Barclays Capital

Director of football: John Varley
Age: 50
Appointed: 2000
Value added: 13.3% pa (12th)
Chop rating: 2/5

Varley has done nothing wrong, but is overshadowed by head coach Bob Diamond. However the biggest threat to his position could be a ­takeover bid from a rich foreigner

Head coach: Bob Diamond (55, 1997)

Star players: Now that Diamond spends most of his time in the boardroom, his joint captains have taken more responsibility – and Jerry del Missier, rather than Grant Kvalheim, seems to have more influence

Rising star: The tabloid press is obsessed with Roger Jenkins – not just for his earnings and his division’s profitability, but also for the leading WAG in investment banking – his wife Dijana

Weakest link: Still waiting for the US business to match undoubted European strength. High compensation levels might start to hit the bottom line, unless the bank can lose its reputation for paying top dollar, or those individuals continue to outperform from a revenue perspective. And the lack of M&A and equities remains a strategic issue – Deutsche shows it's possible to organically build these products silos

Key transfers 2006:

IN: Joe McGrath and Rick Van Zijl (co-heads of US leveraged finance, from Goldman Sachs); John Langley (co-head of European corporate risk advisory, from Merrill Lynch)

OUT: Richard Gladwin (head of FX, to Lehman Brothers); Gary Cottle (head of corporate risk advisory for EMEA, to Morgan Stanley); Robert Palache (head of corporate securitization and real estate EMEA, to Morgan Stanley)

2006 capital markets performance (▼/▲ 2005)

Champions League position 2006: 8th If Barclays Capital were a Champions League team it would be: Arsenal (with apologies to Chelsea fan Bob). Highly respected, long-serving foreign coach has transformed a traditional, previously staid UK institution, with a host of overseas playing talent