Anton Ferdinand

Anton Ferdinand

Ferdinand signing autographs in 2006 while at West Ham United
Personal information
Full name	Anton Julian Ferdinand
Date of birth	(1985-02-18) 18 February 1985 (age 27)
Place of birth	Peckham, London, England
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Queens Park Rangers
Number	35
Youth career
2002–2003	West Ham United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2008	West Ham United	138	(5)
2008–2011	Sunderland	85	(0)
2011–	Queens Park Rangers	31	(0)
National team‡
2003	England U18	2	(0)
2005	England U20	4	(0)
2004–2007	England U21	17	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:42, 13 May 2012 (UTC)~. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:00, 24 November 2011 (UTC)

Anton Julian Ferdinand (born 18 February 1985) is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers as a defender. He is the brother of Manchester United and England centre-back Rio Ferdinand and the cousin of former England striker Les Ferdinand and Southend United defender Kane Ferdinand. Like his brother, Anton is a product of the West Ham United academy. He has also played for West Ham United, Sunderland and for the England football team to under-21 level.

Background

Born in Peckham, London to Janice of Irish descent and Julian from St Lucia.^[2] His brother Rio plays for Manchester United and is former captain of the England national football team and his cousin Les is a former England international),^[3] Anton showed considerable talent from an early age. Like his brother, Rio, he preferred to play in defence. His ability in this position led to him being signed to West Ham United's famed academy.

Club career

West Ham United

Ferdinand joined West Ham as a trainee in December 2002^[4] and was handed his first team debut in August 2003 when he started the 2–1 victory at Preston North End on the 2003–04 season's opening day.^[4] He went on to feature in 26 games that season.^[4]

In the 2004–05 season, he cemented his first team place with several key performances (including scoring the opening goal on the final day as the Hammers beat Watford 2–1) as West Ham booked a play-off spot. West Ham went on to beat Preston in the Final, earning them promotion back into the Premier League after an absence of two years. At the end of July 2005, Ferdinand decided to stay at West Ham by signing a three-year contract extension with the club.^[5]

Ferdinand won the Premier League Player of the Month award in January 2006. In the 2006 FA Cup Final against Liverpool in Cardiff, Ferdinand fell to his knees in despair after missing the decisive penalty in the shoot out.^[6]

In March 2007 it was revealed that Ferdinand had been fined two weeks' wages (estimated at £45,000) for lying about his whereabouts. Ferdinand told the club he needed to go to the Isle of Wight to visit his grandmother when in fact, he went to South Carolina to celebrate his 22nd birthday. West Ham lost the following game to relegation rivals Charlton Athletic 0–4.^[7] Anton Ferdinand scored his 4th goal for West Ham when they beat Manchester United 2–1 in the 2007–2008 season, scoring the equalising goal in the 77th minute from a Mark Noble corner. His last goal for West Ham was against Fulham scoring in the 69th minute to put West Ham 2–1 ahead, which proved to be the winning goal.

Sunderland

On 27 August 2008, Ferdinand signed for Sunderland for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal reported to be around £8 million.^[8] Sunderland manager Roy Keane also stated after the signing of Ferdinand that he views him as a future England International. Ferdinand made a promising start to his Sunderland career, with fans praising the partnership formed between him and Danny Collins. Following captain Dean Whitehead's departure to Stoke City in July 2009, Nyron Nosworthy took Whitehead's vacated number 6 jersey and Ferdinand switched from number 26 to number 5. On 3 October 2009, Ferdinand scored a last minute own goal in a 2–2 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Ferdinand fell out of favour with new manager Steve Bruce and first team opportunities became limited and he was not initially given a squad number for the 2010–11 Premier League season as loan-signing John Mensah was given Ferdinand's number 5 shirt, but was later given number 29.^[9]

Queens Park Rangers

On 31 August 2011, Sunderland accepted a bid from Queens Park Rangers for Ferdinand.^[10] The transfer was confirmed on 1 September. He made his debut on 12 September, playing the full 90 minutes, alongside Danny Gabbidon in a 0–0 draw with Newcastle United at Loftus Road.^[11] On 23 October, in a match between QPR and Chelsea, Ferdinand alleged racial abuse by Chelsea captain, John Terry, claiming Terry called him a "fucking black cunt" during the game; a claim denied by Terry.^[12] On 1 November, the Metropolitan police announced a formal investigation into the allegations.^[13] On 1 February 2012 at Westminster Magistrates Court, Terry was accused of a racially-aggravated public order offence in relation to the game at Loftus Road on 23 October. He entered a not-guilty plea and will now stand trial on 9 July.^[14]

International career

Ferdinand was a regular selection for England's Under-21 side, having made his début in a 3–1 win over Ukraine at the Riverside Stadium on 17 August 2004.

Ferdinand was selected to be part of the England squad for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in the Netherlands, and given the number 5 shirt. Going into the tournament whilst recovering from an injury, he made only one appearance, as substitute, in the semi-final against the hosts. The match finished 1–1 after extra time, and in the penalty shootout which followed, he scored one and missed one as the Netherlands won 13–12.^[15] This was his final U21 appearance.

Ferdinand is also eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland national team through his mother^[16] and the St. Lucian national team through his father.^[17]

Personal life

Court case controversy

In October 2006, Ferdinand was arrested on assault charges following a fracas outside a nightclub in Ilford. He was charged in November 2006.^[18] He appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 12 November 2007 charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray, arising from this incident. It was alleged that Ferdinand had punched Emile Walker. In his defence, Ferdinand said he had feared he was going to be robbed of his £64,000 watch and was defending himself.^[19] On 20 November 2007, Ferdinand was acquitted as the jury found that he may have been acting in self-defence.^[20]

Charity Work

Ferdinand is an Athlete Ambassador for Right To Play, the world's leading sports for development charity.^[21]

Career statistics

Statistics accurate as of match played 16:58, 19 November 2011 (UTC)

¹Includes other competitive competitions, including the Football League Championship play-offs.

Honours

Club

West Ham United

• Football League Championship play-offs: 2005
• FA Cup runner up: 2005–06

Individual

• Premier League Player of the Month (1): January 2006

References

External links

• Anton Ferdinand career stats at Soccerbase
• Guardian Interview
• The Wonderful World of West Ham United statistics
• Premier League Profile

v t e England squad – 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Carson 2 Hoyte 3 Baines 4 Taylor 5 Ferdinand 6 Cahill 7 Reo-Coker 8 Bentley 9 Richardson 10 Nugent 11 Young 12 Routledge 13 Hart 14 Rosenior 15 Milner 16 Lita 17 Huddlestone 18 Noble 19 Derbyshire 20 Onuoha 21 Vaughan 22 Alnwick 23 Whittingham Coach: Pearce