Next England captain?

[manny96]

Back in his most effective position, surrounded by his mates, he's been the most threatening person in the bar and didn't throw a single weak punch in a very good first 45 minutes of brawling

[manny96]

I really really really wish we had drawn you lot at Euro 2012.

exactly, England really are a f*cking shower of shit - shambLOLes

I'm English, I'll support England...but I really don't want to. I'd love to see the Republic do well, especially with the number of (ex) royals who should be involved.

[Ian Royal]

I'd quite like to see the old guard dropped completely, write this one off as a no hoper and get as many players as might be around / entering their prime for the world cup involved as possible. I'd go with Parker for captain personally.

[Handsome Man]

The best player has been Cole for years, even at the last world cup, so he's got to be captain.

Gerrard may be favourite, but he shouldn't really make the team unless he can up his game a little: he was approximately half the player Parker was last night.

[BR2]

The best player has been Cole for years, even at the last world cup, so he's got to be captain.

Gerrard may be favourite, but he shouldn't really make the team unless he can up his game a little: he was approximately half the player Parker was last night.

Er,
Parker scurried around tidying things up ,getting booked and spending a lot of time on the deck supposedly injured but in reality not.
On the other hand Gerrard spent the whole game driving his side forward in an attempt to win the game.
Gerrard a clear favourite for the captaincy and unlike cry baby Ferdinand actually would quite like to be captain.
No contest.

[Handsome Man]

The best player has been Cole for years, even at the last world cup, so he's got to be captain.

Gerrard may be favourite, but he shouldn't really make the team unless he can up his game a little: he was approximately half the player Parker was last night.

Er,
Parker scurried around tidying things up ,getting booked and spending a lot of time on the deck supposedly injured but in reality not.
On the other hand Gerrard spent the whole game driving his side forward in an attempt to win the game.
Gerrard a clear favourite for the captaincy and unlike cry baby Ferdinand actually would quite like to be captain.
No contest.

Parker looked confident, poised, in control, aand capable of last-ditch tackles and blocks. He is at the top of his game. Gerrard looks like he is playing from the memory of when he was fitter, stronger and a bit more accurate in his passing.

[Hoop Blah]

Handsome Man, do you want to back up that last statement about Gerrard a bit? Maybe give a few examples of why you thought he looked such a shaddow of his former self and so much worse in his passing (I don't think he made a bad pass all game - there was one attempted cross whilst stretching at the end of the first half that if being picky you could maybe be critical off).

I thought his performance was good last night, as was Parkers, but they perform vastly different roles for a team. Neither role on it's own would be a successes without the other around them (or the rest of their team mates of course).

I quite like Parker but he has limitations. I think he'd be a perfectly acceptable interim captain but he can't do the role that Gerrard does for a team to the level he does.

If Gerrard continues to come back as well as he's started off then I think England will benefit.

As for Cole. He's been Englands best and most consistent performer for the last few seasons, no argument from me there, but that doesn't mean he's the man to wear the armband.

[YateleyRoyal]

The best player has been Cole for years, even at the last world cup, so he's got to be captain.

Gerrard may be favourite, but he shouldn't really make the team unless he can up his game a little: he was approximately half the player Parker was last night.

Er,
Parker scurried around tidying things up ,getting booked and spending a lot of time on the deck supposedly injured but in reality not.
On the other hand Gerrard spent the whole game driving his side forward in an attempt to win the game.
Gerrard a clear favourite for the captaincy and unlike cry baby Ferdinand actually would quite like to be captain.
No contest.

Exactly why Parker was MOTM last night then....

[Extended-Phenotype]

Benitez had him on the right or holding behind ANY replacement he could get his hands on. Sven had him wide or deep midfield. Capello had him on the left.

Seems bizzare Gerrard's 'best' position is one no f//ker will let him play.

[Hoop Blah]

He was also used in his best position by Benitez quite a bit EP, so a little over statement there.

Basically though I think he's effectiveness in other positions has been used against him at times. You lose something from him by playing him outwide but the obsession with (for England) trying to shoehorn him and Lampard, or Scholes, into the same side has seen him played 'out of position' a fair bit.

[BR2]

Benitez had him on the right or holding behind ANY replacement he could get his hands on. Sven had him wide or deep midfield. Capello had him on the left.

Seems bizzare Gerrard's 'best' position is one no f//ker will let him play.

Perhaps that shows how adaptable the player is and a real team player unlike some of the others such as "I don't want to play unless I am captain",that twit of a tweeter Archdick Ferdinand,he of the wobbly mouth.

[who are ya?]

that twit of a tweeter Archdick Ferdinand,he of the wobbly mouth.

Racist

P.S. Have you ever met him

[BR2]

that twit of a tweeter Archdick Ferdinand,he of the wobbly mouth.

Racist

P.S. Have you ever met him

What's racist about that?
No I have never met him and have no desire ever to do so.

[Extended-Phenotype]

You have to ask why someone, who supposedly excels in a position, is the one who is asked to move. As for playing in his favourite position under Benitez, it was for a season before Beni got funds and sent him backwards again.

As for being adaptable, I’m sure he is. Gerrard is an expensive utility player nobody has worked out where to play.

England have always preferred 4-4-2, and Gerrard has never been trusted in a 2 man midfield; he simply doesn’t have the discipline, control or acumen.

If you can afford a 5 man midfield, you can squeeze him in somewhere, providing you don’t give him any positioning directive.

Unless Rooney can play upfront on his own, there is no way so-so Gerrard will get a look in as an AM. The inside left option doesn’t work with a team who practice once a year, nor with a player who wouldn’t notice off-the-ball movement if it refused to play his favourite song in a bar.

And as we see, no nutter plays him in the middle. So quite why we’d make a bench warmer captain is anyone’s guess.

[cmonurz]

You have to ask why someone, who supposedly excels in a position, is the one who is asked to move.

Really?

It's the England way to go with two reasonable stop-gaps rather than an inferior player in one position.

Gerrard on the left and Lampard in the middle, or say, Gerrard in the middle and Wayne Bridge on the left?

[who are ya?]

No I have never met him and have no desire ever to do so.

Then how do you know you don't like him?
He could possibly be one of the most likeable and funny people you could ever wish to meet

[andrew1957]

I think Gerrard is a shadow of the player he was.

For me I would drop Gerrard altogether and give the captaincy to Parker.

[Hoop Blah]

I agree on the Rooney/Gerrard conundrum. They both excel in the same space for me and finding a way to get the best from them is another key decision, and probably one of the reasons why Gerrard has been pushed out of position at times too.

To say he hasn't been trusted in a midfield two is over looking a lot of games where he's played in the middle with Lampard, and where more often than not he's been the one asked to be the more disciplined of the two and protect the back four more. I don't think that's got the most from him but it was a position he was played in many times.

His move to first the right (early McClaren I think) and the the left (Capello but perhaps others) was to try and release his attacking quality whilst also filling in a gap we had in viable alternatives (remember the years of not having a decent left winger for some reason).

As for under Benitez, he played in that advanced role for years. He was doing it the year they won the Champions League in 2005 and was still doing it 4 or 5 years later when the finished 2nd in the Premier League and he played behind Torres.

I'm sure Gerrard remains one of our best options in midfield. He doesn't play in the same way as the more technical Spanish no, but on his game (which I'm sure he's almost back to after watching a couple of his recent performances) he's capable of winning games at the highest level.

[Extended-Phenotype]

Meh, never been impressed with him in an England shirt.

He struggled to get involved in the middle, wasn’t disciplined enough to play a duel wide role, didn’t wow enough to warrant a hole role, and has been top of the disappointment list since 2001.

I’m not even sure why he went to 2010, let alone taking him to 2012.

Bubble player. Good for club in the safety of unconditional love, shite under the pressure of justifying himself for country. But I’m not singling him out – Beckham, Lampard, Terry and recently Rooney have been the same.

The less we guarantee places for this old guard of overrated poster boys, the better.

[Hoop Blah]

Totally agree with that closing sentiment EP. A big frustration of mine under recent managers, but especially Sven, was the closed shop nature of the England squad.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the Gerrard front though. I think he's been one of Englands better performers at times, including the last World Cup, but I do totally agree on the bubble effect you refer to which stops our players then replicating club form as consistently for country.

What would you team be if you didn't want all those players included?