Arise captain Scott

Alex Dunn leads the calls for Scott Parker to be handed the England armband after another fine display.

Deep in the heart of Zululand, 1879. Morale at the mission depot of Rorke's Drift is at rock bottom as Zulu war chants become more audible by the second. Food has long-since been rationed and ammunition levels are precariously low. The piercing punch of a bullet fills the night air. Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead, aka Michael Caine, turns to his deputy Scott Parker and despairs: "If 1200 couldn't hold a defensive position this morning, what chance have we?" Without missing a beat Deputy Parker puffs out his chest and says: "Sir, I've taken the boot of an angry Uruguayan and survived, 10,000 Zulu warriors scare me not." The Nimrod Expedition, 1907. Captain Ernest Henry Shackleton is having a rare moment of self-doubt. Icy conditions and high winds preclude the establishment of a safe base en route to the South Pole. To his face the crew remain in high spirits but below deck there is an underlying atmosphere of unease. Will this be a journey too far for Shackleton and his men? His thoughts are interrupted by a deckhand by the name of Parker, a quiet boy with a faultless work ethic: "Sir, we must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey?" Quite, thinks Shackleton and continues on his journey. Bolivia, sometime in the 1890s. Slumped against the wall of a discarded outhouse are a wounded pair of bandits who go by the names of Butch Parker and the Sundance Kid. Bolivian riflemen lie in situ outside, safeties off and with orders to shoot to kill. Butch Parker turns to Sundance and says 'you didn't see (lawman Joe) Lefors out there, did you?' Upon hearing a reply in the negative Parker looks at his pal, places a pistol in his hand and pulls him to his feet. Facing their foes side by side Butch Parker edges out first firing, with the quip 'Oh good, for a moment there I thought we were in trouble' fighting to be heard over the sound of gunshots. Football needs heroes. And never more so than at the moment. A season in which self-preservation has eroded moral scruples to the point of decay is crying out for an old school, Boy's Own hero. Cometh the hour, cometh the man with a haircut that would have sat perfectly on the head of Shackleton. Scott Parker is a throwback to a bygone era and without going all misty eyed and reinterpreting history through the distorted lens of nostalgia, England should hand him the armband. The purists will snipe Parker, like his potential predecessor, embodies an English obsession of endeavour over finesse, but let's get real. England has always been more likely to whip up a decent tikka masala than adopt a tiki-taka style of play. We are what we are and until we uproot the whole structure of the national game, we're never going to be Spain. The sight of Parker running behind his full-backs to provide cover as Spurs chased possession last night is one we're going to see a lot of in Poland and Ukraine.While Twitter is perhaps not always the best gauge of a national consciousness the football community last night was largely in agreement that Parker was not just outstanding at Anfield but is a bloody good bloke. It seems superfluous to add opinion on an individual's personality and character when evaluating their on-field performance but this season it somehow seems apt. An Arsenal supporting journalist pal who would rather be stuck in a lift with only Joey Barton and Twitter for company than say something complimentary about Spurs mused: "Scott Parker is absolutely incredible. Tireless. Courageous. Inspirational. Wish Arsenal had bought him. He has to be the new England capt." I imagine he's still scrubbing himself down now but the point is that anyone who in these 'tribal times' can get a begrudging nod off the old enemy mustn't be all bad. It's not as though the England camp couldn't do with a bit of unifying.

In agreement

It's not just the pugnacious enthusiasm that he exudes or discipline he religiously and selflessly maintains to allow Luka Modic to flourish in front of him but the respect he commands from both his team-mates and, importantly, the opposition. A couple of flashpoints that could have lit up last night were quickly nipped in the bud by Parker's reasoning presence amid snarls and bile. His quiet authority is at odds with the traditional vein-popping warped vision of what it is to be a leader in these shores but is infinitely more effective. There was a telling moment at Anfield late on when after his seventh and final clearance of the night (bettered only by Ledley King) at the expense of a corner, Modric looked at his knackered team-mate and implored with his eyes 'Look mate, I know you're dead on your feet, but we need you.' His next act was to viciously assault Luis Suarez's boot with his chest. There are those that will see the call to award the captaincy to a player with just ten caps as reactionary bordering on lunacy; a tabloid level of thought process that is unlikely to be shared by the more studied Fabio Capello. In different circumstances, had England a raft of more viable alternatives, it would be a fair stance to take. We haven't, so it's not. A general consensus seems to be that Steven Gerrard is in the driving seat but even awarding the armband to a man with 89 caps would not be without complications. It was the Liverpool man who first went head-to-head with John Terry for the seat left vacated by Sir David's trip to Coventry under the Italian. Capello plumped for bulldog spirit over leading by example and then snubbed him for a second time when it emerged Terry was more apt scoring off the field than on it, in promoting Rio Ferdinand over his vice-captain. Injury prohibited Ferdinand's involvement in what lest we not forget was a disastrous World Cup campaign as Gerrard took the armband, before being snubbed for a third time when Terry was reinstated to the position in March of last year. I've heard of 'once bitten, twice shy' but what of thrice bitten...?

Golden Generation

At 31 Parker would not exactly represent a forward thinking appointment but he's the only realistic candidate not tainted through association with a Golden Generation moniker that weighs heavy for too many of Capello's squad. Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Ferdinand, Terry and co for all their experience and standing in world football are, without wishing to be cruel, losers when it comes to England. For the likes of tournament virgins Parker, Jack Wilshere (pending fitness), Joe Hart et al, Poland and Ukraine represents uncharted waters; it's time to let them dip their toes into the deep blue sea. Parker's performance at the Football Writers' Dinner in which he delivered a perfectly fine but nervously uttered speech has led some sceptics to question whether he'd be able to cope with the media demands of an international captain but his domain is the dressing room, not the broadsheets. Within his own comfort zone he is known to be a captivating and motivational speaker. Under Jose Mourinho's reign at Chelsea the Portuguese encouraged his charges to give team-talks and although a bit-part player at the time, it is said Parker's were invariably the most impressive. Last season when at West Ham with his side 3-0 down to West Brom it was captain Parker who nudged aside Avram Grant to deliver some home truths that reportedly had several present close to tears. West Ham went on to eke out a 3-3 draw. It may be in-vogue at present to worship at the altar of Parker but his current form is hardly a flash in the pan. The fact he won the Football Writers' gong last year and was on the PFA Player of the Year shortlist to boot, when allied to the likelihood he will be on it again this season, is testimony to an outstanding two-year spell heading into Euro 2012. How many other Englishmen can we say the same for? Whether Parker is a definite starter for England has also been raised as a potential issue but he's the first name on my team-sheet along with Joe Hart and Wayne Rooney (notwithstanding his suspension) at present. Capello seems to be in agreement too, having after the defeat of Spain last year referred to man of the match Parker as "Punto di riferimento." Scott 'the reference point' Parker would be even better with an armband.