SOWDEN'S ABOUT - Part Four

IT was a tale of two captains last Saturday at differing levels of the football spectrum - and showed the very best and very worst of what wearing a skipper's armband is all about.

In the cauldron of the Stadium of Light, Manchester United captain Roy Keane got sent off for a deliberate elbow on his former Republic of Ireland international team-mate Jason McAteer. At more or less the same time Yeovil Town skipper Terry Skiverton fired home a thunderous header to give the Glovers a 1-0 victory at Rockingham Road over Kettering Town.

Captaincy is such a vital position in any team. Although there is no doubt that Roy Keane is a great player, would he not be even better if he devoted his entire time to leading his own men on the pitch rather than waging his war against his opponents in such a violent way?

His outburst at the Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy during the summer on the eve of the World Cup Finals was a disgrace - not something you would expect from an international team captain. He was a player who was supposed to be leading by example, a player who younger members of the squad were supposed to be looking up to for leadership. Although we may never know the full truth of what happened out in the Far East, Keane certainly did his own battle-scarred image no good whatsoever.

The revelations in his autobiography that he intended to go in high on a challenge to virtually end the career of one Manchester City opponent was despicable. How can somebody be allowed to get away with making such comments - especially somebody who is so much in the media spotlight, the captain of reputedly the biggest club side in the world?

And then Keane let his violent heart rule his mixed-up head with that much-publicised elbow on McAteer. He showed no remorse, no apology, no nothing. Despite being a great player, Keane is an even greater liability.

It would be interesting to know whether Yeovil Town boss Gary Johnson would keep faith with a player of Keane's mentality? Gary is very keen on not only getting the best players available, but acquiring players who would fit in with the ethos of Huish Park and be a part of the squad spirit. Would Gary be keen on having someone like Keane - a player likely to end up being plastered all over the papers for acts of stupidity and one who is likely to start shouting and screaming at his team-mates on the pitch as he did with Phil Neville last Saturday?

With Terry Skiverton you have none of the problems associated with Keane. Admittedly the Nationwide Conference and the Premier League are worlds apart in terms of standard, media attention and pressure, but surely a captain should adapt to whatever the venue they find themselves leading their troops out into battle?

I know I upset Terry with some of the comments I made in the Yeovil Express in the starting months of last season when he was clearly troubled by injuries and dogged by inconsistent form. I then reported in the Express the views of supporters who believed he should have been dropped as skipper in place of Michael McIndoe who produced his best form when given the captain's armband in Terry's absence.

I know I upset Terry with those comments because he told me so. But he did not do it by the probable Keane method of chinning me in a bar, but he spoke to me in a quiet and well-spoken manner to signal to me that he had been clearly hurt by what I had written. I hope, however, to some extent, that my criticism made him even more determined to come back a better player.

He put his full efforts into proving to the doubters that he was still one of the best centre halves outside the Football League and he did so in emphatic style. Who can forget that glorious winner he scored at Doncaster Rovers in the FA Umbro Trophy Fourth Round Replay? Who can forget that commanding performance he made at Northwich Victoria in the Sixth Round? Who can forget him lifting the FA Umbro Trophy at Villa Park on May 12?

I have often referred to Terry in the past in the Express as the Glovers' answer to the brilliant former Arsenal and England skipper Tony Adams - leaders of men who have led by example and determination. Although Adams had well-documented problems with his private life involving alcoholism, he was a man mountain on the pitch and an inspiration to many and his autobiography was frighteningly frank and open. But reading Adams' book you felt that he had turned a corner and had made a new life for himself and I am sure that once the dust had settled and he had sorted out his head, he was far and away one of the greatest defenders to have graced the pitches of this shore and abroad.

Terry Skiverton is in the Tony Adams mould of captaincy. And I just hope that when Terry decides to sit down and write his own memoirs he might just, despite our fall-out of last season, give me a ring to help him put pen to paper. It would be an absolute pleasure.

Keep the faith bruvvers!

UP THE GLOVERS!