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Glenn Hoddle surprised Frank Lampard gave Conor Coady Everton captaincy v West Ham United
Glenn Hoddle thinks Frank Lampard made an “amazing” decision to give Conor Coady the Everton captaincy against West Ham at the weekend.
Coady has started every Premier League game for the club since joining on a season-long loan deal from Wolves in the summer, and was handed the armband in the absence of Seamus Coleman and Jordan Pickford in the win over the Hammers.
But Hoddle has admitted he was surprised by the decision that Lampard made because Coady is on loan, but says you need more leaders than just the man with the armband and ultimately that helped elevate the rest of the squad.
“They [Coady & Tarkowski] are decent on the ball,” Hoddle told Premier League Productions. “More than decent as in Coady.
“But they are both defenders first, which has gone out of the game a little bit. A lot of teams look at, ‘can my defender play out with the ball?’ – if they stay fit, then it’s going to be the basis of what Frank [Lampard] is trying to do.
“It’s amazing to give that captaincy for somebody who is on loan. You could have given the captaincy to Tarkowski. But, at the end of the day, they are both captains. That’s really good for the midfield and the young full-back, Nathan Patterson. He will be secure and be talking non-stop to them.”
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Leaders
Something this Everton squad severely lacked last season was leaders, and it’s probably why Coleman started to regularly despite his performances not being good enough.
But this summer Lampard has really addressed the problem by giving Pickford more responsibility on the pitch with the armband and also bringing in leaders like Coady, Tarkowski and Idrissa Gueye.
Now the team doesn’t suffer from a drop in standards and voice when players are missing and there is now a big boost in team spirit and connection with the fans.
That’s a huge boost in the club’s plans for this season and there is now a belief that a relegation battle is in the rear-view mirror and the team can start pushing towards a higher finish before eventually getting back into Europe where they belong.
Making big decisions is part of the game and Lampard has proven that he isn’t afraid to make them, so Everton finally have someone worthy of the job.