Why Fabio must ditch Rio and make Stevie G full-time England captain

By Oliver Holt

Published 23:05 07/09/10

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Rio Ferdinand is a fine defender and a man respected by his teammates but when he returns to full fitness, Fabio Capello should tell him he is no longer England captain.

It is nothing to do with Ferdinand’s unfortunate habit of getting a mention in dispatches whenever there’s a football scandal so often he’s like a latter-day Leonard Zelig.

There he was again in the background at the 235 Casino in Manchester when Wayne Rooney was beginning the trysts with Juicy Jeni which overshadowed the build-up to last night’s game in Switzerland.

But his active social life is not the reason why Ferdinand should not regain the armband. He is not Rooney’s keeper, after all. He has done nothing wrong.

So this is not about concerns over Ferdinand’s captaincy style because there aren’t any.

This is about Steven Gerrard, the man who has deputised for Ferdinand since the Manchester United defender damaged knee ligaments on England’s first day of training in South Africa.

Since he took over, Gerrard has handled a number of desperately difficult situations with considerable diplomatic skill and great dignity.

He struck exactly the right note on Monday when he had to deal with the feeding frenzy surrounding the allegations about Rooney’s liaisons.

He answered all the questions with unswerving honesty and even some humour.

Amidst everything he said, what stood out was his loyalty to Rooney and his own self-awareness.

Gerrard, 30, knew that, having attracted the wrong kind of publicity himself recently for becoming involved in an altercation in a Southport bar, he was in no position to preach. And he didn’t try.

“Every player that plays the game is aware that we’re role models to children out there,” he said, “but I’m no expert on that type of stuff.

“I haven’t spoken to Wayne about what’s happened. At the end of the day, who am I to talk about things like that with Wayne Rooney? He’s his own man.”

But it is not just what Gerrard, who is almost two years younger than Ferdinand, has said since he has taken over the captaincy that has been impressive. More important has been what he’s done.

Where once there was a perception that he shrank from the responsibility that comes with wearing the armband, this time he has revelled in it.

This time, it seems to have made him an even better player than he was before.

Together with Capello giving him more minutes in his preferred position in central midfield, it has reinvigorated him.

It would be wrong to pretend he was at his best in the World Cup where he flirted with mediocrity and fell victim to England’s collective malaise.

He tried to lead by example in South Africa, scoring England’s first goal early in the opening match against the USA and providing the whipped cross for Matthew Upson’s header against Germany.

But it has been since he returned from the tournament that Gerrard has really come into his own. He saved Capello’s job with an inspired performance against Hungary last month when both manager and team were under intense pressure and feeling the full weight of public disdain.

And he was excellent again against Bulgaria last Friday, at the heart of everything as England got their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign off to a winning start.

The evidence that he is thriving as skipper is a compelling reason on its own to make Gerrard’s appointment permanent.

He is one of England’s most important players and if being captain is helping him psychologically, why change the situation?

He is also one of the few England players who genuinely seems to be relishing playing for Capello and who has responded to a management style that alienated so many others.

Capello thinks the English attach too much importance to a post that he sees as largely ceremonial although that did not stop him taking the absurd decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy last February.

But even if he used the criterion that many other countries choose to decide their captain - the player with the most caps - Gerrard would satisfy that requirement, too.

With David Beckham and Gary Neville out of action and struggling to resurrect their international careers, Gerrard is just ahead of Ashley Cole as England’s most capped player.

Capello will probably revert to Ferdinand as skipper when he regains fitness but as the United defender struggles more and more with injury, Gerrard would be the smarter choice.

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