Do we have a great captain?

Just thinking of the Captains of he past that can grab the team by he scruff of the neck and drive them on. Do we have that in Gerrard ? I mean to be a leader of men you have to be good at what you do as well as being a Great communicator.

Would Gerrard ever go into management? I don't think so. I also think Carra is a little to aggressive on the pitch, our last great Captain was Sami in my opinion and we need another leader to take us forward.

I thought before he left Alonso was our unofficial leader and dealt well with refs. A cool calming presence on the pitch. If we're talking outside the local lads then Reina would get the nod from me

I thought before he left Alonso was our unofficial leader and dealt well with refs. A cool calming presence on the pitch. If we're talking outside the local lads then Reina would get the nod from me

Good shout I forgot about Alonso

I think we have a great player who is also the captain, but not a great captain. He can inspire those around him just by his ability, but too often his head goes down when he is struggling with his own game. For me Souness was our greatest Captain, closely followed by Hughes (although Hughes said Smith was a better captain than him).

I think Liverpool have been a very quiet team for a long time now, with too few really dominant personalities scattered throughout the team, and maybe this has been reflected in the quiet captains we have had.

If Gerrard lost the captaincy there is only really Reina who I would consider for the job at the moment, Carra is getting too old and none of the rest seem up to it in my opinion. Hopefully by the time Gerrard retires Kelly or someone similar will have matured and be ready to take on the role. 

I think we have a great player who is also the captain, but not a great captain. He can inspire those around him just by his ability, but too often his head goes down when he is struggling with his own game. For me Souness was our greatest Captain, closely followed by Hughes (although Hughes said Smith was a better captain than him).

I think Liverpool have been a very quiet team for a long time now, with too few really dominant personalities scattered throughout the team, and maybe this has been reflected in the quiet captains we have had.

If Gerrard lost the captaincy there is only really Reina who I would consider for the job at the moment, Carra is getting too old and none of the rest seem up to it in my opinion. Hopefully by the time Gerrard retires Kelly or someone similar will have matured and be ready to take on the role. 

Just looking at his facial expressions and demeanor on the pitch I could see Kelly being in that role in the future.

I think Gerrard has been a great leader on the field for us. Many times he has stepped up and took hold of a game that was slipping away. Pepe should be the next Captain, he's already a legend, and his attitude is always spot on.

Just looking at his facial expressions and demeanor on the pitch I could see Kelly being in that role in the future.

Funny was thinking that when making the post.

I think we have a great player who is also the captain, but not a great captain. He can inspire those around him just by his ability, but too often his head goes down when he is struggling with his own game. For me Souness was our greatest Captain, closely followed by Hughes (although Hughes said Smith was a better captain than him).

I think Liverpool have been a very quiet team for a long time now, with too few really dominant personalities scattered throughout the team, and maybe this has been reflected in the quiet captains we have had.

If Gerrard lost the captaincy there is only really Reina who I would consider for the job at the moment, Carra is getting too old and none of the rest seem up to it in my opinion. Hopefully by the time Gerrard retires Kelly or someone similar will have matured and be ready to take on the role. 

This.

It seems that because Gerrard had a bad season last time round, people have forgotten about all his previous good one's as captain.

It seems that because Gerrard had a bad season last time round, people have forgotten about all his previous good one's as captain.

Not so, he had a bad season I.e. Playing, a captains role goes deeper than that just think we are lacking in on the pitch leaders. Don't get me wrong Gerrard is the best player we have and that's including Torres. But I don't think he's a captain.

This may be a little controversial ! But over-hearing a conversation in The Salisbury a few weeks ago, of which I semi-agreed with, I am starting to suspect that the guy who came out with it has a point.

Steven Gerrard has for a long time been the driving force of the team. So much so, he does more than his fair share on the field.

He does so much because he has that passion but also because he is the captain.

I noticed that when Gerrard was out injured toward the end of 2010, the side started to get a few results that pulled them out of the bottom three and up the table.
OK, we didn't set the EPL alight with our performances but we appeared to play better.

My guess is that because Gerrard wasn't in the side, the likes of Lucas, Mereiles and Maxi had to start performing and take more of the weight.

If and I say IF, Gerrard was relieved of the captaincy, would it be better for the team?
Would it be better for another to player to take the weight that Gerrard has been carrying for so long?

Surely this would allow Gerrard a little more freedom and force others to do what should already be doing.

Steven Gerrard has always led by example. He's never known to be vocal and that's his personality.

I agree sometimes he can let his frustration and stuff get to his head and he ends up playing sh*te but sometimes I guess we have to take into account everything else because we don't know what happens in their personal life.

One reason why I felt why he deserved to be captain for the club he supported as a kid in 2003 was because he is a local lad who has been at the club alot more than he has ever been in school and that alone can probably inspire others. I am not sure if taking the captaincy away from him will do more good than harm because he looks like the type of person who'd take it to heart.

And of course, you don't need the armband just to lead. Pepe Reina and Xabi Alonso before are/were influential leaders without the band, the same Torres can be.

Gerrard can inspire and lead with his performances but I agree with the general consensus his head does drop when his individual game is not up to scratch.

Reina is a good shout as is Agger IMO.

He's a different sort of captain. It's his performances that make him a leader when he plays well the team plays well. He has the ability to turn games around with one piece of magic. He shows every one else what they should be doing and how they should be doing. He's not vocal no but in a team with the like of carra and pepe he doesn't need to be He dose at times get frustrated  to the detriment of his own game.

I wouldn't call him a great captain but he's not far off, and IMO the idea of taking the captaincy of him is ridiculous it would do damage to the harmony to the squad and i think his confidence we no he has to fell loved and wanted wich striping him of the captaincy would be a sign of the opposite.

 

Gerrard is a top captain.

There are different types of captains. Gerrard is the type that inspires people around him with his fight, spirit and never say die attitude.

You look at the main moments from Gerrard over the years, where he has grabbed games by the scruff of the neck and dragged us back into them when we looked all but out.

If thats not being a good captain then what is? And he is vocal enough. He lets people know if a pass is not good enough or if they need to lift the tempo and performance.

As people have stated above, theres different types of captains.

Gerrard may not be the vocal inspiration that everyone seems to crave (Neither is Fabregas for Arsenal IMO), he can moan when he or the team is not playing to their full potential and sometimes his attitude is questionable.

But how many times has this lad single handedly pulled us out of the sh*t?
If players don't get inspiration from his performances then what do they get inspiration from? Do people forget moments like Istanbul, rousing the fans after the first goal? His reaction to the fans after scoring for England a couple of months ago? On top of turning around games we were seemingly out of, more times than I can remmember. If thats not inspirational stuff from a captain, I don't know what is.
 
You just have to look at the interviews of team mates, past and present who state what an experience it is simply playing in the same starting team. He makes things happen for this club, IMO taking away the captaincy would reap no benefits at the current moment. Maybe in a few years time when someone more commanding is established like Kelly.

The simple answer is no.We do have a great inspirational player,who leads from the front,but in all honesty,without Carra's control at the back,we are average.Unfortunately,Carra is not a Captain,he is the anvil of the side.Pepe is the one,to step up.

Giving Steven Gerrard the captaincy was an inspirational move from Gerard Houllier in 2003 and it has no doubt transformed him into the player we know today. Don't think he's a GREAT captain but a great player when he was given the captaincy. But he is no doubt a very very good captain.

Steven Gerrard has always led by example. He's never known to be vocal and that's his personality.

I agree sometimes he can let his frustration and stuff get to his head and he ends up playing sh*te but sometimes I guess we have to take into account everything else because we don't know what happens in their personal life.

One reason why I felt why he deserved to be captain for the club he supported as a kid in 2003 was because he is a local lad who has been at the club alot more than he has ever been in school and that alone can probably inspire others. I am not sure if taking the captaincy away from him will do more good than harm because he looks like the type of person who'd take it to heart.

And of course, you don't need the armband just to lead. Pepe Reina and Xabi Alonso before are/were influential leaders without the band, the same Torres can be.

Agree with that, particularly about taking the captaincy away from him, a slight chance that his form may improve but the more likely occurrence would be Gerrard becoming disheartened by the lack of faith in him perhaps.

Also agree what others say about the types of Captains, some are visibly vocal, I wouldn't say Gerrard is a mute but he usually seems to be concentrating on his own game, you have to remember he's been incredibly inspirational for the last decade and I think he has taken the game by the scruff of the neck on countless occasions just by maybe scoring and then proceeding to vocally and physically fire the team up, his weakness appears to be when he's having a bad game and the goal or moment of inspiration never comes, he becomes more reclusive.

 Interesting point here...You have to wonder is Tevez a good captain? He can't speak a word of English apparently, but he is basically City's sole form of attack at times, could he inspire the team by example even without the captaincy, probably, could Gerrard do the same without damaging his form even more so, who knows.

Recently, no, we have not had a great captain. Gerrard down the years has been everything a good captain should be. Great leader on the pitch, good representitive of the club off it. Not to mention the amount of times he has pulled us out of the sh*t! Ask yourself this...would we have won the FA Cup 06 and the Champions League 05 had Gerrard not been the captain? I seriously doubt it. His never say die attitude in both campaigns resulted in us being victorious come May. Things have been going poorly over the last couple of seasons, dosent mean Gerrard is no longer an adequate captain. We all know there is a whole host of reasons why we find ourselves in the particular predicament in which we are in. Choice of captain for me dose not rank high on that list. Gerrard has been a fantastic captain down the years and I am pretty sure he will continue to do so. Pepe deserves it too but I would much rather have our captain as an outfield player as they are usually more in the thick of it and driving the team forward. Gerrard to stay as captain 100% for me.

Just thinking of the Captains of he past that can grab the team by he scruff of the neck and drive them on.

You just described Stevie G.

Admittedly when he is not playing up to his own high standards, his head goes down a bit and his captaincy suffers - but look at the game v. Bolton for a perfect example of how he alone inspired our win. 

Just thinking of the Captains of he past that can grab the team by he scruff of the neck and drive them on. Do we have that in Gerrard ? I mean to be a leader of men you have to be good at what you do as well as being a Great communicator.

Would Gerrard ever go into management? I don't think so. I also think Carra is a little to aggressive on the pitch, our last great Captain was Sami in my opinion and we need another leader to take us forward.

Has Gerrard not been a great captain. I think he has been one of the best!

I think Gerrard is a great captain and till he retires, I can't imagine anyone being our captain.

PS: I agree with Kelly as our future captain, but imo Spearing could too...