The news of Steven Gerrard’s retirement from international duty came as no surprise to many. His and England’s World Cup was as dismal as a grey, rainy January morning in Manchester. Therefore, the news that he would not feature for the Three Lions again seemed a mere formality, in reality. However, Gerrard quitting has opened up a very awkward, and stinky can of worms for Roy Hodgson and us incredibly loyal England fans. For all of his detractors, Gerrard was a decent leader on the pitch. I use the term ‘decent’ very loosely here, as even his staunchest allays in the Kop questioned his leadership qualities during Liverpool’s faltering title charge last season.
Bearing this in mind, perhaps Hodgson was at fault to select a weary, somewhat dejected Gerrard to lead his nation in Brazil this Summer. That’s all history now though, and all eyes turn to the here and now. That odorous can of worms, scarily labelled ‘where are the future English captains?’ And quite frankly, where are they?
Sadly, it would appear that we don’t have leaders anymore. The only genuine England captain playing in the Premier League still available to Hodgson is John Terry. Remember him? A controversial figure for sure who hasn’t exactly covered himself in glory, it cannot be denied. But there is a very real coincidence that the best central defender in the Premier League last season was English and didn’t go to Brazil, where our defending in the tournament was so inept.
Terry is also the last in a long line of proud English players to have skippered their country in modern times. This line goes back to Bobby Moore, Peter Shilton, Bryan Robson, Stuart Pearce, Gary Lineker, Terry Butcher, Paul Ince, Alan Shearer, Tony Adams and David Beckham. Strong men, proud Englishmen and all desperate to pull on the skippers armband and lead their country, come rain or shine. Not wishing to bleat on about the past, but this current crop of Lions is low on both quality, bite, and lacks a genuine leader.
Apart from one lion, we are now being told. Wayne Rooney. Really? The same Rooney who has been justifiably vilified for his awful World Cup showing, yet he is now the answer to the captain dilemma?
Back at the World Cup, we were told by the media that Roy Hodgson was wrong not to axe him, and not strong enough to deal with a player with immense talent, yet a footballer riddled with a seemingly huge ego and self arrogance.
Yet with the World Cup over and the Premier League dominating again, in an apparent media led act of communal national forgiveness, the same Rooney is now being championed by certain English greats as the only man who can lead England on the field. How? Based on what exactly? Rooney’s talent cannot be denied. But when playing for his country, he has become a player suffocated by his own hype.
There are no instinctive moments of genius that we frequently see when he pulls on a Manchester United shirt, and can he really be classed as a potential leader of men talked of in the same breath as the list of England legends above?
Perhaps it is easy to comprehend Rooney’s lofty status when one considers his competition for the role. Neither Joe Hart or Gary Cahill inspire as England captain material. Hart is an extremely talented goalkeeper and is by far the closest we have come to filling the huge gloves of the last ‘great’ England keeper, David Seaman.
But his dropping due to a loss of form and concentration last season for Manchester City is a worry as is his lifestyle, which has come under scrutiny very recently. Whilst partaking in a post World Cup lads’ holiday with Jack Wilshere in the US, Hart was photographed drinking heavily whilst in a swimming pool with the Arsenal midfielder. On holiday he may have been – but following the World Cup disaster and the thousands of pounds spent by normal working class England fans to get to Brazil, perhaps being this public wasn’t the wisest move on Hart’s part.
Cahill seems to be very comfortable in the Chelsea back line, where he is partnered by the aforementioned ‘bad boy’, John Terry. Of course, ironic, considering that Terry wasn’t begged to go to Brazil. Perhaps playing alongside Terry for England would have been the answer for Cahill – we will never know. Perhaps, Cahill could have even been made skipper alongside Terry, which would I am sure have brought out the best in the former.
Playing with Phil Jagielka just seemed to bring out the worst in both players – clumsy defending. Bad marking and a lack of leadership did neither player’s international aspirations very good, let alone be considered as a future England captain.
So, the question is this then. Rooney, Hart or Cahill? The best of a bad bunch? I think so.
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