Pen in Scott Parker for England skipper role, says Brad Friedel

Coach Fabio Capello, who was meeting with Football Association chairman David Bernstein today to talk about the fall-out since Terry was stripped
of the armband by the governing body, has to pick a new leader before England's friendly against Holland on February 29.

Capello is still furious that Terry has been axed before the outcome of the defender's racism court trial but he is expected to carry on as England coach.

Steven Gerrard is the favourite to captain the side again, having impressed in the role during the last World Cup, while Manchester City keeper Joe Hart has also been mentioned. But Friedel is adamant Parker, who was named Footballer of the Year last season, should be rewarded for his performances and behaviour on and off the pitch for Tottenham.

He said: "Joe Hart has the mentality to be a captain but with England you also have two ready-made captains in Steven Gerrard and Scotty Parker.

"Could Joe do the job? Absolutely. Joe is a magnificent goalkeeper with a great head on his shoulders but you have got Parker and Gerrard who are tremendous players.

"Playing with Scotty for the last six months or so you can see, whether he has the captain's armband or not, he is going to be a captain.

"He is a top professional around the club, he lives his life right and of those who've I've played with he's the best at covering in front of the back four. When the full-backs go forward he is always looking at the gaps he can cover. The amount of metres he covers in games is immense."

Capello has to name his squad on February 25 for the Holland friendly, which is when he will also be expected to reveal who will wear the armband in the game at Wembley and probably into Euro 2012 as well.

As Standard Sport revealed on Friday, Terry is still determined to play for his country despite the disappointment over losing the captaincy and he hopes to recover from a knee injury in time to face the Dutch.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas believes Capello was right to support Terry by publicly criticising the FA's decision to axe Terry as skipper on Italian TV earlier this week.

Villas-Boas, who has also continued to stand by Terry since the player was accused of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand in a game last October, said: "He has the right to his opinion and to share that defence with the player."