Duncan Cowan Ferguson is a Scottish former footballer. He was nicknamed "Big
Dunc" and "Duncan Disorderly". Ferguson began his football career at
Carse Thistle before being signed by Dundee United in 1990 on his first
professional contract. He moved to Rangers in 1993 for a then British
transfer record of £4 million. He spent the remainder of his career in England
with two spells at Everton and Newcastle United between 1998 and 2000. Ferguson
retired from football in 2006. 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. He has scored more goals
than any other Scottish player in the FA Premier League. Ferguson was noted for
his aggressive and highly competitive style of play which resulted in nine red
cards and a three-month prison sentence following an on-field assault of Raith
Rovers' John McStay in 1994. Club career
= Dundee United= Born in Stirling, Ferguson played for
the juvenile side Carse Thistle. Dundee United signed him as a schoolboy and he
went on to win the BP Youth Cup in 1990. Later that year Ferguson made his
professional debut for Dundee United against Rangers at Ibrox Stadium on 10
November 1990. His first goal was an extra time winner against East Fife in
the Scottish Cup on 29 January 1991. The following season saw him become a
first team regular, with 41 appearances and 16 goals he became the club's top
scorer. His good form continued in 1992–93 with 33 appearances and 15
goals. The form he displayed at Dundee United also saw him win a call up to the
Scottish national team. = Rangers=
In the a 4–0 defeat of Raith Rovers, Ferguson headbutted the visitors' John
McStay in the south-west corner of the Ibrox pitch. Referee Kenny Clark spotted
the incident and booked Ferguson but he was then subsequently charged with
assault and, as it was his fourth such conviction, he received a three-month
prison sentence in 1995, by which time he had left the club.
Ferguson scored a last–minute winner against Motherwell, from a Brian Laudrup
assist on the first game of the season. Four days later, Ferguson scored a
hat–trick in a 6–1 win over Arbroath. A Champions League qualifier against AEK
Athens left Rangers 2–0 down after the first leg.
= Everton= 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 loan–deal, Ian Durrant for one month and Ferguson for three. Ferguson's move
to Everton was later made permanent by Walker's successor Joe Royle, and
Ferguson played a key role in not only saving Everton from relegation, but also
helping them win the FA Cup. The subsequent, 1995–96 season was less
successful for Ferguson. A persistent hernia problem caused him to be
unavailable for large amounts of time, as did his brief spell in prison during
the first half of the season. On 28 December 1997, Ferguson scored a
hat-trick against Bolton Wanderers in a 3–2 victory, but Everton finished the
season surviving relegation only on goal difference.
Ferguson was controversially sold to Newcastle United for a fee of £8 million
in November 1998. The deal was done to sell Ferguson by the Everton chairman,
Peter Johnson, without the knowledge of Walter Smith. Ferguson wrote a 2-page
goodbye letter in the club magazine to fans, stating his sadness at leaving and
that he would never forget them. = 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. He did
however make a substitute appearance in the 1999 FA Cup Final. 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 hinder
Ferguson's career 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 two seasons
earlier. His final appearance came in the FA Cup semi-final defeat to eventual
winners Chelsea. = Return to Everton=
Ferguson's low point of the 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 seven match ban and saw
his 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".
On 7 May 2006, against West Bromwich Albion at Goodison Park, Ferguson was
named 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. Ferguson was
not given a new Everton deal and retired, moving his family to Mallorca
and spurning advances from a number of clubs.
Ferguson played for Everton in a testimonial match in his honour on 2
August 2015. Coaching career
Having spent five years in Majorca following his retirement from playing,
Ferguson contacted his former manager at Everton David Moyes. Ferguson apologised
to Moyes for not shaking his hand when he left the club in 2005. The pair
resolved their differences and Ferguson asked if he could work with the Everton
academy students at Finch Farm. Initially Ferguson was a voluntary
worker at the academy, working for fellow Glaswegian Alan Irvine, a former
mentor of his from his playing career. Although Ferguson remains disappointed
with the Scottish FA for what he sees as a lack of support following his
sentencing in 1995, he enrolled on a nine-day Scottish FA organised coaching
course in Largs, Scotland to earn a UEFA B-License. In May 2012, he returned to
Largs to achieve a UEFA A license and in January 2013 he enrolled on a further
course and is working towards a UEFA Pro-License. As Of February 2014
Ferguson has been promoted to first team coaching staff at Everton. His first
game in the role will be a home game against West Ham United on the first of
March 2014 he is reported to be relishing the role.
In May 2013, former Everton manager Howard Kendall stated that Duncan
Ferguson should be considered for the Everton managerial position following
David Moyes' imminent exit. Personal life
= Burglary attempt at his home= In 2001, Ferguson was the victim of a
burglary attempt by two men at his then home in Rufford, between Liverpool and
Preston. Ferguson confronted the pair and was able to detain one of them who
subsequently spent three days in hospital. The second man managed to flee
but was eventually caught. Both men were sentenced to fifteen months imprisonment
for their actions. = Convictions for physical altercations=
Ferguson has had four convictions for assault - two arising from taxi–rank
scuffles, one an altercation with a fisherman in an Anstruther pub and, the
most infamous, his on–field headbutt on Raith Rovers defender John McStay in
1994 while playing for Rangers, which resulted in a rare conviction for an
on-the-field incident. The first incident led to a £100 fine
for headbutting a policeman, while the second resulted in a £200 fine for
punching and kicking a supporter on crutches. He was sentenced to a year's
probation for the third offence. For the 1994 on-the-field headbutting of the
opposition's footballer, he received and served a three-month jail term for
assault. Ferguson's troubles with the law and his
imprisonment inspired Finnish composer Osmo Tapio Räihälä to write a symphonic
poem as a "musical portrait" of Ferguson, titled Barlinnie Nine,
presumably a reference to HM Prison Barlinnie where Ferguson served his
sentence. = Campaigning=
Ferguson has pledged his support to the "Keep Everton in Our City" campaign,
making a rare public statement: Statistics
All figures correct as of 07:47, 27 December 2006
= Club performance= = International appearances=
As of 22:09, 3 August 2015 Ferguson refused international selection
after 1997, in part in protest against his treatment by the SFA after his
conviction for assault on John McStay, particularly the imposition of a 12-game
ban on top of his 3-month prison sentence.
Honours = Everton=
FA Cup: 1 1994-95
= Rangers= Scottish League Premier Division
1993–94 References
References for statistics Statistics from BBC Sport
Statistics from Guardian Unlimited Statistics from Sky Sports
Duncan Ferguson career statistics at Soccerbase
Statistics from Yahoo! Sport 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
Duncan Ferguson at the Internet Movie Database