JUST 46 men have proudly held the title Club Captain* at Everton since Nick Ross led the Blues out against Accrington in 1888.
And the latest, Phil Jagielka, has worn the armband with distinction since 2013.
But Jags will turn 36 the week next season kicks off - and missed significant chunks of last season through either injury or the ageing process.
Is the time right to pass on the baton?
Should a new man be leading the Blues out next season?
We look at the candidates.
Phil Jagielka
Should a birth certificate really dictate who is Everton captain?
David Weir was 35 when he was made club captain in 2005.
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The legendary Dave Watson was almost 37 when Howard Kendall decided to make a change and handed the armband to Gary Speed on the eve of the 1997/98 season, but Watson got the armband back the following summer and kept it until he was nearly 40!
Few players have commanded such respect or conveyed such authority in Royal Blue.
Jagielka is another who prefers to lead by example rather than rallying cries, but he has no intention of going quietly.
In March he defiantly stated: “I understand football. When people look at your age sometimes people think you need more of a rest than you do, sometimes you pick up those injuries and they last a little bit longer.
“I understand the way it works but I’m not giving up on my position, on a starting role.
“I’m really proud to walk out as captain, and to walk off as a victorious captain. There’s plenty of life left in me.”
With every passing season the question of Jagielka’s age has become a recurring theme.
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Just six months earlier, in September 2017 when Ashley Williams and Michael Keane were keeping him out of the starting line up, he said: “There were options to try and leave and go and play regular football, either in the same league at a lesser team but even in a different league but I’m at a great club here and I still want to fight for my place.
“I’m proud to still be captain and to try and help out both on and off the pitch. Until I stop getting those emotions, I’m definitely in the right place.”
It would be a big call to take the armband from him.
Seamus Coleman
The popular choice amongst large sections of the Blues’ fan-base, Coleman knows all about the responsibilities of captaincy.
He was made captain of his country, the Republic of Ireland, in September 2016 when Robbie Keane retired and he cuts a more vocal, more demonstrative figure on the pitch than Jagielka.
Everton fans nodded in collective agreement when Coleman followed Anthony Knockaert across the Goodison pitch last season, delivering a withering lecture after the Brighton man had been red-carded for a reckless challenge on Leighton Baines, and he is often the first to front up opponents when his team-mates are on the receiving end.
A stirring dresing room influence, a recent Echo poll asking who should be Blues captain saw the Irishman receive a resounding 77 per cent of the vote.
An interview delivered on international duty last week prior to Marco Silva’s appointment will only have seen that percentage increase.
Coleman said: “It’s about time us players now step up to the plate.
“We’ve not been close to winning something for a long time and at Everton that’s what we want, that’s what I want.
“I’ve been there a long time and, if I leave without having won anything, I’ll be very disappointed.
“As a group of players, no matter who the manager is, we need to take responsibility.”
Whether Coleman is handed extra responsibility remains to be seen, but he would be a popular selection.
Ashley Williams
Another international captain, Williams has all the attributes to carry the armband, after leading Wales to a European Championship semi-final in 2016.
Except one.
His form last season fell off a cliff and while he still leads his country he can’t be guaranteed a starting place at Everton next season.
He failed to figure in the final nine matches of last season after a reckless red card at Burnley and with his 34th birthday looming it would be a staggering call for him to be made captain.
Wayne Rooney
A player who has captained England on 23 occasions should really come into the equation to be captain of his club ... except Wayne Rooney has been in talks with DC United about a move to the MLS since last season finished and may not even be at Everton beyond next week.
Gareth Southgate's words when Rooney stepped down as England captain were telling.
The England boss said: There’s no doubt at times, for any captain, where it detracts from your personal performance because you’ve got to give yourself for the club and for everything, really.”
You need to be a particular type of player to wear the captain's armband - and if Rooney did remain at Goodison he would need to focus more on his performnces than the responsibilities of captaincy.
Davy Klaassen
The man who captained Ajax to a Europa League final is another whose future at the club is clouded by doubt.
He struggled to find a place in the first team squad in the second half of last season and will not come into Marco Silva’s thinking if he does decide to make a change.
*That’s official Club Captain (according to the official club website) as opposed to individuals who have worn the armband for brief spells.