Coaching career started as a college team coach

While Edwards was expressing his opinion, Wei Le was also thinking about the role of Edwards in the team. After hearing Edwards' statement, Wei Le also confirmed his own opinion.

Is Edwards important to the team? Or in other words, is the captain really important to a team?

At the beginning, when Wei Le was playing FM, he did not have a clear understanding of the role of the captain. Generally speaking, there will be a message in the inbox before the start of the season for players to determine the captain and vice-captain for the next season.

This candidate can also be adjusted in the tactical interface, and Wei Le did not pay much attention to it. Generally, he chose the one with the highest "leadership".

In FM, at least in FM under this game engine, the role of the captain in the game performance does not seem to be so obvious. Later, Wei Le saw someone on the forum mentioning that the team captain has an effect on the performance of the game, but he himself did not feel it deeply.

But the captain is not just as simple as an armband. His role in the team in reality is far more critical than what is reflected in the game.

After all, the game FM is still centered around the core element of the game, and the space that players can operate is more in terms of tactics, player selection, etc., and the degree of freedom in team operation and management is indeed not high.

But in reality, the feeling is completely different.

Wei Le feels that arranging game tactics is not the entire task of the head coach in reality, and it is not even the primary task. After all, the head coach can also get help from the tactical analysis team.

But the head coach is the de facto leader of a team, and can be said to be the alpha wolf of the wolf pack. Of course, some head coaches regard themselves as sheepdogs of the flock, which is also a way of thinking, but Wei Le prefers to think that he is also a member of the team, rather than a manager separated from the team.

But in any case, in Wei Le's opinion, compared with a tactical master at the competitive level, the head coach seems to be a role that is more engaged in personnel work.

Wei Le needs to consider more.

Where does a captain's role in the team manifest? Many people say that the captain is the pillar of the team on the field. He will encourage everyone when the team is behind. Of course, this is true, but it is not only that.

Many senior fans know that when there is an objection to the referee's decision, FIFA rules only allow the captain to negotiate with the referee, which already shows the captain's transcendent status.

The captain is the team representative on the field and the team's first spokesperson on the field, so the captain is generally a hardliner who will defend the team's rights when the interests of his own team are damaged. Therefore, the captains of some teams are relatively calm and may be questioned by some fans for being too "soft" because they give in where the fans think they should argue.

But the role of the captain is not only reflected on the field, but his role is more reflected off the field. If the coach's identity is a "strict teacher", then the captain is a "kind father".

This metaphor is somewhat weird, but it is the most appropriate metaphor that Wei Le can think of. If the coach's responsibility is to help the players become better players in terms of ability, then the captain needs to tell everyone how to become a qualified football player.

Therefore, the captain is generally a model of the team and is very professional. And they must be players who have a say in the team, and generally speaking, they should be players who have been in the team for a long time.

In addition, the captain is usually the role of communicating between the team and the fans. He is generally widely recognized and loved by the fans and has deep feelings for the club. Therefore, the captain is often a "red-blooded" player or a youth player.

Edwards has been playing for Wolves since 2008. He is determined and meets the above conditions. Coady, who was recommended by Edwards, is also the second captain selected by the team. He is also the on-field captain of Wolves and can meet the requirements.

But is that enough?

Wei Le has other expectations for the captain.

"Do you know... squad leader?"

Edwards blinked, hesitated for a long time, and nodded. Wei Le continued, "I don't know the difference between the squad leader in China and the squad leader in the UK, but this role is an important role in the class in the school, which is common."

In Wei Le's view, the captain, like the squad leader, not only plays the role of supervision and education, but also should not be associated with empty words such as "unity" and "leadership".

"Your job is to make the players live better."

"You may find it difficult to understand this, let me give you an example. You have been here for many years, and you must know more about the local area than other players. When Bowen came, what did I ask you to do?What's wrong?"

"You asked me to find him a house."

"Yes, did you also introduce the house that Van de Beek rented?"

"Yes." Edwards nodded, and he also introduced some local life tips to several young people who were unfamiliar with the place to help them integrate faster. In fact, they integrated well. Edwards was very proud.

"Almiron is still integrating. His language is a problem. De Paul also has this problem. It is normal for players from South America to not adapt to Europe. In the future, we will welcome many players. They may be from Africa or Asia, with different beliefs, cultural backgrounds and living habits. "

"We want unity, but how to achieve unity? It's very simple, just make everyone live well. "Weile said, "David, you are older than me, and you must have more experience in dealing with people than me. You know that many things about players cannot be done by the coaching staff. "

"Yes. "Edwards understands that if you want players to integrate into the team, the work still needs to be done by the players.

"What you have to do is very important, which is to help everyone focus on football instead of being exhausted by various other things. In this regard, you have done a good job, and no one can replace you. Cody may be able to do it in the future, but not now. "

"Then I will educate him more and let him take over my job quickly!"

"Don't rush to retire, you still have a lot of work to do!" Wei Le laughed, "Your "surplus value" has not been squeezed out, how can I let you go? "

Edwards was not angry when he heard that Wei Le wanted to "exploit himself", but was very happy. He heard that Wei Le's thoughts on the captain's duties were not just casual words, not just to comfort himself, but he really intended to give the task to himself.

At least, he was happy to see that at the age of 30, he was still needed in this young team.

Edwards left with peace of mind.

Wei Le was not sure whether his decision was correct. Frankly speaking, Edwards would definitely get less playing time after being promoted to the Premier League next season. Although Edwards' salary was not very high, from an economic point of view, he had become a "redundant employee".

Edwards started playing football in 1996 and had been with the team by 2008. Watching Wolves rise and fall in various leagues in England. After experiencing the troughs after relegation, he always sticks to it.

He deserves to stand on the field of the Premier League again, which is the best reward for his perseverance.

From the perspective of maximizing benefits, Edwards should be cleared out, but Wei Le does not want this to happen, at least not in his team. Wei Le always feels that if he does this, it is simply crossing the river and destroying the bridge.

For the same reason, the second goalkeeper Aikemai and Jack Pierce will not be cleared out in Wei Le's plan. As the head coach of the team, such an emotional decision may be somewhat irresponsible, but Wei Le feels that if he does not make such a decision, he will not be Wei Le.

After all, he is not used to the consistent ruthlessness of competitive sports.