Murphy backs Gerrard for England captaincy
Fulham captain Danny Murphy has backed his former Liverpool teammate to captain the English national team on a permanent basis.
According to the Liverpool Echo, Murphy said that Gerrard is the natural leader in the England squad, arguing that the stand-in skipper should have become the first-choice captain after this year's World Cup.
"I believe there is the strongest possible case for Steven carrying on, regardless of Rio [Ferdinand]’s fitness," Murphy said. "He leads by example, as he has shown in the last two games, and is the best player in the England team. He is emerging as our real leader."
Led England at the World Cup
With Manchester United defender Ferdinand injured for the World Cup in South Africa, Gerrard stepped in as captain during the tournament.
Though the English team underperformed, Gerrard began brightly by scoring his team's opening goal against the USA and setting a strong example for the rest of his team.
"He carried the armband through the World Cup and has been a real inspiration in the two opening games. There is no one better for the job."
Gerrard served as Murphy's captain at Liverpool during the 2003-2004 season and has led his hometown club convincingly ever since.
He was made vice-captain of the national team by Steve McClaren in 2006, a role he lost upon Fabio Capello's arrival as manager, only to regain it when John Terry was replaced by Ferdinand as first-choice captain earlier this year.
No criticism of Ferdinand
Murphy insisted his backing of Gerrard was no criticism of Ferdinand's captaincy. "This is not me having a pop at Rio in any way. He has done absolutely nothing wrong but, given his unfortunate injury record, he will be grateful to be back in the squad."
With Ferdinand left out of the squad with a knee injury, Gerrard has captained the squad that faced Bulgaria on Friday and plays Switzerland on Tuesday evening.
Tags: