BIG DUNC
If that performance was fantastic,
the next game was even better
as Ferguson scored twice to give
Everton a two-goal lead at old
Trafford. The first goal was a
textbook towering header and the
second a stunning turn and finish
underlining his all-round ability.
There seemed to be no stopping
Ferguson only for injury to strike
again, although this was not the
only reason Ferguson missed a
chunk of the 95/96 season as the
striker was controversially sent
to jail for 3 months for assault.
On his release a crowd of around
15,000 watched his return in a
reserve fixture, testament to just
how much he had been missed.
Ferguson’s love for Everton and
the fans was shown when he got
an Everton tattoo, designed by a
fan in a competition run in the
now defunct Evertonian magazine.
A gesture not since repeated that
magnified his cult hero status. We
loved him and he loved us back.
Very rarely have I encountered
such a bond with a player.
With Joe Royle now gone, it
seemed like without the man
who got the best out of Ferguson
Duncan would struggle but new
manager and another Everton
Legend Howard Kendall decided
that a try with the captain’s
armband might bring even more
out of Ferguson.
That trust was repaid with a hat
trick of headers against Bolton,
encapsulating just how good in
the air he was, but sadly this
was a brief moment of joy in an
otherwise dreadful season, which
saw Everton survive only on the
last day of the season.
In 1998, after a home win
against Newcastle, came the
news chairman Peter Johnson
had accepted a bid for Ferguson
without the manager’s knowledge.
Even with Everton’s crippling
financial problems selling the
fans favourite was abhorrent and
it was one of the most painful
moments in my young Everton
life. Thankfully, i suppose, it
prepared me for the many more
heartbreaks that have followed.
We’d lost our hero and talisman.
Yes he hadn’t scored a lot of goals
but we’d had someone who scared
the United’s and Liverpool’s of the
world as his goal scoring exploits
had always shown against them.
Ferguson’s time at Newcastle was
not a success and is probably best
remembered for sitting on the
bench with Alan Shearer during
Ruud Gullit’s last game in charge
and a stunning volley against
United.
At one point during his time at
Newcastle, Ferguson was asked if
his team didn’t win the cup who
would he want to win it…his reply
was Newcastle. Everton had never
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GWLADYS
eyes, he came to terms with a
left him. In 2000 with Everton still
struggling, Walter Smith turned to
the fan favourite to help ignite the
side and on his second home debut
Duncan was back. He came off
the bench to score twice and once
again rekindle his love affair with
the Everton fans.
Never the same player, as years
of injuries and ill-discipline had
caught up with him, Ferguson
still offered something and still
delivered when it mattered. A goal
in a derby saw him wheel past the
Liverpool fans top off and tattoo
showing, but sadly these moments
became to and far between. As new
strikers came and went, Ferguson
refused to lie down and became
a more mature figure and leader
especially when Walter Smith was
replaced by David Moyes.
Early in Moyes’ tenure Ferguson
played a huge part in wins against
Fulham and Derby as fears of
relegation were appeased. It
was clear though, that time was
running out for Ferguson, yet he
still found time to bring about
shock and awe. Shock being the
acts of violence towards Paul
Scharner of Wigan and Leicester’s
Stefan Freund, which made him
the joint highest for red cards with
Patrick Viera on 8.
Awe being the moment his Everton
career came almost full circle,
10 years after one of his greatest
moments. April 2005 and Man
United at home. A night game, I
can already feel the hairs on my
neck standing up, thinking about
that game.The Goodison roar
was on form that night with the
place rocking. Ferguson from the
off was a man possessed, giving
Rio Ferdinand the run around.
The England defender unable to
cope with the big man’s physical
prowess.
Then the moment came. A floated
free kick from Mikel Arteta was
sent into the danger zone and as
if to roll back the years, Ferguson
twisted in mid-air to flick a header
home sending Goodison mental. It
may have been 14 years ago yet
memories of moments like that
never leave you and I think that
is why the love for Ferguson has
continued to this day. At the end
of the day, all we have is memories
and Ferguson, for my formative
years as a Everton fan, gave me
more memories than anyone else.
It wasn’t just the swash buckling
displays, the seemingly not giving
a fuck attitude, the fact we had
a player other teams coveted, or
the goals in derbies. It was that I
had never seen a player like that
at Everton despite having been
schooled on what a number 9
should be. Then Ferguson fitted
that bill only to never fully live up
to his potential, much like Everton
as a club at the time.
Ferguson would retire in May 2006
scoring in his final game. In true
Ferguson style he missed the easy
chance from the penalty spot but
scored from the rebound to make
sure he left the club on a high. A
very emotional Ferguson took one
last walk around the pitch taking
in the adulation from his adopted
people. With his young daughter
in his arms and tears filling his
future without Everton and left
with the thought of what his
career could have been without
injuries and errors of judgement.
For us though, it all mattered
for naught. All was forgiven as
Ferguson had been a beacon of
good in an otherwise forgetful
period of Everton’s history.
Away from football, Ferguson
took time out and nobody would
have imagined him coming back
into the game with his attitude
questioned a lot towards the end,
but below the hardman surface
came stories of his charity work
and of course his famously
stopping two burglars who tried to
rob his home resulting in one of
them spending 3 days in hospital.
All yet more fuel to the mythology
of the man.W
After years away from the game,
Ferguson approached David Moyes
about a coaching return and after
patching up their differences
Ferguson was employed as a
youth coach. The relationship
was rekindled again. Ferguson
has spoken time and time again
about how much Everton have
done for him and since his return
he has been on a mission to repay
the club and fans as he continues
to help numerous charities and,
most notably, Everton in the
community. These acts only
enhance his legend.
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In a time when we needed a hero we
got the hero we wanted, although
sadly he didn’t turn out to be the
hero we needed. A hero remains
a hero, however, and Duncan
Ferguson will always be my first
hero. All future heroes have and
always will be measured against
him. Stats are one thing but a
genuine love and understanding
for the club is another. Give me
someone who gets us and I will
be happy. Duncan got us, still
does, and for that the feelings will
always be mutual.