The Manchester United captaincy is something that throughout the years has not been a prominent issue as to who the rightful captain should or should not be. With the likes of Roy Keane, Jaap Stam, Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand to name a few, we had true leaders in the side and additionally voices to supplement the managers inspiration and leadership on the pitch.
Now of course, the current captaincy belongs to Wayne Rooney. A large part of me believes that the appointment of Wayne Rooney as captain was done in a non-meritocratic manner and whilst many will argue he has achieved all he can in terms of club trophies I do not believe that he provides the leadership, motivation and drive to warrant being the captain for so long.
Furthermore it is obvious that through watching Manchester United for the last 2-3 years, there is something missing in the team, a spark and a passion within the club seems to have died. Many blamed the manager(s) and then the lack of talent in the side. However now Jose Mourinho is in charge and we have acquired many world class players into the squad I do not think the blame can now solely rest on the 'manager not picking the right team' or 'not having a good enough midfield/attack/defence'. Too many talented world class players have come and left the team in previous years, not to mention the various inconsistent but fantastic results we have frequently achieved against top opposition, even back when David Moyes was manager.
Instead I think the issue comes down more to leadership within the team and a lack of genuine authority, drive and motivation to actually pull on that famous red shirt and want to play for the club. Essentially this stems from the captain to motivate the team on the pitch and to pick the players up from losing positions and increase performance. This season, when Manchester United have conceded first they have lost 4 and drawn 1. Under Sir Alex Ferguson in his title winning season of 2012/13 and by no coincidence the last time we won the title, the team came from behind to win 13 times and this of course had a huge impact on the subsequent successful title winning campaign.
The Captain for that season? Nemanja Vidic.
Although the reason for the last three seasons of well below average performances and a lack of success cannot be all down to the team not being utilized by a true captain, I feel that it is still a large contributing factor as to why we have been so average. If you look at the players in which we have brought over the last few seasons; Angel Di Maria, Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger, all top players and conjunction with mangers such as Jose Mourinho and Louis Van Gaal; even after all his criticism he is still a top coach with a great track record of success. These investments have and are still leaving us drawing blanks in matches, and reasons for defeat and lack of performance must instead be taken away from the manager and individuals and looked at from a different perspective
Essentially, there are bigger problems internally at the club and by internally I mean in the attitude and desire in the squad. Many players simply do not seem like they want to play for the club. Jose Mourinho has been again criticised for his comments about Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling choosing not to play as they 'were not feeling 100%'. Personally, I am in support of Mourinho in this argument as the mentality should be that you give your absolute all for your team and you should metaphorically, run through walls to win games for your club. Thus, a manager can only do a certain amount of motivating and if you find your self unable to be motivated by someone with the managerial success that Jose Mourinho encompasses, then there is an obvious issue. This is where the captain should stand in and motivate his team. Jose Mourinho is obviously not allowed on the pitch and I feel this is where that extra motivation and quality leadership from a top captain can lead to that extra 10% increase in performance in which we need.
But do we have that fiery, gritty and motivated leader in the squad at the moment? Yes we do.
Ander Herrera is someone that lives and breathes Manchester United. Throughout recent seasons, he has questionably spent the vast majority of his time on the substitutes bench becoming frustrated with spectating dire performances. However instead of moaning on social media and threatening to leave the club like many players have due to lack of appearances, he chooses a different approach in working hard, showing genuine passion for the team and the club whilst also having a dominating voice when he gets on the pitch.
He is always the most energetic player across the midfield, often leading and controlling the space in the middle of the park. He also has a fiery side to him, in which United fans appreciate and he is not afraid to put in his fare share of fierce tackles. Although his character somewhat differs from that of Roy Keane's I do believe he is showing very similar traits to the previous United captain.
In conclusion and although the obvious choices might be; Chris Smalling, David De Gea or Paul Pogba for next united captain, I believe that Ander Herrera offers more and if made captain would provide that leadership, inspiration and motivation on the pitch that would influence the team to work harder for each other and in turn win more points and matches. He has also worked very hard to cement his place in the stating eleven this season under Jose Mourinho and as previously mentioned choose to work hard and fight for his place other than sulk on the bench, which has become a familiar, untasteful attitude at the club. This attitude is one that can then shine throughout the entire squad and would influence the team to genuinely be proud, motivated and feel honoured to wear the badge again and to understand how privileged they are to represent the football club. I feel this would then lead to an increased team spirit and in turn a resurrection of the never say die attitude that for so many years lead the club to success.
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