Rio Ferdinand: the 'Rolls Royce' derailed?

There comes a phase in every sportsman’s career, when the reflexes become slower, their agility lowered, the legs seem heavier, the movement a little cumbersome – almost bordering on the dreary.The desire may be there, but somehow the ammunition to out-gun your opponents, is somewhat missing. This makes for a sorry viewing for none other than the fans; the people who have become so used to seeing their heroes effortlessly glide through proceedings, dominating the field of play without appearing perturbed.

In football, more than in many a sports, physical prowess, coupled with the ability to command your body to perform certain actions is paramount for optimum performances. Given that, every sports has its freaks of nature, people like Ryan Giggs who embody longevity and exhibit youthful exuberance, which would put the younger generation to shame, even at the ‘ripe’ age of 38. Then there are genies like Paul Scholes, who are literally trapped in a wine bottle, but just like the wine tastes better with time, they too are able to treat us to the free-flowing football, which is doled out at consummate ease.

And then there is Rio Ferdinand.

Yes, Rio Ferdinand the ‘former’ England International, with seventy-eight caps to his name. A Manchester United stalwart with over four-hundred appearances for the Red Devils. The defender renowned for his acute reading of the game, propelling him to never put a foot wrong; a certain class and elegance oozing from his gait, coupled with the ability to think ahead of his target-men, leading him to be labelled as the Rolls Royce amongst centre-backs. But truth be told, this model seems to be high on cost, low on mileage, a ghost from the past, when he and his partner in crime, Nemanja Vidic used to form an impenetrable wall of sorts. When clean-sheets used to be the norm and, United could attack without any fear and with quite some aplomb.

For the former West Ham United youth-academy graduate, and the corner-stone of the Leeds United side who made it into the Champions League semi-finals in 2002-03, Rio Ferdy 5′s decline has now been pretty evident for quite some time. His carelessness and utter confusion leading to Micheal Kightly’s goal for Stoke City being a prime example; so was him being burnt for pace by a certain Gareth Bale. It seems that age is fast catching up with him, and as Sir Alex Ferguson rightly pointed out that he should give up on his England dream, and try to unite his forces to prolong his club career. Being part of the ‘twitter-ati’ has not helped his case either, as evidenced by the recent Ashley Cole controversy, coupled with the public backlash that he has to generally put up with due to his frank and out-spoken nature. Along with this niggling injuries like the persistent hamstring and back problems have not helped him either. With the loss of the excellent custodian that was Edwin van Dar Sar, coupled with Vidic’s prolonged absence, the onus fell on Rio to galvanise a frail and inexperienced defence, which appears to be lacking any real bite. With upcoming defenders like Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, and the sometimes cold sometimes hot Johnny Evans, Rio Ferdinand’s United legacy will be complete if he can ensure the successful integration of these ‘fledglings’, to lay a strong foundation for building the next great dynasty post Sir Alex Ferguson.

At 30m odd pounds, he may have been Fergie’s most lavish buy, and the symbol of United’s spending powers and ability to afford the most desirable rides, but he would do well to re-fuel his tank, tweak those engines, and recharge those batteries, to ensure that his replacements do not need to be test-driven and are ready to carry the gauntlet forward.