Can Tiote be our future captain?

Cheik Tiote has established himself as one of Newcastle's key men this season.

The Ivory Coast international has recently signed a new contract on Tyneside and has stated how happy he is at the club. He has even rebuffed interest from Chelsea and Real Madrid as well apparently, although I have some doubts on that as the story comes from the Sunday Sun.

Yesterday I made a rather rare trip back home and took in the match at St James' Park. Generally I attend away games, but whilst I was up there I thought I may as well take in the match, especially as it was Mrs. Toonsy's idea. How could I possibly refuse? I mean it was her birthday after all....

Anyway, I could have a moan about the ref, I can moan about some basic errors, some poor finishing or some poor defending if I choose to, but I'm not going to do that. Instead I am going to focus on Cheik Tiote.

Yesterday wasn't the first time that I have seen him action, but I did notice that there was something extra about him against Bolton. Tiote seemed to carry a bit of extra authority and seemed to get involved in in the attack more often than I have seen in the past.

He took set pieces and even grabbed himself an assist when he chased down another one of Ryan Taylor's shit crosses (those who say that Taylor is a good set-piece taker really, REALLY need to get their eyes checked) and showed him how it should be done by planting the ball straight on Kevin Nolan's head for the opening goal of the game.

Tiote was everywhere, again, yesterday. He misplaced a couple of passes and was partly at fault for the Bolton goal, but overall he was excellent again. I would suggest that Tiote is more important to our team right now than any other individual is at the moment.

The way he conducted himself and the way he carried the team at times did make me think though. As I sat there watching him I thought that he would make a fantastic captain for our club. Think about it. The lad shows commitment, passion, drive, leads by example, says he loves the club etc etc. Isn't that what you want from a captain?

I'm not saying that Kevin Nolan should be deposed as captain immediately, as to honest he is the main man and does a fantastic job at geeing the team up, but perhaps there is a space for vice-captain in the absence of Kevin Nolan in the offing?

Do you think Tiote would have it in him? Is he big enough to carry the responsibility? Would his penchant for a yellow card be a problem?

What do you think?