Ex-Leeds United man makes Whites captaincy prediction and highlights Liam Cooper break decision

Tyler Adams has future Leeds United captain written all over him and I probably would have said that even before the World Cup. I would have said that even before he was made captain of the US Men's National Team, just because of the way he plays, the respect that other players have got for him and of course being that central midfielder - he can see everything with eyes and ears all around the pitch there.

His demeanour and the way that he sets up the game is very impressive. He might only be 23 but he has got better and better for Leeds and of course when he missed one we certainly felt that, so it's been a really impressive start to life at Elland Road. Watching him in action for the US, he's so unfazed by everything, he's been a rock for them and even when he had to answer Iranian journalist's questions he was magnificent, understanding what to say, what not to say and showing great leadership on and off the pitch.

Looking at Adams' career to date, he seems to have a voracious appetite for experience and whatever is thrown at him he laps it up. It's not surprising that he's done so well, so quickly, in the Premier League but there's no doubt there are little things that he will be learning along the way and Liam Cooper is the best one to be learning from. Players have been here, there and everywhere during this break and Cooper headed straight out to Dubai to work hard in the heat on his fitness and conditioning, so he could come back sharp, once again setting a great example to his team-mates.

Looking back at my own captains, even right back as far as Under 21s, Tony Adams stood out, along with Terry Butcher, Gordon Strachan and Graham Roberts at Chelsea. All of those great leaders were characters who had such an effect on the team. They had to be very good players, of course, in their own right but their impact on their team-mates was what it was all about when it came to the armband.

Hopefully Cooper will have lots more time being that leader but Adams certainly is one of those who could take that mantle as and when. Even right now for Leeds, I think it's important that on the pitch there's lots of leaders but certainly Adams has got all the attributes.

Leeds are now back at it with Jesse Marsch, albeit without Adams and their two other World Cup players, and the head coach will be hoping and praying they come back safe and sound. He's going to have to work out how best to prepare the team without those three starters involved, but every international break brings issues with players going away. This one hasn't actually depleted us as severely as they usually do, so we're better off and other Premier League clubs are definitely a lot worse off.

As for the rest of the squad, Marsch will be focused on getting them back up to speed really quickly and back down to business because Christmas is always such an important period every single season, but this one especially if you can get it right. With so many games in a short space of time you can really make a difference to your season and though we have some tough ones, they are games to look forward to.

Beyond the Premier League return we'll have this season's first and hopefully not last FA Cup fixture. It's incredible how many times we've been drawn away from home, in a row, so much so that it doesn't make sense at all. It's crazy. And of course, what you want most is a home draw. But yet again, Cardiff City represents another difficult one and we have come unstuck a few times against so-called lesser opposition. I suppose the third round of the FA Cup is huge for lots of teams and of course when a so-called bigger boy comes to town they'll give it absolutely everything.

Leeds can be under no illusion - this is going to be another very, very difficult game. Then of course you add in the rivalry of Cardiff-Leeds over the recent years, but we've got to do our utmost to make sure we get through because it feels like it's about time that we did something in a cup competition.

The difficulty is that clearly the value of an FA Cup or a League Cup run compared to Premier League results isn't the same and that gap is widening. Suddenly the Premier League is all encompassing but you know from a fans point of view, and certainly from a player point of view, the cups are fantastic and they can feed off them and take form into the league and vice versa. I think it's important we put up a very good show, however, what team we'll put up is down to Jesse Marsch to work out. We know where the priorities are but it would be great to have a bit of a cup run this season.