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Pacman to the point

Oh captain, my captain

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Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco considers the qualities needed to be a good captain and the best ones out there

I play Saturday League football for a team called Ockham FC in Surrey. To say we're flirting with relegation is a bit like saying Jodie Marsh enjoys the odd night out. Which reminds me of that joke about the blonde Essex girl whose mother said to her before she went out: "If you're not in bed by 11, you're coming home."

Half the side drink eight pints the night before the match, the other half work in the pub serving them the eight pints. Our supposed midfield dynamo smokes a roll-up at half-time and our right-back normally throws up at half-time. We can't defend from set-pieces, our fitness is somewhere in between an unfit John Hartson and a fit James Beattie, we can't hang on to leads (much less chase leads) and we lack flair, pace and discipline. Other than that, we're ok.

Some of the things I've mentioned probably sound quite familiar to anyone who has played Saturday League football but another thing we lack is leadership. I suspect our skipper thinks that his duties are limited to calling "heads or tails" at the start of the match and deciding who takes the set pieces. The captain needs to lead by example, put in that first tackle to set the tempo, keep spirits high when the team is ahead and lift morale and confidence when the team is behind. The guy is not a natural-born leader nor will he ever be, that's not his fault, it's just a fact.

One guy who doesn't lack any of the qualities I've just mentioned is John Terry. To the ones, I've already mentioned I'd add the qualities of being a natural-born winner, maintaining discipline (most of the time), being a player who is prepared to stick his neck on the line (sometimes literally) and someone who inspires those around him to play for him for fear of letting him down. Chelsea currently trade at (4.5) for the Premiership (matched at a high of 8.8) and despite the skipper not having played the last few matches, his attitude in the aftermath of his mentor's departure was first-class and integral in Chelsea's renaissance. He didn't sulk about Mourinho's departure and ask to leave, he adopted the attitude that Chelsea would have to start life without "The Special One" and the other players followed suit.

If ever Liverpool needed the inspirational captaincy of Steven Gerrard, it's over the next three or four weeks and starting tomorrow night as they face Besiktas in the Champions League, a match they are (1.28) to win. They should get three points from that match but it will be at home to Porto and in particular away to Marseille that Stevie G, another fine captain, will need to lead by example if they are to progress in the competition, a (2.66) chance.

I have to admit I was slightly surprised with Arsene Wenger's choice of captain at Arsenal, a fair price at (8.8) to win the Champions League. Gallas very rarely wore the armband at Stamford Bridge or for France and spent much of last season sidelined with numerous injuries. If Henry's understudy Gilberto Silva was no longer a guaranteed starter when he mulled over the issue, I would have thought Kolo Toure, a more vocal player and one starting his sixth season at the club, would have been a better choice than the relative newboy Gallas.

Watching Premiership teams play football without knowing what goes on in daily training is a bit like hearing a jury's verdict without sitting in on the proceedings that led to the decision being reached - we just don't know what goes on in the background. That said, I am also slightly bemused by the decision to make the following players skipper: Geremi at Newcastle, Ljungberg at West Ham and Melchiot at Wigan, all players in their first season at their respective club and with no real previous experience as captain.

For the record, other captains I admire in the game are: Maldini (Milan), Zanetti (Inter Milan) and Puyol (Barcelona) and outside football I like Pichet (Argentina rugby) and in particular Michael Vaughan. Perhaps if my skipper at Ockham took a leaf out of their books we'd be higher up in the league. Then again, probably not.

To read more about John Terry go to:

http://www.4thegame.com/club/chelsea-fc/player-profile/352/johnterry.html