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Les Ferdinand

Les was spotted by Queens Park Rangers in 1986 while he was a youth player at Hayes United. Initially he played very little during his first few years and was sent on loan at Brentford and then to Besiktas in Turkey. In 1991 he started to develop himself in the first team and in 1992/1993 he scored an impressive 24 goals in 42 games. Les was expected to leave QPR in 1993/1994 but it was in the summer of 1995 that he finally left the club with Newcastle United paying £6million for his services.

In his first season with Newcastle he scored 29 goals, a significant contribution as Newcastle United almost lifted the Premier League title, meanwhile his departure from QPR meant that the London club were relegated from the Premier League, they have yet to return.

During the summer of 1996, Newcastle paid a world record £15million for striker Alan Shearer. Although only together for one season only, Shearer and Ferdinand would form one of the deadliest striker partnerships in Premier League history. In 1996/1997 the duo scored 46 goals between them (21 by Ferdinand, 25 by Shearer), however, at the end of the season Les was sold to Tottenham for £6million by new manager Kenny Dalglish.

Les was a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur since he was a boy and although injury disrupted his first season he formed a good partnership with Jurgen Klinsmann and the duo's pair saved Spurs from relegation. With Ferdinand, they won the Carling Cup in 1999, defeating Leicester City 1-0 in the final. Two years later they were back in the final, Les was denied three times by Blackburn Rovers keeper Brad Friedel and Spurs lost 2-1.

On December 15th 2001, Les scored for Spurs against Fulham, this goal was special because it was the 10,000th goal in Premier League history.

In January 1993 he moved onto West Ham United and scored his first goal against Tottenham but was unable to keep the club in the Premier League, opting to stay in the top flight he left United for newly promoted Leicester City. Despite now being 37 years old he managed 14 goals but not enough to keep the Foxes up, they were relegated and Les moved to Bolton Wanderers and after six months signed for Reading. At the end of the season he joined Watford on contract terms but never played a game, following their promotion to the Premier League he was released by the club and announced his returement, just shy of his 40th birthday.

Les made a return to football on 11th May 2006 when he came on as a substitute for Newcastle United in Alan Shearer's testimonial game, helping the club to a 3-2 win over Celtic.

Info

Full name: Leslie Ferdinand
DOB: 8th December 1966
Place of Birth: London, England
Position: Striker

Facts

Les is a qualified helicopter pilot and owns at least one helicopter.

Les scored the 10,000th goal in Premier League history when he scored for Tottenham Hotspur against Fulham on 15th December 2001..

Despite good form for Newcastle, Les didn't play any games in Euro 96 or World Cup 98, even though he was in the squad for both tournaments.