Rio Ferdinand is not the brightest star in the galaxy and he might be slightly deluded to believe that [Read the rest of this entry »]
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Posts Tagged ‘ferdinand’
With four months remaining until England’s first World Cup qualification game against Andorra, manager Fabio Capello has hinted that he’s narrowed down the search for the squad’s next captain to two names: Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand.
The Sun is reporting that Gerrard is a slight favourite to take over the captaincy on a more permanent basis due to the fact that he’s a midfielder, and Capello would prefer someone with a more central role to lead the squad out for the first match.
A source close to Capello said: “Fabio is thinking very hard about this decision but likes to see his captains in the middle of the park bossing the game.
“No one has been ruled out but it looks like Gerrard is ahead.” (The Sun)
So it looks like Capello has an opinion on who should carry the armband – and I’m sure almost everyone else does as well.
So what’s your take? Is Gerrard or Ferdinand the right choice to captain the squad in World Cup qualification? Or should Fabio consider giving the armband back to John Terry, or maybe even Gareth Barry?
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The month of June in the year 2008 will be remembered for the endless stream of speculation surrounding the future of Cristiano Ronaldo. Especially if the boy wonder helps Portugal win Euro 2008, which looks a distinct possibility after a hot-to-trot display against Turkey.
Despite the forward not wanting to talk about where he’ll be playing his football next year, that hasn’t stopped the likes of Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand towing the club line and stating that they expect him to be among their ranks next season. According to Sky Sports, the latter thinks it’s a no-brainer as to where the Red Devils number seven will be plying his trade next season.
“At the end of the day he is a Man United player and long may that continue,” he said, adding he thought it was imperative that the club keeps him.
“I want him to be my team-mate because he is a fantastic footballer and that means we are going to be that bit more successful if we have got him in our ranks.
“As I said, I would love him to stay but I am not the man who makes the decisions at the club.
“So we are just like the fans really, we read the papers and listen to the TV and stuff and we’ll watch this space but I’m sure he will be a Man United player next season.”
You’re sure or you hope Rio? You can’t say you’re like a fan and then confidently assert that you think your star player will remain in Manchester. What would United do without their jewel in the crown? Worry quite a lot about how they can possibly retain The Premier League or indeed the Champions League next season?
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According to the Daily Telegraph, Sir Alex Ferguson is a man in a hurry. The Scot is in no mood to kick around his house, sipping red wine and watching the stars of Euro 2008 rise in value with every kick, pass and tackle they make during the June tournament. The Manchester United manager is reportedly looking to do some quick business, including some extra firepower and a more permanent right-back solution than Wes Brown.
Ferguson is a long time admirer of Manchester City’s Micah Richards and the ongoing uncertainty over the future of manager Sven Goran Eriksson and any likely successor at Eastlands has convinced the United manager that a bid in the region of £20 million would be accepted.
While apparently:
Sevilla’s Luis Fabiano is seen as the ideal orthodox striker.
It appears that Fergie has around £50million to spend (the same as last season) on new signings and is likely to go for quality over quantity, especially with a bulky squad already. Micah Richards would be particularly useful, due to his ability to play right-back and centre half, providing cover across the back like if Ferdinand or Vidic were to be crocked. Not that Manchester City fans would be exactly chuffed with this happening.
Tagged Under: eastlands, ferdinand, ferguson, Luis Fabiano, Manchester City FC, Manchester United, micah richards, Sevilla, sir alex ferguson, vidic
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Especially the decision to not include a single Chelsea player in the line-up? After all, this is a team which could still quite feasibly win the Premier League title, while they are favourites to beat Liverpool and make it to the Champions League final.
Team: James (Portsmouth); Sagna (Arsenal), Ferdinand, Vidic (Man U), Clichy (Arsenal); Ronaldo (Man U), Gerrard (Liverpool), Fabregas (Arsenal), Young (Villa); Adebayor (Arsenal), Torres (Liverpool).
Are there any glaring omissions from the XI selected? Naturally, these things are always subjective, although it’s difficult to argue that any of the above haven’t stood out for their teams this season. Chelsea’s Frank Lampard and John Terry might have had more of a look-in if they hadn’t been injured for chunks of the season, while the likes of Joleon Lescott, Gareth Barry and Glen Johnson have all performed extremely well for their respective clubs.
Who would feature in your team of the season?
Tagged Under: adebayor, Arsenal FC, Chelsea FC, fabregas, ferdinand, gerrard, lampard, lescott, Liverpool FC, Manchester United, Portsmouth FC, Ronaldo, terry, torres, vidic, villa
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Goodness me, what a catalogue of incidents to report both during and after the big match on Saturday. There was the usual ‘controversial’ refereeing decisions made, including the award of a penalty to Chelsea for an apparent ‘ball-to-hand’, the non-award of a penalty at the other end of the pitch after Michael Ballack got up close and personal with Cristiano Ronaldo and then a spot of handbags between Obi and Ferdinand at the close of the game.
The BBC report that the fun didn’t end there, with the likes of Patrice Evra and Gary Neville getting involved with the Chelsea groundstaff (!) after the match and Rio Ferdinand accidentally kicking a female steward. Not to mention Sir Alex Ferguson fuming at the referee in time-honoured fashion. When the stakes are high, you can seemingly guarantee ‘incidents’ in these games.
Patrice Evra, Gary Neville, Ji-Sung Park and Paul Scholes were warming down after a 2-1 loss when they were asked to move by ground staff, sparking a row. Both clubs say they will look at footage before deciding on any action.
“We will obviously be asking Chelsea to let us see their CCTV footage of the incident,” said an FA spokesman. “This will have nothing to do with the referee’s report. He would have been in his dressing room a long way from the incident.”
Ferdinand lashed out at a brick wall as he walked off the pitch but also made contact with a female steward. “Unfortunately, a lady was stood by and I accidentally brushed her with my foot. I apologised profusely and went back to make sure she was OK,” he said.
“I have arranged for a bouquet of flowers to be sent to her. Credit to her, she laughed it off and was very understanding. She said she wasn’t hurt.”
Chelsea were charged with failing to control their players after losing 2-0 at Old Trafford earlier this season, although it appears that United have been culpable of exactly the same thing this weekend. No team likes losing but these two teams find such a notion so unacceptable that it seemingly spills out into ugly scenes which bring the game into disrepute.
Tagged Under: ballack, Chelsea FC, ferdinand, ferguson, Manchester United, neville, patrice evra, Ronaldo
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Rio Ferdinand captained England on their latest outing, a disappointing 1-0 defeat to France. However, the Daily Telegraph report that his Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney could be the national team’s captain of the future, if Fabio Capello’s comments are anything to go by.
Much uncertainty surrounds the current England captaincy, with Steven Gerrard, Ferdinand and John Terry seemingly in line for the armband. However, there’s no doubt that when it comes to showing passion for the jersey, one player seems to stand head and shoulders above the rest.
“It is an interesting question. Wayne Rooney is very young but I believe in the future he could be captain of England one day,” Capello said.
“He’s a leader. He sets a good example on the pitch. He is very young so we need to give him a bit more time to get some more experience and mature.”
‘Wazza’ has certainly come a long way already. It would have been unthinkable to have linked him to the Captaincy two or three seasons ago when he was flying into challenges, swearing at referees and telling fellow team-mates to back off (or words to that nature) when they tried to calm him down. It’s clear that he’s possibly the only player who is guaranteed a place in the starting XI for years to come and Capello looks like he wants to build a team around this precocious talent.
Tagged Under: capello, captain, England, ferdinand, France, gerrard, john, rooney, sport, sports, terry
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Middlesbrough are a curious team, they have a tepid record against their mediocre midtable colleagues, but put them against a Big 4 side and they suddenly play their socks off. This weekend saw ‘Boro get a thoroughly deserved 2-2 draw against Manchester United at the Riverside and Sir Alex’s misery didn’t just end with the two dropped points, as Rio Ferdinand limped off sparking fears that United might have to make do without both Vidic and Rio – squeaky bum time indeed!
When S’Alex was asked about Rio’s replacement, Gerard Pique – he seemed more than happy with his contribution, which is just as well as he could be thrown in at the deep end against Roma on Wednesday.
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