Hodgson Disappointed For Gerrard Being Denied Captainship

Roy Hodgson today spoke of his belief that Steven Gerrard should have retained the England captaincy. The Liverpool midfielder skippered the Three Lions' at the summer's World Cup after Rio Ferdinand was ruled out by injury, while he also led Fabio Capello's men in the three matches that followed the South Africa finals. However, Gerrard relinquished the armband to fit-again Ferdinand for the Euro 2012 qualifier with Montenegro on Tuesday - a decision Hodgson admits he doesn't agree with. The boss told Liverpoolfc.tv: "I was disappointed to see that he had the England captaincy taken away from him - I've got to be honest and say I don't really understand that decision. "As much as Rio (Ferdinand) is a great player as well, I think if you have been out for a long time through injury and you're making your first England appearance for a long, long time, someone who actually had the captaincy for three games and had done brilliantly deserves to keep it. "I haven't spoken to Steven about the subject but I just hope he is not too disappointed about it because at the moment, in his form and with his ability and desire to take responsibility, he plays a true captain's innings for us and I think he did it for England in the three games before (Tuesday night)."