Les Ferdinand / Les Ferdinand / 24 March 2009 / Leave a comment

It was a weekend we will remember as much for numerous sendings-off as we will for defeats to Man Utd and Chelsea. Les Ferdinand gives us his take on who deserved to walk and what punishment they deserve plus why Spain and Argentina are the teams to back for World Cup glory.

The big stories of the weekend were undoubtedly Man Utd and Chelsea's away defeats at Fulham and Spurs respectively, which opened the door for Liverpool before they thrashed Villa 5-0. But the weekend will also be remembered for no fewer than four top flight sendings-off which got me thinking about what should or shouldn't warrant a red card and what is an appropriate punishment for different offences.

Paul Scholes can have no complaints about his dismissal at Craven Cottage. Perhaps he was trying to drop Sir Alex a hint that he fancies a second career in goal once his legs have gone, but when you stick two hands up to keep the ball out on the goal-line, there's only one place you're going to be spending the rest of the match and that's the stands! The offence will go down as a deliberate foul that stopped a certain goal, he'll serve a one-match ban and that's punishment enough.

I wasn't surprised to hear Sir Alex contest Wayne Rooney's second booking but I'm no more surprised to see his comments fall on deaf ears at the FA. Rooney was angry and frustrated at being 2-0 down and it all boiled over when the referee asked United to re-take a late free-kick. The way Wayne threw the ball back was somewhat rash and aggressive and Phil Dowd might also have taken it as the last straw after all the "verbals" Rooney had given him throughout the game. However, in his match report Dowd made no mention of any swearing so there's no reason why he should get any more than the obligatory one-match ban.

I have far more sympathy for Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel, who was sent off for "bringing down" Fernando Torres when he was through on goal. I put that in inverted commas because in my mind the American had no way of avoiding the collision - Torres took a slightly heavy touch and ended up running into Friedel's body. By all means award the penalty because the contact (whether on purpose or not) stopped him from scoring but to send the keeper off is a bit much in my mind. So I was very glad to hear that his red card was rescinded today.

For me the key is whether the contact was deliberate or not and in this case it wasn't. Which is very different to what happened with George Mccartney when Sunderland travelled to Man City. The defender knew he couldn't keep up with Wright-Phillips and gave his shirt a little tug to make sure. He knew exactly what he was doing and that, to my mind, does amount to a sending-off. I see that his red card was also rescinded on appeal and quite frankly I'm surprised by that. For the record, I think the former West Ham man deserved to walk.

What is or isn't deliberate is subjective. Cast your mind back to Kevin Nolan's tackle on Everton's Victor Anichebe a few weeks ago. I know Kevin Nolan quite well and have no doubt that he didn't mean to injure the lad but try telling that to David Moyes, who now has an important first-team player out for the rest of the season. The tackle was reckless, he deserved to go and consequently serve a three-match ban as a result. But I don't agree with suggestions that a player who makes such a tackle should be suspended until the player he injures is fit to play again. If that rule was introduced, we'd see the end of tackling altogether and we don't want that. I'm from an era when a big centre-back put in a big tackle early doors to let the striker know he was there and we just had to accept it and get on with the game. By the same token, they could be the ones on the wrong end of a stray elbow or a nudge in the ribs later on in the match. It's all in the game.

That man Torres will be in action as Spain host Turkey at the weekend and I think the [1.4] on Betfair about the home side is a pretty safe bet. Much as I like the Liverpool striker though, I'd say that there are two players who are even more important to Spain than him: Xavi and Villa. The Barca playmaker is one of those players who runs a game of football, keeps everything ticking over and allows his side to retain possession. Villa is a natural finisher who makes chances from nothing. Leave him unmarked at your peril. Now that they've overcome that hoodoo of not winning anything for so long, they have real self-belief and I feel they've got a genuine chance in the 2010 World Cup at [8.6].

As do Argentina at [6.8]. They have that dangerous blend of flair and tactical discipline that means they're tight at the back, hard-working in midfield and have pace and trickery upfront. You've got to fancy any side that can boast such names as Messi, Tevez, Aguero and Cambiasso to name but a few.

And then there's England. I may have a cheeky punt on them at [9.8] too. Mug patriotic punting, I hear you cry? England are in good shape at the moment, Capello is the best manager we've had in years and he's not just talking a good game, he's getting results. The key might be whether Steven Gerrard can be as successful in the second-striker role for England as he is for Liverpool. If he can, not many sides will want to be drawing England in the World Cup.