Leadership role is now a vital one

ONCE they were scornfully dismissed as cheer leaders... you know, the guys who can't get in the team but enthusiastically support from the outside.

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Now it seems they are a crucial part of the modern game. Senior pros who only occasionally start but are greatly valued as members of a club's "leadership group" and who are often given contract extensions purely on this their greatest strength. We are regularly told how invaluable they are even if they aren't playing much.