Source: Daily_Mail
QPR boss Warnock is asking for trouble by handing captain's armband to Barton
Neil Warnock has always been an idiosyncratic manager but you have to wonder about his take on captaincy.[LNB] First, he chooses Adel Taarabt as QPR's skipper; then he trumps that by replacing him with Joey Barton.[LNB] Here we go: Joey Barton exchanges pleasantries with Wolves' Stephen Hunt[LNB] Has he confused the role with that of an agent provocateur? Does he demand that his Rangers captain must bea supreme irritant of some sort?[LNB] Finding two more ill-suited players to wear the captain's armband than Taarabt and Barton really would be a challenge.[LNB] More from Leo Spall... Leo's London: More clown than clone but Chelsea boss Villas-Boas is a real entertainer14/09/11 Leo's London: Luka that! Modric starred for Croatia, so Spurs can expect a top show at Wolves then...07/09/11 Leo's London: Spurs boss Redknapp uses his window of opportunity to keep us entertained31/08/11 Leo's London: Lamps could burn out for good when Modric makes his Chelsea move25/08/11 Leo's London: Premier League pantomime - starring Nasri, Adebayor and Barton - isn't quite football fun for all the family17/08/11 Leo's London: QPR fans are feeling down but Warnock's men have a chance of staying up10/08/11 Leo's London: Chelsea, Spurs, Arsenal and United make their moves... but nothing to shatter the transfer window20/07/11 Leo's London: Spurs are about to get left at home as Manchester pair and Chelsea kick on06/07/11 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE Counting against the Moroccan in the captaincy stakes should be his clear focus on individual rather than team play, the exact opposite character type of most natural team leaders.[LNB] His obvious treatment of Rangers as a stepping stone to bigger things doesn't make him a shoo-in for the job, either.[LNB] Perhaps Warnock thinks picking the player he rates as best in the team as captain is an appropriate policy.[LNB] But if that is the case with Barton, it is obviously flawed and asking for trouble.[LNB] It took Barton just two games to spark trouble on the pitch and get involved in a slanging match with Wolves player Karl Henry and manager Mick McCarthy off it.[LNB] Now we are told he is ordering Taarabt about on the training ground and his predecessor is reacting well.[LNB] Given Barton's past on the training ground, it is probably a good job. We have been told many times that Barton is a reformed character, that his violence and anger is behind him.[LNB] He has tried to reinvent himself on Twitter with high-brow quotations and some well-meaning contributions to campaigns for the greater good.[LNB] Over the top: Wolves' George Elokobi left in a heap after a Barton challenge[LNB] Yet on the pitch he has shown twice already this season that he is as angry, arrogant and irresponsible as ever.[LNB] His behaviour when playing for Newcastle against Arsenal last month, when he feigned injury to get an opponent sent-off, was a disgrace.[LNB] So, too, were the potentially inflammatory gestures he made to Wolves fans when QPR were 3-0 up on Saturday. [LNB]Gifted player as Barton is, it is hard to think of a less appropriate captain of a club, of a player who doesn't need a genuine leader beside him, someone ready to try to protect him from himself. [LNB]He is a key part of the image of Rangers but would any right-minded parent want their child to follow Barton's example?[LNB] No ordinary Joe: Barton reading Warnock's autobiography[LNB]The debate about players as role models is a minefield but when someone captains a team they are charged with carrying certain responsibilities that Barton is simply not cut-out for.[LNB] Warnock and the club may believe that any publicity is good publicity but the manager claimed that his midfielder 'epitomised what we are about' and he is surely mistaken. [LNB]QPR have brought something fresh to the Premier League with the enterprising spirit and endlessly ebullient tweeting from the club's new owners. [LNB]They have made a raft of interesting and solid-looking signings, made the right noises to fans and have looked a welcome addition to the top flight. [LNB]To make their leader on the pitch a trouble-maker who courts controversy is their first big mistake. [LNB]You need help picking defenders, Arsene Pressure point: Wenger needs help[LNB]Arsene Wenger has been around the Premier League long enough to remember Mark Lawrenson becoming Kevin Keegan's defence coach at Newcastle when they were contenders. [LNB]He will have seen Wally Downes appointed in the same role at West Ham last season but fail to prevent them from getting relegated. That doesn't mean that the idea of a defence coach is a bad one, more that it is not necessarily a quick fix.[LNB] It is also no substitute for some top quality defenders (although, of course, it is certainly a cheaper option). [LNB]Wenger is right to be offended by the idea that it is his coaching abilities that are letting him and Arsenal down in terms of their defending. But he would surely find it much harder to argue against getting more help in the transfer market in future. [LNB]Wenger has described Per Mertesacker, the centre-back brought in to alleviate Arsenal's problems this season, as 'more a reader of the game rather than a physical player'. [LNB]Yet what they clearly need is someone powerful, whose first instinct is to go to the ball rather than drop and cover. Arsenal have already got players who like to 'read' the game but they need someone who will get his hands dirty. They need another, fit version of Thomas Vermaelen and a defence coach, no matter how good, is not going to turn Laurent Koscielny into that. [LNB] If I ask you to do something, do it! What Barton warned ex-QPR skipper Taarabt...QPR have a Wright laugh! SWP on the end of short gags from team-matesAll the latest QPR news, features and opinionAll the latest Arsenal news, features and opinion[LNB] [LNB]
