Duncan Ferguson

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Duncan Ferguson
Ferguson in 1994, during his Rangers days
Personal information
Date of birth	December 27, 1971 (1971-12-27) (age 36)
Place of birth	Stirling, Scotland
Height	1.93 m
Playing position	Striker (retired)
Youth clubs
1989–1990	Carse Thistle
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1990–1993 1993–1994 1994–1998 1998–2000 2000–2006	Dundee United Rangers Everton Newcastle United Everton Career	077 (28) 014 0(2) 116 (37) 030 0(8) 123 (22) 360 (97)
National team
1992–1997	Scotland	007 0(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Duncan Ferguson (born December 27, 1971 in Stirling) is a Scottish former professional football player who now lives in Majorca.^[1]

Ferguson began his footballing education at Carse Thistle before being signed to Dundee United in 1990 on his first professional contract. From that time he played for Rangers, Everton and Newcastle United; his career often punctuated by controversy and injury.

When not affected by those, his strength and stature made him a potent player. These characteristics earned Ferguson a reputation as one of the most difficult players to defend against in the English Premier League.^[2] Players such as John Terry and Sami Hyypiä have both named Ferguson as their toughest opponent. This dominating style and a poor disciplinary record often saw him attract the ire of referees.^[3]

During his career, Ferguson won the FA Cup with Everton in 1995, competed in the qualifying stages of the UEFA Champions League in 2005, also with Everton, and participated in the UEFA Cup in 1999 with Newcastle and 2005 with Everton. He was capped for Scotland seven times but made himself unavailable for selection in his national team due to a dispute with the Scottish Football Association.^[4] He has scored the most goals of any Scottish player in the FA Premier League.^[5]

Contents 1 Playing career 1.1 Dundee United 1.2 Rangers 1.3 Everton (1994 – 1998) 1.4 Newcastle United 1.5 Everton (2000 – 2006) 2 Personal 2.1 Burglaries 2.2 Jail time 2.3 Charity 2.4 Campaigning 3 Statistics 3.1 English club performance 3.2 Scottish club performance 3.3 International appearances 3.4 Honours 4 Notes 5 References for statistics 6 External links

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Dundee United

Ferguson made his professional debut for Dundee United against Rangers at Ibrox Stadium on November 11, 1990, which Dundee United won 2-1. This proved a fruitful beginning and by season’s end he had become a first team regular, making nine appearances and scoring one goal in the league.

He achieved greater impact in the Scottish Cup that season, scoring three goals in five matches and aiding Dundee United in reaching the final. Once there, they lost to Motherwell, 4–3 after extra time. Ferguson had clearly established himself as a player of some value and finished the two successive seasons as the club’s top scorer.

The form he displayed at Dundee United also saw him win a call–up to the Scottish national team. Ferguson accrued four caps during 1992 and 1993, playing in three friendlies and one European Football Championship match. These outings yielded no goals for the striker.

[edit] Rangers

Walter Smith signed Ferguson for Rangers in 1993. Smith had begun his managerial career at Dundee United under Jim McLean, just as Ferguson had begun his professional playing career for the same man. While Smith had left Dundee United to assist Graeme Souness at Rangers, he eventually took over the managerial role in 1991. The paths of Ferguson and Smith were to cross numerous times from this point.

Ferguson made little impact at Rangers, coupling indifferent displays and persistent injury woes. He played twenty-three games and scored five goals. He was also played out of position by Smith, often as a left winger and on one occasion even as a left back in a match against Levski Sofia.

In contrast, season 1994–95 saw Ferguson start in fine form. Gary Pallister and David May of Manchester United endured a torrid time in a pre–season victory playing against Ferguson and this was followed by a last–minute winner against Motherwell, from a Brian Laudrup assist. Four days later Ferguson scored a hat–trick in a 6–1 win over Arbroath. The next game saw Ferguson pressure a Partick Thistle player into scoring an own goal, leading to a 2–0 win for Rangers.^{[citation needed]}

A Champions League qualifier against AEK Athens FC left Rangers 2–0 down after the first leg. Smith elected to play a partnership of Ferguson and Mark Hateley up front, in an effort to overcome the deficit. The two players were poorly suited to playing alongside each other; they often ended up competing for the same ball. Despite Ferguson having outscored Hateley in the first five games of the season, Smith decided to drop Ferguson in favour of Gordon Durie.

The most significant moment of Ferguson’s time with Rangers came on the pitch, but had little to do with football. It was during 1994 that his severe onfield yet off-the-ball assault on John McStay of Raith Rovers led to Ferguson’s incarceration within Barlinnie prison.^[6]

[edit] Everton (1994 – 1998)

In October 1994, Everton were struggling under the management of Mike Walker and looking for options to reinvigorate their faltering season. The solution enacted was to take two Rangers players on a month long loan–deal, Ian Durrant and Ferguson.^[7]

The deal failed to secure Walker’s tenure, and saw the managerial role handed to Joe Royle. Royle decided to let Durrant return north to Rangers but then signed Ferguson permanently in a £4 million deal — making him Everton's record signing.

While still on loan, Ferguson contributed a goal in the 2–0 Merseyside derby victory at Goodison Park on 21 November 1994.

Ferguson also helped Everton progress to the semi–final stage of the 1995 FA Cup. Despite recovering from an injury at the time, he was given a substitute appearance in the final against Manchester United, a game that saw Everton victorious and provided Ferguson with his only honour to date in a 1–0 result.

The subsequent, 1995–96, season was less successful for Ferguson. A persistent hernia problem caused him to be unavailable for large amounts of time.^[8]

From here, Ferguson continued to be the focal point of Everton’s attack. In 1996-97 he helped maintain the club’s top-flight status but also suffered another injury setback, this time requiring surgery on his knee. Howard Kendall returned to manage the club in 1997-98 and decided that season to reward Ferguson with the captaincy of the team. It was during this season that Ferguson removed himself from contention for the Scottish national team.

After Everton were almost relegated during the 1997-98 season, Kendall made way for Walter Smith, reuniting Ferguson with his Rangers manager. Smith maintained the incumbent strategy of bypassing the midfield and instead lofting the ball straight to Ferguson.

Ferguson was sold to Newcastle for £7 million in late 1998.

[edit] Newcastle United

Upon bringing Ferguson to Newcastle, team manager Ruud Gullit was swiftly rewarded. Ferguson scored twice on his debut against Wimbledon in the Premier League. The final result was a 3–1 victory to Newcastle and the tantalising prospect of Ferguson and Alan Shearer forming a formidable strike partnership.

Though it was not to be; Ferguson again found himself struck down by injury and appeared only seven times for Newcastle during the 1998-99 season. His extended absence lasted from late December until April and curbed the early promise of his Tyneside career. Likewise, the first half of 1999-2000 brought more misfortune for Ferguson.

Injury would once again impede Ferguson’s career though and he was unable to participate in the final seven league matches of the season. These injury woes made his position at Newcastle untenable and he was eventually sold back to Everton by Bobby Robson for £3.75 million; almost half the price he was bought for from Everton 2 seasons earlier. His final appearance came in the FA Cup semi-final defeat to eventual winners Chelsea.

[edit] Everton (2000 – 2006)

Ferguson’s return to Goodison Park brought no change to his injury problems. Just two games into his second spell at Everton, he was injured. Regardless, he managed to participate in 13 Premier League games during the 2000-01 season and provided a crucial six goals in that time. This was enough to justify the return and once again keep Everton from relegation, though 16th place was their lowest under Walter Smith and fears were rife than 2001-02 would see Everton relegated.

The next two seasons were largely anonymous for Ferguson with the player battling to recover from his sciatica and rediscover his best form, hardly helped by his advancing years. Once in his early thirties and participating in the 2003-04 season, Ferguson again started to add value to the Everton team but he was eclipsed by the emergence of Wayne Rooney.

During the 2004-05 season, manager David Moyes began to utilise Ferguson effectively as a substitute. The striker’s contribution from the bench was pivotal in Everton’s campaign that season and his tally of five league goals lifted Everton to a fourth–placed finish. A particular highlight was his match–winning goal against Manchester United, reminiscent of ten years prior when Ferguson scored against the same team to give Everton victory. The intervening period had seen Manchester United unbeaten by Everton in the league. By this stage, Wayne Rooney had been sold to Manchester United, but Everton had still managed to finish fourth in the final table - their highest yet in the Premier League and their highest finish overall in 17 years.

The 2005-06 season saw Ferguson regain the number 9 shirt - the number he has tattooed inside the Everton crest on his left upper arm. However, the 2005-2006 season was somewhat less fruitful for Ferguson with goals proving elusive and frustration dominating his displays.

The dubious notable of Ferguson’s 2005–06 season was his sending off against Wigan Athletic for violent conduct. His confrontation with Paul Scharner and subsequent fracas with Pascal Chimbonda resulted in a total match–ban of seven games and saw Ferguson’s Premier League red–card count reach eight, equalling Patrick Vieira’s record. Scharner later claimed that he had sworn at Ferguson in his native language and that the Everton man's punch "was a nice punch".^[9]

On May 7, 2006, against West Bromwich Albion and at Goodison Park, Ferguson was named as captain in the game that marked the end of his Everton career. His 90th minute penalty kick was saved by Tomasz Kuszczak, but he subsequently scored from the rebound, netting his final goal for the club.^[10]

[edit] Personal

[edit] Burglaries

In 2001, Ferguson was the victim of a burglary attempt by two men at his then home in Rufford, Lancashire. Ferguson confronted the pair and was able to detain one of them who subsequently spent three days in hospital.^[11] The second man managed to flee but was eventually caught. Both men were sentenced to fifteen months imprisonment for their actions. Later because of their actions, both men won an "Honorable Mention" from the Darwin Awards.^[12]

[edit] Jail time

Ferguson has frequently found himself in trouble with the law.^{[citation needed]} This has led to four convictions for assault; two arising from taxi–rank scuffles,^[13] one an altercation with a fisherman in an Anstruther pub^[13] and the most infamous: his on–field confrontation with Raith Rovers defender John McStay in 1994 while playing for Rangers.

This episode of Ferguson’s life inspired the musical piece Barlinnie Nine, composed by Osmo Tapio Räihälä.^[14] The name comes about by way of Barlinnie prison and Ferguson’s shirt number; nine. Of his work, Räihälä said: “I got the idea for it when he was facing jail and had just become something of a cult figure for Everton. It takes into account the contradictions in him: he has an aggressive side but there is a lyrical undertone to him, as the fact that he keeps pigeons shows.^[15]

Barlinnie Nine was premiered on April 20, 2005 by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sakari Oramo, in the Finlandia Hall, Helsinki. On this same day Ferguson scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Manchester United at Goodison Park. It was the first time in ten years that Everton had beaten Manchester United in a league encounter and both matches were decided by a Ferguson goal. The significance of this was not lost on Räihälä who said: “There I was describing Duncan as a failure in Finland, and thousands of miles away at Everton he rises like a phoenix from the ashes to score against Manchester United. If there are gods of football up there, this proves they have got a most twisted sense of humour.”^[16]

[edit] Charity

Outside of football, Ferguson does a lot of charity work. A good deal of his work goes unreported, and Joe Royle once admitted that Ferguson was one of the most generous people he has encountered.^{[citation needed]}

Ferguson would regularly visit sick children at Alder Hey Children's Hospital and was a popular figure on his visits there. He would even go out of his way to visit sick children at their home, presenting them with gifts.^[17]

[edit] Campaigning

Ferguson has pledged his support to the "Keep Everton in Our City" campaign, making a rare public statement on April 4, 2007:

"During my time at Everton, Goodison Park came to feel like a second home, with the supporters of the club, and the people of the city becoming a second family to me. If you were to take Everton out of the City, I firmly believe the club could no longer call itself the ‘People’s Club’ and I give my whole-hearted support to the campaign to keep Everton in the City."^[18]

[edit] Statistics

All figures correct as of 07:47, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] English club performance

Club	Season	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Others[1]		Total
		App.	Goals	App.	Goals	App.	Goals	App.	Goals	App.	Goals
Everton	2005–06	27	1	2	0	-	-	4	0	33	1
	2004–05	35	5	0	0	2	1	-	-	37	6
	2003–04	20	5	2	2	2	2	-	-	24	9
	2002–03	7	0	-	-	1	0	-	-	8	0
	2001–02	22	6	2	1	1	1	-	-	25	8
	2000–01	12	6	1	0	-	-	-	-	13	6
	Total	123	23	7	3	6	4	4	0	140	30
Newcastle United	1999–00	23	6	6	3	-	-	1	1	30	10
	1998–99[2]	7	2	2	0	-	-	2	0	11	2
	Total	30	8	8	3	0	0	3	1	41	12
Everton	1998–99[3]	13	4	-	-	4	1	-	-	17	5
	1997–98	29	11	1	0	2	0	-	-	32	11
	1996–97	33	10	2	1	1	0	-	-	36	11
	1995–96	18	5	2	2	-	-	-	-	20	7
	1994–95	23	7	4	1	1	0	-	-	28	8
	Total	116	37	9	4	8	1	0	0	133	42
Career totals		269	68	24	10	14	5	7	1	314	84

^ Includes the Cup Winners’ Cup, UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League
^ Transferred to Newcastle United mid–season

[edit] Scottish club performance

The factual accuracy of this section is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.(March 2008)

Club	Season	Premier Division		Scottish Cup		League Cup		Total
		App.	Goals	App.	Goals	App.	Goals	App.	Goals
Rangers	1994–95	4	1	0	0	2	3	6	4
	1993–94	10	1	3	0	2	0	11	1
	Total	14	2	3	0	4	3	22	5
Dundee United	1992–93	30	12	1	1	2	2	33	15
	1991–92	38	15	2	2	1	0	41	17
	1990–91	9	1	5	3	0	0	14	4
	Total	77	28	8	6	3	2	88	36
Career totals		91	30	11	6	7	5	110	41

[edit] International appearances

Cap	Date	Opponent	Score	Result
1	17 May 1992	USA	0–1	Win
2	20 May 1992	Canada	1–3	Win
3	12 June 1992	Holland	0–1	Loss
4	24 March 1993	Germany	0–1	Loss
5	18 December 1994	Greece	1–0	Loss
6	31 August 1996	Austria	0–0	Draw
7	11 February 1997	Estonia	0–0	Draw

[edit] Honours

• FA Cup (Everton, 1995)

[edit] Notes

[edit] References for statistics

• Statistics from BBC Sport
• Statistics from Guardian Unlimited
• Statistics from the Scottish Football Association
• Statistics from Sky Sports
• Statistics from Soccerbase
• Statistics from Yahoo! Sport

[edit] External links

• Profile by 4thegame
• Profile by Born To Be Blue
• Profile by ESPN Soccernet
• Profile by Football Database
• Profile by Glenrothes Arabs
• Profile by icLiverpool
• Profile by Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
• Profile by ToffeeWeb
• An image of Ferguson getting to grips with Leicester's Steffen Freund

v • d • e Scotland squad - UEFA Euro 1992 1 Goram • 2 Gough • 3 McStay • 4 Malpas • 5 McCoist • 6 McClair • 7 Durie • 8 McPherson • 9 McKimmie • 10 McCall • 11 McAllister • 12 Smith • 13 Nevin • 14 Gallacher • 15 Boyd • 16 McInally • 17 Whyte • 18 Bowman • 19 McLaren • 20 Ferguson • Coach: Roxburgh