‘For a player whose game is based on an ability to snuff out trouble before it arises, Rio Ferdinand has an alarming tendency to put himself in the wrong place at the wrong time away from the pitch. At a time when he would be well-advised to adopt a low profile, given the upset caused by a missed drugs test and a “chance” meeting with Peter Kenyon, the Chelsea chief executive, the Manchester United defender has been caught up in a police investigation into the alleged assault of a photographer.
‘Ferdinand has protested his innocence and claimed that he took exception to a perceived “invasion of my civil liberties”, but even had he merely been passing by — and not shouting “kill him, stamp on his head”, as one witness has alleged — there would be some at Old Trafford who might be shaking their heads in despair.
‘Ferdinand claims to have been on the fringes of the incident, despite admitting that he “threw a couple of CDs” at Gyimah, but even if nothing were to come of the investigation, it is another unwelcome blemish on the reputation of a player who, off the pitch, scarcely seems able to put a foot right at present.
‘Taken individually, Ferdinand’s recent tribulations can be explained quite innocently — “I forgot” (the drugs test); “it was just a brief hello” (to Kenyon in a restaurant) — but they add up to create a picture of a player who is either too foolish or too arrogant to learn from his mistakes.
‘With no match until the weekend, he was not breaking any rules or moral code by staying out late on Monday night, some 200 miles from Manchester, but he was inviting trouble by associating with Jody Morris, the Millwall midfield player, who has a conviction for assault and was a hugely negative influence on the early career of John Terry, the Chelsea captain, when the pair were club-mates at Stamford Bridge.
‘Ferdinand has been indulged, to some extent, by Sir Alex Ferguson, who was prepared to accept his word over the missed drugs test and, more recently, the “chance” meeting with Kenyon, but the United manager’s patience is not infinite, as he has made clear in discussing the player’s approach to contract negotiations.
‘Rather than his nocturnal habits, it is Ferdinand’s hesitancy over whether to sign a highly lucrative new contract that is causing most distress at Old Trafford, but the catalogue of recent headlines might cause Ferguson to question his view of the 26-year-old as the natural successor to Roy Keane as United captain. It is not an office that demands an angelic character, with Ferguson having chosen fiery leaders such as Keane and Eric Cantona, but it does require a sense of responsibility that appears to be sorely lacking in Ferdinand at present.’