The armband has been passed to Toti, Andre, Raul Jimenez, Kieran Trippier and Jose Sa in the opening weeks of this Championship campaign, and not one of them has worn it long enough to make it mean anything. That, argues supporter writer Emma Milton of Always Wolves, is precisely the problem.

Rotation blurs accountability

Wolverhampton Wanderers carried the same habit into last season: a revolving cast of captains, each change explained away by injury or selection, each one quietly signalling that no single player truly owned the role. Milton's view is that the pattern has survived into the new season unchanged, and that it is costing the club something harder to measure than goals or assists.

A captain, in her reading, is not a perk or a roster slot. The armband should be a fixed point when a game turns difficult, a single voice that the dressing room and the stands recognise as the one setting standards. When five players share that responsibility across a handful of matches, no one carries it fully. Accountability becomes diffuse. A game can drift without anyone feeling the duty to arrest it.

Head coach Cesar Peixoto has spoken publicly about building a leadership group rather than relying on one figurehead, and Milton acknowledges the logic. Modern squads need more than one voice. Injuries happen, substitutions shuffle the personnel on the pitch, and different situations call for different kinds of leadership. Several players should be ready to demand more from those around them.

But there is a distinction, she argues, between a leadership group and a permanent captain. The two are not mutually exclusive. Toti, Andre, Raul and Sa can remain important dressing-room presences without being handed the armband on a rota. What Wolves lack is one player for whom captaining the club feels like a settled, earned responsibility rather than a weekly assignment.

The case for Trippier

Milton makes a direct case for Trippier as that permanent figure. He is, in her assessment, the most vocal organiser on the pitch, constantly repositioning team-mates and communicating through every phase of a match. He carries the experience of leading at the highest levels of the game and understands what composure under pressure looks like in practice.

His presence, Milton contends, would benefit the younger players around him. A senior figure whose authority is unambiguous gives emerging talent a clearer model to follow. It also gives supporters a familiar focal point: when Wolves need a lift, fans know whose body language to read and whose voice is supposed to cut through the noise.

Settling on Trippier would not diminish the others. If anything, freeing them from the weight of the captaincy role could allow each of them to lead within their own positions without the added pressure of representing the whole club. Leadership groups function best when the hierarchy is clear.

What it means for Wolves this season

Wolves begin this Championship campaign with the expectation, felt across Molineux, that the squad is capable of pushing at the right end of the table. A settled captain will not conjure three points from a difficult away fixture on its own. But, as Milton puts it, the armband should feel earned. It should carry pride and responsibility. When a match turns against Wolves, the players on the pitch and the supporters in the stands should know without hesitation who is supposed to steady things.

Right now, at Wolves, that figure does not exist. Finding one before the season runs away from them seems, on the available evidence, a straightforward decision.

Views in this article are those of supporter writer Emma Milton of Always Wolves and do not necessarily represent the editorial position of EFLChampionship.co.uk.

Frequently asked

Who is the Wolves captain this season?
Wolves have not named a permanent captain for this Championship season. Several players, including Toti, Andre, Raul Jimenez, Kieran Trippier and Jose Sa, have worn the armband in the opening matches.
Who should be the Wolves captain?
Supporter writer Emma Milton argues that Kieran Trippier is the strongest candidate, citing his vocal on-pitch leadership, experience and ability to organise those around him.
What is Cesar Peixoto's approach to the Wolves captaincy?
Peixoto has spoken about using a leadership group rather than a single permanent captain, though critics argue that approach spreads accountability too thin and leaves the squad without a clear figurehead.