So where does it leave our captain after Sheridan's post match Accy comments?

John Sheridan by his own admission was the angriest he had been all season after the 1 -1 Accrington draw. The comments today on the BBC football site have highlighted these comments from J.S. :
"we've got no leader on the pitch because Wotton is'nt playing"
So do we bring in Wotton as captain? and where does this leave our current captain before such an important fixture tomorrow night.

Faker, faker, faker,.................

Its all pantomime

He is just after a good response tomorrow night !!

I couldnt agrree more with Sheridan. Wotton still shows just one of the reasons why we had such  a successful team with him as captain. Hourihane is nowhere near as valuable, as his time at the club has proved.
Wotton can hardly run for 90 minutes these days but still must be a dead cert to start tomorrow. What does that say

Wotton will certainly play tomorrow night but Hourihane will continue as captain.I think Sheridan's comments were aimed at the whole team ["mutes"  ] rather than Hourihane in particular.Fancy there could be one or two other changes tomorrow-the manager made a point of saying that he was sick of crosses not being stopped,which considering the Accrington goal came from the right wing,would seem to be a dig at Parsons,who was a bit lacking in that department against Chesterfield as well.Maybe Purrington or Berry in for Parsons,it'll be interesting to see the selection decision.Bit disturbing though that a 37 year old coming towards the end of his career is seen as a saviour though-the man can't go on forever.

So we don't need a leader on the pitch then ?

That's been our problem for along time.... no experienced captain on the pitch or organizing goalkeeper getting them knowing their jobs for a dead ball situation.

Wotton with his zimmer frame would be better than Hourihane.

Sheridan is dead right to burn their ears after giving away a standard defenders far post header.

zyph wrote:

So we don't need a leader on the pitch then ?

That's been our problem for along time.... no experienced captain on the pitch or organizing goalkeeper getting them knowing their jobs for a dead ball situation.

Wotton with his zimmer frame would be better than Hourihane.

Sheridan is dead right to burn their ears after giving away a standard defenders far post header.

Wotton was nowhere near the team when Argyle had that good run before and after christmas [two defeats in seventeen games as i recall],so he obviously isn't an essential component.He played at Bristol Rovers,when Argyle lost and he didn't play at Wycombe,when Argyle won so it would seem there's a danger of exaggerating his worth over the whole piece.Not denying that his experience could prove to be invaluable when it comes to handling a promotion run in and especially in games such as tomorrow with a big crowd present but indispensable he ain't-lets hope for a better outcome tomorrow than when he last played in a match against Exeter.

Let's be honest, if you were an Exeter player then you'd love it if Wotton was playing. He has the brain of a championship player but the mobility of a pub player.

Sheridan's behaviour is on a par with that awful AFT with his badly timed comments.   

Is it knock Sheridan week and give Brent a week off, can't remember seeing that memo.

Sheridan is doing an excellent job. I've always said that   

HE is after a reaction,

Just let him get on with things

Dane. wrote:

HE is after a reaction,

Just let him get on with things

I think that's pretty much the crux of it.

Definitely after a reaction.

Hourihane's massively improved and so has the team since he got given the armband. He's not gonna be daft enough to set things back as a knee-jerk reaction to one game when there's not enough talkers. Without Wotton and McCormick, Hourihane still talks far more than anyone else on the pitch.

Completely disagree Exeter will be glad to play against Wotton. He does have the brains of a Championship player and whilst his legs aren't quick, they're still much quicker than the hopeless Blizzard's even at age 36 getting on 37. Wotton is slow but his anticipation and positioning are far too good for this league to make up for it. He's nowhere near as slow as the alternative. Blizzard can't win a loose ball with a 5 yard headstart.

I've always been in the pro-Wotton camp, was amazed he wasn't involved sooner and should be the first name on yhe teamsheet in these here times.

We don't concede many and we don't concede softly with Wotts in the team. When you absolutely NEED points and consistency, he's your man.

This run in, like last season's relegation scrap, is tailor made for him.

Our current best XI has Wotton in it.

Our all-time best XI has Wotton in it.

Wotton is nowhere near being one of our best 11 players now.

Wotton is nowhere near being one of our all-time best 11 players.

It's a funny old game.

From where I'm sitting I can see we need Wotty in the team tonight, just been reading his "no pressure on us" comments in the Herald. Thats what we need someone to steady the ship. If the team does'nt get caught up in the "biggest game of the season" hype and just go out and do their job as they did against Chesterfield we will look good for the 3pts. Squad for squad we have the better one.
Looking forward to seeing Wotty on the pitch tonight, would be great if he could curl a free kick into the top corner tonight.

Id put wotton in tonight, His experience of chasing promotion will be invaluable during the run in

If Wotton is fit, I'd be amazed if he doesn't start.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Our current best XI has Wotton in it.

Our all-time best XI has Wotton in it.

Wotton is nowhere near being one of our best 11 players now.

Wotton is nowhere near being one of our all-time best 11 players.

It's a funny old game.

You want to judge Wotton on whether he can hit a 50 yard pass like Luke Young, head like Branston, or cover the ground like Lewis Alessandra.

You are right that he does not have such distinguishable attributes as other players.

However anyone who has played football at any level, can testify that a true general on the pitch is what makes the difference so often. His presence inspires others, his high standards set the bar for everyone's performances. His loud shouting is a constant reminder that he is watching each individual and assessing how well they are playing their own game. They know when they don't hold shape quickly enough, react to the danger quickly enough, and not concentrating, Wotton will give them a dressing down in front of all the other players (and even the supporters) the first second they start to get lazy.

And yet when Wotton isn't b*ll*cking a player during a half, or gives one of the junior members of the team a pat on the back, what kind of confidence surge does that inspire? For a lad like Luke Young, watching Wotton rain down on Blizzard or Blanchard, but telling Young to keep it up, that gets Young to play out of his skin. Whilst the growling criticism often gets the senior members to play better as well.  

Now this effect works across many team sports and at all levels. It is just called influence, a player taking responsibility for the team, and engaging each component of it to make sure the 11 are working as close to 100% as possible for the team to succeed. Sometimes it involves shouting and bullying, other times it involves pats on the back and praise.

You have identified that Wotton is nowhere near the most talented XI, but he makes it into the all time team for many. He has won too many games, lifted trophies and personified the club's glory - whilst at the same time, supporters know his presence is more valuable than his set of skills.

If a player comes into the team and gets all XI playing at 80% and looking solid, as opposed to some at 90% and some at 65%, then the manager wants the consistency. And that is what Wotton delivers, a solid and consistent performance, because if anyone lets him down he lets them know about it. And when Argyle conceded to Accrington, that was exactly what Argyle were not (solid and consistent) - they were losing the game, being overran and getting sloppy.

At least Sheridan knows now what he didn't before, and that is the influence Paul Wotton has on a solid Argyle team performance that he rarely gets credit for.

Good post ejh.

Yes Wotton has lost a yard, and not the same player of old, but he is a leader and will inspire those around him. It could be his last derby match vs Exeter, so he'll want to make sure we get a result.

I remember watching Wotton as a young player, was quite a sight to see him playing centre back as a 19/20 y.o arguing pretty much the whole game with his left back (Paul Gibbs), even when the ball was the other end of the pitch. Gibbs was one of our best players at the time

Look at our rise through the leagues during the 2000's

Take Wotton out of that and if anyone thinks we would have been as successful they are kidding themselves

I've heard he is a bastard to work with, but most ''winners'' are.

When the youngsters get sucked deeper and deeper into our half trying to stem the tide in the last five minutes when we have alone goal lead it will be Wotton holding his line and keeping it tight, cool head innit.

Dane. wrote:

Look at our rise through the leagues during the 2000's

Take Wotton out of that and if anyone thinks we would have been as successful they are kidding themselves

I've heard he is a bastard to work with, but most ''winners'' are.

When Roy Keane left Old Trafford on sour terms, he apparently left with only three phone numbers of players and staff he wanted to keep in touch with.

There is a story that he disliked Schmeichel and in the heat of an argument in a hotel, rugby tackled him and gave him a black eye in the corridor.

In Keane's autobiography, he makes no bones about the fact that he hated Schmeichel.

But in the Keane v Vieira documentary, Keane was the first to argue Schmeichel was the best keeper of his times and certainly better than David Seaman.

There was a respect there at a professional level for each other's brilliance in their positions. Both never had a problem with each other's standards on the pitch. But both were winners with loud, forthright opinions, and clashed quite heavily in encounters outside of the 90 minutes on the pitch.

Roy Keane never wanted to be popular, he just wanted to win - and you get the same impression with Paul Wotton. Both won't tolerate mistakes, lapses of concentration or anything less than total commitment and discipline for 90 minutes. But these individuals make for unbearably intense personalities for others to handle, when they have their own mind on how to do their job too.

Totally agree


Would you rather play with or against this type of player ?


No brainer !!!!!