The Keen & Judah Show: The case for 'Super' Mario Lemina to be the next Wolves captain
Following the departure of Max Kilman, Liam Keen and Nathan Judah assess the runners and riders as Gary O'Neil looks to appoint a new club captain.
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00:00We are back, baby. It is Shots TV Preview, channel 276. It is the Keith and Judah show.
00:11We are in beautiful Marbella, Spain, enjoying the sunshine. Right. Next up, Captain Mr.
00:19Liam Keane. We've had Dawson, we've had Cunha, we've had Nelson Samedo. What about give me
00:26a little bit of player of the season. Give me a little bit of Mario, Super Mario, Flamino.
00:33Again, alongside Dawson, a really, really strong contender to be club captain. We've
00:40seen at times in the last season where he dragged Wolves through games, didn't he? I
00:45mean, some really, really impressive performances. Popped up a few goals as well. Some really
00:50important goals, actually winning goals, equalizing goals in big games for Wolves. All of his
00:55goals really were quite important ones in the context of the fixtures they had and the
01:00time in which he scored them. So really important, I think, for how Wolves play, how Wolves want
01:06to dictate the game, how Wolves want to dictate the tempo moving forward. Him and Gerald Gomez
01:10in midfield were really, really important for the vast majority of the season. And also
01:15a small point, Max Killman for Wolves was consistent and was never injured, was always
01:23playing. Mario Lamina very rarely was missing for Wolves. They had the odd thing here and
01:28there, obviously the compassionate leave for his father passing away. But aside from that,
01:32he was very rarely unavailable. He was always there ready to play, even when Wolves were
01:39struggling. And he didn't end the season particularly well for Wolves, like many of the players,
01:43but he had a wonderful season overall. And that puts him right up there as a top contender,
01:50doesn't it? There's a lot of people calling for Mario Lamina to be the next captain. Again,
01:56similar to Kunja. And this was really the case last summer as well, when Killman did
01:59get the captaincy. Lamina was certainly up there as an option at that time. There were
02:04question marks, I think, internally from the club as well as externally with supporters.
02:09Is he too emotional at times? Is he wears his heart on his sleeve too much at times?
02:14I don't think he does it to the same extent as Mateus Kunja. I do think he is more measured
02:19than Mateus Kunja. I don't want to criticise Kunja, but he's very much an out there personality.
02:25But Lamina is also, and has had his moments as well. I wouldn't go as far as saying toys
02:31out the pram because he's not that kind of character, but definitely very emotional.
02:34Very, you know, makes it clear how he's feeling. And he feels every moment of the journey with
02:40you because he's the person who desperately well for the supporters. Sometimes you do
02:45need a level head as well. So it's whether he can find that balance. And if he can find
02:48that balance, he's a great option. But he's up there with a couple of the players as really,
02:54really good, strong contenders to be captain.
02:58Yeah. Mario Lamina has said himself, hasn't he, that he perhaps was not particularly mature
03:06at Southampton when he was there. This is his second go. He said he had unfinished business
03:11with the Premier League when he came to Wolves. And I think he's a standard character. I think
03:16he's been magnificent. And like you say, the players look towards him. You look at someone
03:21like Acuna off the dressing room, Lamina is exactly that same character on the pitch.
03:26The players look to him. Gary O'Neill looks to him. The fans look to him. And I think
03:30that's why at 30 years old, he's probably your perfect age. I do like someone in the
03:34centre of the park, like you say, who's going to be the first name on the team sheet every
03:37single week. Reliability, continuity, but also someone who I think, yes, he would have
03:44to work on a couple of things, as you say, Liam, but giving him the armband, I think
03:48would be a huge honour for him. And I think he would adapt and he would take on that mantra
03:53and enjoy the challenge, enjoy adapting his game slightly, not changing it completely
03:58because look, Gary O'Neill said, and we've all watched that, that Mario Lamina was the
04:02star of the show last year, especially in that first half of the season. But I feel
04:07like we all felt it when, you know, when his father passed away and he had to take himself
04:11out of the spotlight. And when he came back, the outpouring of emotion, I think he really
04:16appreciated it as well. He said in the messages as well, you know, with the City of Wolverhampton,
04:20I think he was touched. I feel just genuinely that there is a real pride for Mario Lamina
04:27when he pulls on that Wolves shirt, that he wants to be here and someone who I think would
04:32be a massively strong contender and someone who would adapt and really take it on himself
04:36to be a really good captain, if he was given the nod from Gary O'Neill.