Rio Ferdinand

[JC7rox]

Ok, people. This is the guy that most people wanted to hand the captain's armband to. This is the guy who held out for money because he and his agent felt he was 'the best CB in world football.' And now, this is the guy who stands to lose his starting spot. So, what the hell happened?

Rio Ferdinand, at one point, was the cornerstone of our team, of our youth movement. He was supposed to lead the charge, but instead he has increasingly remained anonymous (leadership-wise). He sticks to his own performance, and it seems he doesn't really influence those players around him. Our defense looks tattered, and too many CF's have had fun at Rio's expense. I've felt that within the last season, Heinze really made Rio look good. Before, it was Rio who made our backline look good, but Heinze covered his ass a lot last season. Many of you have said that the most important players at our club were Rio and Keane, but without Keane, we lack a leader. Rio is just not that, and doesn't look like he'll be that any time soon. He actually looks less and less of it every match.

I know he is in bad form, and I also know that he is a world-class defender, but my gripe with him seems to be his selfishness. He is more concerned with him looking good than with the team looking good. He is not a leader, and his influence in the team doesn't show. Perhaps I'm wrong.

P.S. I'm not looking for a scapegoat for the 'Boro disaster. This is not even a knee-jerk to that. I just felt that Rio was supposed to lead our youth charge and to this point he doesn't seem suitable. I felt that Rio was the cornerstone of ManUtd's new generation, but he just seems comfortable with looking after himself.

[Teso Dos Bichos]

"Ferdinand - wank, wank, wank...
Ferdinand - wank, wank, wank..."


I have no idea what is wrong with him, but it is certainly a mental issue. Now that he has secured his bumper contract, he doesn't seem to give a crap. He's already lost his England place, yet he still doesn't care. I don't think he would bother too much if he lost his place at Man Utd either. I would personally fine him, make him train on his own and put him on the transfer list. If he then decides that he can finally be bothered putting in some effort, we can talk.

[Sofabloke]

To use the old football cliche, form is temporary but class is permanent. Rio is a class player who has hit a bad run of form, thats all there is to it for me.

Because of his laid back approach, when he is having a bad run of form he tends to look lazy. Its just his style, like any sportsman (especially in the run-up to a world-cup final) his poor form will be hurting him as much as it is us.

Rio will bounce back.

[Dark Savante]

Rio has suffered a loss of confidence to go with his loss of form and for a player like Rio confidence is essential. An elegant type of CB always needs his wits about him...if those wits desert them they have nothing left. They are not gritty types, they don't 'get stuck in' or 'roll their sleeves up' when things go wrong.. they try to play themselves out of trouble and with no confidence that will lead to numerous errors as we are seeing with Rio right now.

I think it has been obvious for some time that Rio's weakness has been exposed, Drunken Ferguson did a real number on him and one of the best kept secrets in football was revealed. Teams have gone at Rio hard in that aspect. Putting the physical donkey types on Rio knowing he wont want to get 'stuck in' or put his head where he will get hurt - Mourinho will put Drogba on Rio's side next week - I commented on Rio trying to get tough and manning up against guys his own size or larger - who remembers his vitriol against the Benfica CB or Crouch for example?

I personally think the criticsm put a huge dent in his confidence and when a natural player like him second guesses himself his whole game will turn to ********. He's not looking to hoof the ball out like a Campbell or Terry and he's also not looking to stop a cf at all costs like a hard nosed type of CB will. Rio is looking to glide past, smoothly collect the ball, run forward 20-40yards and then play a forward pass . This process is disjointed now and it's making Rio look not only poor, but foolish. He'll get it back - he's playing for a starting spot at the WC and if he wants to move on from here he has to impress future employees - he has it all to play for this term and a player like him does not just become ********.

What he could REALLY do with right now is a CB next to him who can take the reigns for a while whilst he sorts himself out.. Rio and Steve Bruce would have been a dream pairing! The midfield in front of him right now is also not helping. This is another way in which Keano's absence hurts the team. The one player who can help Rio, give him confidence, keep him focused and cover him adequately is out leaving Rio alone to look like he's a novice. The management should rue not getting a quality CB in over the last window. I thought that at the time and I still think that now. Every player will suffer a loss of form, when it is one as crucial as Rio it just looks a lot worse.

[United Forever]

NOT Rio's fault. Fletcher is rubbish in the formation Fergie has him in so that is why Rio is being exposed so much. Just shows how important Keano still is to us.

[JC7rox]

To use the old football cliche, form is temporary but class is permanent. Rio is a class player who has hit a bad run of form, thats all there is to it for me.

Because of his laid back approach, when he is having a bad run of form he tends to look lazy. Its just his style, like any sportsman (especially in the run-up to a world-cup final) his poor form will be hurting him as much as it is us.

Rio will bounce back.

My concern is not for Rio's form, nor his play. I stated that I knew he was a class defender. My deepest concern lies in all the eggs we put in the basket that this guy was going to lead the charge with our new youngsters. My concern is whether he cares about the club at all or just about himself. Many people assumed that he was going to be the next captain, but he just doesn't show it, and if he ever did, he doesn't show leadership at all anymore. I'm just wondering what the hell happened with this guy.

"Laid back, With my mind on my money and my money on my mind"
-'Gin and Juice'
proper description of Rio Ferdinand-2005?

P.S. Sorry if that wasn't so clear on the first post.

[Dark Savante]

My concern is not for Rio's form, nor his play. I stated that I knew he was a class defender. My deepest concern lies in all the eggs we put in the basket that this guy was going to lead the charge with our new youngsters. My concern is whether he cares about the club at all or just about himself. Many people assumed that he was going to be the next captain, but he just doesn't show it, and if he ever did, he doesn't show leadership at all anymore. I'm just wondering what the hell happened with this guy.

"Laid back, With my mind on my money and my money on my mind"
-'Gin and Juice'
proper description of Rio Ferdinand-2005?
You cannot extoll confidence and virtue to others until your own house is in order. You'd look a bit of a hypocrite and a twat if you were daring to order others around whilst they are bailing you out. Rio, when he is on the top of his game, does look like a vice captain. He hasn't exuded that vibe for some time, but then his form has been all over the place, hence him looking amatuerish at times and certainly not like a future rock to build upon.

[JC7rox]

You cannot extoll confidence and virtue to others until your own house is in order. You'd look a bit of a hypocrite and a twat if you were daring to order others around whilst they are bailing you out. Rio, when he is on the top of his game, does look like a vice captain. He hasn't exuded that vibe for some time, but then his form has been all over the place, hence him looking amatuerish at times and certainly not like a future rock to build upon.


You're probably right. For some reason, though, I felt that even though his form is all wrong, his leadership would be a reason to keep him on the field. If he gets caught up in personal issues and business matters and that affects his form, that is not a good influence on the youngsters. But you are right, he would look like a hyprocrite, and even Keano was once caught up in a contract dispute. I liked the whole vice-captain stuff, though. Who do you think would be our best bet at our next captain (be it from the current squad or from our youngsters coming up)?

[StrikerCW]

I concur with JC, I believe he is looking at himself too much. He SHOULD be yelling at everyone getting everything organized, many think that is the CMid's job, and to some extent it is, but I think just as much has to do with the centre-halves. In front of the GK, they control the back and football is a game that is built from the back. Football is therefore a build-up game, you can have all the great forward and attack mids in the world, but if you don't have an established defense in the back running things properly from the start, then you have nothing but a few dribblers and some shooters.

This also goes back to the loss of Keano, Rio does need someone in front of him to encourage him along, he is NOT thetype of CB that can control everything himself, IMO. He is great, as DS said, at starting the attack from the back, but he is not the type to lead. He will never be a great leader/captain in my view because he does have the vocality or leadership abilities to due such. That may seem retorical but you get my drift. Well I'm just rambling now, and have lost my direction. BUT

Basically I agree that he can't rule the team himself he needs SOMEone experianced in the field (not VDS) as either a partner, or a good DMid in front of him to help him along back into good form.

[Dark Savante]

You're probably right. For some reason, though, I felt that even though his form is all wrong, his leadership would be a reason to keep him on the field. If he gets caught up in personal issues and business matters and that affects his form, that is not a good influence on the youngsters. But you are right, he would look like a hyprocrite, and even Keano was once caught up in a contract dispute. I liked the whole vice-captain stuff, though. Who do you think would be our best bet at our next captain (be it from the current squad or from our youngsters coming up)?
Honestly, United without Keano having the armband will be a bit surreal to me. Everyone who has it now knows it's only temprorary and Keano's aura is always over us. I thought Rio was dead set to be captain for some time...until the contract dispute. Since then I lost a lot of faith in him... I don't really trust his heart is with United and that makes me wary of him having the armband. Without bias I would say he's a natural successor, but it would mean a complete change in the type of captain Fergie always has at the helm...the captains he picks are always firebrands. Rio is a polar opposite.. so I don't know if that would work out.

After Rio I would go with VDS. A lot of people want G.N but I don't think he commands respect. He's vocal and united to the bone, but he isn't a player I myself would ever be inspired by. Generally fergie's captains are very talented players who can turn or control a game. So for me G.N doesn't fit the bill.. It'll be a big headache for the staff when the time comes I would imagine.

In the distant future without a doubt D.Jones if he makes it here has captain stamped across his forehead.

[footykid]

Perhaps the best reference would be Thierry Henry? In play style and leadership ability. Both have an extremely calm attitude towards their play which is often misunderstood as over confidence, arrogance or lazyness. Which are all incorrect.

You see it often in young players, players with huge amounts of natural god giving talent, or the ability to take huge amounts of pressure in stride. These are the players who usualy won't make it because so much of their game is in their head. This puts them in an unwanted leadership role, as coaches/managers look to gifted, and calm players to lead teams on the field.
These players are extremely tempremental, meaning almost anything off field can mess with their game. Personally I was surprised Rio was able to comeback so well from the suspension. I suppose it had alot to do with the faith SAF showed him.

But, like I said, don't confuse their calm exterior for a calm interior, you'd be surprised how much actually goes through players like Rio, Thierry, even Ronaldinho heads after every game, win, lose, or draw.

[thedefender23]

I love Rio's game and elegant style of play because it sets him apart from just about every other CB in the world. How many central defenders in the world game today do u know with Ferdinand's ability 2 start a counter or win the ball, dance around a forward and play a nice pass? That said, i think Rio needs 2 discover a meaner, more aggressive side to his game. He needs 2 get "stuck in" more and become a more physical prescence. Once he does this, Rio's game will go 2 new heights.

[StrikerCW]

On another note, this is England we are talking about, not Spain, Rio is good for starting the counter, but we do need a hardnosed Steve-Austin style SOB to kick some arse and just plain shut down the other players, to partner Rio.

Sol did that for Rio with the Nats IIRC?

[Republic of Mancunia]

You cannot extoll confidence and virtue to others until your own house is in order. You'd look a bit of a hypocrite and a twat if you were daring to order others around whilst they are bailing you out.


A little off-topic here but ironically that's why I don't worship Keane the way some others do. The first time he came out and had a major go at others in the press coincided with probably the biggest dip of form in his own career and I thought it was completely out of order. It's always tarnished my opinion of him slightly. :(

If you want to draw a comparison to Rio, this came the season after he held out for a large contract too.

[Dark Savante]

I love Rio's game and elegant style of play because it sets him apart from just about every other CB in the world. How many central defenders in the world game today do u know with Ferdinand's ability 2 start a counter or win the ball, dance around a forward and play a nice pass? That said, i think Rio needs 2 discover a meaner, more aggressive side to his game. He needs 2 get "stuck in" more and become a more physical prescence. Once he does this, Rio's game will go 2 new heights.
tbh, I don't think Rio can get 'stuck in' - he doesn't knoiw how too and I bet he's never ever had to in his career. At West Ham he was the 'new Bobby Moore' and I bet he was never told to get stuck in, quite the opposite, a player with that kind of skill has probably been told on countless occassion he is to help the team by getting the ball and bringing it upfield.

The likes of Drunken Ferguson will always give Rio a headache. He needs the guy next to him to do that kind of work. You know right now if Brown and Silvestre could bew trusted I would love to see Rio at DM.

[Dark Savante]

A little off-topic here but ironically that's why I don't worship Keane the way some others do. The first time he came out and had a major go at others in the press coincided with probably the biggest dip of form in his own career and I thought it was completely out of order. It's always tarnished my opinion of him slightly. :(

If you want to draw a comparison to Rio, this came the season after he held out for a large contract too.
You sound exactly like one of my friends who points that out to me once in a while :D I just think that's Keano , he cant help himself even when he's not doing well himself.

[GrodZilla]

The likes of Drunken Ferguson will always give Rio a headache. He needs the guy next to him to do that kind of work. You know right now if Brown and Silvestre could bew trusted I would love to see Rio at DM.

I have myself thought about that as well, the problem again is his physical game . As a DM he would see more of the ball and that would benefit us, but if Drunken gives him problems in the backline, imagine what a Gattuso would do to him in midfield. I like the idea but I don't think it would go with the physical approach we like to have to big games.

It was Roy who said that you have to go out there, be tough and show the opposition that if they turn it into a physical game, they will loose. I doubt that Rio has that in him and that would require him to have a support CM to handle that part of the game. In all that would leave us short in the attacking part.

[United Forever]

Phishy was waiting to pounce on me boi................

[Mac_Howard]

I too think he could solve our DM problem. He reads the game extremely intelligently and also distributes the ball well. But Brown and Tweety at CB doesn't do it for me. But maybe it would be easier on the market to find a quality CB than DM.

And while we're at this: why not morph Rooney into an AM instead of striker - he's much happier 25 yards out from goal than 10. Play 4-4-2 with Rio and Rooney in the centre :)

[littleman]

A little off-topic here but ironically that's why I don't worship Keane the way some others do. The first time he came out and had a major go at others in the press coincided with probably the biggest dip of form in his own career and I thought it was completely out of order. It's always tarnished my opinion of him slightly. :(

If you want to draw a comparison to Rio, this came the season after he held out for a large contract too.

It's sad and stupid if you can't criticize others just because you aren't doing well yourself. It's like movie critics shitting on themselves just because they can't make a movie. I think you're wrong. And Keane's aware of his own form, I think. As Captain, you have to stand up and get things in order, even if you're not in the best shape yourself.