Is Lewis Wing the wrong captain?

[Gordzilla]

This is not a rant about Lewis being poor or at fault for anything. He’s a great player with brilliant moments and key contributions and some stunning goals.

My point is that, since Lewis became club captain, we have shaped the team around him and he has played deeper. This coincides with us having a weak underbelly and an inconsistent midfield where the partnerships aren’t gelling. The Wing / Savage pairing has had issues and Wing / Rino or Wing / Fraser also not gelling.
And the worst thing is the continued saga of conceding injury time goals from which we either lose 2 or 3 points. I think that’s an on-the-pitch-leadership issue. It wouldn’t have happened with someone like Parky on the pitch.
Also noteworthy is that Pereira is the one doing the team talks in the pre-match huddle.
Is that captain material?

Perhaps we need to relieve Wing of the pressure of being captain and put him further up the pitch and sit Rino or Fraser in a more defensive role. Or try playing Rino and Savage in the middle and resting Lewis for a game.

Thoughts?

[leon]

He should not be captain

[Gordzilla]

https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/t ... gue-opener

Just seen the same topic was also posted on TTE yesterday.

[Esteban]

Wing isn't captain material. I felt at the time his appointment was a sweetener to help convince him to sign a new contract.

That being said, I'm struggling to think of the player we should replace him with. And therein lies the rub.

[Hound]

On paper you’d think PoC but his performances haven’t warranted it

Was Dokes captain at Burton?

[Gunny Fishcake]

Our best player by far but not the best Captain, his game has been off a while , whether it's the burden of the Captaincy or he's not enjoying the way the team are playing and performing I'm not sure

He looks like a player whose head is elsewhere at present , he's easily capable of playing at a much higher level and I fear that's where his future lies. Though terrible for us it would do his career the world of good to have a new challenge and a bigger stage to play on like the Championship

[Forbury Lion]

It's a problem because what kind of a signal does it sent to a player if you take the armband off of them?

Maybe the manager needs to say "Don't worry about the defence, you captain the midfield and let X manage them, Lead by example nothing more"

[South Coast Royal]

It's a problem because what kind of a signal does it sent to a player if you take the armband off of them?

Maybe the manager needs to say "Don't worry about the defence, you captain the midfield and let X manage them, Lead by example nothing more"

I have said a number of times on here that IMHO too much is made of captaincy in sport with very few captains having any significant impact.
Occasionally you get a Stevie Gerrard or Bryan Robson who inspired their teams through their dynamic play but I suspect that they would have done the same even if they hadn't been captain.

We have much greater problems than who calls the toss at kick-off.

[Extended-Phenotype]

I don’t mind him being captain. I don’t think he’s the most vocal or commanding of characters, but he seems quite smart and ultimately I’m not sure how much the label of captain really matters anyway. Feels like a badge you just give to a veteran player who will play every week.

I have argued that I don’t really like to see him play as deep as has been, but maybe he has always played this deep and it was less of a problem when the players around him were more balanced.

I thought the midfield looked pretty good in the first half, and that Wing just looked a bit rusty. Tbh I’d still like to see him in the CAM role, Perhaps second half. Get Savage/Fraser on, push Wing forward. If only to see if he can score some last minute blinders.

[Brogue]

I don’t mind him being captain. I don’t think he’s the most vocal or commanding of characters, but he seems quite smart and ultimately I’m not sure how much the label of captain really matters anyway. Feels like a badge you just give to a veteran player who will play every week.

I have argued that I don’t really like to see him play as deep as has been, but maybe he has always played this deep and it was less of a problem when the players around him were more balanced.

I thought the midfield looked pretty good in the first half, and that Wing just looked a bit rusty. Tbh I’d still like to see him in the CAM role, Perhaps second half. Get Savage/Fraser on, push Wing forward. If only to see if he can score some last minute blinders.

i thought he was playing a bit higher saturday and rino was playing deeper

[Forbury Lion]

From reading various non-Reading FC stories and hearing non Reading FC ex-captains on podcasts and the like, It sounds like one of the main tasks of a Captain is to sort out complimentary tickets for players friends and families and other player related admin like getting them to do charity stuff..... Not sure if Lewis is involved in much of this distracting admin stuff, but it maybe explains why in the past we've had a Club Captain and a separate on the field Captain.

There was one captain, I can't remember who it was who tricked another player into doing all the admin stuff, He said "I might be off at the end of the season and they've earmarked you as potential Captain material, so to help convince the I want to give you some of the responsibilities now"

[Sutekh]

From reading various non-Reading FC stories and hearing non Reading FC ex-captains on podcasts and the like, It sounds like one of the main tasks of a Captain is to sort out complimentary tickets for players friends and families and other player related admin like getting them to do charity stuff..... Not sure if Lewis is involved in much of this distracting admin stuff, but it maybe explains why in the past we've had a Club Captain and a separate on the field Captain.

There was one captain, I can't remember who it was who tricked another player into doing all the admin stuff, He said "I might be off at the end of the season and they've earmarked you as potential Captain material, so to help convince the I want to give you some of the responsibilities now"

What admin stuff does a captain have to do? Isn’t it usually giving the team sheet into the ref before kick off?

[Linden Jones' Tash]

That's probably why Wing looks so distracted at the moment...

"Yes, you need to download the App, then save the pass in your Google wallet, unless you have an iPhone....

So unless he has a 12 year old to help him, that's hours of his life wasted....

[6ft Kerplunk]

he's easily capable of playing at a much higher level and I fear that's where his future lies.

Not singling you out here Gunny as this gets mentioned all the time so I must be the one of the few who thinks he's playing at the level he's capable of. Not a dig at Wing, he's been one of our best players since relegation and I hate to think how much more we'd struggle without his goals. If he was early 20s and never have played at a higher level then maybe a Championship team would take a punt but I can't see it happening at 31 having played there and then dropped down where he's been for years. He's top half League 1 player who might do ok now in the Championship with more experience under his belt but I think the only way he's getting there is via a promotion not a transfer.

Not that I see a better option as captain. He's about the only player guaranteed to start every game other than Pereira.

[Forbury Lion]

From reading various non-Reading FC stories and hearing non Reading FC ex-captains on podcasts and the like, It sounds like one of the main tasks of a Captain is to sort out complimentary tickets for players friends and families and other player related admin like getting them to do charity stuff..... Not sure if Lewis is involved in much of this distracting admin stuff, but it maybe explains why in the past we've had a Club Captain and a separate on the field Captain.

There was one captain, I can't remember who it was who tricked another player into doing all the admin stuff, He said "I might be off at the end of the season and they've earmarked you as potential Captain material, so to help convince the I want to give you some of the responsibilities now"

What admin stuff does a captain have to do? Isn’t it usually giving the team sheet into the ref before kick off?

How about the things I posted above, sorting out complimentary ticket allocations for players friends and families, getting the players to do charity work and appearances, maybe agreeing bonus schemes with the club, taking player feedback to the manager, giving feedback to the board on the manager (which I hear he happened with Noel Hunt), arranging the promotion party (not one he needs to worry about just yet) and players social activities, helping new signings settle in.

It may be that our Captain's role is literally to wear an armband and do the coin toss, so not really a distraction or it could be some of the above or more.

I get the impression that Lewis's partner is really organised so if he does have alot of admin stuff to do he has someone who can assist.

Might be a good question for the next Fans Forum if he's there, What does the role of Captain entail?

[Gordzilla]

That’s really interesting.

Didn’t we have a period where Andy Yiadom was ‘club captain’ doing lots of the background admin stuff and charity work and then having a team captain out on the pitch.

I feel we could use a Parky / Terry Hurlock style midfielder on the pitch. One who knows when to shut the opposition out and brings out the best and hardest response from the defenders behind them when it’s time to grind out a result and not give an inch.

Perhaps Rino could be that player in the current squad.