Ian Ferguson (footballer, born 1967)

Ian Ferguson
Personal information
Full name Ian Ferguson
Date of birth (1967-03-15) 15 March 1967
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Youth career
1984 Clyde youth
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1984–1986 Clyde 26 (4)
1986–1988 St Mirren 57 (10)
1988–2000 Rangers 236 (24)
2000–2002 Dunfermline Athletic 60 (2)
2002–2004 Northern Spirit 37 (3)
2005–2006 Central Coast Mariners 3 (0)
Total 416 (43)
National team
1986–1987 Scotland U21[1] 6 (1)
1987 Scotland B[2] 1 (0)
1988–1997 Scotland 9 (0)
Teams managed
2009–2010 North Queensland Fury
2010–2013 Perth Glory
2013–2017 Northern Fury
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Ian Ferguson (born 15 March 1967) is a Scottish professional football player and coach.

Ferguson started his career with Clyde, then moved to St Mirren in 1986. Ferguson scored the winning goal as St Mirren won the 1987 Scottish Cup Final. He moved to Rangers in 1988 and stayed with the Ibrox club for 12 years, during which time he helped them win nine consecutive Scottish league championships. He has since been inducted to the club's Hall of Fame. He played for Dunfermline Athletic for two seasons, before emigrating to Australia. Ferguson played for Northern Spirit and Central Coast Mariners.

Since retiring as a player, he has managed North Queensland Fury, Perth Glory and Northern Fury. During his playing career, Ferguson appeared in nine full international matches for Scotland.

Club career

St Mirren

Ferguson started his career with Clyde, but was transferred to St Mirren in 1986. He scored the winning goal in the 1987 Scottish Cup Final, as St Mirren won 1–0 against Dundee United.[3]

Rangers

Nine months after winning the Scottish Cup, he transferred to Rangers for £850,000 - still the record fee received by St Mirren. He is remembered as a key Rangers player, appearing 337 times and scoring 42 goals.[4] Along with Ally McCoist and Richard Gough, he played a part in every season of Rangers' historic run of nine titles in a row between 1988–89 and 1996–97 under managers Graeme Souness and Walter Smith. He also featured in the first title win with manager Dick Advocaat in 1998–99, and he appeared as a substitute in the League Cup and Scottish Cup finals that season. His playing time became limited under Advocaat, and he moved on to Dunfermline Athletic in 2000.

He was given a testimonial match by Rangers, which was played against Sunderland on 21 July 1999.[5]

Dunfermline Athletic

Ferguson spent two seasons in Fife, during which he helped newly-promoted Dunfermline to keep their place in the top division (9th in 2000–01) and then improve it (6th in 2001–02). He then moved to Australia to see out the final years as a player and begin his managerial career.

International career

Ferguson won nine international caps for Scotland, achieved at irregular intervals over a period of nine years. His last appearance was in a goalless draw against Estonia in February 1997. After the game, Ferguson was overheard by a microphone apparently swearing at the Scotland supporters.[6][7] Ferguson apologised to the Scotland manager, Craig Brown, and he was included in the next squad.[6]

Managerial career

North Queensland Fury FC

On 15 September 2008, Ferguson was confirmed as the new manager of North Queensland FC leaving his post as assistant manager at Central Coast Mariners. He took up the post straight away in order to give the team the best preparation possible for their inaugural season in Australia's Hyundai A League.[8] Ferguson lasted only one year with the Fury, when the club folded due to financial instability.

Perth Glory FC

In 2010 Ferguson moved to become the assistant to David Mitchell at the Perth Glory at the end of the 2009–10 season[9] and becoming the coach on 12 October 2010 after David Mitchell resigned.[10] On 27 March 2012 he signed a two-year contract extension with the club.[11]

Ferguson successfully guided Perth Glory to their first A-League Grand Final in April 2012, after beating Minor A-League Premiers Central Coast Mariners in a penalty shootout at the Mariner's home ground in Gosford. However they lost the subsequent Grand Final 2–1 following a late comeback from Brisbane Roar who were awarded a controversial injury time penalty.

Ferguson's contract was mutually terminated on 11 February 2013 as Perth Glory manager, after five straight losses and six hours of game time without a goal scored.

Northern Fury FC (NPL Queensland)

In 2013, Ferguson was announced as the Director of Football and Coaching at the Townsville NPL Queensland franchise Northern Fury FC[12]

On 16 February 2017, Ferguson resigned as Northern Fury manager, less than a fortnight from the beginning of the Fury's season. He was replaced by Paul Roncato.[13]

Statistics

As of 9 February 2013
Team Nat From To Record
GWDLWin %
North Queensland Fury Australia 15 September 2008 6 April 2010 27 8 8 11 029.63
Perth Glory Australia 12 October 2010 9 February 2013 72 23 14 35 031.94
Total 99 31 22 46 031.31

References

  1. ↑ "Scotland U21 profile". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  2. ↑ "Scotland B profile". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  3. ↑ McGuigan, Thomas (17 March 2010). "Former St Mirren skipper Abercromby recalls final win". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Rangers player Ian Ferguson". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  5. ↑ Jack, Christopher (12 January 2017). "Games of our lives: Rangers legend Ian Ferguson on cup glory, Old Firm heroics and an Ibrox farewell". Evening Times. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Football: Ferguson forgiven by Brown". The Independent. 22 March 1997. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Ferguson blasts Tartan Army". Sky Sports. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  8. ↑ "Ferguson To Coach New Franchise". Central Coast Mariners Official Site. 15 September 2008.
  9. ↑ "Fergie Out At Fury, Joins Glory". FourFourTwo Australia. 6 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010.
  10. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  11. ↑ http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/-/soccer/13271257/ferguson-wins-new-two-year-deal-at-glory/
  12. ↑ http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/sport/ambitions-to-have-an-a-league-licence-in-five-years-in-townsville-are-very-real/story-fnjfzr2z-1226756114765
  13. ↑ Greco, John. "Kruse scores in draw with McBreen's Eagles". A-League. Football Federation Australia. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
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