Les Ferdinand (born 8 December 1966) is an English footballer. Born in London, he joined Reading on January 6 2005. He was capped 17 times for England and scored 5 goals. He is also famed for his superb jumping ability. He is the cousin of Rio Ferdinand

Football Career

He started his career in non-league football, first at Southall and then moving to Hayes. He was spotted by QPR and moved there for £30,000. He had two loan spells at Brentford and Besiktas (in Turkey). He became first choice at QPR in 1991 and made his England debut in 1994. He had a great career with Rangers and was a often seen leaping like a salmon to power home headers. Much to the fans' disappointment, he was sold to Newcastle in 1995 for £6 million, scoring 29 goals in his first season with them, and getting within touching distance of the Premiership title. This precipitated Queens Park Rangers relegation in the 95/96 season. In 1997 he was bought by Spurs, again for £6 million. In the 2002/2003 season he moved to West Ham, but the club was relegated at the end of the season. He joined Leicester on a free transfer at the beginning of the 2003/2004 season. After the Foxes were relegated at the end of that season he joined Bolton Wanderers, but left them on January 2 2005. His contract at Reading lasts until the end of the 2004/2005 season, at which point he has said he will retire from professional football.