Should Harry Kane be England's captain?

When people question why England are so dire at competing on the international stage, it is often opined that club rivalries among the players have prevented largely talented groups of players (especially the golden generation of players such as Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard) from gelling as a unit. 

Whether you believe this is up to you, but one thing that can't be denied is that among fans, partisanship means that the nation finds it hard to get behind their players when they come together to play for England.

The most recent example of this is none other than Harry Kane. The Spurs forward should be universally adored in England; he is widely recognised as one of the best players in the world right now, he is a leading light in the British game, and he is a hardworking, seemingly personable guy. 

Yet despite this, Kane isn't quite as loved in Blighty as you'd expect. Admittedly he didn't help himself with his recent goal-claming debacle, but in this social media age English fans seem to be more loyal to their club sides than they are to their nation. Of course, among Spurs supporters he is adored, but rival fans from clubs such as Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea are quick to ridicule the forward. 

So, when it was announced that Kane will captain England in Russia this summer, there was scorn on social media. "He's claiming the captaincy like he claimed Eriksen's goal!" they joked. "He's not even the captain of his own team!" they cleverly pointed out. "How's he going to captain the side when he plays up front?" the Twitter pundits cried.

The thing that they're forgetting is that the captain's armband is just that, an armband. This isn't cricket. The captain of a football team doesn't need to come up with tactical plans, he doesn't need to be some sort of mythical leader; in reality he just needs to be marketable. In this day and age, captains are there to head up advertising campaigns, talk to the press, and be the face of the team. 

Harry Kane is the most recognisable, most marketable, and arguably most talented, player in the team, and top it off, he's the player who's most likely to start every game.

Yes, players like Jordan Henderson, Gary Cahill and Ashley Young are bigger presences, but they will still be there on and off the pitch, leading and giving instruction, they just won't have an armband on.

"He is a meticulous professional," Gareth Southgate said of Kane when announcing him as captain. "One of the most important things for a captain is that they set the standard every day... I think he is the one who is ready to take that challenge on."

And that's exactly it. Kane's job as a captain is to lead the team by example...with goals. The striker is likely to play in almost every game, and his role is to score goals and give the nation someone to pin their hopes on. 

He might not be Spurs' captain, but he is Hugo Lloris' deputy, and there is no denying that Kane is a motivated, talented professional. There's nothing more to it.