Even though he is still in the early stages of his career, Aaron Ramsey had gone through a lot of torment already.
In 2010 we saw his leg broken by the Stoke City bully, Shawcross. That injury was a great threat to his career and made him stay off for so long. As if that wasn't enough, he later lost his mentor Gary Speed.
Recently, the Wales coach Coleman decided to strip him of his side's captaincy as he believes there is too much pressure on Ramsey and wants him to concentrate.on himself.
In a chat with Wales Online, Coleman said,
"Aaron is young and I think he's noticed the
pressure as well. Having spoken with him, he was
incredibly mature about it and, if I'm honest, maybe
a little bit relieved because there is a big pressure.
So I think it was the right thing to do for him and
for us.
"Of course he was disappointed. Captaining your
country is something that you always want to do as
a player – but not everyone can do it.
"When you look at captains of Wales, Gary Speed,
Barry Horne, Kevin Ratcliffe, Terry Yorath, they were a lot
more experienced than Aaron. There is a lot of
pressure on Aaron because he plays for Arsenal, is a
quality player and the captain of Wales. With that,
the expectation grows and that's not always fair.
"I think it would be good for him to take a step
back, concentrate on himself, and start performing
like we know he can.
"Going forward, I think we need someone more
experienced and we have that in Ashley."
"He's young and it's all in front of him. He's a quality
player. Had we been winning then I wouldn't have
changed it. If we're winning then everything is
positive. The situation we're in it is very difficult for
a 21-year-old to have the armband and the
pressure of trying to get the best out of everybody else.
"He needs to be concentrating on himself.
"One day he'll be the captain of Wales. I've no
doubts. He has huge potential to fulfill. But for now
and where we are, Ashley is the choice."
In 2010 we saw his leg broken by the Stoke City bully, Shawcross. That injury was a great threat to his career and made him stay off for so long. As if that wasn't enough, he later lost his mentor Gary Speed.
Recently, the Wales coach Coleman decided to strip him of his side's captaincy as he believes there is too much pressure on Ramsey and wants him to concentrate.on himself.
In a chat with Wales Online, Coleman said,
"Aaron is young and I think he's noticed the
pressure as well. Having spoken with him, he was
incredibly mature about it and, if I'm honest, maybe
a little bit relieved because there is a big pressure.
So I think it was the right thing to do for him and
for us.
"Of course he was disappointed. Captaining your
country is something that you always want to do as
a player – but not everyone can do it.
"When you look at captains of Wales, Gary Speed,
Barry Horne, Kevin Ratcliffe, Terry Yorath, they were a lot
more experienced than Aaron. There is a lot of
pressure on Aaron because he plays for Arsenal, is a
quality player and the captain of Wales. With that,
the expectation grows and that's not always fair.
"I think it would be good for him to take a step
back, concentrate on himself, and start performing
like we know he can.
"Going forward, I think we need someone more
experienced and we have that in Ashley."
"He's young and it's all in front of him. He's a quality
player. Had we been winning then I wouldn't have
changed it. If we're winning then everything is
positive. The situation we're in it is very difficult for
a 21-year-old to have the armband and the
pressure of trying to get the best out of everybody else.
"He needs to be concentrating on himself.
"One day he'll be the captain of Wales. I've no
doubts. He has huge potential to fulfill. But for now
and where we are, Ashley is the choice."
