Tony Cascarino says Gylfi Sigurdsson should not be wearing the captain’s armband for Everton.
Former international striker Tony Cascarino says Gylfi Sigurdsson shouldn’t be captaining Everton after their 4-0 defeat against Chelsea yesterday.
In the Times, Cascarino said that the Icelandic international is a talented player but not a leader and Carlo Ancelotti should take the armband off the 30-year-old.
He said: “Gylfi Sigurdsson is a wonderfully gifted player but it was very clear against Chelsea he is not is a captain. There were many worse performances than his, but his pressing was tepid at best and he kept getting bypassed — the armband is clearly affecting his game.
“As a captain you are supposed to raise the standards of your team-mates and get them really up for the contest but he was totally lost. Everton have gone from having multiple natural leaders in Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka and Séamus Coleman to having none at all.
“It should not be Sigurdsson’s role to be the captain — he should be left free to do what he does best. Everton have started really well under Carlo Ancelotti as manager but they need leaders.”
Ancelotti has clearly gone with Sigurdsson’s experience in terms of choosing his captain but Sigurdsson is not even captain of his country where he is clearly the most talented player.
He has never come across as a talkative leader, which can be alright if a player leads by example but he fades out of games, especially away from home, too often.
Tom Davies has worn the armband before or perhaps Andre Gomes would be a better choice as captain, and the Portuguese could lead by example.
It doesn’t just boil down to who wears the armband, however. Everton cannot afford to be as limp from one to eleven as they were yesterday if they have big ambitions in the Premier League.
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