Morgan as Captain

"a captain needs to have the ability and guts to stand up against the manager if he's wrong, not just toe the party line because their boss controls their career."

I'm sure this is partly another pop at Pearson for letting go of Mills (let's just say I now you too well by now) but I'd add an important amendment to this statement:

"In private".

If a captain, or any player, does have an issue or disagreement with their manager, I would be fine with them talking to their manager about it as long as it's in private.

Listening to Mills's interview, we're only getting one side of the story; Pearson doesn't want to talk about it any more and that's his prerogative - No point dwelling in the past. But something clearly happened between them more than either has stated.

Mills did give clues with mentioning his role as captain including passing on concerns when other players came to him. This can be a good thing in itself, but the way it is done is vital. Unfortunately the way it was done, we will never know.

I'm not sure I agree there Dunge. If a manager is making fundamental errors of judgement on a regular basis, it's the captain's duty to tell him, especially if other players have the same concerns. Whether it's in public or private is irrelevant I feel.

As for Mills/NP, as you say we only have Mills side of the side. But as NP has refused to give his side of the story, I think you have to take Mills' words seriously and even assume they are correct.

I don't think you have to assume that at all, Foxello. If Pearson had said: "Every word is true", then you'd have to believe it - but instead Pearson doesn't want to engage in what could become mud-slinging and move on. I see no issue with that.

For the first part, if you fundamentally disagree with a manager in any business, you have choices. Firstly, you can keep quiet. This is a legitimate choice in some situations but perhaps less so for football because careers are so short. Secondly, you can approach the manager themself, in private. If the manager is reasonable, they'll listen. If you can't do that then thirdly you can go over the manager's head. In this case it would be to the Raksriaksorns or the chief executive. If dealing with the manager in person should be in private, then this should definitely be in private! The final choice is to leave, although that would be a very sad conclusion in most cases.

What you can't do is approach a manager and question his authority (not necessarily in the way of "I question your authority" but "I/we have a serious issue..." in public or in front of co-workers (teammates). This has a very bad effect on morale throughout the squad, potentially creates a split in the camp and pretty much forces the manager to prove that he can deal with you by... well, let's just say that being dumped in with the youth team is the kind of response that something like this might get, and from managers far less strict than Pearson.

Obviously I can't say that things definitely happened that way, only that they seem to fit. If Mills went for a quiet word with Pearson, unbeknown to everyone else and 1-1, then his treatment from then was almost certainly poor. If, however, he stood up to the manager on the training field and challenged him in front of everyone, it's hard to see how he could have expected much different from any decent manager. That's why I think it's an important difference.

For flip's sake... I want a comma before a close bracket, why must that always turn into a WINKY FACE!? ,)

^JA606 is mocking me.

"I'm not sure I agree there Dunge. If a manager is making fundamental errors of judgement on a regular basis, it's the captain's duty to tell him, especially if other players have the same concerns. Whether it's in public or private is irrelevant I feel"

That is the biggest load of BS you have come out with so far Matt!

^
Who's Matt!?

^
I think True Blue is suggesting that Foxello is so biased in his view of NP that he is really Matt Mills using the pseudonym of Foxello.

Although I might be wrong ....

And here was me hoping that True Blue and Foxello knew each other personally and ended every disagreement in a Facebook Face off.

Matt Mills? I thought I was a Forest fan, spending my lunch breaks willfully pretending to be an LCFC fan?

"That is the biggest load of BS you have come out with so far Matt!"

Come on then, explain yourself big boy.