Its Official: Our Next Captain Is...........

[macca23]

Just a quick fact...

The players (the ones who vote on the captaincy) didnt include Thommo in the leadership group, despite him being our premier midfielder.

Those same players voted a 21 year old Nathan van Berlo into the leadership group.

Thommo may very well be our best player at the moment, he however isnt considered our best leader by those that matter.

vB will get the job.

Nice pick up there.

It all points to VB IMO, who I think would do a first class job on and off the field.

People have forgotten Thommo's car episode a little while back - not the actions of a captain.

I'm a great Thommo fan as a footballer and on field leader by action, but the skipper has to do it all off the field as well.

VB it will be.

 

[Kennyrocks]

...........Luke "Ronaldo" Jericho!

 

[macca23]

Thommo probably didn't get into the leadership group because of the burnout incident last year. I dout that will affect any leadership aspirations for the future as long as he doesn't do anything similar again.

vB, no. As others have said he's not an imposing enough player to drag the team along with him. Also do we really want to be in the West Coast position of having an interstate skipper who ends up leaving. Yes he's happy here at the moment but things can change pretty quickly.

That's a figment of your imagination.

VB has repeatedly stated that he will be here for the remainder of his footy career and that he loves the club.

These go home theories are tiresome when based on nothing.

 

[Gets!]

Out of vB or Jericho for mine.

 

[Southerntakeover]

Bickley had four top ten finishes in the B&F before being named captain, including two top three finishes. VB has had one top ten finish.

Just on the leadership vote system, can the players vote for a player to be in the leadership group without it being a recommendation for him to be captain? Is the voting for captain and leadership group separate or is it all done at once?

van Berlo already has had one top 10 finish. By the time we're choosing a new captain, theres a pretty good chance he'll have 3 or so top 10 finishes himself. Whats your point?

As far as players voting on the leadership group, interpret it how you will, but its clearly an endorsement of a players leadership ability. Considering van Berlo is the youngest Crow ever to recieve the honour, its quite telling. Thats not even taking into account the key figures in the club (like Roo), who have mentioned van Berlo and captaincy directly.

Im reasonably sure the votes are done at the same time, but it is still a seperate vote. Cant say for absolute certain.

 

[Brett_Burton_#24]

IMO, AFC will be looking for a new captain in 2010, even if Goodwin prolongs his career longer than expected by playing as a forward.

Thompson & VB are both the front runners. I don't think many supporters hold it against VB for being a Sandgroper. Pavlich is from SA, Kernahan one of Carlton's best from SA too. Irrelevant IMO. Also, why can't a defender be a captain as there have been some great ones too, including the current premiership captain.

geez i just presumed that if it were 2011 and come on Tom Harley hardly really captains that side it doesn't need a captain the only captain things he does are call heads or tails at the coin toss or lift up Premiership Cups .

 

[Alberton_Magpie]

I would feel sorry for Rutten if he didnt get it, he deserves it over tompson in my opinion.

 

[CaptainDangerfield]

Nice pick up there.

It all points to VB IMO, who I think would do a first class job on and off the field.

People have forgotten Thommo's car episode a little while back - not the actions of a captain.

I'm a great Thommo fan as a footballer and on field leader by action, but the skipper has to do it all off the field as well.

VB it will be.

Getting caught doing a few burnouts is classed "as an episode". I hate to think what captain Goody's incident is classed as then.

 

[CaptainDangerfield]

Just a quick fact...

The players (the ones who vote on the captaincy) didnt include Thommo in the leadership group, despite him being our premier midfielder.

Those same players voted a 21 year old Nathan van Berlo into the leadership group.

Thommo may very well be our best player at the moment, he however isnt considered our best leader by those that matter.

vB will get the job.

That's disappointing. If the captaincy was based on on-field performances Thommo should be ahead by a fair margin.

 

[IddyBiddy]

Getting caught doing a few burnouts is classed "as an episode". I hate to think what captain Goody's incident is classed as then.

It's not a one off issue, its a repetitive thing with Thommo. Hopefully it was addressed at the end of the year and he's setting wheels in motion to be a part of the leadership group at the very minimum.

 

[Truck Rutten]

That's a figment of your imagination.

VB has repeatedly stated that he will be here for the remainder of his footy career and that he loves the club.

These go home theories are tiresome when based on nothing.

He's not from WA?

Come on Macca, you know the trite utterings of players in interviews mean little. They all say they're going to stay put until the end of time. I'm not suggesting that he's going to leave. I don't know what's going to happen in the future. None of us do.

Regardless, that's only a small factor for me. First and foremost is that he's not (yet) a strong enough player in my opinion. Especially when we've got a guy who's on field performances have captain stamped all over them.

 

[Truck Rutten]

It's not a one off issue, its a repetitive thing with Thommo. Hopefully it was addressed at the end of the year and he's setting wheels in motion to be a part of the leadership group at the very minimum.

How many burnout incidents has he been involved in?

 

[King Elvis]

Just on Radar, I think he'd definitely be in the mix for a vice-role.

For mine it'll be;

Captain - Thommo or VB.

Vice Captain - Truck and Radar.

 

[CaptainDangerfield]

Just on Radar, I think he'd definitely be in the mix for a vice-role.

For mine it'll be;

Captain - Thommo or VB.

Vice Captain - Truck and Radar.

Radar should definately be considered for a VC role.

 

[RealSlimShady]

Scott Thompson.
No reasons need to be stated.
Has everything needed to be a top captain.

Anyone disagree?

I have thought this for a while now, even more so this season with the way he has been playing and the leadership he has been oozing.

 

[The Crows Truth]

van Berlo already has had one top 10 finish. By the time we're choosing a new captain, theres a pretty good chance he'll have 3 or so top 10 finishes himself. Whats your point?

As far as players voting on the leadership group, interpret it how you will, but its clearly an endorsement of a players leadership ability. Considering van Berlo is the youngest Crow ever to recieve the honour, its quite telling. Thats not even taking into account the key figures in the club (like Roo), who have mentioned van Berlo and captaincy directly.

Im reasonably sure the votes are done at the same time, but it is still a seperate vote. Cant say for absolute certain.

i think youve missed the '2 top 3 finishes' old son in this response. Bickley, when named captain, had certainly shown alot more than VB has thus far. Hopefully VB can improve and rise a couple of notches as he seems the logical choice on a number of other fronts. However, I think its a reasonable concern being raised about VB being captain based on his current level of footballing effectiveness

 

[Southerntakeover]

i think youve missed the '2 top 3 finishes' old son in this response. Bickley, when named captain, had certainly shown alot more than VB has thus far. Hopefully VB can improve and rise a couple of notches as he seems the logical choice on a number of other fronts. However, I think its a reasonable concern being raised about VB being captain based on his current level of footballing effectiveness

I cant say im all that familiar with the B and Fs from the early 90s. What years did Bickley finish top 3?

 

[Southerntakeover]

That's disappointing. If the captaincy was based on on-field performances Thommo should be ahead by a fair margin.

Has vB shown you anything on field to suggest he would not be a great captain?

The guy was doing the inspirational self sacrificing acts at 17. A few weeks ago against West Coast he was one of only two guys who stood up, the other being Ivan.

If van Berlo gets the captaincy next, it certainly wont disappoint me.

 

[The Crows Truth]

I cant say im all that familiar with the B and Fs from the early 90s. What years did Bickley finish top 3?

bickley had certainly proved a far better player than vb has at this stage of his career. perhaps you were too young to remember in which case just trust me old son. vb from all reports is a stand out captain in waiting from many aspects. i just wish he could could be more consistently effective out on the field

http://www.afc.com.au/TheClub/History/TopTenClubChampion/tabid/10130/default.aspx

 

[Mismatched]

Also do we really want to be in the West Coast position of having an interstate skipper who ends up leaving. Yes he's happy here at the moment but things can change pretty quickly.

He's not from WA?

Come on Macca, you know the trite utterings of players in interviews mean little. They all say they're going to stay put until the end of time. I'm not suggesting that he's going to leave. I don't know what's going to happen in the future. None of us do.

No of course you're not.

Anyways, I'm still with VB, although Thommo has pegged himself back a long way in my books, especially after his performance on the weekend. The biggest problem for me with Thommo are the incidents like in the EF last year, where under pressure, he kicked the ball out on the full which then led to the ball being kicked to Buddy and we all know the story. Now until he can show that he can stand up under that sort of pressure and produce, I will question his captaincy post.

As for comparing VB's showing in the B&F with Bickley's so far, please, Blickley had played 6 years for us before getting the captaincy, VB is only into his 4th. VB will be a very dependable player, who puts his body on the line week in week out and whose disposal rarely, if ever, lets him down. This is Thommo's only problem IMO, he's cleaned up his act re giving away free kicks, he only needs to stop turning the ball over with his kicking.

Either way, I'd be very happy, both Thommo and VB would make great captains, Rutten, IMO doesn't get involved in the play enough, hes a purely defensive player and I think should be left to do this, not worry about carrying the weight of the team on his shoulders, however I would have him as a VC every day of the week.

 

[CaptainDangerfield]

Has vB shown you anything on field to suggest he would not be a great captain?

The guy was doing the inspirational self sacrificing acts at 17. A few weeks ago against West Coast he was one of only two guys who stood up, the other being Ivan.

If van Berlo gets the captaincy next, it certainly wont disappoint me.

Nor me. However, if history is anything to go by, you wouldn't expect the Count to be given the captaincy until he is at least 25. That leaves us with 4 years without a captain. Given Goodwin only has two years left (maybe even 1 ) who will be the captain for the 3 or so year period?

As I said, VB is a captain for the future, Thommo is the man for today.

EDIT: For the record, Bicks was 25-26 whe he was named captain and Roo was 26-27.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Nor me. However, if history is anything to go by, you wouldn't expect the Count to be given the captaincy until he is at least 25. That leaves us with 4 years without a captain. Given Goodwin only has two years left (maybe even 1 ) who will be the captain for the 3 or so year period?

As I said, VB is a captain for the future, Thommo is the man for today.

Have to disagree ........it appears most want to give the captaincy to the best player rather than the best leader.

In my mind Thompson is a very good player .....but I have doubts about his leadership skills .......mainly based on his apparent lack of discipline which equates to lack of leadership.

This argument is currently being discussed about Brock McLean ......good player but terrible leader ....again based on leadership relating to acceptable behaviour.

Do we discuss Shane Warne using the same argument ........best left

Based on on-field and off-field leadership it would appear to be a 2 horse race with Rutten & Van Berlo ........reilly a dark horse

 

[RoosterLad]

Shane Warne would have made an excellent captain.

 

[Southerntakeover]

Shane Warne would have made an excellent captain.

Or would have destroyed the team, especially had he been captain when the big scandals hit (e.g. Drug cheating). I seem to remember another natural captain in the AFL who played for West Coast, but had behavioural problems.

Note: In no way am i comparing Thompson to EITHER of these two. Not even remotely compatible.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Shane Warne would have made an excellent captain.

Yes he was the best capt material .......but he didn't get the job and we all know why.

Which says that other considerations such as maintaining and establishing acceptable standards of behaviour are important elements of leadership