Being selected as the captain of the England football team is an honour. Of that there can be no doubt. But beyond that what does the position of captain actually entail?

In the public eye, footballers are role models to the many millions of younger fans in this country. Whether they like it or not, they have a duty to demonstrate a good example. So it should not be sufficient to say the captain sets the example. Every player on the pitch should be setting an example.

The truth is, losing the armband, whilst it may affect Terry commercially (there is considerable evidence of the defender exploiting his special status in the national team for financial gain), will not alter Terry’s qualities as an international player. For all his misgivings, on the pitch he is a natural leader. A vocal organizer, he will remain so with or without the armband.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger recently admitted the role of football captain, particularly in this country, is greatly overrated. He cites the non-stop nature of the game and the requirement to make instant decisions on the pitch. The captain, he says, has no time to interfere with the individual decisions of the players during a game, in contrast to cricket or rugby for example.

Indeed comparing the role of captain in football to the corresponding position in cricket highlights the insignificance of the role in football. Anyone who has had the England cricket captaincy bestowed on them knows how central they will become to everything that goes on. It is effectively a 24-hour, seven days a week job and exhaustion ultimately follows. No wonder then that Andrew Strauss is in need of a rest during the upcoming Bangladesh tour. The exertions of the Ashes battle and the series in South Africa have drained him.

Strauss’s responsibilities include discussing tactics, leading team talks, helping to run practice and ultimately making decisions on the field. All this before he can even think about his own performance as an opening batsman.

What then does a football captain do? Some say he represents the manager out on the pitch. But hold on we’re talking about professional players here. If they can’t follow the manager’s pre-match instructions and heed the pre-arranged tactics then they is a major problem. A captain I have read is expected to demonstrate an understanding of the game. This seems a minimum requirement for anyone in the game, especially for anyone putting on the famous three lions jersey.

 In Italy, indeed in most of the football world, captaincy is far from the biggest issue. In many cases, the captain is simply the player with the most caps and Capello would no doubt like to reduce the circus that seems to surround who leads England. When Capello named Terry as his captain in the summer of 2008, he selected Rio Ferdinand as his vice-captain. Now Ferdinand is the man to be promoted. A decision the manager says he has no reason to change.

The Italian’s handling of the whole situation is in keeping with his management style; quick, simple and effective. No fuss. No furore. Put simply it was “what is best for all the England squad”. One would suggest a dampening down of the media hype surrounding the captaincy would be similarly beneficial to this country’s world cup hopes.