Punishing the captain because of the misbehaviour of the team

[Lady Whistledown]

Just noticed this: Essex captain James Foster has been suspended for two games because of the persistent misconduct of his team mates in recent games.

Essex captain James Foster banned for persistent misconduct of players | Sport | The Guardian

Do you reckon this would work in football? I'm talking mainly about dissent type offences rather than the occasional foul. I'm fed up with seeing players (usually Premier League ones) openly swearing and arguing with referees, surrounding them and haranguing them when they don't get a decision.

What would Man United's players do if they knew Rio Ferdinand would get a two match ban every time Wayne Rooney told the referee he was f***ing shit, or if Drogba knew he'd get John Terry suspended because of his persistent whining and rolling around?

 

[Brian Fantana]

Good idea, in my view. Gives the captain further incentive to try and keep his team mates under control.

 

[Scotty Mac]

captains dont really mean anything in football though like they do in cricket, despite what the national press say with the big hoo-rah over who should have the england armband

takes us last season - greer missed the first two months pretty much, the armband just went to calderon and nothing really changed

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Good idea, in my view. Gives the captain further incentive to try and keep his team mates under control.

Could be interesting if, for example, Rooney was to go off on one of his usual appalling screaming rants at the referee, and thus incurred Ferdinand a ban for the crucial title game, or the Cup Final. Would be great to watch the atmosphere between them afterwards

 

[Gwylan]

Slightly different in cricket as the captain has much more authority than he does in football. I'd love to see some attempt to tackle the level of the dissent in the game but who's going to do it? FIFA? They're too busy filling their pockets to look at improving the game.

 

[Acker79]

The problem I would see is they don't take action against Wayne Rooney for him swearing at the ref, do you really think they'd take action against Rio for it?

I think if they started taking action against the perpetrators, it would reduce dissent.

 

[Brian Fantana]

Could be interesting if, for example, Rooney was to go off on one of his usual appalling screaming rants at the referee, and thus incurred Ferdinand a ban for the crucial title game, or the Cup Final. Would be great to watch the atmosphere between them afterwards

I would rather see the rule introduced, as in rugby, where only the Captain is allowed to talk to the ref.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

captains dont really mean anything in football though like they do in cricket, despite what the national press say with the big hoo-rah over who should have the england armband

takes us last season - greer missed the first two months pretty much, the armband just went to calderon and nothing really changed

I appreciate that, though to some extent it depends on the player. Liverpool would miss Gerrard more than other teams might miss their captain. But as a player wouldn't you feel pretty embarrassed if another guy missed two matches because of your gobbing off at the referee? Even more gutted if you were the man suspended regularly because of your twattish colleagues' inability to keep their mouths shut.

 

[Icy Gull]

Sin bins, based on playing time, are definitely the answer imo, punishment for the offending player and team at the time of the offence

 

[CHAPPERS]

The problem I would see is they don't take action against Wayne Rooney for him swearing at the ref, do you really think they'd take action against Rio for it?

I think if they started taking action against the perpetrators, it would reduce dissent.

Exactly. THey don't take enoguh action, that's why it's got so bad.

Any swearing directed at the ref then send em off. It'll soon stop. The FA and the refs should grow some balls and it'll soon be stamped out.

 

[Scotty Mac]

I appreciate that, though to some extent it depends on the player. Liverpool would miss Gerrard more than other teams might miss their captain. But as a player wouldn't you feel pretty embarrassed if another guy missed two matches because of your gobbing off at the referee? Even more gutted if you were the man suspended regularly because of your twattish colleagues' inability to keep their mouths shut.

i think every team and situation would be different really

take the england team for example. ferdinand might be feeling royally f***ed off that he is no longer captain, so gets terry suspended and then takes the armband himself for two games. id actually like to see that happen

if blackpool lost charlie adam last season they would have been totally f***ed, whereas somebody like united can just bring in another top class centre half to replace vidic in the side and the armband can go to another world class player

it would certainly make things more interesting and would almost certainly force the weaker sides who tend to rely on their captain more to think about misconduct, but for the stronger teams in the division it won't make that much difference and they tend to be the worst offenders for ganging up on refs and generally beahving like total plebians

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Exactly. THey don't take enoguh action, that's why it's got so bad.

Any swearing directed at the ref then send em off. It'll soon stop. The FA and the refs should grow some balls and it'll soon be stamped out.

What winds me up is when football "experts" on TV or radio state that football has swearing at officials because its a working class game, implying that the working class man is incapable of controlling himself, and that this makes the appalling dissent that goes on somehow acceptable. Rugby Union can't be played entirely by posh types and besides, even posh types swear sometimes. It's just that their players know damn well that if they're caught arguing with officials or swearing, their team will be punished. Rugby League is supposedly working class and you don't see them mouthing off at the officials.

The other pathetic argument put out by the pundits is that if you started sending off players for swearing, you'd end up with eight red cards a game. My counter to that would be: so what? You'd get one or two games that ended up being abandoned or as eight a side, but even footballers aren't that stupid, and their brains would soon work out that swearing=red card, and stop doing it. I'm perfectly happy to have a couple of games across the entire Football League/Premier League season end up as a total fiasco if it meant we didn't have to watch our rude and obnoxious top footballers telling officials to f*** off or that they're "f***ing shit" at every opportunity.

Yes, football is part of life, and most of us do swear in everyday life, but there's a time and a place. I don't go around telling the public or my superiors to go f*** themselves when I'm at work, and I don't see why John Terry should be able to either.

 

[CHAPPERS]

The other pathetic argument put out by the pundits is that if you started sending off players for swearing, you'd end up with eight red cards a game. My counter to that would be: so what? You'd get one or two games that ended up being abandoned or as eight a side, but even footballers aren't that stupid, and their brains would soon work out that swearing=red card, and stop doing it. I'm perfectly happy to have a couple of games across the entire Football League/Premier League season end up as a total fiasco if it meant we didn't have to watch our rude and obnoxious top footballers telling officials to f*** off or that they're "f***ing shit" at every opportunity.

Yes, football is part of life, and most of us do swear in everyday life, but there's a time and a place. I don't go around telling the public or my superiors to go f*** themselves when I'm at work, and I don't see why John Terry should be able to either.

Yes.

 

[The Large One]

Slightly different in cricket as the captain has much more authority than he does in football.

Agreed. The equivalent of a cricket captain in football is probably the manager.

Now seeing Ferguson banned / fined / shot every Rooney opened his screaming Scouse twat of a gob - that would be a good thing.

 

[Danny-Boy]

Slightly different in cricket as the captain has much more authority than he does in football. I'd love to see some attempt to tackle the level of the dissent in the game but who's going to do it? FIFA? They're too busy filling their pockets to look at improving the game.

THIS. As a cricket-player even for a friendly team since the late 1980's, the skip has a massive influence on the way the team behaves. I can remember a "friendly" over near Bexhill once where the skip orchestrated barracking, sledging, the works. We refused to go to the pub with them afterwards and never played them again.

A good cricket skipper can galvanise a team, a poor skipper can destroy it.

 

[Acker79]

What winds me up is when football "experts" on TV or radio state that football has swearing at officials because its a working class game, implying that the working class man is incapable of controlling himself, and that this makes the appalling dissent that goes on somehow acceptable. Rugby Union can't be played entirely by posh types and besides, even posh types swear sometimes. It's just that their players know damn well that if they're caught arguing with officials or swearing, their team will be punished. Rugby League is supposedly working class and you don't see them mouthing off at the officials.

The other pathetic argument put out by the pundits is that if you started sending off players for swearing, you'd end up with eight red cards a game. My counter to that would be: so what? You'd get one or two games that ended up being abandoned or as eight a side, but even footballers aren't that stupid, and their brains would soon work out that swearing=red card, and stop doing it. I'm perfectly happy to have a couple of games across the entire Football League/Premier League season end up as a total fiasco if it meant we didn't have to watch our rude and obnoxious top footballers telling officials to f*** off or that they're "f***ing shit" at every opportunity.

Yes, football is part of life, and most of us do swear in everyday life, but there's a time and a place. I don't go around telling the public or my superiors to go f*** themselves when I'm at work, and I don't see why John Terry should be able to either.

With the money in the game, can it really still be considered working class?

That second argument always irritates me, because it's only trotted out when they don't want changes. If they want a change they're the first to say "start booking players, they'll soon learn!"

 

[Danny-Boy]

i think every team and situation would be different really

take the england team for example. ferdinand might be feeling royally f***ed off that he is no longer captain, so gets terry suspended and then takes the armband himself for two games. id actually like to see that happen

if blackpool lost charlie adam last season they would have been totally f***ed, whereas somebody like united can just bring in another top class centre half to replace vidic in the side and the armband can go to another world class player

it would certainly make things more interesting and would almost certainly force the weaker sides who tend to rely on their captain more to think about misconduct, but for the stronger teams in the division it won't make that much difference and they tend to be the worst offenders for ganging up on refs and generally beahving like total plebians

As it was Blackpool were just lightly f*cked...a football skipper cannot carry a whole team - though Adam did his best! - whilst a cricket captain, if an all-rounder can virtually do that.

 

[Scampi]

Can you imagine the ranting from Red Nose Fergie if they bought this in.

Personally i'd welcome any measure which improved the respect shown to referrees. Maybe after they could do something about the managers and media and their outbursts as well.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

With the money in the game, can it really still be considered working class?

Oh I agree, it's just that's an argument that gets regularly trotted out as some kind of excuse for the mouthy idiots that blight the game.

I also think the culture whereby players are allowed to get away with blatant dissent tends to offer them a lazy excuse for poor performances. They seem to be actively encouraged, by certain managers in particular, to think that the only thing that stopped them winning a game is a single wrong decision by a referee or linesman, and not the other 89 minutes of the match which they themselves spent sulking and generally not making anything happen.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

As it was Blackpool were just lightly f*cked...a football skipper cannot carry a whole team - though Adam did his best! - whilst a cricket captain, if an all-rounder can virtually do that.

True, but it's more the guilt thing that would have the impact, I was thinking.

If you, as a player, knew you were personally responsible for one of your mates having to miss two games, it might make you think twice before acting, surely? Because you're letting him down, not just because of any impact it might have on the team performances.