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When Wanderers last inhabited the Championship one of the most common criticisms aimed at the group was a lack of leadership – but this time around it looks like being a very different story.
May 15, Craven Cottage, and a visibly narked Darren Pratley fronted up to the local media as captain of a relegated club to lay down a few home truths.
Almost everything the midfielder said in the shaded corner of Fulham’s historic home eventually came true. He insisted he would not walk out, demanded the new owners get their act together and appoint a strong manager, and most importantly, that the Whites could bounce straight back with the right attitude.
Heart on sleeve, he went on to bite back at those who had pinned Wanderers slow march to the drop on a lack of character in the dressing room.
Among them had been previous manager Neil Lennon. The Northern Irishman’s observation that his squad did not have enough of the old-fashioned ballers who could strip paint off the tunnel walls with a pre-match rallying call was a continual feature of his reign.
Pratley had been one of the few exceptions in his manager’s summation – but the ‘no leaders’ myth perpetuated and by the time Bolton slumped back down into the third tier for the first time in 23 years, the Londoner had taken it very much to heart.
Fast forward a few months and Phil Parkinson was quick to appoint Pratley and Jay Spearing as his captain and vice-captain for the new campaign.
Spearing had looked on from the side-lines at the end of the Championship run because of a bizarre contractual clause which triggered a payment to his old club Liverpool. Whether he would have made a difference to the end result is now a moot point.
Pratley’s broken leg on the opening day of last season left the Liverpudlian out alone as Wanderers’ captain for several months. But in his absence, others stepped up to the plate.
Parkinson knew League One was no place for shrinking violets and so he worked hard to bring in experience. Andy Taylor, Mark Howard, Mark Beevers and Ben Alnwick were big voices to add to the dressing room who knew what to expect from an unforgiving division.
Further down the line Adam Le Fondre, Jem Karacan and Filipe Morais were added to the group, by now in full promotion mode.
The belief sweeping around the camp brought the best out of long-serving players like David Wheater, Josh Vela and Gary Madine – three men who could easily step up to claim the vice-captaincy spot should Spearing leave this summer.
Pratley looks almost certain to continue in the captain’s role and did reclaim the armband when he returned to the team so memorably at Fleetwood in March.
He lifted the promotion trophy with Spearing but speaking at the end of the season looked keen on continuing in the role.
“It’s always hard to be side-lined through injury but especially as captain,” he said of his seven-month lay-off. “It’s difficult because you can’t be out there doing your job of leading the boys.
“Jay has done a terrific job in my absence but it doesn’t really matter who wears the armband – we are all in it together and we will all lead by example when called upon.”
This summer Parkinson is sticking with the same plan. Karacan, Taylor and Le Fondre have been added on a permanent basis and ex-Bristol City full-back Mark Little appears to have the bit between his teeth to prove his old club wrong for releasing him.
Midfielder Mark Milligan, who captained Australia at the Confederations Cup, and defender Reece Burke – tipped as a future skipper at West Ham – are also on the radar.
Wanderers will be older and wiser as they look to lay down firm foundations in the Championship once again and won’t lack leadership, whether in the technical area or on the pitch.
Source
May 15, Craven Cottage, and a visibly narked Darren Pratley fronted up to the local media as captain of a relegated club to lay down a few home truths.
Almost everything the midfielder said in the shaded corner of Fulham’s historic home eventually came true. He insisted he would not walk out, demanded the new owners get their act together and appoint a strong manager, and most importantly, that the Whites could bounce straight back with the right attitude.
Heart on sleeve, he went on to bite back at those who had pinned Wanderers slow march to the drop on a lack of character in the dressing room.
Among them had been previous manager Neil Lennon. The Northern Irishman’s observation that his squad did not have enough of the old-fashioned ballers who could strip paint off the tunnel walls with a pre-match rallying call was a continual feature of his reign.
Pratley had been one of the few exceptions in his manager’s summation – but the ‘no leaders’ myth perpetuated and by the time Bolton slumped back down into the third tier for the first time in 23 years, the Londoner had taken it very much to heart.
Fast forward a few months and Phil Parkinson was quick to appoint Pratley and Jay Spearing as his captain and vice-captain for the new campaign.
Spearing had looked on from the side-lines at the end of the Championship run because of a bizarre contractual clause which triggered a payment to his old club Liverpool. Whether he would have made a difference to the end result is now a moot point.
Pratley’s broken leg on the opening day of last season left the Liverpudlian out alone as Wanderers’ captain for several months. But in his absence, others stepped up to the plate.
Parkinson knew League One was no place for shrinking violets and so he worked hard to bring in experience. Andy Taylor, Mark Howard, Mark Beevers and Ben Alnwick were big voices to add to the dressing room who knew what to expect from an unforgiving division.
Further down the line Adam Le Fondre, Jem Karacan and Filipe Morais were added to the group, by now in full promotion mode.
The belief sweeping around the camp brought the best out of long-serving players like David Wheater, Josh Vela and Gary Madine – three men who could easily step up to claim the vice-captaincy spot should Spearing leave this summer.
Pratley looks almost certain to continue in the captain’s role and did reclaim the armband when he returned to the team so memorably at Fleetwood in March.
He lifted the promotion trophy with Spearing but speaking at the end of the season looked keen on continuing in the role.
“It’s always hard to be side-lined through injury but especially as captain,” he said of his seven-month lay-off. “It’s difficult because you can’t be out there doing your job of leading the boys.
“Jay has done a terrific job in my absence but it doesn’t really matter who wears the armband – we are all in it together and we will all lead by example when called upon.”
This summer Parkinson is sticking with the same plan. Karacan, Taylor and Le Fondre have been added on a permanent basis and ex-Bristol City full-back Mark Little appears to have the bit between his teeth to prove his old club wrong for releasing him.
Midfielder Mark Milligan, who captained Australia at the Confederations Cup, and defender Reece Burke – tipped as a future skipper at West Ham – are also on the radar.
Wanderers will be older and wiser as they look to lay down firm foundations in the Championship once again and won’t lack leadership, whether in the technical area or on the pitch.
Source