Oliver Holt is supposedly the ‘Best Sports Writer in Britain’ – a title that the Mirror garishly pushes in our faces as if such awards mean something (really, OH is better than Amy Lawrence? He’d be stretched to beat Rob Smyth or Marina Hyde, let alone the likes of Kevin McCarra).
Anyway, having read his work on and off for quite some time, it’s obvious that this man knows his football. Or does he?
He writes in his latest column talking about how Rio Ferdinand has failed to fulfill his potential while playing for Manchester United. While he debates his own opinion (and gets his facts wrong), there’s the thought thrown in that Rio is a worse defender than Richards, Woodgate and King.
Ordinarily I let such claims pass by – every sports writer has a chip on their shoulder, everyone is biased so when someone says that Carragher is better than Terry or Wes Brown is a shiite defender or Lampard is better than Gerrard (or vice versa), there’s little in it but personal opinion so you let it slide. But Oliver Holt doesn’t bank this on opinion – he quotes Rio’s recent performances as proof of his theory.
Unfortunately for OH, he’s chosen the wrong time to jump on the biased media bandwagon (dare I say Liverpool fans missing Carragher?) that’s bent on showing Rio the door as far as England is concerned.
Over the last two seasons, Rio Ferdinand has left his concentration troubles behind, emerged from a less-than-satisfactory World Cup as England’s best defender (Terry, one save apart, was woefully average), is now the most natural choice for future Manchester United captaincy, goes forward far more than any of the defenders mentioned above (Richards is usually rooted to the back when he’s playing in the middle – a good thing given his lack of experience), has the pace to match the best of them (except maybe Richards, who to be fair ran track as a kid), and has as good a understanding of the game (defensively and offensively), if not better, than the contemporaries he’s compared with.
Throw Rio out of the England line up? Richards is a shoe-in at right-back, and even he wouldn’t make the grade ahead of Rio and Terry on quality, let alone experience. King and Woodgate? Not good enough to be ahead. Carragher? Misused and unfortunate, but then again he’s the reason why everyone is now sniping at Rio.
Incidentally, Rio Ferdinand hasn’t enjoyed the cult status that other star defenders enjoy at their clubs. Terry, Carragher, Toure, Woodgate, King, Richards – all big stars, all loved to death by their fans. With Rio it’s a bit different; he’s loved and respected but the contract wrangling and the rumours of meeting with Kenyon after PK had moved to Chelsea never did his reputation any good.
It’s a shame that Manchester United’s best defender in the last 3 seasons and a player who outperformed the wonderful Nemanja Vidic on the pitch when the spotlight was clearly on the Serbian last season is treated as such.
I have to agree with Holt on one thing – Rio Ferdinand has NOT fulfilled his potential – the promise that everyone saw in him when he moved to Manchester United.
However, if you take his central role for Manchester United in the last few seasons, plus his stature as a first choice England defender and at par with Terry and Carragher (who is the worst of the three with the ball on his feet, btw), you have to wonder what he could have been if that potential had been realised.
is rio ferdind as gud as evr1 sys he is ? wen was d lst tyme he eva wn a gme dfnsvly 4 man utd , hw cn u hva e defnder dt cnt put a tackle in , dts like hvng a sriker that cnt scre a goal
Rio is great yes he loses concentration sometimes but this guy can play some football 1 give him the captaincy after giggs and neville leave and scholes and you would see a diffrent Rio for both club and country RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO RIO
Rio Ferdinand is one of, if not THE, best natural defender in the England and Manchester United squads. Fergie knows talent, and wouldn’t have made him the highest paid defender in the world if he didn’t think Rio was going to be a star. Also, look at Rio’s stats. I believe he only has 1 or 2 cards in his entire England career. That’s amazing, and shows that he has class and quick enough feet to stop people dribbling him instead of clipping them and letting a free kick be given. He might not be a balls to the wall defender like Terry, a quick young back like Richards, or a consitent yet decent defender like Carragher, but he comes up huge when he has to, and always performs well, and will continue to for many more years.
Oliver Holt claims Rio is not sweeping enough. Not carrying the ball upfield enough.
Apparently Mr blind here is not watching enough of Rio’s matches. As a United fan, it is so damn apparent that Rio is playing so high up the field that I believe he is guilty of congesting the midfield and depriving Anderson, Nani, Scholesy the chance to work their magic!
So how on earth is Mr Holt is justifying his claims!?
“Incidentally, Rio Ferdinand hasn’t enjoyed the cult status that other star defenders enjoy at their clubs. Terry, Carragher, Toure, Woodgate, King, Richards – all big stars, all loved to death by their fans. With Rio it’s a bit different; he’s loved and respected but the contract wrangling and the rumours of meeting with Kenyon after PK had moved to Chelsea never did his reputation any good.”
Every Manchester United fan I’ve talked to have all defended him vehemently. To say that players like Toure, Woodgate, King, and Richards have a larger or stronger following is quite naive. I would argue that because of Rios following, in the press and on the streets, is what has had him picked over the likes of Woodgate, King, and Richards. I’m glad you acknowledged one of his flaws and that is his concentration. His own goal last year, and several instances in which he has been caught out of position show that it has all but disappeared. Having Rio come forward and congest the midfield, like UnitedRay mistakenly praised him for, puts him out of position. Players like Thuram, Cannavaro, Terry and Carra all very rarely get forward, and with Rio being 28 should know his role. Criticizing Richards for not coming forward is foolish, especially when he is the most promising CB in England. Playing the large, but surprisingly fast, Richards at RB isn’t really a wise move, as it denies him his greatest asset, matching strikers speed, and muscling them off the ball. I honestly hope Richards does replace Rio, and goes on to prove Sir Bobby Charlton fears misplaced.
wat kind of moronic fool are you united for LIFE not lyf but LIFE, your just a stupid 10 year old who cant speak english so you made up your own language, GOD.
Damn it ahmed, why cant we edit.
I think utd4lyf is trying to say that Rio doesn’t tackle. The thing you have to remember is that good defenders don’t just dive in. Have you seen Maldini play recently – I can’t recall a time when he has tackled lately. And he is considered among the best defenders to have played the game.
You also mentioned (I think) that Rio hasn’t won a game for us – what about against Spurs when he cleared Berbatov’s shot off the line. Had that gone in who knows what the score would have been?
I thnink Rio is one of the best (if not the best) defenders in the UK. Apart from his concentration lapses (which have improved a lot mind you), his only criticism is that he does not score enough goals. Especially during set pieces. But, then again, that’ not why he is there for.
Rio brings a quiet calmness to United’s defence, of which the impact is only really noticeable when he’s not there.
What I love about Rio lately is his ability going forward. Lately, he ended up in positions that strikers usually find themselves in. Though some might say it’s a bad thing, I disagree, especially when the team start playing total football.
PritenC: It’s unusual that despite the fact the first thing you are taught about defending is NOT to go to ground unless absolutely necessary, that the British press spend so much time lauding the likes of Terry and Carragher instead of Rio, King and Woodgate.
Rio is great. Brings a bit of style (football wise) and entertainment (cock up wise) back to the game.
United For Life – do you have problems with your eyesight? Have you not realised that the big square thing with the 15 inch screen is a computer screen and not a mobile phone?
Again, you Manc’s are praising him for going out of position. How is it benifical to have Rooney, Ronaldo, and Rio in the front three. He needs to stay back or stop calling himself a defender.
Also, what the hell is “total football”? Is that where everyone swaps positions every ten minutes?
rio deserves more mention than what he gets and i think OH’s criticism was uncalled for. it was the solid defense of last season lead by rio that helped man utd to the crown. he ma not be perfect but after all who is? i think his presence in the field as a leader aslo plays a big role!
[Sean O’Neil]
“you Manc’s are praising him for going out of position…He needs to stay back or stop calling himself a defender”
We don’t want him to stay back. We WANT our defenders to move forward. It’s actually as simple as that.
[Karl]
“We don’t want him to stay back. We WANT our defenders to move forward. It’s actually as simple as that.”
Good news for every other team in the league…
Sean O’Neil: Total football is a fairly easy concept to understand, you don’t have to swap positions, players should just be comfortable playing anywhere on the pitch. So if Rio sees a gap in the opponents defence on the flank he can push into it and someone else falls back into his defensive position without a notable drop in quality.
Carragher/Campbell on the other hand would get a nose bleed when crossing the half way line. Under Total Football players are footballers first and foremost, then strikers/defenders/midfielders.
Sean, whats your problem with Rio Ferdinand carrying the ball? its a useful quality for a defender to have. The only reason people like carragher don’t do it is because theyre not good enough. In fact the main article that is being referred to criticizes rio for not doing it enough. Footballs not just as simple as defenders having to defend and forwards having to stay up top.
[JB] what do you think of my comment on RedRants. Do you agree to an extent?
utd4lyf, u asked when was the last time he won he game for united…i think during the totenham game, he cleared the ball when it was going into the goal..Rio is a world class defender….u guys are bloody noob to doubt his ability
Rio fits in well to the way United play which is so much better than the boring style of Chelsea and Liverpoo.
Rio not only defends well but has made crucial contributions in assists and goals which neither Carragher or Terry can boast about.
Every defender has some negative points in them , rio has a lapse in concentration at times, which can be crucial with opposition strikeforce like torres, drogba or anelka..but what he aint good at, he more than makes it up for his technical and teamwork ability in the game…so shush all you rio haters.
Rio is susceptible to defensive lapses and when that happens, he can look like a fool.
But nobody is perfect, i can’t name a single defender who has a spotless record day in day out. It is only a matter of how many off-days they have in a season.