Rio Ferdinand’s tragedy puts QPR peril in perspective after Liverpool defeat

Former England captain lost his wife to cancer on Friday night

Rebecca Ellison, wife of footballer Rio Ferdinand, has died after a short battle with cancer (Twitter/@rioferdy5)

To quote the late Richie Benaud: “The Titanic was a tragedy, a famine in Ethiopia is a disaster and neither bears any relation to a dropped catch.” The death of Rio Ferdinand’s wife, Rebecca Ellison, at the age of 34, is a tragedy for the three young children she leaves behind. What will happen to Queen’s Park Rangers is merely football.

“The players are very solemn in the dressing room for two reasons,” said the QPR manager, Chris Ramsey, after their 2-1 defeat at Liverpool. “For Rio, obviously, and the fact that we are going down the motorway again having lost the points in the last two or three minutes of the game. We only have humanitarian thoughts for a stalwart of the game – forget the game, he is outstanding as a person.”

Ferdinand’s decision to have one more year in the Premier League after leaving Manchester United has not been a success – his last game for QPR was two months ago. However, Ramsey said Ferdinand had been a constant source of encouragement, particularly to the younger squad members at their training base near Heathrow. The casual observer would have had no inkling his wife was so dreadfully ill.

Leroy Fer reveals a T-shirt bearing a message of support for his team-mate Rio Ferdinand after the death of his wife (Reuters)

During his long peak as one of Europe’s finest central defenders, Ferdinand would have allowed Steven Gerrard nowhere near the ball that he headed home for the goal that will almost certainly condemn Rangers to their second relegation in three seasons.

When reminded that their task of taking a minimum of seven points from their final three games was “almost impossible”, Ramsey clung to the word “almost” as if it were a lifeline. He knows it will snap. If he believes his side can avoid defeat at Manchester City next Sunday, then he fulfils Sir Alex Ferguson’s first requirement of a football manager – that he must be a perpetual optimist. They will at least go down in better shape than in 2013, when they lost £65m and paid their players more than Borussia Dortmund.

One of the most extraordinary aspects of Rangers’ relegation is that they will go down with one of the Premier League’s leading goalscorers. Only Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane and Diego Costa have more than Charlie Austin’s 17 goals. Liverpool’s highest scorer is Gerrard with seven.

Austin has scored 44 per cent of his side’s goals. Aguero, by contrast, contributes three of every 10 Manchester City score. “We haven’t got enough goals from around the pitch,” said Ramsey. “We have had to put a lot of square pegs in round holes. People like Karl Henry have done really well playing out of position and not moaned. With Bobby Zamora playing with a chronic injury, most of the burden has been on Charlie to score.”

Gerrard’s final weeks at Anfield looked like they might peter out. The dismissal against Manchester United, the anonymous display in the FA Cup semi-final and a missed penalty on Saturday were not the Gerrard anyone wanted to remember. The way he responded, muscling his way to meet the ball, not only gave Liverpool a final, fleeting chance of qualifying for the Champions League, it was a reminder of what Anfield is about to lose.