Who should be Captain next season ?

[Riverside]

This is worth a debate

There seem to be no indications that anyone but Cairney will be Captain next season
And he has done nothing wrong to lose Captaincy

BUT

Most of us would say he is not a natural on field leader . ( Unlike MacDonald )
We will need all the leadership we can get

Also is he a certain starter ?
He struggled last time in the Premier League when being one footed and not the quickest limited his impact
I hope he can flourish this time round but for that does he need to focus on his game alone or does Captaincy burden him ?

And if not Cairney who ?
Mitro ? Too hot headed ?
Hector ? Too new ?

[ALG01]

With TC as capatain we have been promoted two out of three seasons. and reached the play offs the season before. Not a bad record.

[FFCBadger]

Given what happened in 2018/19 I can now see why SP has been shaping TC into a more combative midfielder that sits a little deeper. He's still pulling strings but we're less reliant on him which takes the pressure off his shoulders.
With this type of role I think TC can still do well as captain, I also cant see anyone else with the right credentials to step up? At a push it's Mitro who is already vice-captain. I think he's going to have a tough enough season as it is though?

[Andy S]

There is a lot made of the captains role in football. In reality there should be 11 captains on the pitch and a few more on the side.
Having said that managers sometimes come in and install their own man as did Keegan with John Collins. However was it because Simon Morgan decided to step aside?

[S.F.Sorrow]

KMac is the obvious candidate. Or at least he would have been if it wasn't for the fact that he will probably start 0 league games in the PL.

From the players that will actually play regularly I don't see many potential leaders to be honest. That's exactly what we have been missing for a while.

Perhaps Cairney isn't the leader we ideally want as a captain but replacing him now would be absolute madness IMO. Unless he asks for it himself of course, but I don't think that will happen.

I vote for Cairney. Let's not rock the boat.

[filham]

TC- No debate needed

[Statto]

I can only assume all these assumptions about McDonald's personality type are based on him being a combative DM. If you follow the players on social media you'll see that whilst he's clearly a positive influence in the dressing room, he's also a bit of a clown. A decent vice-captain but not proper captain material IMO.

Cairney on the other hand initially comes across as a bit of a tart with his haircut and designer clothes, but on closer inspection he's a bit of a Bobby Moore type IMO - very much focussed on his football, family and not a lot else.

Cairney isn't one of those Roy Keane type captains that some people seem to crave but there isn't much room for them in the modern game anyway. And they never were that useful - always liable to get sent off or get in a row with one their teammates or something.

Cairney seems to get on with everyone and be somewhat of a calming influence, difusing tensions and focussing minds, which IMO is far more useful.

My only concern about Cairney is that IMO the captain needs to be in the starting XI week in, week out, and at this level I'm not sure that's guaranteed with him. Obviously it also rules out McDonald and the other popular candidate, Ream.

If we stay up this year and Cairney becomes a rotation player, then (but only then) we should look for an alternate leader among the regular starters, IMO. Perhaps Hector depending on how the next 12 months go for him. 

[ex-Pat]

TC- No debate needed

Oh OK

[grandad]

I see no point in changing the person who leads the team out & has the most difficult decision of whether to call Heads or Tails.
Unlike in cricket a football captain doesn´t really have to change tactics. Rodak, Hector & Reed are the voices on the pitch. Parker usually calls over Bryan or whoever is RB to pass on changes, never seen Cairney being called over.

[alfie]

I have one real concern with TC, his apparent lack of communication, during a game last season, Bryan got a nasty injury and was down quite a while, both Mitro and Ream rushed over and stayed with him whilst getting treatment, it was quite noticeable that TC did not go over and see what was going on, in fact he did not even look over he just stood in centre circle, all Fulham players were just standing around and he made no attempt to talk/gee them up. Now for me the first thing he should have done was just check on Bryan, making sure he ok, then, have a word with players.
End of concern.

[rebel]

It will be TC, one thing, Parker is 'loyal' to players, too much so.

[rebel]

I have one real concern with TC, his apparent lack of communication, during a game last season, Bryan got a nasty injury and was down quite a while, both Mitro and Ream rushed over and stayed with him whilst getting treatment, it was quite noticeable that TC did not go over and see what was going on, in fact he did not even look over he just stood in centre circle, all Fulham players were just standing around and he made no attempt to talk/gee them up. Now for me the first thing he should have done was just check on Bryan, making sure he ok, then, have a word with players.
End of concern.

You could argue, too many chefs.

[Matt10]

I can only assume all these assumptions about McDonald's personality type are based on him being a combative DM. If you follow the players on social media you'll see that whilst he's clearly a positive influence in the dressing room, he's also a bit of a clown. A decent vice-captain but not proper captain material IMO.

Cairney on the other hand initially comes across as a bit of a tart with his haircut and designer clothes, but on closer inspection he's a bit of a Bobby Moore type IMO - very much focussed on his football, family and not a lot else.

Cairney isn't one of those Roy Keane type captains that some people seem to crave but there isn't much room for them in the modern game anyway. And they never were that useful - always liable to get sent off or get in a row with one their teammates or something.

Cairney seems to get on with everyone and be somewhat of a calming influence, difusing tensions and focussing minds, which IMO is far more useful.

My only concern about Cairney is that IMO the captain needs to be in the starting XI week in, week out, and at this level I'm not sure that's guaranteed with him. Obviously it also rules out McDonald and the other popular candidate, Ream.

If we stay up this year and Cairney becomes a rotation player, then (but only then) we should look for an alternate leader among the regular starters, IMO. Perhaps Hector depending on how the next 12 months go for him.

I mean, that's just perfectly put imho. I think Hector would be a good choice as well.

[MrFFC]

Nothing should change.
Cairney captain with Mitrovic taking the armband if he is unavailable

[Buffalo76]

There's nothing wrong with our current one 🤨

[davew]

Hector, a born leader who performed more consistently than any other Fulham player last season!

[Herbie]

I see no point in changing the person who leads the team out & has the most difficult decision of whether to call Heads or Tails.
Unlike in cricket a football captain doesn´t really have to change tactics. Rodak, Hector & Reed are the voices on the pitch. Parker usually calls over Bryan or whoever is RB to pass on changes, never seen Cairney being called over.

Exactly.  A football captain these days is more like a figurehead for the club. If you want the team to do well then you need leaders across the pitch, not just the person with the armband on.

[mrmicawbers]

Ain't Nobody

[The Rational Fan]

I can only assume all these assumptions about McDonald's personality type are based on him being a combative DM. If you follow the players on social media you'll see that whilst he's clearly a positive influence in the dressing room, he's also a bit of a clown. A decent vice-captain but not proper captain material IMO.

Cairney on the other hand initially comes across as a bit of a tart with his haircut and designer clothes, but on closer inspection he's a bit of a Bobby Moore type IMO - very much focussed on his football, family and not a lot else.

Cairney isn't one of those Roy Keane type captains that some people seem to crave but there isn't much room for them in the modern game anyway. And they never were that useful - always liable to get sent off or get in a row with one their teammates or something.

Cairney seems to get on with everyone and be somewhat of a calming influence, difusing tensions and focussing minds, which IMO is far more useful.

My only concern about Cairney is that IMO the captain needs to be in the starting XI week in, week out, and at this level I'm not sure that's guaranteed with him. Obviously it also rules out McDonald and the other popular candidate, Ream.

If we stay up this year and Cairney becomes a rotation player, then (but only then) we should look for an alternate leader among the regular starters, IMO. Perhaps Hector depending on how the next 12 months go for him.

I mean, that's just perfectly put imho. I think Hector would be a good choice as well.

Tom Cairney is probably the best choice, he doesn't have many of the non-essential qualities that most people would like to have in an ideal captain like a great motivator, but he has everything a captain needs to have and none of the qualities that you don't want a captain having like being a clown KMac, first to leave training Stefjo (acccordonh yo an Cairney interview), getting into yoga fights Mitro, not mastered English enough to be captain like Caveleiro, some were away last season like Anguissa, some won't start if everyone is fit and some other players like to be alone don't like leading. If Chris Smalling joins he could be an ideal captain and Hector is potential too, but Tom Cairney is safe choice like David Beckham for England.

[rebel]

I can only assume all these assumptions about McDonald's personality type are based on him being a combative DM. If you follow the players on social media you'll see that whilst he's clearly a positive influence in the dressing room, he's also a bit of a clown. A decent vice-captain but not proper captain material IMO.

Cairney on the other hand initially comes across as a bit of a tart with his haircut and designer clothes, but on closer inspection he's a bit of a Bobby Moore type IMO - very much focussed on his football, family and not a lot else.

Cairney isn't one of those Roy Keane type captains that some people seem to crave but there isn't much room for them in the modern game anyway. And they never were that useful - always liable to get sent off or get in a row with one their teammates or something.

Cairney seems to get on with everyone and be somewhat of a calming influence, difusing tensions and focussing minds, which IMO is far more useful.

My only concern about Cairney is that IMO the captain needs to be in the starting XI week in, week out, and at this level I'm not sure that's guaranteed with him. Obviously it also rules out McDonald and the other popular candidate, Ream.

If we stay up this year and Cairney becomes a rotation player, then (but only then) we should look for an alternate leader among the regular starters, IMO. Perhaps Hector depending on how the next 12 months go for him.

I mean, that's just perfectly put imho. I think Hector would be a good choice as well.

Tom Cairney is probably the best choice, he doesn't have many of the non-essential qualities that most people would like to have in an ideal captain like a great motivator, but he has everything a captain needs to have and none of the qualities that you don't want a captain having like being a clown KMac, first to leave training Stefjo (acccordonh yo an Cairney interview), getting into yoga fights Mitro, not mastered English enough to be captain like Caveleiro, some were away last season like Anguissa, some won't start if everyone is fit and some other players like to be alone don't like leading. If Chris Smalling joins he could be an ideal captain and Hector is potential too, but Tom Cairney is safe choice like David Beckham for England.

He should really intervened during 'Penaltygate'. There are no doubts he's lacking at times, he shouldn't be 'bemused' at something, he should be there to sort stuff out on the pitch. He just needs to be more commanding. The issue is that he's a confidence player (he needs everything to be 100% with the team to be at his best), this is reflected in his captaincy.

As I said previously, it's a none issue, he has Parker's backing. When I think of Captain, I think of Bryan Robson, Man Utd.