Who should succeed Neville as captain?

Ryan Giggs is the usual deputy, but with both him, Gary and EVDS getting older there’s a gap opening up at the top of the United hierarchy.

Simply put, we need a new captain – and more importantly, we need to groom this new captain to make sure he’s ready to take over the mantle next season, or whenever Nev and Giggsy retire, and to fill in when those two are out through injury.

There are a few requirements:

• The future captain should have his long-term future secured with Manchester United
• He should be a first-teamer – or a potential first-teamer
• Preferably English, although for an extraordinary player exceptions can be made

So go ahead, make a case for your choice as captain in the comments below.

A quick word on some of the top candidates:

Rio Ferdinand: Good to play till South Africa 2010, and we might see more of him as captain this season – however, he’s not a long-term solution as he’ll get 2 years max as captain. A solid choice IMO as he is one of the most respected members of the Man Utd squad, and way ahead of other defenders.

Wayne Rooney: Perhaps the most obvious candidate for captain. He’s been made captain several times by Ferguson in the past and of all the strikers in the squad, has been with United for some time and in a couple of years will have the maturity to lead Manchester United.

Cristiano Ronaldo: As much as I like him, I wouldn’t have him captain United. For starters, it’s almost certain that Ronaldo will leave Man Utd before either Rio or Rooney (those two are the blood and sweat of United, Ronaldo is just the prized crown jewel), and compared to Rooney, I’m not sure he has the respect (admiration is different).

Other players, such as Hargreaves, Carrick, Vidic, Gibson and Tevez also came to mind. However, Hargreaves is too new, Carrick and Vidic are too quiet, Gibson is too young and we haven’t even signed Tevez yet!

Let me know what you guys think.