Match of the Day turns 60 today and as part of the anniversary, I've been doing my top 10's on the topics that Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards have discussed on their podcast Match of the Day Top 10.
Today's top 10 is on captains.
CONTENDERS:
Tony Adams - Arsenal
Steven Gerrard - Liverpool
Jordan Henderson - Liverpool
Roy Keane - Man United
Vincent Kompany - Man City
Wes Morgan - Leicester
Alan Shearer - Newcastle
John Terry - Chelsea
Nemanja Vidic - Man United
Patrick Vieira - Arsenal
LINEKER, SHEARER AND RICHARDS' TOP 10
John Terry
Steven Gerrard
Roy Keane
Patrick Vieira
Vincent Kompany
Tony Adams
Nemanja Vidic
Jordan Henderson
Wes Morgan
Alan Shearer
MY TOP 10
John Terry
Roy Keane
Steven Gerrard
Tony Adams
Vincent Kompany
Patrick Vieira
Nemanja Vidic
Jordan Henderson
Wes Morgan
Alan Shearer
THE VERDICT:
There are a lot of great players on this list and if I had to pick the best captain out of all of them, it would have to be John Terry. He always told players where they needed to be on the pitch and his leadership on the pitch made Chelsea a strong team defensively.
I was too young to follow football when Roy Keane was playing, but I have watched videos of him and heard about how good he was. He was a proper leader at Man United in that he was vocal and was determined for his side to win games.
Steven Gerard may not have won a Premier League title like the other names on this list, but he was still a great leader. He could carry his team to victory on his own due to his leadership and abilities as a player. The 2005 Champions League final and 2006 FA Cup final are key examples of this as he dragged Liverpool out of difficult situations in both games and lead them to victory. Had he won a Premier League title, he might've been top of this list.
Tony Adams had to be in the top 5 because he was someone who was both a great defender and a great leader. Arsenal were so strong defensively during their early years under Arsene Wenger because of his leadership and was someone who Arsenal never replaced in the years after he left. Vincent Kompany was quite similar in that he always made Man City a better team defensively when he was in it. That was down to his leadership on the pitch as well as his abilities as a defender.
Like Adams, Patrick Vieira was also someone Arsenal struggled to replace for long time because of the leadership he brought to the team. His leadership played a key role in Arsenal going the 2003/04 season unbeaten alongside his abilities as a player. He dominated many games through his leadership and his playing attributes. He was unlucky not to make my top five.
Jordan Henderson won the lot at Liverpool and his leadership on the pitch was key to that. He was the driving force behind Liverpool's title win in 2020 and whilst he wasn't as technically gifted as most of the players on this list, as a leader he was vocal and commanding.
OTHER POTENTIAL CONTENDERS: Gary Neville
Gary Neville was very unlucky not to have made this list as he too was a great captain. His leadership in the Man United backline made them a strong team defensively and played a huge role in the success they had under Alex Ferguson. He had everything you want in a leader and was the kind of character that United have lacked for many years.
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