Here at SBOTOP we recently took a look at the Premier League managers with something to prove, and the head coach can be a lonely job.
One of the most important decisions a boss has to make is who he can rely on to lead his team when they cross the white line and when they are out and about in the community. The captain is the manager’s mouthpiece on the pitch and a leader of men, and the best skippers are fiercely loyal.
Here are five of the finest who are set to lead their teams out in just over a week’s time.
Jordan Henderson: Liverpool
Since his transfer from Sunderland in 2011, Jordan Henderson has developed into one of the most accomplished midfield players in European football and, since 2015, he has been Liverpool’s leader on the field and a great ambassador for the club off it.
He has been supportive of social issues away from the game, helping to set up a fund for front line workers during the pandemic and voicing his opinion on the failed European Super League project.
Henderson is a brilliant box-to-box midfielder, full of energy and with an impressive array of passing, and he’s been one of England’s most consistent performers as the Three Lions have returned as a force in world football. He’s contracted to Liverpool until 2023 and the Reds will be keen to open negotiations to keep him at Anfield for the long run.
The Premier League 2021 betting odds back Liverpool as third favourites, behind Manchester City and Chelsea, but if Henderson and Virgil van Dijk, who was also out for much of last season, stay fit… then the Reds will be in the hunt.
Kasper Schmeichel: Leicester City
The son of former Manchester United and Denmark legend Peter, Kasper Schmeichel has been a standout goalkeeper in both the Premier League and for his country, following in the footsteps of his father.
Unlike his dad, Schmeichel hasn’t yet won a European title, but he is club captain, and he has led the Foxes with distinction. He played a crucial role in Leicester City’s incredible 2016 Premier League winning season and he’s since become the complete keeper and skipper as the Foxes have emerged as one of the regular English representatives in Europe.
Schmeichel is one of the best goalkeepers in a league where there is plenty of competition from some of the world’s finest stoppers, and he’s a player that others will always look up to. And Leicester City’s first-ever FA Cup final win, a 1-0 victory over Chelsea, would not have happened but for two world=class saves from the Foxes’ number one.
Liam Cooper: Leeds United
Having been made captain in his first season at Elland Road (2014) following a transfer from Chesterfield, Liam Cooper was always viewed as a solid all-round player and a mature leader, but since the arrival of Marcelo Bielsa at the club he has not only retained the club captaincy but has become one of the most improved players under the new boss.
When Leeds narrowly missed out on promotion in 2019, he was named in the EFL Championship Team of the Season and his dominant performances and inspirational leadership the following season saw Leeds return to the top flight. He missed the opening game of the 2020/21 season but played in the second, the clubs first Premier League win in 16 years, a 4-3 victory over Fulham, before Leeds’ Premier League 2021 results lifted them to a top-half finish.
Cooper has played over 200 games for the Yorkshire giants and started for Scotland in their Euro 2020 campaign, and he’s sure to be a big player as Leeds look to continue their upward trajectory.
Ben Mee: Burnley
Having just completed his tenth season at Turf Moor, Ben Mee is Claret and Blue through and through and, very early in his career at the Lancashire club, he endeared himself to fans with his committed and all-action displays. As a defender he has a fierce tackle and has made countless last-ditch blocks, using all parts of his body, as the Clarets have repelled attacks from some of the best players in the world.
As a captain, Mee leads by example, hard but fair and always eager to develop players alongside him. He makes his defensive partners look good, doing the dirty work and organising the back line allowing the likes of Michael Keane and James Tarkowski to impress, both earning England recognition. It’s one of the mysteries of Premier League football that Mee hasn’t represented the Three Lions at full level, having played for the U19s, U20s and U21s and improved immeasurably with age.
The English Giorgio Chiellini is one of the main reasons Burnley have held their own in the top flight for much of the last decade.
Lewis Dunk: Brighton and Hove Albion
Like Mee, Brighton’s Lewis Dunk is a commanding centre back who has shown great loyalty to the South Coast club. He’s been with the Eagles since 2010, spending just one season on loan at Bristol City, and he’s seen his most recent defensive partner, Ben White, earn a call up to Gareth Southgate’s provisional Euro 2020 squad and a £50m move to Arsenal.
Dunk earned his only England cap in 2018 in a 3-0 win over the USA, called up as a replacement for the injured Tarkowski, but his performances at club level have been consistently strong. At 6ft 4in Dunk is a towering presence and a real threat going forward at set pieces, but his defensive prowess was crucial last term to keep the points rolling in while the Seagulls’ front line all too often misfired.
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