Gerrard had after their Saturday’s opening day defeat against Bournemouth, said : “When Tyrone is back at his best and looks me in the eye and shows that he’s ready to play, he’ll get opportunities.”
Meanwhile, Gerrard’s decision to strip Mings of the captaincy coupled with his less than favourable comments were still seen as a little bit over the top by sections of the Aston Villa fanbase.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Arsenal
For a young manager like Mikel Arteta, a revolt from a senior and influential player like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang might has the tendency to damage his course. The Gunners boss was already furious with Aubameyang’s history of bad time-keeping.
The Gabonese was permitted to fly to France in early December for family reasons, but he returned late and failed to report to training on time.
The then Arsenal captain was as a result forced to train alone, stripped of the captaincy and eventually had his contract ripped before he joined Barcelona on a free transfer in January.
Arteta speaking after the development stated:
“I have to announce you something. Following the last disciplinary issue that we had with Auba, and the consequences that I decided to take not to involve him in the game, I thought carefully – myself and the club – what was the next step.
“And we have decided as a club that he is no longer our captain, so you should know that. The other decision is that, for now, he’s not involved in the squad. I will make decisions further along the line,” Arteta told the stunned players.
He added: “The club and myself we are not going to accept any behaviour like this, and what we are building goes completely against any behaviour like that.
“So if we are going to have any meaning in changing our culture – and making sure we become a different club and team – we have to stand to those words, clearly, in every action, with anybody. And this is the message that I have to send you.”
Granit Xhaka – Arsenal
Granit Xhaka like Aubameyang was another disruptive Arsenal captain. The Swiss was dethroned as the Gunners skipper for telling fans to “f*** off”.
The midfielder had reacted angrily when substituted during a game and was unhappy with the reception he got from supporters at Emirates Stadium as he walked off the pitch.
It took some time for Xhaka to apologise and to rebuild relations with the Gunners faithful, but he did so eventually.
Meanwhile, the 30-year-old had appeared to have been liberated without the burden of the captaincy as he had continued to be a regular under Arteta. Xhaka. Though he is believed to be nearing his departure from the Emirates this summer with Bayer Leverkusen believed to be his next destination.
William Gallas – Arsenal
France international William Gallas was stripped of Arsenal captaincy after he brazenly and apparently without any regard for the consequences, decided to publicly attack teammates Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri in an interview promoting his autobiography.
Arsene Wenger did not take kindly to it, taking the armband off his compatriot midway through the 2008-09 season.
Chris Samba – Blackburn
Big Chris Samba was not someone to be messed with – particularly if you happen to be a diminutive Scot.
However, Steve Kean was not intimidated upon taking the managerial role at Blackburn after the departure of Sam Allardyce in 2010.
After Samba suggested he might be open to a move elsewhere, Kean immediately appointed a new captain, although the Frenchman didn’t take long to win the armband back.
“The way he explained it to me was really good,” Kean said. “He said, ‘I’ve never asked to leave. All I said was that if a bigger club comes in I’ve aspirations to play in Europe and win things, then it’s something I would look at’.
“I stressed that we want to build a squad that gets us into the top half, then next summer we’ll make additions to try and challenge the top six. As soon as he heard that he was much more positive.”
Joey Barton – QPR
Handing the armband to such an infamously volatile character was always going to be a recipe for disaster.
So it proved. On a day best remembered for Sergio Aguero’s incredible last-minute winner to clinch the 2011-12 Premier League title at Etihad Stadium, Barton saw red after characteristically losing his cool.
First he elbowed Carlos Tevez, then kicked Aguero, and finally he threatened to headbutt Vincent Kompany.
The punishment was a 12-game ban, a fine of six weeks’ worth of wages and the end of his QPR captaincy.
Roy Keane – Manchester United
Losing the captaincy would sting for most professional footballers, but for Keane it was akin to a personal insult.
He was so incensed in fact, that when told by Sir Alex Ferguson that he was losing the armband, Keane left Man Utd.
A heated argument between Ferguson and Keane ultimately led to the latter’s departure, ending a saga which had started when the Ireland midfielder had publicly criticised his teammates on MUTV.
In his 2014 autobiography, Keane wrote: “I’d known for a few days they were trying to get rid of me
“I said to Ferguson, ‘Can I play for somebody else? He said, ‘Yeah, you can. ‘Cos we’re tearing up your contract.
“I knew there’d be clubs in for me when the news got out. I said, ‘Yeah. I think we have come to the end.’ I just thought, ‘F****** p****’ and I stood up and went, ‘Yeah, I’m off.’”
