Andy Todd is the Blackburn captain!

Dr. Nick

That is a joke, given his history. It reflects badly, imo, on the manager.

ctrl-alt-delete

Dr. Nick wrote:

That is a joke, given his history. It reflects badly, imo, on the manager.

given his history? what 4 sendings off? ive known captains sent off more times than that

Lemlin

You could say the same thing about Roy Keane's history at United. How many times was he sent off? Or Paddy Vieira at Arsenal?

Todd's sending off today was dubious to say the least and I hope it will be overturned. In terms of being a captain, I admit he picks up alot of suspensions but he motivates those around him and is the best at the club for that position.

He leads from the back and is willing to wear his heart on his sleeve and put his head in where it matters for the club.

MrJoeSoap

Dr. Nick wrote:

That is a joke, given his history. It reflects badly, imo, on the manager.

WTF? He was sent off for a handball today, its dubious as to whether it was even intentional! Which Blackburn player is more suited to the role in your opinion?

Lemlin

I don't see Andy Todd launching into a kung-fu kick at fans either. Eric Cantona did so though and he was United captain.

ctrl-alt-delete

Dr. Nick wrote:

That is a joke, given his history. It reflects badly, imo, on the manager.

imo your post is a joke,did u think it through? the only people i could think of at bburn as being captain are tugay(who is soon to retire and doesnt play enough) and friedel (i dont know why he is not captain)

todd has being doing a great job

Thanx 4 The Fish

I think Robbie Savage could do the job, kind of a Roy Keane character, he motivates the team, give a rollicking to those who need it, is no nonsense in midfield and pops up with the odd goal now and again.

Lemlin

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote:

I think Robbie Savage could do the job, kind of a Roy Keane character, he motivates the team, give a rollicking to those who need it, is no nonsense in midfield and pops up with the odd goal now and again.

I'm pleased to see you managed a whole post about Blackburn which didn't have negative connotations attached to it. Hopefully it'll be the first of many.

As for Savage, he hasn't even been with the club a year yet so I'd prefer to see a long standing team member like Todd hold the captaincy.

To answer ctrl-alt-delete, I don't think Hughes likes the idea of having a goalkeeper as captain, and I myself agree. How is a player who is stuck between the posts meant to influence the match?

Todd's sending off yesterday will more than likely be overturned on Monday, and I'm not going to let Saturday's result take away from Blackburn's recent improvement. Even David Moyes commented that Blackburn were a tough team to beat and had improved dramatically in the past while, especially their passing. I think Sparky can take heart from getting praise from a respected fellow manager.

Watching the match highlights on Sky last night, I'm pleased to see that Blackburn battled to the end, and players like Lucas Neill and Morten Gamst Pedersen never gave up the battle, even with a few minutes left at 2-0 down.

I'd much rather have players like that playing for Blackburn that so-called superstars who couldn't give a toss about the team and think more about their next pay cheque.

theCzar

I thought it was definitely deliberate, he stuck out his hand to control it. but then I'm an Evertonian so I may not be as impartial as i'd like, I don't think it will be overturned.

It seems there's been a lot of contentious hand ball decisons recently, McFadden cleared the ball of the line with his hand last week and went unpunished, Breen got a handball given against him yesterday which was ridiculous, but Robbie Keane thought so as well and missed the peno. Actually, his goal had shades of handball about it as well....

P.S. I don't blame people for not liking Todd though.

Corben Dallas

If they're goin to give it to a handbag then give it to Robbie Savage

But seriously............
Either Gamst Pederson or Tugay.
Id say Friedel as well but dont think GK should be Captains.

Btw When (if ever) is Amoroso coming back????

mchurl

dont see any problem with todd being captain he ha a bit of fire in the belly which is what a captain needs and his discipliniary record isnt as bad as keane or viera as was already pointed out

Lemlin

Corben Dallas wrote:

If they're goin to give it to a handbag then give it to Robbie Savage

But seriously............
Either Gamst Pederson or Tugay.
Id say Friedel as well but dont think GK should be Captains.

Btw When (if ever) is Amoroso coming back????

Hopefully never. Yet another great example of Souness' fantastic spending.

Regarding the captaincy, Gamst Pedersen is too young and inexperienced. Tugay, on the other hand, is too old and doesn't play every game.

I could see Bellamy as a future captain TBH. He has the passion and fire required.

theCzar

Lemlin wrote:

I could see Bellamy as a future captain TBH. He has the passion and fire required.

for "passion and fire", I read "an offensive little ****", passion is one thing, a bit of composure would be nice as well. I wouldn't want Bellamy representing my team, less so than Todd.

Bellamy is a player only the home fans can like I guess.

cruiserweight

With regard to being Blackburn captain I would say that Todd is a poor choice, he has been involved in to many conterversial incidents IMO like fighting on the training ground when at other clubs, or his "challenge" on Van Persie last seaon! If I was Mark Hughes I would pick somebody like Ryan Nelson or Brad Friedel! If the criteria is to have fire in your belly and play with your heart on your sleeve I would say Dickov would be a better choice than Bellamy or Savage!

With regards to the sending off it was a definite red card in my opinion! The ball was flicked past Todd, he was beaten, and he stuck out his hand to prevent the attacker getting an advantage in a dangerous position, deliberate handball!

therecklessone

theCzar wrote:

Bellamy is a player only the home fans can like I guess.

I wasn't aware being liked by the opposition fans was in the job description.

cruiserweight wrote:

With regard to being Blackburn captain I would say that Todd is a poor choice, he has been involved in to many conterversial incidents IMO like fighting on the training ground when at other clubs, or his "challenge" on Van Persie last seaon!

He's not been alone.

Roy Keane
Patrick Viera
Steve Gerrard
Alan Shearer
Dennis Wise
Vinnie Jones

Few shrinking violets there. The key question is does Hughes think Todd can motivate his team mates on and off the pitch. If he does, then his background or history counts for nothing, and he's a good choice.

I say that as no fan of the guy.

cruiserweight

therecklessone wrote:

I wasn't aware being liked by the opposition fans was in the job description.



He's not been alone.

Roy Keane
Patrick Viera
Steve Gerrard
Alan Shearer
Dennis Wise
Vinnie Jones

Few shrinking violets there. The key question is does Hughes think Todd can motivate his team mates on and off the pitch. If he does, then his background or history counts for nothing, and he's a good choice.

I say that as no fan of the guy.

I don't think that Todd can motivate players in the way that some of the players listed above! Roy Keane, Patrick Viera, Steve Gerrard and Alan Shearer are all in a completely different class to Andy Todd and were/are often the best players in their respective teams! If I was Mark Hughes I would perfer somebody who is more of a steady influence! Also I don't think any of the above players were involved in a training ground punch up with one of their own team mates, that is some motivational technique

theCzar

I think passionate and abrasive are being confused. A captain doesn't have to be liked by the opposition, but it helps if his own team mates don't wish him dead... home fans tend like those kind of players becuase they're seated far away from them and don't have to share a coach with them.

shouting a lot and getting in peoples faces á la fat-mouth bellamy is not the fine art of motivation as some people seem to think.

therecklessone

theCzar wrote:

I think passionate and abrasive are being confused. A captain doesn't have to be liked by the opposition, but it helps if his own team mates don't wish him dead...

Hang on a second, is there any reason to believe Bellamy is disliked by his team mates? Events at other clubs aside like...

Lemlin

theCzar wrote:

for "passion and fire", I read "an offensive little ****", passion is one thing, a bit of composure would be nice as well. I wouldn't want Bellamy representing my team, less so than Todd.

Bellamy is a player only the home fans can like I guess.

Exactly. And as pointed out, the home fans is all a captain should care about.

With regard to being Blackburn captain I would say that Todd is a poor choice, he has been involved in to many conterversial incidents IMO like fighting on the training ground when at other clubs, or his "challenge" on Van Persie last seaon! If I was Mark Hughes I would pick somebody like Ryan Nelson or Brad Friedel! If the criteria is to have fire in your belly and play with your heart on your sleeve I would say Dickov would be a better choice than Bellamy or Savage!

With regards to the sending off it was a definite red card in my opinion! The ball was flicked past Todd, he was beaten, and he stuck out his hand to prevent the attacker getting an advantage in a dangerous position, deliberate handball!

Nelsen usually captains the side whenever Todd is missing. He is only a newcomer to the club though. And, when talking about conroversy, you suggest Dickov, do you not remember the events in Spain a few years ago? Dickov has been involved in just as much, if not more, controversy than Todd. He isn't really getting his place at the moment anyway so couldn't be captain.

I think passionate and abrasive are being confused. A captain doesn't have to be liked by the opposition, but it helps if his own team mates don't wish him dead... home fans tend like those kind of players becuase they're seated far away from them and don't have to share a coach with them.

shouting a lot and getting in peoples faces á la fat-mouth bellamy is not the fine art of motivation as some people seem to think.

Do you have evidence that the other Blackburn players wish Bellamy dead? It certainly doesn't look it when they play together.

mchurl

I dont see any evidence of the blackburn players not liking bellamy and i have to say that he is a good player to have as he is a fiery character and also he is quit a decent footballer!!

Lemlin

mchurl wrote:

I dont see any evidence of the blackburn players not liking bellamy and i have to say that he is a good player to have as he is a fiery character and also he is quit a decent footballer!!

He is by no means world class but I do think Bellamy is one of two players Blackburn have who can change a game - Morten Gamst Pedersen being the other.

I think Bellamy's attitude will always hold him back but it wouldn't stop him being a good captain. As for MGP, he's the next Duff, mark my words.

In related news to this topic, it looks like Bellamy may miss tomorrow's game against West Ham. More news on this soon.

MrJoeSoap

Lemlin wrote:

In related news to this topic, it looks like Bellamy may miss tomorrow's game against West Ham. More news on this soon.

He definitely will. Could be out for a while longer too.

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/sport/story.asp?j=165379794&p=y6538x5xx&t=soccer

Lemlin

He'll be a big loss. Hopefully Dickov and Kuqi can fill the void.

MrJoeSoap

Where is Matt Jansen these days?

Big Nelly

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Where is Matt Jansen these days?

AFter the accident in Italy(I think) where he nearly died he has never really recovered the form he had before it. Was out on loan last season or earlier this season. Think he is reserves at Blackburn at moment!

Lemlin

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Where is Matt Jansen these days?

As Nelly said, he was injured in a biking accident in Italy while on holiday. The season before he had scored 20+ goals and was in the England squad. He's never been the same since, last PL goal I think he scored was the winner against Pompey last year.

The same thing happened David Thompson. He was in the England squad but injury curtailed his career. He scored a cracker against Charlton in the cup after coming on and played for 45 minutes last week so hopefully he'll be back soon.

It'd be great to see both back firing on all cyclinders but I doubt we ever will.

chiller

blackburn are rubbish at the moment shouldnt matter who there captain is imo it should b bellemy or that norwigan lad peterson the only 2 who make any difference 2 the blackburn side they look a lot different without them in there sqaud!

MrJoeSoap

Bellamy and Pedersen score goals, that doesn't automatically make them captain material.

Lemlin

Bit silly for a Man United fan to be slagging Blackburn TBH. Have a look here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match?id=184513&cc=5739

As for their record against us in the league, we beat them this season and drew with them in the 2 games last season. And in the match at Ewood Park United needed a handball by Saha to pass the ball to Alan Smith in the 93rd minute for the equaliser!

The year before we beat United 1-0 at the end of the season thanks to a Jon Stead finish. Neither Bellamy or MGP were at the club.

chiller

never mind the games against us im taking about in general u lemming. and imo they make the most effort even if they dont score gp is dangerous on the wing and bellemy fights 4 every ball and can change and lift the team. oh yeah never a hand ball come on united!

Lemlin

chiller wrote:

never mind the games against us im taking about in general u lemming. and imo they make the most effort even if they dont score gp is dangerous on the wing and bellemy fights 4 every ball and can change and lift the team. oh yeah never a hand ball come on united!

Bellamy has missed most of Blackburn's games this year and they seem to be doing fine without him.

As for the most effort, alot of the Blackburn team give their all, Bellamy and MGP just have the most natural ability. We have alot of other quality players though like Tugay, Neill, Nelsen and Friedel.

MrJoeSoap

Lemlin wrote:

Hopefully Dickov and Kuqi can fill the void.

Lemlin

Well spotted MrJoeSoap. Well done to the two lads today.

Lemlin

On another note, Todd was missing yesterday and you saw how disorganised the Blackburn defence were. This may be also due to Nelsen missing but Todd is a big influence on those around him.