Vidic Is New Man Utd Captain … But Who Would You Give The Armband To?

Ollie Irish

23rd, September 2010

23 Comments

By Ollie Irish

And lo, Fergie has passed the sacred armband to … drum roll … Nemanja Vidic. Old Red Nose explained his decision thus:

“Over the past few years Gary Neville has been club captain and team captain, but as we know, Gary’s been subjected to an incredible amount of injuries, so the inconsistency of Gary in the team made us have to look elsewhere.

“So when you go to pick a captain you want to pick a captain who is going to be playing every week. Defenders normally come in to that, far easier than the likes of Darren Fletcher. Because we have so many selections in midfield, from time to time we change that around.

“Paul Scholes doesn’t want to be captain, then you’ve got Darren Fletcher who has leadership qualities of course, but we change the midfield so many times. So therefore I chose Nemanja Vidic, who signed a new contract. He’s going to be our most consistent player. If he’s fit, he’ll always play.”

So Vidic wasn’t first or even second choice? And no mention of Rio Ferdinand, whose injury record is a concern.

I reckon Fergie sees Fletcher as the natural club captain, and the spiritual successor to Roy Keane (a true great United skipper) but his reasoning that Fletch won’t play every match is flawed: he offered the armband to Scholes first, but Scholes most certainly won’t play every match either. Strange. Especially as Fletcher is in outstanding form and surely has to be one of the few United players who should play as many games as possible.

Anyway, if Fergie did the maths and ended up with Vidic, it’s not such a bad thing for United. The Serb leads by example and he is one of the first names on the team-sheet. But I would have gone with Fletcher.

And what about Wayne Rooney, supposedly United’s key player. Rooney has not proved he is captain material, but perhaps that extra responsibility would be just what he needs to settle down.

Who would you give the armband to?


Posted in Featured, Man Utd, Opinion

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23 Comments

  1. Tinez says:

    1. Fletcher
    2. Vidic
    3. Evra

    Fletcher always plays and he is the ultimate general purpose midfielder, perfect man to lead the line.

  2. Danny says:

    My choice would be Edwin van der sar!

  3. edhehe says:

    vidic can hardly speak english! heard him on motd it was awful

  4. John says:

    1. Vidic
    2. Ferdinand
    3. Scholes

    Vidic has been the most consitent player for past few years, also one of the best back’s in the world. Fletcher is NOT captain material! I also heard Vidic speak and he speaks pretty good, no problems undersatning anything he says.

  5. syndex says:

    park leads by example

  6. Patrick says:

    so? The old gaffer is basing his choice on appearances huh? How many appearances did EVRA make last season? His English is just as shaky but I never see a band on his arm

  7. Pet says:

    Why do you write old red nose, leave that naming to the bitter scouse bastards.

    Think Vidic is a good choice for captain.

    Rio is injury prone, Scholes Giggsy and Neville wont play all macthes.
    Think Rooney was in thought, but then his hooker escapades came up, but I hope he will remain in the club for many years to come and then eventually become regular captain.

  8. Karl Moon says:

    Anyone who votes Fletcher must be a Liverpool fan. MUST be.
    He’s gone bloody backwards, he’s lost the ability to pick a simple pass and he’s suddenly gone from covering the pitch and not giving players a moment of peace to just standing there and being lazy. Argh.

  9. Karl Moon says:

    Patrick, Evra captained the side at the start of this season. He’s done it a couple of times.

    Syndex, if Park leads by example then he’s the last Captain we need, his form this season has been his worst since he’s joined the club, which is normally excellent.

    Edhehe, Vidic speaks very good English, he’s pretty darn eloquent actually.

    For me the Captaincy is an easy choice, it’s Ferdinand. He led the club through our most successful period of football in a decade, sure he has had injuries, but they were unrelated. Vidic is a good choice however, he is a leader, as is Evra. Either of those three for me are the logical choices. Some players we have made Captain that are in the current squad have proven they can’t do it, such as Giggs and Rooney who were both shocking as Captains.

  10. Delboy Dublin says:

    Fletcher for me. Captains his (admittedly not very good) national team and an ever-present in the side (unlike red card magnet Vidic)

  11. David says:

    1. Vidic
    2. Evra
    3. Ferdinand

    Vidic is by far the best captain and most consistent, even his team mates have recognised it long ago. Fletcher is not a good captain and he is not a great player either. And by the way he has had red cards also. Vidic is one of the best players in the world in that position.

  12. shay says:

    I love Rio but he has enough on his shoulders just trying to get back to fitness. I think Vidic is the perfect choice for now but Fletcher will be the clear choice in the long run.

  13. naf says:

    I think Vidic is made captain because SAF wants to keep him in the club, seeing that there have been rumours that Vidic/wife was unhappy at OT. Just a hunch. But I love him and really just happy with his new leadership role.

  14. Jimbo says:

    @edhehe – dude, Vidic is pretty much fluent in English. It doesn’t count if you saw him on MOTD four years ago.
    Never imagines Fletcher being the United captain. Just can’t see it. I think Evra would do a good job, my ideal choice is Rio though. But Vidic has been doing pretty well, but I don’t see him being a long term captain.

  15. R-Hops says:

    I personally think Giggsy should be club captain, he plays and leads the side in the vital games, but however may be too similar (although nowhere near as extreme) to the situation we had with Neville.. Vidic seems a good shout, probably give the nod over Evra atm, whose experience as French captain has obviously taken its toll on him. Maybe Fletcher in the future.

  16. Boby says:

    Vidic definitely! He is the best player in the world who plays that position!
    Ferguson knows what he is doing, he is not on that bench so long for nothing!
    Even the best attacker of the Premier league, Drogba, says that it’s the hardest for him to play against Dawson and Vidic!

  17. shawn says:

    vidic, definitely. i cant see rio ferdinand taking the captain’s armband for man utd and england, it just does not seem right.

  18. Axel says:

    BERBATOV should be given the armband! He’s United’s most consistent and best player this term no doubt about that! He had also lead Bulgaria by example for a long time

  19. C says:

    FLETCHER
    VIDIC
    SCHOLES

  20. Ubietz888 says:

    Van Der Sar would make a good choice imo. Then Vidic.

  21. Jimbo says:

    @axel, it’s not just about this season though, plus it’s not about performance, it’s about the ability to lead the team and berba is too lazy for that

  22. Not John O'Shea says:

    John O’Shea

  23. […] being deemed unfit to captain Manchester United a couple of weeks back, it is widely expected that Rio Ferdinand will resume skipper duties for […]

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