Newcastle United will be without their club captain Jamaal Lascelles for the majority of their relegation run in as the centre back has picked up a stress fracture injury.
United may not miss his defensive abilities but his leadership qualities are undeniable and this has got many Toon fans pondering the question of who take on the armband in the former Nottingham Forest man’s absence.
Jonjo Shelvey seems the most likely to take over captaincy duty with the midfielder being the last man to step in to the role.
However, the question with Shelvey should be if he is starting the game let alone as captain. The answer to both of those questions is no.
Despite not playing too bad in the 2-2 draw with Spurs, Shelvey has shown himself to be a complete liability for the most part of this season and his continued lack of effort is a massive bone of contention.
He has the ability to be a serious player in this side but his temperament has let him down time and time again meaning the ex-Liverpool man has had a largely underwhelming season.
The epitome of Shelvey’s work ethic or lack there of is the comments he made about Leeds United, where he said he couldn’t play for Marcelo Bielsa as he makes his side do ‘pointless running’.
A quick glance at the league table will tell you all you need to know on that front. Leeds’ pointless running saw them claim an epic 2-1 victory over Manchester City earlier today despite playing most of the second half with just 10 men.
Somehow I don’t think that Marcelo Bielsa will lose too much sleep about Shelvey not wanting to play for him.
Ciaran Clark should be the man to lead United at Turf Moor. The Republic of Ireland defender has been so reliable since his transfer from Aston Villa and his level headedness makes his the leading candidate, although few would complain if the armband was handed to his centre half partner Federico Fernandez either.
Unfortunately Steve Bruce is still Head Coach and as part of his apparent rewarding mediocrity policy he seems to have implemented, he will probably stick with Shelvey as vice captain for the biggest game of our season.