Les FERDINAND

One of football's more respected centre forwards of recent times, the hardworking QPR striker Les Ferdinand, a former non-league goalscorer, completed his rise to the top of the game when his prolific streak prompted Graham Taylor to give him a controlled debut against minnows San Marino in the midst of England's qualifying campaign for the 1994 World Cup. A debut goal was expected, and Ferdinand delivered, and he was retained for a far more testing qualifier two months later when Holland rolled into Wembley. England made a flying start thanks to a delightful John Barnes free-kick and when David Platt made it 2-0 from a rebound after Les had smashed a shot against the post all looked rosy. However, the Dutch fought back to get a point and Ferdinand's subsequent England career proved very stop-start. Alan Shearer's gradual emergence at the same time ultimately shaped him into England's top centre forward, and the likes of Ian Wright and Teddy Sheringham offered different options up front in terms of pace and panache.

Ferdinand was a classic battering ram striker and was useful as a second option if more cautious and careful tactics didn't work, though when he was given a start it often bore fruit. He scored the opener in England's 3-0 win over Poland as the World Cup qualification neared its crescendo but didn't feature in the all-or-nothing game in Rotterdam which England lost 2-0, ending their hopes of appearing at the finals. Ferdinand scored in the pointless final match against San Marino - strike partner and rival Wright got four - before the arrival of Terry Venables immediately settled Shearer down as England's prime target man. Ferdinand barely managed to feed off any scraps, with Venables concentrating on developing a Shearer/Sheringham strike partnership in the absence of any campaigns, owing to England's automatic qualification as hosts for the 1996 European Championships. Venables used Ferdinand as a sub in a 2-0 win over the USA in 1994, and then didn't look at him again for more than a year. Shearer was by now entirely untouchable, enhancing this status further with a Premiership-winning season at Blackburn and a stack of goals. Les, however, got back into the fold after moving to Newcastle in the summer of 1995 and making an instant impact alongside Peter Beardsley, to the extent that Venables paired him with Shearer in an ultra-strong strike pairing in a 1-1 draw with Portugal at Wembley. (Matthew Rudd)

In 1996, Les Ferdinand started two England matches, scoring the only goal against Bulgaria in the former at Wembley, and it was of little surprise that Venables chose to include him in his final squad for the European Championships, knowing that Les could provide the power of a burly centre forward if Shearer were to be declared unavailable for any reason. Ferdinand, however, didn't get near Wembley's turf for any of England's five games which ended in a heartbreaking semi-final defeat on penalties to Germany. Venables passed the baton to Glenn Hoddle who kept pretty much the same philosophy of using Les sparingly while strengthening Shearer's status as top centre forward by making him the captain, although as Shearer was now partnering Ferdinand at Newcastle, it made sense for Hoddle to see if the duo could work similarly at international level. Therefore, the pair teamed up in England's second World Cup qualifier - a 2-1 win over Poland at Wembley with Shearer scoring both - but thereafter they rarely played together for England, with Hoddle clearly fond of the proven Shearer/Sheringham partnership and also feeling obliged to accommodate the prolific talents of Ian Wright and Robbie Fowler where he could. Ferdinand scored his fifth and, ultimately, final international goal in the 2-0 win against Georgia and played in two more of the qualifiers, but spent the majority of the campaign on the bench, waiting for a chance that, more often than not, never came.

A move to Tottenham Hotspur in 1997 changed his aspirations little, but his expected place in the World Cup squad after England assured themselves of qualification came under pressure in the early part of 1998. Les was widely expected to again be Shearer's understudy, with Sheringham and, at that stage, probably Fowler completing the striker's quartet, but then the arrival of teenage striker Michael Owen brought a fresh rival into the equation. The likes of Andy Cole and Ian Wright had been seen off, through lack of form and injury respectively, and when Fowler was then also ruled out with injury, Ferdinand's place seemed to be settled again. However, the form of Coventry's Dion Dublin brought a new name late into the fray and he earned three caps - and played well - immediately prior to Hoddle's confirmation of his final 22. Les also played in three matches prior to the tournament (the photo above is during the 1-0 win against Morocco. 27th May 1998 Photo Nigel French ©), and to his great relief, his experience saw him make it on to the plane to France ahead of Dublin. Shearer and Sheringham started the tournament, Owen then came through to take it by storm, and Ferdinand sat on the bench, transfixed and not needed for the second major tournament in a row. Les was by now pushing 32 and Hoddle and his successors did not feel the urge to call him up again after England exited. (Matthew Rudd)