Before anyone rips into me, I am just asking the question to see what people’s views are, I am not shouting from the rooftops that Cesc should have the armband removed. In any case, look at who takes over the leadership when Cesc doesn’t play and I certainly don’t want Almunia to be our captain..
While it can never be argued that Cesc can change a game, we only need to look back at the game against Aston Villa last season to know that but on a day when things aren’t always ticking for him, is he the right man to motivate his side?? He certainly wasn’t the most experienced player in the squad when he became captain.
Look at our previous captains:-
Tom Parker, Eddie Hapgood and Joe Mercer all captained our club during the early years and all three lifted at least one piece of silverware during their time wearing the armband, not that I remember those days 😉
Since the late sixties though, we have had:
Frank McLintock
McLintock started out as an inside-forward (whatever that was) but Bertie Mee moved him to the defence and at the same time made him captain in 1967. Some suggest it was one of the best things Bertie Mee did. Having been runner-up in two league finals in the late 60’s he led the side to a Fairs Cup win in 1970 and the following year to an FA Cup and League double! This man led by example both on and off the pitch.
Pat Rice
He was one of the double winning side, not one of the most naturally talented of players (by his own admission)but he was a grafter, it was that that got him in the side and he took over the captaincy from McLintock. He led Arsenal to four cup finals between 1978 and 1980, 1979 though was the only year he got to lift the trophy following a dramatic win over Man Utd.
Kenny Sansom
I think this one of the tough time to captain Arsenal but he was an awesome player. Kenny is still the most capped left back in England history (with 86 appearances) and nobody has won more international caps as an Arsenal player. It wasn’t until his last season as captain though, did he lead us to winning a trophy, the Littlewoods Cup in 1987, a 2-1 win over the Dippers!
Tony Adams
Mr Arsenal, Tony was the ultimate one-club man, he became Arsenal’s youngest ever captain (aged just 21 years and 82 days) when he succeeded Sansom in 1988 and led the Club to nine major trophies, including League titles in three different decades. Tony was the ultimate leader, bringing the best out of his team-mates and putting himself on the line for the Arsenal cause. (All while consuming the odd glass of sherry 😉 )
Patrick Vieira
Following Big Tony as captain couldn’t have been easy but Vieira was the obvious choice for Wenger to hand the armband to. He was our first foreign captain. I think I’m right too in saying he was the first midfielder to take the role. Vieira was always going to make captain, he even skippered Cannes as a teenager. He lifted the FA Cup in 2003 and then led the side through the unbeaten season 2003/04. He wouldn’t be bullied and he wouldn’t let Arsenal be bullied either. An awesome figure both on and off the field. July 2005, the big man left us having just lifted the FA Cup after robbing the Mancs to win on penalties 🙂
When Vieira left, Wenger gave the armband to Thierry Henry, still to this day I don’t understand why. We had players like Lehmann, Toure, Pires, Campbell and Gilberto all in the side, all either defenders or midfielders – why did Wenger give the role of captain to a striker?? A player who spends most of his time miles away from the defence and if/when the chips are down you need your captain….. Gilberto was my choice…
Yes we got to the Champions League final but things weren’t so good on the domestic front were they. I think most of us know why Thierry Henry was given the armband but it didn’t really work did it, two years later he was gone…..
Then after Henry, Wenger went back to the defence for his future skipper. Many, including me, thought/hoped Kolo Toure or Gilberto would be our captain, but no, he gave the armband to ex chav, William Gallas. Yes he was a winner and wanted Arsenal to win but….. he wasn’t my cup of tea for a captain and I still believe he started the rot that we are only just now starting to get over. I must be one of a few who is glad to see the back of him.
His off field antics saw him stripped of the armband, up steps Cesc Fabregas to collect it. Big mistake again by Wenger in my opinion and like many I believe he was given the armband to keep Barca away, it didn’t work with Henry and no doubt very soon we will see it won’t be enough to keep him at Arsenal.
Kolo Toure should have been made captain then in my opinion, not our little midfield maestro but again, that’s just my opinion, doesn’t mean it’s right.
I know Wenger can’t and wouldn’t take the armband off of Cesc but it doesn’t stop us from having our view. Do you think Cesc is the right man for the job, or would you rather see a true leader like Vermaelen organising from the back ? Cesc has said he is fully focussed for Arsenal this season but we would be kidding ourselves if we believe he ‘honestly’ wants to be here in London.
We need a captain in a similar mould to the winners we have had in the past. Maybe then, the glory days will return…
Morning….
Irrespective of his intentions to stay or leave, Cesc has never been captain material, and we are in desperate need of a real captain capable of eyeballing the likes of john terry and roy keane in the tunnel before a game. Vermaelen has that potential. Among a lack of a top keeper, strong central defender and commanding holding midfielder, this is one of the reasons why we have nt won anything for 5 years. Cant use the captains armband solely as a tool for hanging on to top players who we fear may leave (ditto with henry)
Hi alan, you won’t get any disagreement from me with your comment..
spot on to about the pre-match/tunnel goings on, Paddy was awesome there…
i personally feel Arsene has made bad choices with Cesc and Henry. He chose from a place of fear and no good decision ever comes from that. Our Captain wants to play for Barcelona, it’s obvious, that is not what it takes to lead Arsenal FC. The team want to win for you, because you must want to win more than any other player on the field. However if you strip Cesc of the captaincy then you get half the player…Wenger made his bed now he must lie in it.
hey rico
thought i recognised the name from le grove….
yes its a question worth raising – best man for the job? last year – yes, this year – probably not. But how could we take it off him without destabilizing us more.
Its only a matter of time b4 its TV’s in my opinion.
I couldn’t care who got it to be honest if it meant that Almunia never wore it again.
Good luck with the site, hope it doesn’t draw to many wenger haters.
Hi tommy, good to see you pop on and thanks for your best wishes, we can’t take the armband off of him now as that will only give him another reason to leave. i think once Cesc gets his dream move we will see a ‘proper’ captain back in place…
hi clako, thats just it, why does wenger do it, keeping players happy is not a reason to be captain, in any case, great players don’t always make great captains, it can hinder them…
Mornin Rico, The captain thing has been a thorn for the last few years and as all above have said it’s been given to the wrong people for the wrong reasons….! Only one fella for me and that TV the mere fact AW gives it to the waiter is a bloody insult but thats yet another story. As said as well can’t be taken away from Cesc as that would just cause even more plroblems for us but AW needs a wake up call next time he gives the armband to a player because it’s an honour and its for the others to look up to the captain and follow his lead, lets see how our number 4 pulls his weight this year, could be interesting.
Morning WATH
I don’t get why he didn’t give the armband to Gilberto or Toure after Paddy left, Henry was never captains material, look how he treated Reyes… Also he was too ‘sulky’, great player, wrong captain…
Hasn’t Gilberto captained Brazil for the last 100 years??
W
We should of sold the litle spanish f**k never mind kept him as captain! He still doesn’t know when to shut his mouth! Yeah, we kept him against his will blah, blah, f**cking blah…………
Hi DPT, I think we would have done if Barca had come up with an offer we couldn’t refuse, they didn’t so he stays…
I am don’t to take all the comments printed to be facts, yes we know he wants to go but I can’t see Cesc saying ‘we kept him against his will’, its just journalists stirring up old stories…
I think its about 130 yrs re Gilberto as Brazil Capt Rico lol…………….
why doesnt rooney pass to walcott? even i noticed the other night
😆 certainly seems like it WATH, so why would Wenger not appoint him, in fact the old boy should still be with us…. but thats another story….
morning all!
Enjoyed your analysis on the Arsenal captaincy. Indeed,We haven’t had a decent captain since Paddy Vierra and I believe that the reason he gave the arm-band to TH14 and Fab4 was a strategy to keep them in the club. Henry was IMO distracted as captain and wasnt able to fulfil his goal tally during his last season. Gallas had a desire to win but as knob-head captain he was a disaster.
Cesc this season, well, I’ll say lets see his next 5- 10 games to see how committed to the cause he is because he’s just buying his time with Arsenal and his head is already turned towards Barca.
time to pick a proper captain, Arsene, Vermaenator gets my vote.
well, you were not the first to raise the issue and certainly are not going to be the last. Cesc is, no doubt, very much in love with Barcelona and i cant 100% blame him for that. tempting promises scattered by his EX team mates haunt his dreams every night. i know he’ll act as a pro and wont discuss his future and continue his work with Arsenal. but am i the only one who recognized his sore admission of being caged inside Arsenal dressing more than ever. he didnt give truth answer whether or not he’ll remain in Arsenal as his contract tells him to. he failed to mention his ‘love’ for London and Arsenal they way he had done in the past. i see him more and more withdrawn from the press (perhaps to avoid being bombarded by Barcelona inquiry) and fans as well. many believers, or Arsenal hardcore will chase me down to the country for saying this, but im an Arsenal fans and forever will be. i have become a fan of the Gunners long before Cesc was made captain and his desire to leave us have left me no choice but to ask his commitment. many would answer me “dont worry, he’s the captain. he’s a pro so leaving is nowhere in his mind” really? have you asked yourself the question that has been banging on my door lately?. to question his professionalism is one thing, begging for him to stay (to commit) is another thing. im sorry but his mind is somewhere else and he only remains with us today to help us -the club who makes him what he is today- win trophies and to honor both Wenger and fans, that’s all. im happy if he can help, but if he goes next summer, i wont cry for him coz i believe in Wenger as well as the club, nothing else matters.
Mornin T-buzz, as said we all knew he would go back there eventually but so soon after pledging loyalty signing a new extended contract and a new wage increase he goes and tries to leave a year lata….. As you say give it 5 games and lets see how he plays…! Was it not only last year we got all that badge kissing bollox from him…?
tommy, no-one passes to walcott as much as they should, the only player who used to was beckham…
then everyone jumps on theo’s back, slating him, mind you, all i care about is his arsenal career 😉
morning T-buzz, Spot on….
Well said sas…………! I think we’ll see how committed over the next 5 or so games….!
sas, good to see you here..
all though the summer, most of us who now blog here at HH was all for selling him to the highest bidder, he used to be one of the first players to calm rumours but this summer he remained silent, that silence said it all for me…
yes, of course he wants to return to barca and they can have him one day, but only when they pay the right money – if city wanted him, they would offer 60M plus no doubt, well barca need to do the same otherwise he won’t be going anywhere just yet..
I still don’t get why he is with spain, he isnt fit for us, he should not even be there…
All the England players went to a party the other night, it was an old car theme…
Terry came in a cortina
Cole came in a Granada
Ferdinad in an old mini minor
Rooney…. He came in an Escort 😆
Oh, Rico….! lol
😆 T-buzz, couldn’t resist it after I read it this morning, hope it brightens a very dreary old footie news day 😉
It certainly brought a smile to my face!!
As much as I’ll like to say shame to him, I partly blame the football world for what it’s become too, thanks to the Real Mads, the Manks, Chavs and Citeh with their huge wage offers. These kids earn what I can’t even earn in 5-10 years per week, no sense of morality, no sense of responsibilty and the vast amount of money earned they feel they can do and undo! Very few of them can be seen as roll models these days and couldnt care less what people think. Terry cheated on his wife, paid off Bridge’s ex to keep mute and never once apologised for his action (an England captain for that matter, and even went on to kiss the Chelsea armband when he scored as if to prove he was innocent?!?)….
Guys and Gals, my internet keeps crashing, hope to sort it out and will be back later..
T-buzz, Rooney deserves all he gets 😉
I agree, Cesc should never have been given the arm band, we need a real hard bastard as the team leader on the pitch, something we have been missing since Paddy & Adams left the club, the only guy who now fits the bill is TV.
Afternoon, anyone around??
Sorry for the delat Jazbo, all first comments go into moderation and my internet crashed 🙁
Ok, all quiet so i’m off to mown the lawn 😉
(everywwhere, the silence is almost funereal, rico)
It’s not that Cesc is all that bad as a captain. After all, teammates do like to point out he’s one who leads by example. Having said that, Cesc isn’t naturally hard, or in-your-face. Of course, he does it, too. But sometimes, you feel like he’s too much of a little boy playing grown up. 🙂
Hulooooo Rico,
Is there anybody out there??????
If so, send money, send Cabernet Sauvignon, send me a big splodge of exquisitely cooked Dim Sum.
Or just say hello! 🙂
Agag,
Hi. Quite right! You’d think he had moved on to Nurses and Doctors by now! 🙂
Hi agag, it is very very quiet, oliver has a holiday in the USA, he did say he may not be around…
Its not all bad, gives me chance to get the chores done, the loss of internet was more annoying 🙁
You and I differ here, personally I think he is too quiet to be captain, i would rather he was ‘free to play’ his football and not have to worry about anything else, where as TV is a beast, one look from him and i’d crumble 😉
See what you mean though about Cesc a boy trying to be all grown up, doesn’t suit him though 😉
Hi RA, was just wondering where you been, thought you had flown off to sunny shores 🙂
Rico,
I really liked the article. You are really getting back into the swing of things. 🙂
I did not know that Kenny Sansom had ever been captain. You have once again improved my knowledge. I saw Kenny on ATVO last year, and he seems a nice guy and v. Arsenal, unlike plonkers like David Platt who always seems embarrassed to have played for us! 🙁
Not yet Rico,
I have been deep down in the nitty gritty getting things up to date before whizzing off for a short time.
I have quite a busy schedule coming up so will be in and out, like a fiddlers elbow. 🙂
Thanks RA, I didn’t realise he had captained us either until I did some digging, he was a great LB though wasn’t he, what is it about us and LB’s 😉
Platty is a K**B 🙂
Well, before you fly off into the sunshine, surely you would like to get a post off your chest 😉 😉
Couldn’t agree more Rico & with all those comments I read. Apart from Clichy perhaps there was nobody else to hang the band to. Now TV is def the man!
TH was never captain material either – too moody. You need somebody with a real fighting spirit, not bothered about kicking when it needs to be done. Flamini would have been great, he was already at it but unfortunately AW & most of us didn’t see his improvement coming & the rest is history………….
Hi Pat
Flamini??? Grrrr 😉
Maybe it was all a bit too soon to give the armband to TV when he gave it to Cesc… Had Wenger given it to Gilberto when Paddy left, I think we would have done a lot better than we have done…
Agree about TH.. I still blame him for Reyes
Hola, RA. I was beginning to wonder if the weekend’s tutu-ing and frou-frou-ing had anything to do with your absence… 😉
rico, I must admit, I like Cesc a little less after this Barca debacle, but I think he’s still the best player we have around. 🙂 Somebody should put blinders on this boy. Would stop him casting his puppy dog eyes at Camp Nou… 🙂
Gone all quiet again! I swear, I take at least two baths a day! 😉
I’m still a bit upset with what he did too. But he started that season without a new contract and obviously thought he deserved one. He gave his all until he was injured through over-use, totally knacked. But during that time he fought our fights in mid-field, kept the spirits up in mid-field & really grafted, something we didn’t see since which is why we’ve struggled. He HATED losing!
Tell me about TH & Reyes?
But Pat, Flamini led us to believe he would sign; and then left knowing his departure would hit us hard. That’s low.
He had, some would disagree, just one great season for us. Just that one that preceded his leaving… I can’t say I in any way sympathetic when he was left to rot on the Milan bench. 🙂
I blame TH for Reyes leaving Pat, the looks he would give him if he didn’t recieve the perfect ball, it was awful to watch, TH, a great a player he was for us, was sulky 🙁
agag, whats that smell in here 😉 😉
agag, many have different theory’s about flamini, mine however is the same as yours, he did do well at LB when cole was injured but…. wenger was sure he would stay, thats why he let diarrah go…
we lost both 🙁
It’s the smell of Flamoney, rico. (On AR, this would’ve been JJ’s cue to enter and debate the merits of Flamini… 🙂 )
Spooky, as I wrote the name Flamini, I thought of JJ too, he always defended him to the death… 😉
agag – I agree with both your comments but look at it from the captain perspective if he had stayed……
Rico – I see what you mean but those looks weren’t only reserved for Reyes. The sulkiness took the gloss off some of his football & presumably the Shhh that Arsh is using also came from him….I’d rather celebrate without the shirt taken off & yellow card – that’s even more stupid!
Flam seems to be JJ’s favorite plushy (Duracell) bunny, rico. 🙂 And Ave’s, too! 🙂
I never thought of Flamini as in the queue for captaincy, Pat7; but now that you mention it, he wouldn’t have been half bad…
I suspect Robin will get it if/when (“when” is steadily looking more like it) Cesc leaves. If Robin weren’t always in the treatment room, I would quite welcome the idea… As it is, he’s made of glass and the physios have to try to piece him together every other week, it seems.
Hi Pat,
Rico, just did a litle back reading on yesterday’s Post and saw JJ had been on the site briefly.
His comments were typically generous! 🙂
I’m sorry I missed him yesterday, in fact I do miss his direct style and direct commonsense.
If you are out there JJ, I think we would all love to hear from you on a regular basis. 🙂
Pat, you are right, he was like it with many players, but Reyes was new at needed to feel part of the side, all TH did was make him feel less settled..
Pires struggled at first but Henry didn’t do it to him, maybe Henry just didn’t like the Spanish 😉 😉
RA, I thought it was lovely to see JJ, I’m sure he’ll be back sometime, especially if we keep chatting about Flamini and Walcott 🙂
Hah, Agag,
I have waited a long time, but I have caught out your immaculate English! 🙂
“if Robin weren’t always etc”, “weren’t is plural, should be “wasn’t”. Oh such joy! Agag aren’t perfect! 😉
rico, your 5:36 has me wishing it were another Spanish Waiter… err, player that Thierry gave a rough time. Haha.
Rico,
JJ and Flamini; yes. But JJ and Wacott, I think you are pushing your luck. 🙂
RA, the past subjunctive requires “if” to be paired with “were”, right??? The rule likewise applies to
* as if
* wish
* suppose
Or something. Haha.
RA, its a footie blog, not an English Exam 😉 😉
Yuck. I sound pedantically defensive. Exactly like people I can’t stand. 😉 On to footie…
agag, you and me both re the waiter 🙁
RA, who can not praise Theo for his start this season?? Even jj would say he’s doing well I’m sure, what he would add though is…
It won’t last 😉
JJ says Theo can’t beat an egg. Haha. Classic. (Or that could’ve been in reference to Denilson) 😉
Agag,
Funnily enough, your 5:41, “wishing it were another Spanish waiter”. Technically should be “was”, but I accept that colloquially “were” is common and acceptable.
You are still a genius, after all! 🙁
On the other hand, the phrase “we should “of” had a better GK”, shudder, shudder! 🙂 I did leave you a “Agag, ‘aren’t’ perfect! 😉
On that note, I shall love and leave you, Oh Perfect One. 🙂
Rico,
Of corse it aint! 🙂
Night guys.
agag, must have been Denilson 😉
Good night, all. rico, thank you.
RA, you haven’t returned. 🙁 Now I will have nightmares about split infinitives, too! 🙂
Night RA, enjoy your evening 🙂
RA, I think “could of” and “should of” and variation are sweet.
Yawn I’m really off now. Be good, everyone!
Nighty Night agag, enjoy the rest of your day, be good 😉
I’m going to all, be good, stay safe and catch up tomorrow…
Nighty Night..
Morning all(speaking to the wind :))
rico hasn’t woken up yet…
Nice article on the captains, but on all fairness when Gallas was disarmed the only in my opinion leaders were RVP and Cesc.
Vermaelen I think would be our next captain I hope he stays at least for 10 years at Arsenal.(hope Cesc stays few more years till our young lads develop)
Come on rico be a sport an wake up already 😉 26 past 9 in CET 😛
Morning Stef, I’m up and about 🙂
Wasn’t TV with us when Gallas got stripped? I knw he had only just joined, maybe all a bit too early..
New Post up 🙂