Callum McGregor

its not fantasy at all. Regardless of his performances last season, which i nevrr mentioned, he has never been one to grab a player by the scruff of the neck or kick a few arses.

He might run himself into the ground, but that doesnt mean he is a captain.

the standards at this club have to improve again and someone has to make sure they dont slip. We need somone with a fear factor that commands nothing but the best from the players.

He is never a captain and he is being shoe horned in because we dont have a better option. Mcgregor might lead by example in the way he trains and looks after himself, but he is never a captain.
Tierney is a captain. Mcgregor doesnt have those qualities.

 

I think he’s the only real choice for the squad we have…

… but for me….. that only highlights the shortcomings of our squad.

 

He was the only choice but he's not captain material for me

 

Don't know where people get this idea of him not being a leader comes from. Not every leader has to be a defensive midfielder screaming about on the pitch and two footing * into challenges.

KT basically confirmed that when he was at the club, Brown and McGregor ran the dressing room and set the standards for the team. Being a leader off the pitch is as important as on it. As long as he gets back to his best, leading by example and performance drives your team mates. He's the outstanding candidate.

Apart from a brief stint out on loan, he will likely be with us for the rest of his career, or certainly his peak years. We could very well be seeing him in the top 10 for appearance makers and trophies in that time. Delighted for him.

 

Well done Callum. Our best player for me

 

Greatest footballer to ever play the game is Captain for club and country. I don't see Lionel Messi screaming at his team mates on the pitch, launching into tackles or squaring up to opposition. He's captain because he leads by example. Absolutely the correct choice.

 

He's never a captain but that's the least of our worries.

 

I was at the Cluj game when Lennon put McGregor at LB.

When the game wasn’t going well but still in the balance, the ball went out and McGregor pulled a few players over to try and get them organised. He could see the issue and had no problem telling the likes of Brown what was going wrong. It’s a pity being at LB meant he couldn’t influence the game properly.

That was one of the first moments I thought McGregor could be a captain. In the modern day it’s not about being the loudest or manliest, it’s about knowing modern football and applying yourself every day, having the respect of your team mates.

McGregor was one of the few last season that didn’t * it when we got beat. He was out there giving interviews, clearly * off with what was going on.

He deserves this chance.

 

Absolutely!!!

 

Only real option for me, with Ajer for the off.

I have no issue at all with it.
He isn't Brown, but Brown isn't the only way to be a captain.

McGregor has it in him for sure.

 

He has a lot of leadership qualities and was the natural choice. Good decision.

 

Pretty much my thoughts.

 

Dont think anyone has said he isnt a leader. But dont think he is a captain. I think there is a distinct difference.

not seen too many mention anything about tackling as well. When you look at Mcgregor within the context of the scotland squad, he isnt the outstanding candidate or maybe not even in the top 3.

He was the (or our) outstanding candidate and probably the only candidate at the moment, but that only highlights that we are bereft of those that are captain material.

 

I’ll get pelters for this, but before I say it, bear in mind that Callum McGregor is my favourite player for us by a distance and I’m often a big defender of him. However:

I don’t think he’s true captain material and (now here’s the bit that will get backlash) I’d say that he’s had a history of shirking captain-type duties and characteristics. I’m not talking about backing out of tackles or not showing “grit”, or even being a good example in a lot of general ways as a member of the regular first team. Don’t get me wrong: he does all the above and also shows a set of virtues - humility and hard work among them - that I look for in a captain.

However, there are certain qualities and tendencies which I don’t think he possesses. I don’t mean stoating around acting the hard man, nor necessarily giving the other players a boot up the backside (although that is part of the role sometimes). He rightly doesn’t bother with the former and can sometimes do the latter.

Taking our previous captains out of the equation, there are examples of my definition of leadership among guys who were never captain full-time with us.
I’m talking about ways that Lustig, Bertie Auld, Alan Thompson had about them, and sometimes Ledley and Kelvin Wilson. Ajer was developing it too. Different personalities, but all had something that I would identify as captain material, and Callum doesn’t have it, for me - not yet, at least.

To me, a ‘captain’ is someone who has an authority that isn’t based on either skill or discipline. They may have either or both of those as well, but moreover, they exude a type of leadership that makes people inclined to follow them, and by extension, the manager above them.

A player can (and, in and ideal world, should) embody absolute professionalism, as Callum does - but that alone doesn’t make them captain quality.

I wanted someone else brought in (perhaps in the CB position - a Steve Cook or the like), with McGregor kept as VC under that person, to see if he could develop into a captain. At this minute, it hasn’t fully happened for him, imo.

Edit: Tommy Burns a huge example as well.