Beardsley, Cherry, Keown and more forgotten England football captains
With Gareth Barry leading out the Three Lions as England's 110th captain, talkSPORT remembers six skippers you may have forgotten...
ENGLAND CAPTAIN… MARTIN KEOWN
Arsenal defender Martin Keown had the difficult task of leading England just days after manager Kevin Keegan had quit in the Wembley bogs. Temporary manager Howard Wilkinson chose Keown to captain England in a 2001 World Cup qualifier away to Finland, in which the principle tactic appeared to be Keown lumping long, diagonal balls to Emile Heskey, stationed out on the wing. Not exactly Bobby Moore lifting the Jules Rimet trophy on a sunny Wembley afternoon, as Keown's England scrapped for a point in freezing temperatures.
ENGLAND CAPTAIN… Michael Owen
Michael Owen is famed for his international goals, but the third-highest scorer in Three Lions' history actually captained England on eight occasions under Sven-Goran Eriksson, the first time being a 2002 friendly with Paraguay and the last a World Cup qualifying win against Poland in 2005. In fact, England were unbeaten in Owen's eight-games as skipper. Take note, Capello?
ENGLAND CAPTAIN… PETER BEARDSLEY
Another pint-sized striker to skipper England was Peter Beardsley, who had the honour for one game against Israel back in 1988. The game was a forgettable 0-0 friendly draw, played out in front of just 5,000 spectators. When people say that international football isn't what it used to be, feel free to remind them of this game.
ENGLAND CAPTAIN… TREVOR CHERRY
Playing a bunch of part-timers on the other side of the world is not what you'd call ideal preparation for facing Europe's best, but that's what England did in Trevor Cherry's only game as captain. Leeds defender Cherry led England to a 2-1 win over the Socceroos as part of Australia's Centenary of Football celebrations, playing just one more game for the national side as England went on to crash out of Euro 80 just weeks later.
ENGLAND CAPTAIN… Frank Lampard
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard said it would be the “highest honour” to lead England out as captain for the game with Denmark in 2010, but it was an honour that lasted just 45 minutes. That makes Lampard's tenure as England skipper the shortest on record (excluding occasions when players have been temporarily passed the arm band late in a game).
ENGLAND CAPTAIN… ALEXANDER MORTEN
Like Lampard, Crystal Palace player Alexander Morten's time as England captain was short lived, leading the Three Lions for just one game against Scotland. In fact, goalkeeper Morten captained England on his only ever international appearance in which he also set the record as England's oldest captain, at the ripe old age of 41 years and 114 days. Never heard of Alexander Morten? That's probably because his moment of glory came in 1873, when England's football side were still playing games at The Oval and talkSPORT wasn't available, mainly because radio had yet to be invented.