.

The spiritual leaders of the club are Judd, Carrazzo, Simpson and Jamison (probably in that order) IMO. The main problem is if Murphy was to relinquish the captaincy who would take over? The four guys mentioned won't be around in 3 years and I don't believe Henderson or Rowe would be suitable Captains either.

The added pressure of being a Captain is probably hindering Murphy from being the player he was 5 years ago.

 

[I AM CARLTON]

Love Murph as a player for our club but a few things I have noticed. His perforamces seem less consistent since he has become captain and I've never seen him waving his arms around like a Luke Hodge directing traffic and telling the troops what to do.
Also has anyone ever seen him get lippy or in the face of another teams players?
Hodge and Selwood brilliant at the verbal and team mates follow suit.

 

[cookie monster]

For mine, lack of bonafide leadership is the single biggest issue at our club. Murphy, whilst a great player and I love him, is not a leader of men. Watching him get pushed around and man handled by opposition players without a whimper of retaliation really irks me. Some of the stuff that Murphy cops Selwood and Hodge would never get simply for fear of the barrage they would receive in return. Of our A+ players, I think Gibbs may be closest however I still wouldn't have him instated as Captain either.

I think we need to look to one of the younger brigade for our next captain. Docherty?

The crux of the issue is that we have not drafted strong leaders, and goes back to the Fev issue where I think the club has been turned away from drafting extroverts given the inherent behavioural issues you get at times. Taking Watson over Darling (IIRC) would be a classic example of this.

You look at Hawthorn's list and could point out 10 players who could easily become the Prime Minister of Australia.

I'm starting to think we need to get an independent review conducted of our entire football administration; let's see how the next few rounds play out

 

[imadodgyumpire]

I think he's good. But the way Carlton's been the last 10 years, he's on a hiding to nothing. I would be interested to know his reputation from opposition players, to get a clearer understanding to interpret his "lack of leadership" on field.

You look at Hawthorn's list and could point out 10 players who could easily become the Prime Minister of Australia.

Those nuffies don't need their egos stroked further. Hawforn fans would be reading this. None would be good enough to be a State Parliamentarian. le alone PM.

Please

 

[gbatman]

"Hey Marc, you Bryce and Chris go out and do the work of 6 men. You're up against 6 or 7 mids who'll rotate all day but we want you to kick goals, get it 30 times and be inspirational and dominate even though you'll be in the square most of the day and you'll be rooted and the opposition will be rotating all day keeping their mids fresh while you're getting tagged and having to play most of your match time on the ball. Do you reckon you can do that and wave your magical captain wand so this fairly average team will win all the time. Just to keep you company in the middle there, here's three taggers, they wont provide you any relief but here they are". - Fan logic.

Murphy would be a gun in a good side if he had the support and we didn't play him in the guts all the time and if we rotated attacking mids like modern sides do. Look at Robbie Gray, when they picked up some good players he became a gun, a guy who playes mid/forward gets a heap of it and kicks goals without being worked like a dog. Bartel the same. We're asking too much of the guy as a player.

How are we to know his captaincy is questionable? Do any of you know him or play under him? How would you know? It's not the reason we're losing games of footy.

I hate this attitude footy fans have that if your losing you immediately start blaming the coach and the captain. It's immature stupidity. If Murphy was Captain of Hawthorn or Port or one of the better sides there'd be nothing but praise for him because he'd be captain of a winning side. How much do you think the guy can do, he's not a superhero.

 

[thylacine60]

way to miss the point in 4 tedious paras

 

[fnm_just a man]

Blind as a gbat

 

[Styxx]

Logic had no place here gbatman.

We must only bash everyone and drop every player.

 

[fnm_just a man]

hmmm ... what thy said

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

So no other captains get tagged? No other captains have the weight of expectations on their shoulders?

 

[HBF]

So no other captains get tagged? No other captains have the weight of expectations on their shoulders?

Murphy should watch how Joel Selwood plays. Don't expect Murph to attack the footy like Selwood does, but he could learn alot from how he leads from the front.

 

[Robbo's my hero]

Good opening statement but it's premature. We are all looking for players to blame after the first game and why not start at the top. It must be my footballing background but I always regarded captaincy as a job that had to be filled by someone in the team. If I thought that it was up to the captain to inspire me to play well then I would been a poor excuse for a footballer. Murph had an ineffective game. This is then explained in terms of his ordinary game dragged down the efforts of the whole team. This is where I say "get serious". I'll judge Murph at season's end. First and foremost I'll judge his contribution as a player not as captain.

 

[thylacine60]

What exactly are his inspirational efforts? Playing with razor rash? I love Murph as a clever, ball-playing midfielder - he's fair, skilful and will go as long as he can. But please, his zero responses to the challenges of the captaincy leave me frustrated and shitty.

 

[BM123]

Murphy can't wait till rd 5 to show up again this year.

Arguably our best player but we still need to improve our midfield depth if we want to see him tear the opposition apart again.

Even Ablett during the Suns starting year was rested up forward a fair bit to give him a rest.

 

[LordLucifer]

Good opening statement but it's premature. We are all looking for players to blame after the first game and why not start at the top.

Robbo, I can assure you my comments are not purely based on Thursday night's game, I truly believe this is something that has been brewing for a while now and the match against the Tigers is like the straw that broke one of my camel's back. If the collective comment is anything to go by, people have been pushed over the edge now.

Let me be very clear here, it is my strong belief that Marc Murphy is universally respected & supported as a player by Blues fans, however, there are now some major question marks surrounding his appointment as captain. IMO, the two roles are mutally exclusive in this discussion.

 

[BM123]

What exactly are his inspirational efforts? Playing with razor rash? I love Murph as a clever, ball-playing midfielder - he's fair, skilful and will go as long as he can. But please, his zero responses to the challenges of the captaincy leave me frustrated and shitty.

Saw him drop into the hole a few times in the Collingwood game, he won us the last game against in 2013 I could go on but he has shown the capacity for leadership from time to time.

It's up to him to present himself as a leader over a whole season though.

 

[Quazza]

I'm a big fan of Murph, have a jumper with his number on it, but I don't think he's ever been the same since Dangerfield broke him in half.

He's definitely not a natural leader. The main problem i see in him perhaps relinquishing the C, is that we simply don't have an obvious and logical replacement.

 

[Bluey24]

I agree with many of the posts above — Murphy's selection as captain two years ago was a bit of a surprise.

I was in Simpson's corner that day and I still am.

For me, next in line for the captaincy would be Henderson, Jamison and then Carrazzo. The latter, and Simmo, are probably too old now though, so I'd select Hendo. Something tells me he'd thrive in the role.

 

[LordLucifer]

I'm a big fan of Murph, have a jumper with his number on it, but I don't think he's ever been the same since Dangerfield broke him in half.

He's definitely not a natural leader. The main problem i see in him perhaps relinquishing the C, is that we simply don't have an obvious and logical replacement.

Brings up another discussion actually, if Murphy was to stand down (his decision or the club's), then what would be the key criteria that you should be looking for when making the next appointment ??

It is not out of the question for us to not have anyone currently that matches up either.

 

[__Bobcat__]

I too like Murph as a player.

As a Captain not now, never did, Not sure i ever Will.

I think the decsion to appoint him Captain was made purely on a decsion of retaining him on the list.

However he is The Captain and must remain as Captain for both The Team and for his Footballing Future.

If he was to give up the Captaincy could you imagine the opposition players Giving it to him, It would kill him, give his confidence a real Kick in the Guts.

I also fear if he does Hand in The Captaincy that it will look like ( to the oppostion players and supporters) a Job that dose'nt Hold that Prestige and Honour that it should be.

He Cant Hand it in Now, He has to Fight through this rough Patch.