With England's international performance dominating media...I'm listening to Talksport, of course and there is much chat about who should be England Captain; Harry Kane is a talking point and Declan Rice seems to have had a good experience recently. Is "Captain" a burden? can Declan hold on to it? Is there anyone else? Let's have a look at the very early past and see how Cuthbert Ottaway, the first Captain, coped!
| Tenure | Incumbent | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1872–1874 |  | Cuthbert Ottaway | |
He attended school and university at a time when the new Association code was gaining considerable popularity, and as was often the case, in the earliest days of the amateur game, represented several teams, playing for Old Etonians, Oxford University, Crystal Palace FC and Marlow FC.
As a club player, Ottaway took part in three successive FA Cup finals between 1873 and 1875, losing 1–2 with Oxford University against Wanderers in 1873, winning 2–0 with Oxford against Royal Engineers a year later, and then representing Old Etonians against Royal Engineers in 1875. He was noted for his speed and dribbling ability – this at a time when "the dribbling game", in which one man retained control of the ball for as long as possible until tackled, had yet to be superseded by the "combination" (passing) game.
Ottaway played an important part in two of his three finals. In 1874 he captained Oxford and helped to pin the Engineers back in their own half for long periods with extended excursions into opposition territory. He also participated in a three-man dribble that took the ball almost the whole length of the pitch and resulted in the scoring of his team's second and decisive goal. In 1875, Ottaway represented Old Etonians in a match notable chiefly because it was played in a "howling gale". The conditions considerably favoured the Eton team, which had the wind at its backs for all but 10 minutes of the 90, and all 30 minutes of extra time (teams in this period changed ends after every goal). Ottaway himself received a severe hack on his ankle from Richard Ruck, 37 minutes into the final and was forced to leave the field; in his absence, the Old Boys were regarded as fortunate to have held on for a 1–1 draw. Ottaway failed to recover in time for the replay, held only three days later, and Etonians also lost the services of three other players who had prior commitments. Unable to obtain adequate replacements, the Old Boys arrived at the ground an hour late and lost the delayed replay 0–2.
Although the precise nature of Ottaway's ankle injury remains unknown, there is no evidence that he ever played senior football again after the 1875 Cup Final. His biographer, Michael Southwick, suggests that "the damage sustained to his ankle... signalled the end of his footballing career."
As an international, Ottaway was selected to lead the England team travelling to Hamilton Cresent, Partick to play Scotland at theirs, on 30 November 1872 in what is now recognised as the first international match to be played, anywhere, ever!!
England dominated the match, played before a crowd of around 4,000 at the West of England Cricket Ground, but were unable to break down an obdurate Scottish defence, a failing probably attributable to the "rampant individualism" indulged by Ottaway's forwards in this early and formative period of the Association game. The game ended in a 0–0 draw.
Ottaway did not play in the return fixture, arranged in London, at The Oval, on 8 March 1873 (England won 4-2). This match was also historic because England debutant, William Kenyon-Slaney, scored two goals and was the first England international born outside the Britsh Isles. He was born in India. 3,000 watched this match.
Ottoway did captain his country in the third England-Scotland international, played once again at Partick on 7 March 1874. On this occasion, the result was a 2–1 home victory for Scotland.
The precise reasons for Ottaway's elevation to the captaincy in 1872 are not known. Southwick suggests that he owed his selection solely to Charles Alcock, who had originally been chosen to captain the team by the committee of the Football Association. Alcock held considerable "sway" in the FA!
Alcock was injured playing for Old Harrovians sometime before the international, and, writes Southwick, "it being too late to call a committee meeting... it fell, almost certainly, to Alcock, and Alcock alone, to decide who would fill the breach." The Field, on the other hand, suggested that the decision was made by general acclaim, writing: "Mr C.J. Ottaway [was] unanimously selected by the Englishmen as best worthy to take the command."
As simple as that!!
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