Speaking on the Seaman Says Podcast, David Seaman has been discussing Aston Villa and the decision to replace Tyrone Mings as Villa captain.
The centre-back was replaced by John McGinn as Villa’s skipper at the start of this season, and while Mings was very gracious after losing the armband, Seaman thinks that there may be more to this.
Indeed, the pundit says that something must have happened between Mings and Steven Gerrard for this decision to have been made.
What’s been said?
Seaman gave his view on this matter.
“You don’t take the captaincy from someone because of poor form, you leave them out, you only take it off someone if they’ve done something wrong or if their disciplinary record is not good, look at Aubameyang, that was dealt with properly in the Arsenal way,” Seaman said.
“I don’t know the ins and outs of what’s happened with Mings and Gerrard, so it’s hard to comment on that, but, for me, something has happened off the field, rather than his form on the pitch.”
Not necessarily
We absolutely understand where Seaman is coming from. After all, stripping a player of the captaincy is a very gutsy and emotionally-driven move to make, but this isn’t always the case.
Indeed, just look at Steven Gerrard’s career as an example.
Gerrard replaced Sami Hyypia as Liverpool captain at the age of 23, not because Hyypia had fallen out with the manager, but because he was seen as a better fit at the time.
Yes, Hyypia wasn’t happy about the decision, but he got over it and went on to become a Champions League winner with the Reds.
Gerrard also replaced Rio Ferdinand as England captain in the early 2010s, but, once again, that wasn’t a decision fuelled by a fall-out with the manager.
Mings has been replaced as Villa captain, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not getting on with the manager.
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