England boss shrugs off Rio’s slump in form

No matter what trials and tribulations England have gone through over the years, Ferdinand has always been a reliable performer.

Good enough to earn a place in FIFA’s 2002 World Cup team, the stylish defender has rarely dipped below those standards in an exceptional 75-cap career.

Even the infamous eightmonth ban for a missed drugs test has largely been obliterated from the memory.

Now, with the Three Lions finally becoming the sum of their parts under Capello’s expert tutelage, Ferdinand has hit trouble.

In his last two appearances for England, against Holland in August and Saturday night’s 1-0 defeat to the Ukraine, he has made significant mistakes.

Ferdinand’s 15th-minute blunder in allowing Artem Milevskyi to charge straight through the visitors’ defence left Robert Green with little alternative other than to make the fateful challenge that resulted in him becoming the first England goalkeeper to be sent off.

Capello has a valid argument in questioning how referee Damir Skomina could have been in a position to make such a crucial call, given he initially flashed the red card in Ferdinand’s face.

But if England are to enjoy the success they crave in South Africa next year, no member of their defence can afford such aberrations.

As such a key figure, Ferdinand ideally needs to be on top of his game.

‘‘No,’’ said Capello unequivocally when asked whether he was concerned about the defender.

‘‘He made one mistake during the game. It was a long ball that bounced and he didn’t judge the direction well.

‘‘But after that he played a good game.

‘‘At this moment he is making some mistakes, but you cannot question Rio’s value.’’ In fact, Capello did not just look on the bright side with regard to Ferdinand, he was bristling with positive vibes about the whole performance.

The loss of England’s 100 per cent qualification record, and his first defeat in a competitive game since succeeding the hapless Steve Mc- Claren was not a reason for the Italian to despair.

Neither was the needless mistake by Ashley Cole that eventually led to him deflecting Sergiy Nazarenko’s shot past David James.

Instead, Capello concentrated on the plus points, namely a battling display in which Wayne Rooney covered so much ground it was barely noticeable England were a man light for 75 minutes.

The visitors could not really claim to be worthy of a draw given that Ukraine struck a post during that tortuous first-half, while James was forced to make a magnificent save to keep the score down after the interval.

■ Wayne Rooney has pulled out of England’s World Cup qualifier with Belarus on Wednesday.

The Manchester United forward picked up a calf strain in the 1-0 defeat in Ukraine.

After having the injury assessed at England’s training base in Hertfordshire, he has been released back to the Old Trafford club.

Meanwhile, Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster has been called into the squad as a replacement for the suspended Robert Green.

Foster originally missed out on selection after being sent for scans on bruised ribs sustained in Manchester United’s Premier League encounter with Sunderland.

However, at the time it was viewed as little more than a convenient excuse for Fabio Capello to sideline the 26-yearold, who had been blamed for Kenwyne Jones’ second-half header for the Black Cats – just two weeks after he was held responsible for two Manchester City goals in the pulsating 4-3 derby win at Old Trafford.

■ Fewer than half a million people watched England’s first game to be broadcast exclusively live over the internet and no detailed viewing figures will be released, the firms behind the move said yesterday. Fans who paid between £5 and £12 to watch the match online complained about the lack of atmosphere, slow streaming speeds and the lack of licensed premises showing the game.