Five options; does Steven Gerrard have a decision to make?

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Five options; does Steven Gerrard have a decision to make?


As we touched on earlier, following yet another rudderless display by James Tavernier, his captaincy really is starting to grate on a lot of fans.

We have discussed this topic many times, and we admit it sounds like an agenda and a stuck record, but we truly have nothing against Tavernier.

He just shouldn’t be captain and it was a pretty short-sighted decision by Steven Gerrard to make him it.

Every match we seem to get swamped under a deluge of messages and comments arguing the case against Tav for the armband, and as regular readers will know, we support this view entirely.

We have praised many times his attacking qualities, and been critical of the lack of his defensive ones, but it is only a minority of fans who want him leading the team out.

And with Ryan Jack’s new deal announced today, it’s led to calls for the ex-Aberdeen captain to be made Rangers’ leader too.

It did take Jack a while to get going at Ibrox, but while his performances have been slightly inconsistent now and then, when he’s good he’s excellent – but whether we’d view him as big enough mentally for the armband is another matter.

Other contenders who stand out are Gareth McAuley, an experienced campaigner who has made the defence far more robust the past two matches and whose leadership has boosted Connor Goldson’s form significantly, and Scott Arfield who clearly leads from the middle and helps both the younger forwards ahead of him, and the younger midfielders behind him.

The one other notable shout is Allan McGregor but we’re wary of having a number one as captain. We’d like to say Lee Wallace as well but that ship has well and truly sailed.

So, it really does boil down to personal opinion, and while we have asked this poll before, we’ll do it again.

Who would you now have as captain of the mentioned contenders?

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8 COMMENTS

  1. Sorry, but taking the captaincy off him would be a bad step, however you think of him. If a big bid comes in, we take it and pick a new captain.

    But taking the armband off him just reduces his value so you would gave to show that moving it would produce a financial benefit greater than that loss.
    I suspect strongly that he will not be captain next season. But let's not make this an issue for SG who gave him the band, brought in Flanagan as replacement RB for when Tab goes and gave Tav a payrise and longer contract to increase his value. Let it like for now. And let's see if we get a big bid.

  2. Tavernier is the captain, picked by Gerrard. He would need a very good reason to change that. We would need a very good reason to disagree with SG
    He has had a payrise and new contract since being made captain. That does not suggest SG is unhappy with him so…
    It could be that SG has given him a new contract and a payrise in order to maximise his value when he is sold. Unlikely? What is the need for Flanagan, an ex-England RB with no left foot, when we have Tavernier?
    I think it highly unlikely that Tavernier will be with us next September. So to those who want the captaincy stripped midseason, I would say this – how much do you want it? Half a million, a million? To strip him of the armband midseason would surely upset and humiliate him, making him unhappy and wanting to leave. So we would get less for him than if we look like only the price is forcing us to consider offers.
    You may also think we would function better as a team with another captain, perhaps someone in the middle of the park, close to the action and the ref. I agree, which is only reason I don't want McGregor. But again, what is the value you would put on it?

    For me, we suck it up until next summer. If Tav isn't sold, then SG can say he is moving the armband. But to be honest, if any of the other players can't give 100% without an armband, or having someone with the armband shouting at them, they need to go.
    RTID

  3. None of them really! When you look back at players like Gough, Brown, Butcher, McCall, Barry Ferguson, amoruso, Ricksen…these guys were genuine captains. What we have right now doesn't compare. Jack is a possibility but we still need to see him have a sustained run consistently dominating games before we give him that responsibility. Macaulay is captain material but he needs to be fit and play week in week out. I don't like a goalie as a captain. The othersshouldn't be mentioned- good players but never Rangers captains.

  4. I agree that if we had any of the guys listed above they should be captain ( not convinced Brown or McCall were actually captains though ) , but we don`t and people need to realise we are not back at that level yet .If we had players of that quality we would be romping this league . Tav is one of our best players who is struggling a bit at the moment but should a drop in form mean that we take the captaincy off him .If that is the case no-one will have it for long , people wanted Goldson at the start of the season , now they want him dropped , Jack and McAuley will have form dips as well.There is no way that we will or should take the captaincy off him and after he gets a rest in January he will be back to his best .

    • I would happily take Brown or McCall as captain. Brown to me was the template for a Rangers captain but I'll leave you to tell him that he wasn't.

  5. Brown and McCall maybe only had the armband a few times but they were captains without the band. I'm not slating what we have just now but they don't compare as captains. I'm not saying we should take the captaincy off tav just because hes a had a dip in form, like you say everyone will have a dip at some point but better players have been stripped of the captaincy (Amoruso). Even laudrup didn't play as well when he had the pressure of leading us out. I'd say Macaulay would be my choice if he was guaranteed to play, he's an organiser and a more vocal.

  6. I have voted for our keeper, I would rather have jack but I am a bit wary it may affect his game, big al will thrive on it.

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