It’s getting closer to the date when England boss Fabio Capello will announce his squad to face the Czech Republic on August 20, and with that his new permanent captain. There are a number of likely candidates we know well.

Depending on who you believe, about half of England could be a captain, from Wayne Rooney or David James to Gareth Barry or Michael Owen; but there are only four serious candidates for one of the most sought-after roles in English football.

Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand is captain at Old Trafford, but has a shady history that includes not turning up for drugs tests and harassing referees. He might be good at organising a defence and was instrumental in leading his club to the Premier League and Champions League in 2007/08, but is he really the kind of person you want leading England permanently? A captain should set an example to the team and to the kids at grassroots level who look up to him. He’s not the kind of role model you want for the kids of the future. Everyone should be given a second chance, and Ferdinand has had that with Man United, but this is England, and a permanent captain he is not.

John Terry is the current Chelsea captain and was England skipper under Steve McClaren. He might organise the line well, and is passionate about what he does, but he’s worse than Ferdinand for hounding referees and trying to intimidate opponents. He might not be the ringleader as he once was, but he’s still involved in it far too much. Again, I feel it comes down to what message the England captain should be giving to the grassroots. He might be right for Chelsea, but he’s not right for England and was lucky to be made captain by McClaren. There are times when he just doesn’t seem to care about England the way he does Chelsea, and that’s not what you want.

The biggest mistake LA Galaxy’s David Beckham made was to step down from the captaincy. I find it difficult to accept that anyone who wants to captain England can give it up that way. His attitude on the pitch is certainly better than Ferdinand and Terry, and his technical ability and leadership is there - after all he did lead England for 58 games. But age is against him and I can’t see him playing too many more games for England when there are talented youngsters more than capable of replacing him down the right, and because of that he won’t become permanent captain.

Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard is the man I feel should be England captain. He’s a player who can make things happen and leads by example - and a good example at that. You just have to look at the way he’s led Liverpool since 2003 to see how good a captain he is; the passion with which he plays, and how much of an inspiration he is to his team-mates. He has been disappointing in a number of games for England over the years, notably at Euro 2004, but name me a player who hasn’t been disappointing for England at any time.

Sir Alex Ferguson said earlier this year that experience is important when looking for a captain, at the same time suggesting that Ferdinand has the experience after captaining United, but Terry has been captain longer than him, as has Beckham, and Gerrard even longer at Liverpool. He’s been tossed all across the midfield by Sven-Goran Eriksson and Steve McClaren, played as a second striker and even had a stint at right back, and while he will give his all for you, Gerrard needs to be pulling the strings from the centre of midfield.

He will be the best choice for Capello, it will make him a better player, and with the responsibilities of leadership he will lift the entire England side. He’s going to be around for a few good years to come and after the disappointment of not qualifying for Euro 2008 I expect he would at least lead England to the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.