Social media flattens everything. To be fair, the glossy posts and group photos don’t tell you how a captain behaves when the cameras are gone. I’m not saying Tav was loathed in the dressing room, nor that he wasn’t liked by some team-mates. What I am saying is this: leadership isn’t just about the day-on Instagram stuff. It’s the private moments, the small courtesies, the way a skipper manages youngsters and new faces when they’re finding their feet.
Why PR isn’t the same as leadership
Look at how modern football works. Everything is curated. Players are taught to hit the right notes on socials; clubs want unity on show. That means absence of a post doesn’t automatically equal fallout, and plenty of heartfelt captions are, frankly, part of the game. So when pundits or posters point to a few pictures and declare a player universally loved, you should pause. Leadership shows itself in quieter ways — backing a lad after a mistake, taking time to guide a new signing at training, or holding individuals to standards behind closed doors.
From a coach’s vantage point
Having worked with youth players and new arrivals, you pick up patterns. There’s man-management and then there’s simple respect. You can’t teach presence, but you can expect consistency. A captain’s role includes protecting players, being available, and sometimes saying the hard things without theatrics. My gripe isn’t personal. It’s professional. I wanted to see more of those actions from Tav — more mentoring, more quiet leadership. Not necessarily speeches, just the sort of steady behaviour that helps a young player settle.
Not a smear, just standards
People will always defend or criticise based on snippets. White Horse’s point that the official narrative can overstate affection is fair. We’ve all seen it before: public praise in the media, then a murkier reality behind the scenes. That doesn’t make someone a villain. It does mean supporters and coaches are within their rights to judge leadership on more than a curated timeline. My view is measured — a professional critique of captaincy, not an emotional rant.
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