Scott Parker named England captain
PA
Tottenham's Scott Parker is the surprise choice to captain England in their friendly with the Netherlands tonight.
The 31-year-old midfielder has won 10 caps and was influential in England's qualification for Euro 2012, winning England Fans' Player of the Year for 2011.
Parker takes over from John Terry who was stripped of the captaincy by the FA after being charged with racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand.
Parker is not even his club side's captain or vice-captain, with Englishmen Ledley King and Michael Dawson holding those posts, and was sent off in his last match for Spurs when they lost 5-2 to north London rivals Arsenal.
Whilst at West Ham Parker was named Football Writer' Player of the Year in a season in which the Hammers were relegated.
Many thought Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, who skippered the side during the unsuccessful 2010 World Cup campaign, would lead the team out at Wembley tonight.
Gerrard lifted the Carling Cup their on Sunday after a thrilling penalty shootout win against Cardiff City.
Manchester City's Joe Hart and James Milner were also mooted as potential skippers.
Stuart Pearce, who has taken over temporary charge of the England team following Fabio Capello's resignation, has picked a young team to face the Dutch.
Speaking about the captaincy on Tuesday, Pearce said: "You want somebody who has the respect of the other players, someone who will put the group before themselves - a vital commodity for any captain."
The former England and Nottingham Forest player will be hoping that a good performance tonight will increase his chances of taking the team to the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine this summer.
related stories on msn
For those who are slinging mud about Gerrard and the assault, he was cleared by a jury (fact) for those who think otherwise, slander can be classed as harassment which, is a criminal offence and you are not free from prosecution on the web. IP addresses are tracable but I don't suppose you racist bigotted idiots think about that.
Ferdinand evaded drugs tests and his excuse, he forgot!
Scot Parker is a great choice, he's been playing fantastic football and will never be in the headlines for the wrong reasons. Yes i am aware of the red card a couple of days ago but that only shows me the grit and determination he has on the field. A desire to win.
Picking Gerrard would have been to safe and for me Stevie G plays actually better when he isn't captain. To say that is Naivity on Stuat Pearce's part is the dumbest thing i have heard all day.
Also just while im at it, i would like to add my own personal opinion. England will never win anything ! EVER!!!!! UNTILL THE COUNTRY STOPS EXPECTING SO MUCH FROM THEM !
AND IT'S PURELY BECAUSE OF THE FANS WHO **** & MOAN ABOUT EVERY LITTLE THING. THE DECISION A MANAGER MAKES IS WHAT UPSETS PEOPLE THEN THEY JUST GIVE UP HOPE & FAITH IN THE TEAM.
I MEAN JEES IT'S MONTHS AWAY TILL THE EUROS KICK OFF. **** UP!!!!!
as a red, i'm made up
stevie should now realise that he is wasting his time with england and retire from international football
hopefully parker will lead them into euro 2012, where they will continue to be an embarrassment just like every other tournament
stuart pearce as manager - how funny is that -yet another example of the fa's crass decision making
We need someone to manage the england team who is english and has passion for the team, stuart pearce ticks those boxes, also making scott parker captin is a good move in my opinion as he is a professional and sets a good example. About time someone different is captin as its also the same old story with hearing those names lampard, gerrard etc
i hope gerrard retires from international football now after this decision ,he leads and inspires liverpool ,stuart pierce has humiliated gerrard with this choice.i hope the fa hurry up and get a decent manager in that knows what they are doing for once.give harry the job an english manager for an english team who knows the players
