WHEN it became clear that West Ham United were prepared to sell their promising young defender Rio Ferdinand, the player was offered to Manchester United. "I don't need Ferdinand," Alex Ferguson responded, "I've got Wes Brown."

There is no security of tenure at Manchester United and those who believe the current problems of Ferdinand will lead to the automatic promotion of Jonny Evans need only consider the career of Brown or John O'Shea before realising that Ferguson might be prepared to be ruthless with Ferdinand, but he is always prepared to change his mind. By the time Ferguson did decide he couldn't do with Wes Brown alone, Ferdinand's price had risen and he had become the most expensive defender in the world when he joined Manchester United in 2002.

Next Saturday, Ferdinand will be 31. A senior player, but one who still remains one majestic lapse away from being viewed as feckless and irresponsible. His ability to play himself out of trouble was often seen as part of his ability as a centre-half but, when that ability fails him, he is just left with the trouble, and he has always seemed able to find that.

Last week, Ferguson told Ferdinand not to attend the premiere of a film he has co-produced with Ashley Cole, Dead Man Running. Neither man is the new Irving Thalberg but Ferdinand's pursuits outside football have rarely been taken seriously. He seems so determined to be hip that, despite the record labels, the online magazine and the desire to be a mogul like some of the men he most admires, he can appear self-consciously cool. His television programme Rio's World Cup Wind-Ups, involved elaborate practical jokes played by Ferdinand and a team of actors on England footballers and had plenty of clips of Ferdinand laughing uproariously at things that weren't funny. Gary Neville may have been the best thing in it, which gives an idea of its quality.

Ferguson is said to be concerned by what have been called Ferdinand's "private business interests" (things were simpler when footballers just ran pubs). Ferdinand attended the London premiere of his movie hours after returning from Moscow last week and when, three days later, he was outpaced and out-muscled by Fernando Torres at Anfield, the two events seemed to go hand in hand for many.

His agent, Pini Zahavi, insists that it is only his back injuries that have left Ferdinand struggling this season but he now also has to deal with the febrile atmosphere that is England in a World Cup year. Ferguson has already been asked if he thinks Ferdinand will be in the World Cup squad, something that is unlikely to bother him greatly, and every mistake is now viewed not only for its own consequences but the potential trouble it would cause if something similar were to occur in South Africa.

Ferdinand may be entitled to wonder if Torres' goal last weekend was viewed through this prism. He was beaten by the best striker on the planet and his world collapses as people wonder if the same thing would happen if England play Spain next summer.

An artificial timer has been placed on the player which has no bearing on the reality as Ferguson sees it and fails to take into account his achievements in recent years, especially since forming a ruthless partnership at Manchester United with Nemanja Vidic.

Vidic is seen as the more resolute of the two, but he spread anxiety at Anfield last week by almost immediately revealing his anxieties over Torres. By the end, Vidic was off the pitch but Ferdinand was taking the blame.

Ferdinand grew up causing "harmless havoc" in South London, a place he said once "he never left", and he has continued to devote himself to projects designed to prevent knife crime and the other dangers alive in those neighbourhoods. He blossomed as a player at West Ham where, helped by the constant praise of his then manager Harry Redknapp, the idea grew that he was England's cultured centre-half.

"I've heard for over a decade how Rio Ferdinand is an elegant passer who starts attacks from the back," Jamie Carragher wrote in his autobiography. "He must have hit a 60-yard pass when he was 17 because I haven't seen much evidence since."

Ferdinand has prospered through the simple notions, moving to Leeds and then United after the 2002 World Cup, but he has been brought down by them too. His suspension after missing a drugs test in 2003 and his subsequent hesitation in signing a new contract at United allowed more wild rumour and simplifications.

United stayed loyal during that time and if, next summer, he is allowed to leave -- Zahavi has dismissed the stories linking him with a move to Tottenham -- he would have had eight years serving Ferguson in a demanding position.

Now he has to deal with the idea that Ferguson is viewing him how he once viewed David Beckham, making the same loyal pubic statements but wondering privately if the player has lost the motivation after spending time movie-producing with Cole, 50 Cent and Danny Dyer.

Ferguson may be more inclined to believe that it is the injuries and the anxieties that are preventing a natural athlete from defending at his best. His mistakes in the Manchester derby were more reminiscent of the old Ferdinand and suggested a player distracted rather than lame.

Ferdinand will begin his 32nd year playing Chelsea next Sunday. He is young for a centre-back and would be expected to recover his form

and his position in the Untied side. To do that he will need to demonstrate that he has learned from experiences on the field rather than from interviewing Kanye West. Ferguson will know that beyond the headlines, Ferdinand has learned that for all his private business interests, he remains a key personality atUnited, close to Wayne Rooney and a leader on and off the field. These are the moments when Ferguson expects his players to repay him, to prove that they can match his drive and remarkable desire for trophies. If not, Ferguson will be ruthless and Ferdinand will have another experience to absorb.

He may also have noted with relief that Ferguson tried to blame the criticism on the "modern culture of humiliating people", a thesis he has rolled out in recent years when he blamed reality television for the fate of Steve McClaren. Ferguson has warned about the "mocking culture" and he clearly sees the attack on Ferdinand as part of that. He made no mention of Rio's World Cup Wind-Ups.

Sunday Independent