Ridsdale - The £30m loser

But Bowyer fell out badly with Ridsdale following his notorious assault trial at Hull, at which he was cleared, and refused to sign a new five-year deal for the club knowing that Liverpool were waiting to make an offer for him.

While crowd favourite Bowyer would happily see out the last year of his contract with Leeds, Ridsdale - who transfer-listed him last month - simply cannot allow him to stay for 12 months without signing, and then walk away for nothing next summer under the Bosman ruling.

Ridsdale, at least, is no longer under pressure from his restless plc board to ease the club's debts by selling players, since Ferdinand's £30m exit more than covers the £15m his paymasters were seeking to placate shareholders.

Nor would Terry Venables argue with having 25-year- old Bowyer back in the fold, especially after losing Ferdinand - the new boss tried unsuccessfully to convince him to stay almost as soon as he succeeded David O'Leary.

With Houllier's caustic comments ringing in his ears, however, Bowyer is now suddenly effusive over Venables' arrival. The Londonborn player added: 'I made it clear to Mr Ridsdale that I had reservations when they accepted Liverpool's bid, so it is probably in the best interest of all parties that the deal did not go through.

'The arrival of Terry Venables was also a major factor in my thinking that this was not the right time to be leaving. With the players we have, I genuinely believe we have an excellent chance of winning something this season.

' Rio's move to Manchester United is a loss but it also means that other players are less likely to leave the club and I think we have a strong base to build on.'

However, Bowyer is unlikely to change his mind about re-signing. He was never able to forgive Ridsdale for fining him four weeks' wages - £80,000 - over being drunk on the night Asian student Sarfraz Najeib was savagely attacked, even though a jury had cleared him of any involvement.

Nor did Ridsdale's infamous radio confession - that had he known then what he knew now about Bowyer, he would not have signed him - go down well. The fact that Ridsdale was not chairman in 1996, when Bowyer arrived from Charlton for £2.6m, was somehow lost in the ether.

For his part, Ridsdale is determined that Leeds will not have to forfeit the full £15m value they initially placed on Bowyer, who would have played for England last season but for his FA ban.

Which could leave Highbury boss Wenger, still unsure of key midfielder Patrick Vieira's longterm future, able to step in with a cut-price offer before the August 31 transfer window, for as time marches on, so Bowyer's market worth will dwindle to zero.

Liverpool's about-turn - flagged in Sportsmail last Wednesday - came when they were unable to rescue financial talks. Bowyer's initial hope for £65,000-a-week, giving him parity with Michael Owen, was swiftly discouraged and the £1.5m legal bill that Leeds underwrote also proved a tough hurdle.

And while Bowyer's record as a dynamic, goalscoring midfielder is beyond reproach, there has been growing disquiet among Anfield fans over his history and reputation.

Bowyer is also facing a potentially-disruptive High Court action in which Sarfraz Najeib, 23, and his brother Shahzad are claiming damages of £100,000 for alleged assault two-and-a-half years ago in Leeds.

It is inconceivable that the damaging effects of Bowyer's last court appearances were lost on Houllier, whose close friend O'Leary blamed the twice-held crown court trial in Hull for the ills that eventually led to his dismissal this summer.