James Lawton: Ferdinand's frailty a growing concern for Manchester United and England

Another lame night for the Premiership in Europe, another raft of evidence that the defensive quality displayed by Milan and Juventus in the European Cup final last spring, and Internazionale at Highbury two weeks ago, maintained classical standards in a way that was a rebuke to the current foundations of English football.

For the moment, however, there must be more specific concerns at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge.

At Manchester United the problem for Sir Alex Ferguson - and the England coach, Sven Goran Eriksson - is not so much the lost art of defence by generations of domestically bred players, but the latest crisis of someone who was supposed to represent the most shining example of its regeneration on home shores.

Rio Ferdinand, the most expensive defender in the game, is in trouble - and so too is Ferguson's insistent dream of winning another European Cup. As long as Ferdinand operates at the heart of his defence, the more doubts must be raised against United's ability to pull off the feat achieved at Nou Camp four and a half years ago.

There has always been a question mark against the defensive side of Ferdinand's game, but what in the past could be attributed to the recklessness of youth has to be seen now in a more disturbing light. He remains relatively young, but great defenders are born with an instinct to defend. That seems to be the Ferdinand's chronic deficiency. No one ever had to tell Paolo Maldini or Bobby Moore where their priorities lay. Moore was beautiful on the ball, as Maldini still can be, but it was a case of first things first.

In Stuttgart this week, Ferdinand's fluency with the ball at his feet simply couldn't disguise his weakness when it was in the possession of the man who he was supposed to pick up and stifle. Ferdinand's poor reading of his defensive duties cost United at least one goal - and a penalty, which Tim Howard saved but at no relief to Ferdinand's reputation.

The new doubts about the central defender, who is also supposed to be a cornerstone of Eriksson's England going into a huge game in Istanbul later this month, create an appalling dilemma for Ferguson.

Despite reservations about his defensive game, Ferdinand was regarded as a sure-fire fixture at the top of the game when the Old Trafford manager whisked him away from Elland Road for just a little short of £30m. But those worries just won't go away, and they have to be seen in a harsher light against the recent evidence of the mastery of such as Alessandro Nesta and Fabio Cannavaro.

What does Ferguson do? Hope that Ferdinand will see his equivalent of a burning bush, recognise that a central defender who seems incapable of concentrating on his prime job for a full 90 minutes is always going to be a question mark against his team's chances of success at the highest level? Or does the manager cut his losses and decide that he would be better off with a defender like Chelsea's John Terry, who while much less eye-catching on the ball has a consistent feel for the nitty-gritty requirements of defence?

But then, even a man of Ferguson's achievements might be reluctant to admit to a major miscalculation of a player's value so quickly after the tacit admission that Juan Sebastian Veron essentially failed at Old Trafford. In the end, it may be a simple choice between a little more bruised pride and the instinct of a winner. United's chances of hitting the peak of European football again, the evidence of Stuttgart says, could well depend on this balance between ego and pragmatism.

At Chelsea, the problem is the latest brainstorm of their coach, Claudio Ranieri. His reversion to the role of Tinkerman has already been savaged after the sickening home defeat by the Turkish club Besiktas, and those who have recently been praising the Italian's character and humour and unbreakable dignity could have only groaned when they saw his tactical disposition on Wednesday.

Three central defenders and wing-backs at home, and with attacking resources at his disposal that should have blown away the Turks, was bewildering regression. It was bad enough he started that way, but it was quite shocking that when he replaced Celestine Babayaro with Wayne Bridge it was a straight substitution rather than a wholesale return to sanity.

It was doubly unfortunate that Ranieri's aberration should come not on a bad day at Elland Road or Fratton Park but at home in the tournament where even Roman Abramovich might have been quite keen to protect some of his investment. Ranieri's problem, some say, is an embarrassment of riches, but ask any football manager and he will tell you that having a choice of good players should never be a basic football problem. The embarrassment comes when you can be seen not to be using them properly. It means that what Ranieri did this week was something that has to provoke rather more than a sigh or a blush. It was a disaster which can only strengthen the speculation that England's Eriksson, who successfully handled a dazzling cast of players at Lazio, is just a stride or two away from assuming command at the Bridge.

That possibility, bleakly for Ranieri, can only be heightened by the current form of Rio Ferdinand.