Quote Originally Posted by toptoon View Post
He’s had poor form in the past and pelters (including from me). Naturally, as fans, we concentrate on what we see on the pitch on match day. That’s 90 or 180 minutes per week. How many hours training and meetings are there in a week? A player who rarely makes it to the pitch on match day could still offer a huge amount to the squad the rest of the time. Eddie clearly puts a lot of emphasis on this - Lascelles (he even keeps him as captain), Ritchie and Dummet (new contracts).
He was captain at arguably the worst period in the clubs recent history - Ashley, Charnley, Bruce, the blocking of the takeover by the league for 18 months, lowdown, empty stadiums etc. I think it affected all of us and he had to keep the squad united along with a handful of senior pro’s. Bound to affect his form from time to time and had been made captain by Rafa in the first place, which says a lot about his standing.