The Newcastle captain remains prone to bouts of petulance but the Tottenham midfielder has learned how to channel his inner devil
The role of the captain in modern football is not always entirely clear. Do teams need a single inspirational figure, a chest-thumper who stirs the heart and soul? An experienced head, one who can offer big-brotherly advice to his colleagues? Someone who leads by example, which usually just means being better than everyone else?
In theory it should not matter who has the armband. As long as he can tell the difference between heads and tails on a coin and is half-respected by his colleagues, he should not need much else, except just one other thing: ideally he should not brainlessly get himself sent off at a crucial phase of a game against title contenders.
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