01-21-2018, 01:41 PM
I don't actually think players are best placed to understand what a great leader is. The club need to identify and as in most fields it is likely often not going to be the best player.
It is going to be the person prepared to sacrifice for the team, the player prepared to be unpopular with peers if there is a need to be unpopular and pull people into line.
A PERFECT example to me of a really great captain was Roy Keane at Manchester United. Now he was a prick of a bloke, but he would not for one second hesitate in settings his demands even with the marquee players at the club and they wouldn't dare fall out of line.
Rio Ferdinand once told how at training he passed the ball back to Gary Neville a teammate in the training drill when Roy Keane had a go and informed him he was at Manchester United now, not Leeds or West Ham and expectations were different. Now Rio Ferdinand had just signed on as the most expensive transfer for a defender in the world at that stage, but that didn't stop Keane letting him know if he wasn't meeting expectations.
Now you don't need to be a prick at all to be a good leader, in fact once you have the trust of the team that you are pulling them up for the good of the team, you can have them back a player to the hilts, but you must always be ready to support the wins, but every bit as importantly.. call out the failures.
From the outside I think Curnow would do that.. I for sure think Doc would do that.
I am not 100% sure Murphy does that.. He might.. I am not in there, but I am not 100% sure he does.
It is going to be the person prepared to sacrifice for the team, the player prepared to be unpopular with peers if there is a need to be unpopular and pull people into line.
A PERFECT example to me of a really great captain was Roy Keane at Manchester United. Now he was a prick of a bloke, but he would not for one second hesitate in settings his demands even with the marquee players at the club and they wouldn't dare fall out of line.
Rio Ferdinand once told how at training he passed the ball back to Gary Neville a teammate in the training drill when Roy Keane had a go and informed him he was at Manchester United now, not Leeds or West Ham and expectations were different. Now Rio Ferdinand had just signed on as the most expensive transfer for a defender in the world at that stage, but that didn't stop Keane letting him know if he wasn't meeting expectations.
Now you don't need to be a prick at all to be a good leader, in fact once you have the trust of the team that you are pulling them up for the good of the team, you can have them back a player to the hilts, but you must always be ready to support the wins, but every bit as importantly.. call out the failures.
From the outside I think Curnow would do that.. I for sure think Doc would do that.
I am not 100% sure Murphy does that.. He might.. I am not in there, but I am not 100% sure he does.
Goals for 2017
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Play the most anti-social football in the AFL
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Play the most anti-social football in the AFL

