With Gerrard potentially calling time, who do you think is the best person to captain the side?

It's tough without obvious candidates.

Rooney *hides*.

Well it probably will be Rooney but Cahill must be a long term candidate.

Without wishing to belittle this thread as it will be discussed endlessly in September, I do think this peculiarly English obsession with who is the captain is one of many - on their own - small things, which we could do with steering away from.

Pick the best team, for the next game and the skipper from that, then do the same with the next match and don't make some huge thing of it.

There arent many certainties of a place in the next match, Sturridge and Cahill for me. Walcott will be back, which doesnt lend itself to Rooney to, if all are fit. I haven't been impressed at all with Hart these two games.

I would like to see Joe Hart get it, how many say Rooney just because of his name I wonder.

This is a big dillema, because usually the Captain is seen as "undroppable". And there's simply no one in this current England set-up who should be an automatic pick for the next 2-3 years.

You could say Hart, but goalkeepers lose form and confidence pretty easily, and he's no Shilton or Seaman. And I've always felt the Captain should be an outfield player who has more influence on the game.

Definitely not Rooney. The guy needs to fight for his place, and making him Captain will defeat that purpose

Most of the defense could do with replacing, so none of them either.

I guess Sturridge is the current first choice striker, and his age gives him more of an upside than someone like Rooney. Someone like Sturridge can only get better (wheras Rooney has peaked), and giving him the Captaincy might give him even more confidence in his abilities and improve his strike rate.

I agree.

The role of a captain on a football pitch is irrelevant to me. When I think of a captain, i'm thinking of a tactical leader, who can influence and instruct what we do.

I also looked at that list and nobody stands out to me personality wise (which is what the role is really + performance led).

I think you can have a team/club captain and a game captain so it wouldn't matter too much if the player was dropped or injured.

I think it will be Rooney because of his status. With Lampard and Gerrard (maybe not today, maybe nt tomorrow, but soon....) gone he will be the elder statesman.

To be honest no one else in the squad feels like captain material. I would guess if Rooney isn't in the team Cahill would probably take it. Never really seen him as a leader though.

Jones.

You can't drop that which you never pick.

Jordan Henderson captained the England U21 side (and maybe the others) and he's shown leadership skills for Liverpool so I'll go with him.

Gary Cahill could be another option. Or Wilshire if he can reduce injuries and can be relied on. Or perhaps in a few years' time someone else will step up like Luke Shaw.

No real captains in the current team, I would probably say Hart, but I think he gets far too excitable.

I guess it will be Rooney, but don't think he is captain material at all.

Anyone ever see this tweet? pretty old but
https://twitter.com/evilkagawa/statu...19456084094976

Agreed.

In cricket a captain makes decisions. Not in football. The football captain doesn't always front up for press conferences anyway.

Make Gary Neville the non playing captain as in tennis.

How do you pronounce "Cahill"? As in Car or as in Cape?

http://www.forvo.com/word/cahill/#en

I have enough problems with Eoin Morgan.

K-Hill

The captain has to deal with the ref so you need somebody who can stay levelheaded and fight the teams corner over decisions.

Rooney all the way. The extra responsibility is just what he needs to make him fully deliver for England.

You need level headed people to pull away team-mates who are losing it but those are the people at the spot and not necessarily the captain.

I don't recall seeing many decisions discussed and overturned though a football captain's appeal and force of argument.

But you do need a captain to exchange pennants before a game but Gary Neville could do that.

Gerrard hadn't yet. I think he will be in the England set up for Euro 16

I think the importance of a captaincy is overrated. There's no reason any player shouldn't bollock his teammates if they deserve it and as another poster said, the most important thing for a captain is their personality (which includes being able to deliver a few home truths).

With that being said, my preference would be Hart. He seems quite vocal and despite his relatively young age for a keeper, already has two tournaments under his belt. However, I think Rooney is a shoo-in to get it, should Gerrard step down/retire altogether.

You may wonder, but maybe the people who have voted for him have done so because they realise that he is senior play who is considered to be the fulcrum of the side. Also, he isn't going to be dropped & nor should he, so he's the obvious choice as the next captain.

I thought it was a FIFA rule that only the captain can talk with the ref so you need someone with the ability and confidence to do that and convery it back the the player(s) if needed.

You may say it's just for swapping pennants at the start of the match but I doubt you'd give Sterling the captaincy for those other things.