New Captain

[Samsara]

I think if Kamara can learn how to defend in a Ranieri system, he'll be on the right with Sess on the left, Vietto and Mitro up top. They'll bomb forward on the wings with a two CDM system, Vietto and Mitro controlling play centrally.

Idealistic but there's nothing wrong with that. Vietto's skill is obvious and I hope AK realizes his potential. Could be a dream set up, or a nightmare.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Picking a player as Captain just to keep him sweet, which is what happened in Cairney case is not good footballing philosophy, sets a bad example and sends the wrong message to other players in the team.
It was not a good move, but one of many errors of judgement on and off the field.

[Neil D]

I think losing the captaincy would be good for Tom.  He can focus on improving his own game.  We need a more vocal, assertive personality as captain.  Mawson may be that player.  I haven't seen enough of him to be sure but it would be a signal of Ranier's intent. 

[toshes mate]

Not sure who out of the eleven who played at Liverpool I would have chosen.  I agree that TC is more of a figurehead than a leader, and that it is probably less improtant in football who wears the armband than in other sports.  McDonald is the one natural leader I see at FFC, but will he get game time?  Not sure about Mawson; I'd like to see more of him.  Chambers impressed at Liverpool for work rate and aggression.   I guess it depends upon what qualities Ranieri will want from his captain.

[DevonFFC]

The one who shows the most grit and desire is young Ryan, well far more than Tom this season.

I Agree with a previous poster I think the captaincy was given to Tom as he was "our best player" and to give him a sense of seniority and keep him happy when he was being linked away.

Last season he led by example which is why it worked but this season he hasn't played through injury and the team as a whole has been disappointing and there has not been a stand out player who the guys around him can aspire to or take confidence from

[Lighthouse]

It doesn't matter and never has who is officially the captain. As others have said there should be many captains on the pitch. Last season much of the pitch captaincy came from Mac. In the old days Roger Brown was Captain but Ray Lewington was actually the on pitch captain.

[aaronmcguigan]

-it doesn't matter who is captain,
-there should be more captains on the pitch
-TC is a figurehead. Not a leader
-kmac is more of a captain on the pitch

Whilst I agree with all these individual points, taking all of them as a collective, it seems having a figurehead as a captain is a bit of a letdown. A figurehead captain leads by example, sure TC may be quiet and let others do the talking but he is there as someone to look up to, whether it's finesse, fitness, workrate or attitude.
It may be controversial but this season if anyone was to look at our figurehead captain for inspiration or replication, it could just end up adding to our issues. TC has been found wanting in these areas and although I love him, I don't see why changing the manager is justified for new leadership, and not the captain.

KMac took on the responsibility because TC is not captain material. Mawson obviously stands out as long as he's in the managers plans. A lot of people have said it's ok to have a figurehead captain, but one who will organise, chastise, motivate and inspire on the pitch will be a backup and reinforcement to the managers plans. The likes of Vieira, Keane, Terry were always that authoritative figure but were always backed up by a Ferdinand, Lampard etc

The answer won't be just to change the captain which I think is needed (not that I can offer a solution, but that will obviously come in time when Claudio sees who is motivated and intelligent enough) the solution will be for everyone to know their role inside out to ease the burden on the captain. the solution will be for players to completely buy into the system and be able to translate the vision 100% on pitch instead of players going AWOL and doing their own thing

[FulhamStu]

I think taking the captaincy away from Cairney does send the correct message.   Tom should be told he has to fight for his place in the 11.  He is trying to establish himself as a premiership player right now.   Focus on improving his workrate and body language.  No more of this head down stuff.  I think Cairney is likely
to be battling with Seri for a starting spot.  That will be hard enough for him.  If either Cairney or Seri are not putting in a shift, hook one off to be replaced by the other.

[Neutral Zone Ultra]

What concerns me is we basically made TC captain to stop him leaving

[aaronmcguigan]

To be honest if we were to name a figurehead captain , one that people should look to copy in terms of effort, application and connection with the fans as well as on pitch skill, it would only be Sess

[Matt10]

Change for the sake of change seems to be the wrong play here. Let's just see how TC thrives under his new boss, then his boss can decide if he's up for the task. Not sure why anyone would take that risk of changing too much and risk team morale.

[Andy S]

Giving somebody the captains arm band makes them think a lot more about the teams game and not so much their own. There is no need to change the captain at the minute as Cairney is the most senior player at the club. You don't always have to ball people out to be a good captain. People attach 60s attitudes to today which is wrong

[MrFFC]

Cairney should remain captain he may not be vocal but he leads in the way he plays getting on the ball under pressure driving us forward. You don't need the armband to be a leader on the pitch. Mawson , McDonald etc can all still be vocal in & out of the dressing room without an armband

[Twig]

Our most consistent defender has been Dennis Odoi. Whether CR will continue to play him centrally or move him to full back remains to be seen but I would be surprised if he is not a starter.  Could he be an outside bet for captaincy? He seems to be a good reader of the game and a player who uses his brains more than brawn.
That said I think that those who are suggesting TC has fallen away this year need to recognise that he has been coming back from a difficult injury which has clearly left even the medical profession a bit nonplussed. When TC gets back to 100%, hopefully very soon, then I don't see Seri as even close in terms of competition for a starting berth.
Saturday will be interesting for a host of reasons, really looking forward to it.