Childhood & Early Life
Duncan Ferguson was born Duncan Cowan Ferguson, on December 27, 1971, in Stirling, Scotland, to Iris and Duncan Ferguson Sr. He was raised along with his sister, Iris Ferguson.
Duncan excelled in sports from the very beginning. He played several sports, but football was his favourite sport. He played football all through his school and college years.
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Career
As a teenager, he joined a local juvenile team ‘Carse Thistle’’ he was later signed by ‘Dundee United’ while he was still in school. In 1990, he exhibited his skills and helped ‘Dundee’ win the ‘BP Youth Cup’ in 1990.
In the late 1990, at the age of 19, he made his debut with the first team of ‘Dundee United.’ He made his professional debut against ‘Rangers’ at the ‘Obrox Stadium.’ However, he scored his first professional career goal in the ‘Scottish Cup’ in January 1991, against ‘East Fife. He became a regular in the first team of ‘Dundee United.’ He proved his mettle during the first season, as he became the team’s highest scoring player. He scored 16 goals in 41 appearances.
In the next season, 1992-93, he carried on his great performance and scored 15 goals in 33 appearances. As a result of his amazing performance in his first two professional seasons, he received a call-up for the Scottish national team. By the end of the 1993 season, Duncan received many lucrative offers from bigger teams and he signed a contract with ‘Rangers.’
He was transferred for a fee of 4 million UK pounds, which was a record in itself. In his first season for the ‘Rangers,’ he made 10 appearances but managed to score only 1 goal.
In a game against ‘Raith Rovers’ in April 2014, he head-butted John McStay. The referee somehow missed this, but when the charges were labelled against him, he was given a three months imprisonment. The decision was taken keeping in mind the fact that he had thrice assaulted opposition team members.
Before his conviction, he had played 6 games for his team and had scored 4 goals across all competitions.
In the late 1994-95 season, ‘Everton’ was struggling with a bad form and they faced relegation. They decided to loan Duncan and he turned the fortunes of the team around; he not only saved the team from certain relegation, but also helped them win the ‘FA Cup’ that year.
The 1995-96 was one of the worst seasons of his career, as he suffered from a hernia problem. He was away from action during most of the season and his three month prison sentence was also carried out in the first half of the season.
In the 1997-98 season, Duncan scored 11 goals in 32 appearances. In the next season he was sold off to ‘Newcastle United’ for a transfer fee of 8 million UK pounds in 1998. The decision to trade him became a bit controversial, as the team chairman, Peter Johnson, took this decision without consulting the team manager, Walter Smith. Duncan wrote a very heartfelt and emotional message to the fans of the club and said that he would miss playing with the team.
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Playing his debut match for ‘Newcastle,’ Duncan scored two goals against ‘Wimbledon.’ Along with Alan Shearer, he formed a great strike pair in the next few games. However, in the 1998-99 season, Duncan suffered from injury and could play only seven games.
He suffered injury in the next two seasons as well; the ‘Newcastle’ management sold him off to ‘Everton’ for less than half the amount he was bought for.
Playing for ‘Everton’ in the 2000-01 season, Duncan scored 6 goals in 13 appearances. During this association with ‘Everton,’ he was involved in several instances of misbehaviour and aggressiveness. He played his last season for ‘Everton’ in 2005-06, and scored only 1 goal in 33 appearances.
His contract was not renewed after the 2005-06 season and none of the teams expressed any interest in signing him. As a result of this, Duncan announced retirement from the game.
He began working at the ‘Everton Academy’ as a coach. In February 2014, he was promoted into the first team coaching staff of ‘Everton.’
Family & Personal Life
Duncan Ferguson is married to Janine Ferguson and the couple has three children together- two sons, Cameron and Ross, and a daughter, Evie.
In 2001, he caught one of the two burglars that had broken into his house. Both the thieves served 15 months of imprisonment. Another burglar entered his house two years later and claimed that Duncan physically assaulted him, but the accusation was rejected by the court.
