Jamaal Lascelles was rightly awarded the captaincy after his contributions towards the latter part of last season in terms of leadership. He stood up when others cowered under the pressure of a relegation fight and for a 22-year-old to do that was mightily impressive. It certainly struck a chord with Rafael Benitez, who has made Lascelles central to his plans at Newcastle.
Although some in the football world may have raised their eyebrows at Lascelles getting the captaincy, those who follow the club know that he is a true leader and exactly the type of character we need wearing the armband.
Although Lascelles is young and still raw in some parts of his game, Benitez believes in him and we need to trust him. We have had to deal with Alan Pardew, John Carver and Steve McClaren in recent years and we finally have a manager we can get behind.
The form of Lascelles is a concern and the captaincy could become a burden if he continues to make basic mistakes, but like our form, I expect it to be a blip. It was a shock to see him getting dropped on Wednesday. However, it could have the desired effect and give him the wake-up call he needs. Yes, it is important to show leadership, but you can’t afford to neglect your playing responsibilities as a result.