08 September 1993
England 3-0 Poland: Ferdinand's opener

Les Ferdinand scores his second-ever goal for England -against Poland in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley in 1993.



Les Ferdinand scored five goals in his 17 appearances for England and after the prolific forward was awarded an MBE recently, we remember his career.

Ferdinand started out at QPR when he signed from non-League outfit Hayes in March 1987 for a fee of just £15,000.

Having initially struggled in west London - going on loan to Brentford and Besiktas - Ferdinand went on to become a legend at Loftus Road, scoring 90 goals in 183 games.

Whilst still at Rangers, Ferdinand was handed his England debut by manager Graham Taylor in the Three Lions' crucial World Cup qualifier at home to San Marino.

In what was a shining first match, Ferdinand set up Carlton Palmer for the midfielder's goal and then, in the dying minutes, headed home Adams' effort from close range to score himself.

When Newcastle United came calling in June 1995, the opportunity to play for the exciting Magpies was just too good to turn down.

QPR could hardly afford to turn down Newcastle's offer of £6 million and so, after nearly a decade at Loftus Road, the 28-year-old Ferdinand finally left the club that had made him a star.

In just two seasons at St. James' Park, Ferdinand scored 50 goals in 84 games for the Magpies as they almost won the Premiership title.

After one more season in the north-east, Ferdinand moved back to London, joining Tottenham Hotspur in July 1997 for another £6 million.

Ferdinand's time at White Hart Lane, like so many other players in new coach Christian Gross' squad, was a story of one injury followed by another.

In six years in north London, Ferdinand scored 33 goals in 118 league matches, helping the club towards the 1999 League Cup, beating Leicester City 1-0 at Wembley thanks to Allan Nielsen's last-minute winner.

Les Ferdinand's England career

1992/93: v San Marino, Holland, Norway, USA (sub)
1993/94: v Poland, San Marino
1994/95: v USA (sub)
1995/96: v Portugal, Bulgaria, Hungary
1996/97: v Poland, Georgia, Italy (sub)
1997/98: v Moldova, Saudi Arabia (sub), Morocco (sub), Belgium (sub)
Total: 17 caps, 5 goals

Honours

1999 League Cup (Tottenham)