Onward: Passing the armband

[Hitcho]

Well if those were true then I could see why people would rely on them. But to be honest, he did very little (in the time he had) to show he was our "best player" last season. And the rationale of making the highest paid player the captain is madness. it fits for some lpayers (Gerrard at LFC) but would that have been Robinho at Man City?! Or Cronaldo at manure?

He may turn out to be a good captain, but I think he needs to put in at least one dedicated season where he's a stand out player and leader first. Until that happens, I am still not going to believe that his heart is really in this MLS jaunt he's taking.

Blimey. If Mrs Darlofletch has fallen off the "Jimmy at LB" wall then he's really in trouble. Maybe we could get someone from the Bachelor to play LB instead? Hahaha. (Don't tell her I said that...)

[Redcoe15]

If not Jimmy B., then DeRo. He seems to me the guy that would most lay it on the line for this team - see the game in Montreal as an example. I'm not sure you give it to JDG seeing as he's only had a partial season under his belt. And besides, who knows how long he's committed to TFC.

[TFC OZZ]

I do not think De Ro should be the captain of this team.

He's without question one of the best players to ever play in MLS, but that doesn't mean he should be the middle man between our players and coaches. I don't think he has the attitude to be honest, but at the same time I obviously don't know him. I personally see him as a guy who can't take criticism, and could get over-excited too easily. I don't see him as the guy who can go in an diffuse a situation. He's had rifts with management in his career (then again who hasn't) and I really don't feel like he's the guy for the job. He's the guy that needs to be included 100% of the way towards reaching the playoffs on the field because of his talent, but i feel like someone else should get the armband.

I think it should stay with Jimmy for the time being. I had no problem with Robbo, but I'm sure there are hundreds who disagree there. Frei and Cronin are good candidates, but too yound and inexperienced. Serioux is a decent choice if he stepped up his game considerably.

As for De Guzman? Well when he puts in a solid performance to show why we used a DP slot on him I'll think about it; until then... nope.

[106-12]

I said this last year< OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN > as long as jimmy is playing he should be the captain unless he wants to step down or we get abig name international player like henry or delpiero both name just examples he should be the captain .This is not hockey and iam sorry to say we do not have aclear leader on the team to make him acaptain . I think jimmy is ok not the best captain he just needs to speak and shout at the players abit more when they screw up however having players like Amado last year made it hard because he could f--k the mode in the dressing room.And again i say jimmy should stay as captain because we do not have aclear leader on the team and we do not know DERO,S true feeling about DE GUZMAN,S deal so we stay with our captain is the best right now and i think that is what is going to happen.

[swan]

No fucking way should it be De Guz. The only commitment I have seen from him so far is to the money and his hairstyle. You don't give the armband to someone that has just arrived and that has yet to show clear commitment tot he club or any significant leadership qualities. "Oooooo, he played in SPAIN - let's make him captain!" How stupid is that? There's no case to be made for De Guz to be made captain.

De Ro is a more sensible suggestion, but I'm not in the "take the armband away" camp so I'd vote against it. Brennan still has a big role to play for this team, both this season and (hopefully) in the future once he's stopped playing. If he does come back as a coach next season, what kind of statement would it make on his authority to strip him of the armband this season?

Besides which Jimmy's stick last season came when he played LB. He should bnot be put there this season, save in the case of dire emergency. Nana and Serioux should both be in line to play there ahead of Brennan, and we should really be looking to bring in a LB before the season starts. Whereas at left mid he was a solid, reliable player with an occasional hammer shot. He has good vision, gets into good spaces, can cross well (by MLS standards) and is good in the tackle when he's tracking back. Plus he's Canadian, has great experience, is one of the very few players t have mroe than a season or so with TFC under his belt so offers good stability in a squad that has had revolving doors since it was created and he will literally be driven with a vengeance to make the play offs this season - it's play offs or retire no a bust for him. So I'd love to see him as our starting left mid this season. With the armband firmly in place.

i agree..

[DichioTFC]

Of all the faults and flaws with TFC, the captain's armband isn't one of them. People need to reflect on what kind of a captain they want for their team. Community ambassador, plays while hurt, takes a moderate tone (not like DeRo's "whatever comes to mind" attitude), left Europe for us right away (unlike JDG), has extensive experience (unlike Nana / Frei / Cronin).

Ability is one thing, but not the only thing. Jimmy B's determined & professional demeanor is the kind of attitude that I, as a fan, would want TFC to embody. Sure we want him to be more involved, but its his last year, let him retire gracefully with the band and be known alongside Danny D as icons of our young team's history.

[Shakes McQueen]

So, we have three losing seasons. Clear organizational issues on defense. A current captain whose play has diminished sharply in the past year. And lest we forget all of the rumblings we heard of locker room dissent?

It's time for Jimmy B to pass the torch. If we are willing to overlook all of the above issues, remind just why the fuck we have a captain at all? His play declined on the pitch, and off the pitch the team's chemistry apparently went sour - something he's responsible for keeping in check.

Like Roogsy said, this isn't a senate appointment. In addition to a nod of respect towards a player, it should also serve a functional use. Time to pass it on. Brennan shouldn't even be a starting player this season - he should be a bench sub at most.

- Scott

[Hitcho]

So, we have three losing seasons. Clear organizational issues on defense. A current captain whose play has diminished sharply in the past year. And lest we forget all of the rumblings we heard of locker room dissent?

It's time for Jimmy B to pass the torch. If we are willing to overlook all of the above issues, remind just why the fuck we have a captain at all? His play declined on the pitch, and off the pitch the team's chemistry apparently went sour - something he's responsible for keeping in check.

Like Roogsy said, this isn't a senate appointment. In addition to a nod of respect towards a player, it should also serve a functional use. Time to pass it on. Brennan shouldn't even be a starting player this season - he should be a bench sub at most.

- Scott

It's incredibly harsh to put all of that on the captain. A lot of what you just listed falls squarely on the shoulders of the coach/manager. The captain is a link between staff and players and someone for players to turn to, but he is not solely responsible for the team's chemistry or "organizational issues in defence". He's a player Shakes - not a coach or manager. If the coach plays poor tactics and gives the captain and other players bad instructions on the pitch then he's going to suffer along with the rest of the team and you cannot expect any player (except maybe Steven Gerrard in a cup final for Liverpool) to just turn the whole thing around, and then single handedly foster a great spirit and harmony in the dressing room. The discontent stemmed from poor coaching, poor man management, players getting pissed off at the poor state of things (even Cronin hinted at this) and it all bubbled over. No captain can stop all that on his own.

I do agree that Jimmy should not be starting at LB this season. But I also think he should be given the starting role at left mid. It's his natural (and best) position, we have no-one else to play there and no space on the roster to brnig in CBs, strikers and wingers who are all of a decent standard so we need to use what we already have. He has a lot of good attributes for that position (see my posts above) and pace is much less of a factor than it is in defence (how fast is Beckham?). Plus he's Canadian, as committed as anyone on the squad, has great experience, provides continuity in a squad of revolving players and coaches and knows the club and squad better than anyone else on the team (or at least as well as). He's also a great person for the younger players to approach for advice.

You can't put all the team's ills on the captain, and to do so overlooks the many great qualities that Brennan brings.