Official: Villa Is The Captain

[FootyLovin]

Captain is about so much more than skill. I love Villa, but I don't see captain behavior from him on game day. And yes he might be doing all kinds of things during practice and other times, but on the field behavior is critical. If he is to be our captain, then I hope this behavior improves with our new additions. If not, I'm not sure who can take the armband. I'm not sure Mix is ready. Maybe Iraola. He has the chops. Don't know if he has the persona.

 

[The Toe]

Captain is about so much more than skill. I love Villa, but I don't see captain behavior from him on game day. And yes he might be doing all kinds of things during practice and other times, but on the field behavior is critical. If he is to be our captain, then I hope this behavior improves with our new additions. If not, I'm not sure who can take the armband. I'm not sure Mix is ready. Maybe Iraola. He has the chops. Don't know if he has the persona.

Frank seemed like that kind of guy, but it'd be demoralizing to Villa to rip it off of him now.
Frank from the get-go, I'd have imagined that's who our captain would be.

 

[BxLio91]

It was going to be Frank but We all know what happened.

 

[Drainyoo]

It's easy to judge Villa from a sofa, but we don't know what is going on. To me, it can get annoying when he gets upset, but it's probably because he's so competitive. He could be getting upset, and then turning to his teammates and giving them constructive feedback and supporting them.

It does seem like they all respect him and that he has a good relationship with the rest of the team.

If he's not verbally abusing them on the field, then I don't see any issues with him getting visibly pissed. Have any of you ever played competitive sports?

To me, he's clearly a leader and the captain.

 

[The Toe]

 

[Drainyoo]

That gave me chills. El Capitan!

 

[NYCFC914]

His talent is the last to be questioned. Cant wait to Lampard gets in form !

 

[dannd23]

Watching Villa on the ball in the box is truly a treat. Under pressure, he is always so calm and collected. Imagine where this team would be without him

 

[FootyLovin]

No question about talent. Phenomenal. One thing that stands out to me, and this may be indicative of the weight of those 11 games.

This picture is the team reaction to the second goal against NE. Villa assist, Mullins goal. 2-0 late in the game. Iced it. Look at how many players came for the celebration.

8 of 11. That's everyone who isn't a GK or CB. That's a team with cohesion, support and belief.

Watch Villa after the first goal at MTL. Here is someone who is still feeling having given up a 1 goal lead last week in a derby. No smile. No celebration. Still sees a long way to go to the final whistle. That's fine.

Whether there are smiles all around or not I'd just love to see the team get back to the place they were in in this picture where they all want to meet together to support and share the joy of a goal.

We may have to wait until the end of transfer season for this as I'm sure several players are anxious about their roles. We may have to wait for 3-4 more wins for this. Or we may need someone to pull everyone into those celebrations. Perhaps El Capitan.

 

[Fantazma]

im confused with the reactions here. there is criticism about his reactions to goals or on the pitch ( though i do think he is still pissed about losing to redbulls, so getting first goal was more like ok we've been here before so lets not fuck this up).

As mentioned before dude clearly is ultra competitive dude has won it all. So its weird to me his personality is being questioned here. A few weeks ago his personality was being praised in the toronto game ( tracking back, helping with his sliding tackles in defense) and even his great reaction when mix scored the second goal against montreal at home ( i think he even reacted like Fuck yea when we got second goal against philly).

Again i still think dude is still dissappointed at that result last week and the frustrations with the performance that game, that is why there was no big celebration.

i dont question villa at all, especially when this mentality has gotten him 8 goals and have had some good performances still.

 

[FootyLovin]

im confused with the reactions here. there is criticism about his reactions to goals or on the pitch ( though i do think he is still pissed about losing to redbulls, so getting first goal was more like ok we've been here before so lets not fuck this up).

As mentioned before dude clearly is ultra competitive dude has won it all. So its weird to me his personality is being questioned here. A few weeks ago his personality was being praised in the toronto game ( tracking back, helping with his sliding tackles in defense) and even his great reaction when mix scored the second goal against montreal at home ( i think he even reacted like Fuck yea when we got second goal against philly).

Again i still think dude is still dissappointed at that result last week and the frustrations with the performance that game, that is why there was no big celebration.

i dont question villa at all, especially when this mentality has gotten him 8 goals and have had some good performances still.

I don't question Villa as a player, a talent or a person. I question some of his actions as a captain.

I want him to be fiercely competitive - of course. I just don't want him to be overly critical of his teammates, especially young ones who need encouragement.

The captain's job is to lead - in terms of effort and in terms of boosting morale, when things are good or when they are bad. He definitely has the effort and good for all of us that he has skill too. Maybe he is also exactly what the other players need on the field to lift them up and push them to higher performance.

Based on what I see I'm just not convinced of that.

 

[Fantazma]

I don't question Villa as a player, a talent or a person. I question some of his actions as a captain.

I want him to be fiercely competitive - of course. I just don't want him to be overly critical of his teammates, especially young ones who need encouragement.

The captain's job is to lead - in terms of effort and in terms of boosting morale, when things are good or when they are bad. He definitely has the effort and good for all of us that he has skill too. Maybe he is also exactly what the other players need on the field to lift them up and push them to higher performance.

Based on what I see I'm just not convinced of that.

agree to disagree i guess. Not every captain is the same and not every captain will put their arms around a young players shoulder to boost morale, others will challenge you and say show me something as why you should be at this level ( in other sports too). I dont mind the criticism when he himself has been doing alright so far. Now if lampard for example starts criticizing his teamates on his debut then i will question lampard since he just got here and done nothing.

so then yes different captains have different traits. heck i think even materazzi has been captain i think while at inter milan. and we damn well know he was no stranger to controversy and probably should not of been a captain due to his controversy.

 

[gbservis]

im confused with the reactions here. there is criticism about his reactions to goals or on the pitch ( though i do think he is still pissed about losing to redbulls, so getting first goal was more like ok we've been here before so lets not fuck this up).

As mentioned before dude clearly is ultra competitive dude has won it all. So its weird to me his personality is being questioned here. A few weeks ago his personality was being praised in the toronto game ( tracking back, helping with his sliding tackles in defense) and even his great reaction when mix scored the second goal against montreal at home ( i think he even reacted like Fuck yea when we got second goal against philly).

Again i still think dude is still dissappointed at that result last week and the frustrations with the performance that game, that is why there was no big celebration.

i dont question villa at all, especially when this mentality has gotten him 8 goals and have had some good performances still.

I think people are correct that the reaction or lack there of after the goals this weekend had to do with the RB game. If you knew nothing about the RB game and just watched the MTL game it would have seemed strange. Taking it in context I thought it was a good show of leadership. To me he was essentially saying to his teammates we are not some novelty expansion team any more, just scoring goals isn't a good enough reason for crazy celebrations, its time to get to work and push for the playoffs and something bigger.

I understand the frustration with some of his on field behavior when he wasn't scoring but examined through the lens of previous DP behavior in the MLS the guy has been amazing. He seems fully engaged with his teammates and focused on winning. It sounds silly but when the wage gap is so large that's not easy and often hasn't been the case with other superstars who came over. Comparing him to Henry or Beckham in their first seasons Villa's relationship with with his teammates appears to be a lot better and more genuine.