Given the criticism, I feel I owe you a post.
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OK, let's post up that opening paragraph again:
It's not necessarily the case that there was a great deal to pick at and highlight as factually incorrect within your post - none of it strikes me as 'wrong'. I just felt as though it carried the tone, as I've said previously, of a post that was intended as a criticism of Gerrard and Carragher before it was a discussion about leadership and the way forward.
Apologies if I've undermined the post at all - simply wanted to put it to you that others may feel switched off from what you did intend to discuss, due to the undertones that are present throughout it.
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On point, I do feel that Lucas has all the qualities required of a senior figure at Liverpool - aside from the inherent virtues of his personality, he commands respect due to the manner in which he's clearly fought through adversity to remain at the Club and establish himself as a cornerstone of the team, due to being one of the Club's longest-serving players, and also as a reflection the broader recognition he's received over the last year or so (opposition staff, media, supporters).
I contributed a post about Gerrard yesterday (please also note the opening comment - my comments in your thread are not merely a baseless defence of our local players):
Can't help but feel as though many are missing the point of the thread here - the principle intention isn't to criticise Steven Gerrard.
Our Captain has been absent as much as he's been available since the Summer of 2010 - also consider that a number of those appearances would have been sub appearances or those made as part of the 'road to recovery'. In addition, we've lost the likes of Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, and Fernando Torres - key to maximising Gerrard's contributions over various parts of the last 8 years. Furthermore, Newcastle game aside, it appears as though Gerrard is beginning to find it more difficult to get up to speed (following absence) and maintain his previous form (whether linked to absence/injury/team-mates/age-fatigue).
I don't believe for a second that there are people on RAWK who truly believe that the Liverpool squad is better off without Steven Gerrard in it - the problem is that nobody can be quite sure just what his value is to the team any more. How often will he be available for selection? How fit will he be when available? Will he hit for instantly, as we've seen in the past? What is his level, now? How does he gel with the rest of the team?
It seems to me that including Gerrard in our pre-season formations serves only to restrict us in our potential - nobody wants him out but depending on the iconic figure smacks of excess sentimentality. I'd hope, given how the last two seasons have gone, that we change our strategy and consider Gerrard as a luxury - in the summer we need to be on the lookout for a top class partner for Lucas Leiva, not a reliable deputy to cover for Steven Gerrard's occasional absences. A squad whereby Gerrard is generally considered first name on the bench (and do consider that his versatility pretty much means that this would guarantee him a great number of starts, when available) is what we need if we're to move forwards.
A new Liverpool Captain isn't a news piece that comes around very often - we don't typically elect our local young centre-back as Captain two season before selling him on, nor do we toss the armband to the latest big name signing. It's something that I do think we need to be considering, however.
You only need to look towards Stamford Bridge to gain a basic understanding of dressing room politics and it's no great stretch to suppose that potential signings are going to give consideration to the internal hierarchy of the club, alongside obvious factors such as club ambition, playing style, etc. I'm sure there have been occasions when players have thought better of signing up to play under a particular captain, whilst on other occasions the incumbent might have proved an unwitting deal-maker. Despite idealistic scenarios in which "we play with XI captains", the role is important and matters greatly to current and potential players.
Given the supposed importance of the role to outsiders, and the points I raised in my post about Steven Gerrard, it is something I think we need to look into.
There's an argument that says that the issues raised needn't matter - you only need to look back eleven years in our own Club's history to recognise that absence, et al, did little to undermine the esteem in which Jamie Redknapp was held by our squad.
We were a different club then though - not in an altogether different place, following a period of soul-searching, but we didn't capitalise on the new-beginning that was presented.
I'm of the opinion that after eighteen months back at the helm, having overseen a reasonable overhaul of the playing staff, and hopefully at the beginning of a long-term project, Kenny does make the decision to pass the armband on. As much as it signals a new beginning, it also relieves Gerrard of the pressures of such an esteemed captaincy - he's carried those for an extraordinarily difficult eight seasons that have seen the Club rollercoaster between underachievement and overachievenment whilst being restricted by, first, ownership conservativism/sentimentalism and, secondly, turmoil. I also think that, for fans, team-mates, staff, and potential signings, it's of utmost importance that the captain is a player who is available and selected more often than not.
The four candidates that have been mentioned, during previous light-hearted discussion on the matter, are Pepe Reina, Daniel Agger, Lucas, and Dirk Kuyt.
Unfortunately, I think we're at a stage of Dirk Kuyt's Liverpool career that renders him ineligible for consideration - many seem to be of the opinion that we're likely to look to cash in on Dirk this summer and, whilst I would love him to sign an extended contract and be a squad member for a few more years yet, I expect his own ambition to extend his international career will motivate him to seek pastures new.
Whilst I hardly think that 'fractured-rib' screams 'injury-prone', I do think that years of irregular absence plays against Daniel Agger - whilst he shows all the desired fight, calmness, intelligence, and talent, both on and off the pitch, I would also be concerned about his previous comments about how he's not massively interested in football and it's just something he happens to be good at. He strikes me more as a (and here's one for the Formula One fans) Kimi Raikkonen-type personality - often seeming laissez-faire in his approaching before leading by bafflingly-brilliant example. I'd never call into question his professionalism on or around the pitch, but I'm not sure I view him as the sort of figure who'd put in the extra hours during the week to drop in on the Academy of his own volition.
I don't really think I need to go into the arguments FOR Reina and Lucas - I think they'd both perform the role of Liverpool Captain admirably. The only obviously drawback I can think of, were Reina to be made Captain, is that sometimes an out of form winger, or forward, might need the odd hand to the back of the head during the course of a match - perhaps we should be filtering out the weaker personalities, you say, but I think everyone goes through stages where they need that sort of encouragement and it's hard to issue from 80 yards away.
A big plus point, aside from many of the obvious ones alreadly touched upon by myself or the opening post, is that Lucas is at a stage where his seniority is not undermined by his age (as may be the case with Dirk Kuyt) - he's a mature player who's jumped through a few difficult hoops in his career (like, you might say, Gerrard when he assumed the captaincy in 2003) and come out with flying colours. Whereas Reina, the other prime candidate, is already widely recognised as a top-class player (a 'star'), in spite of the career long Iker Casillas-problem!, I still think that there's a lot of growing that Lucas can do as both a player and a person - there are, no doubt, arguments that favour the view that perhaps the captain of a club embarking upon a new project should be a player who's been there and done it all, but I can't help but think that perhaps there's value in having a leading senior figure who's growing with the project that he is steering (as volante
).
The drawback with Lucas, I feel, is that he's perhaps not yet the 'star' that's going to help us gain favour with the media, potential transfer targets, etc. His injury has come at a frustrating time - it not inconceivable that he could have been a key element of the team that forced us into the Champions League qualifying positions by May and, following the logic of my quoted post above, he'd then have been the cornerstone of the midfield - the player who we're searching for a partner for. Having found said partner, and with suitable additions elsewhere in the side, and been given the armband this coming Summer, a successful two seasons with Liverpool (and that need only be modest at this stage of our 'project') could lead into his key involvement in Brazil's 2014 World Cup campaign. In such a scenario, I think Lucas and the Club would have benefited equally whilst learning together and we may, quite easily, solve the quandry of
how to market Lucas...in my opinion, the only real issue of hesitation with regard to handing him the armband.
I will cheekily add that Martin Skrtel is having a very impressive season and should be considered alongside the names usually discussed.
