placeholder image
Getty Images
Liverpool have endured a tumultuous defence of their Premier League title but could Virgil van Dijk have done more as captain?
Liverpool appear to be coming out of the other side following the sort of slump that can get a team with weaker players relegated.
Arne Slot has weathered the worst of a storm that saw his position questioned and raised serious doubts about his future as the Reds manager. It hasn’t just been his leadership that has been questioned too with Mohamed Salah throwing a tantrum after the 3-3 draw with Leeds United and experienced players like Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson and Alexander Isak all having to spend time on the bench or suffering a dip in form.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk’s leadership questioned
None of these players have seen half the scrutiny that captain Virgil van Dijk has had to face up to though, facing a weekly interrogation by the press after a string of poor performances and poor results. According to Talksport’s Ben Crooks, the Netherland’s international is only a fair weather skipper: “Do you know what? I don't entirely disagree,” Crooks said when asked if he thought that Van Dijk was a poor captain. “I think Virgil Van Dijk strikes me as one of those characters who can be a brilliant skipper when things are going well. But I do wonder about him when things are not going so well.
“I guess this is the first test of things not going completely to plan with him as captain. Yeah, although they didn't win the Premier League year after year under Jurgen Klopp, did they? Far from it. But yeah, I take your point. This is probably the nearest that Liverpool have been to a crisis since he got the captain's armband. You mentioned Jordan Henderson there. I think they miss him in the dressing room.
“Obviously, Thomas Tuchel has got a lot of stick for putting him back in the England squad. But actually, I think his performances at Brentford probably warrant that now. But the main reason that Keith Andrews was attracted to Jordan Henderson, the main reason that Tuchel wants him in the travelling party in North America is because of those leadership skills. There were problems in the England dressing room at the Euros. It wasn't a surprise the first thing that Tuchel did was reinstate Henderson. And I do wonder if things might have gone differently even for Liverpool this season with Henderson there, because I'm looking around the team.”
No captain has dealt with more than Virgil van Dijk
There aren’t many captains who have had to deal with what Van Dijk has had to deal with this summer after the tragic death of Diogo Jota. The damage that would have done to a united and jubilant dressing room can’t be understated. To go from the ultimate high of winning the Premier League, to the lowest possible low of the loss of a teammate would have taken the wind out of a squad that won together. On top of helping new players integrate into the squad and to Liverpool, Van Dijk will have been pivotal for Slot in helping his teammates deal with what happened.
Van Dijk is only human. He will have had to try and deal with the loss of a friend whilst being available for everyone else around him. Emotionally and mentally this will have taken it’s toll. To make matters worse, he is then tasked with having to organise two new full-backs every matchday whilst his centre-half partner was gifting goals every week. Add the manager having to cope with over £200m worth of talent failing to adapt at the other end of the park and what exactly Van Dijk was supposed to do is a bit of a mystery.
Good leadership is being able to steer a team through troubled waters and Liverpool are emerging from the darkest of clouds, something Van Dijk, as much as Arne Slot, should be getting credited for.
Continue Reading