Amid the gnashing of teeth about the recall of Jordan Henderson by England, it's worth noting he is a dressing-room leader at a time of desperate shortage of that ilk of player.
MATT BARLOW says: This may be a by-product of our elite academies or the fashion for tactical micro-coaching we have seen take hold in recent years.
Whatever it is, Henderson is what Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder likes to call a 'culture carrier'. Someone capable of dictating moods inside the camp, setting examples and who can be relied upon to manage the dressing room, sorting out problems among players. Every manager craves them. Every successful team will have them. And the beauty of it is that they can reproduce.
Look at Liverpool in full bloom since losing their captain, Henderson. Virgil van Dijk has grown into a great leader. There is Allison and Mo Salah proving just what it takes to be the best in the world in their position. There is Andy Robertson with his background fighting through the leagues and Trent Alexander-Arnold with his deep connections to the city of Liverpool.
Thomas Tuchel appears to have weighed up his England squad and decided that he needs a little bit more of that leadership, even if it is just around the edges. He has left out Harry Maguire who probably falls into the category, too. And he knows Harry Kane well from their time together at Bayern Munich.
Kane is a fine captain in the sense that he leads by example. His preparation is exemplary. He trains well. He rests and refuels in the right manner. If he didn't, he would not have been able to become England's greatest goalscorer. And he is a player conscious of his status.
Kane will address his team-mates and seldom fails to front up in public when required. And by that, I mean facing questions rather than dashing off home and sticking something trite on Instagram from a safe distance. So this is not designed to decry Kane's captaincy.
Kane does not shirk responsibility and yet he might not be a captain with the same sense of collective spirit as Henderson. With his focus trained on scoring all those goals he might not be likely to cajole others, to lift those who are down and keep those on the ground with egos that are threatening to get out of control.
Henderson is in the squad for his experience and his collective leadership skills. He is there to police the dressing room. Not to run telling tales to Tuchel but to make sure the squad have a healthy outlook. To understand the direction of travel and make sure those around him understand it too.
And that should be good for England's emerging leaders, too, those like Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.
Because there was a time not long ago when there were plenty of those types in the England dressing room. When the majority were senior players with achievements under their belts and strong opinions. Sometimes it might even have been a problem.
Modern football is different with brilliant, technically gifted youngsters fast-tracked from academies into Premier League first teams where they operate under detailed instruction from the boss, almost like remote control.
England will need some players who can think for themselves, and Henderson might be one of the few who can carry that culture through the next 18 months and still play a role around the edges of the team.
If he can't, maybe he can teach others how to do it.
Japanese influence stronger than ever
It isn't only Kaoru Mitoma flying once more at Brighton. With Ao Tanaka excelling at Leeds and Yuki Ohashi scoring goals at Blackburn, there has never been such a strong Japanese influence in England football.
North of the border, Celtic's connection to Japan remains strong despite the exit of Kyogo Furuhashi to Rennes in January and there are many more across Europe.
At the start of the season there were an estimated 68 Japanese players in Europe, including in each of the big five leagues.
Twenty-one of the 26 selected for Japan's World Cup qualifiers against Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are playing in Europe, plus five from the J League.
The Japan FA opened an office in Dusseldorf in 2020 to support their players in Europe and the J League are opening one in London this year to create better links to European clubs.
Dust off that passport now
It's a long shot but there's a chance half the Premier League will be in Europe next season.
Five Champions League places are virtually guaranteed after last week's results. Aston Villa will make six if they win it and finish outside the top five.
Manchester United or Tottenham will make seven if they win the Europa League and finish outside the top five, which looks certain.
Plus, two Europa League places and one in the Conference League and that will be 10 out of 20. How's your carbon footprint?
Pyramid doing job for England
Nice timing to combine with the EFL's Youth Development Week to find more than a third of those selected by Lee Carsley for England's Under 21s — including all three of the goalkeepers — are playing in the EFL and all but four have appeared in the lower leagues. Ten of 22 named in Ben Futcher's
Elite League squad, aka the Under 20s, are playing in the EFL. The pyramid is vital for England's development.
Bradford on the rise
Bradford City were, this time last year, thrashing about in midtable, mired in protest and criticised in this column for failing their fans.
Credit their progress. They are firmly on course for promotion, even if they fluffed a chance to pull level with Walsall, who were 12 points clear at the top of League Two in January, by losing at home to struggling Tranmere on Saturday.
Brilliant Brentford
Brentford were incredible at the Gtech Community Stadium before Christmas with hardly a point on the road.
Now, five away wins in a row and not a home win in sight. You’ve got to admire their refusal to be pigeon-holed