Duncan Ferguson

For the American political activist, see Duncan Ferguson (political activist).
"Big Dunc" redirects here. For the English footballer nicknamed "Big Dunc", see Duncan Edwards.

Duncan Ferguson
Ferguson in 2019
Personal information
Full name Duncan Cowan Ferguson[1]
Date of birth (1971-12-27) 27 December 1971 (age 52)[1]
Place of birth Stirling, Scotland
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Inverness Caledonian Thistle (manager)
Youth career
1989–1990 Carse Thistle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1993 Dundee United 77 (28)
1993–1994 Rangers 14 (2)
1994 → Everton (loan) 9 (2)
1994–1998 Everton 107 (35)
1998–2000 Newcastle United 30 (8)
2000–2006 Everton 123 (23)
Total 360 (98)
International career
1992–1997 Scotland 7 (0)
Managerial career
2019 Everton (interim)
2022 Everton (interim)
2023 Forest Green Rovers
2023– Inverness Caledonian Thistle
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Duncan Cowan Ferguson (born 27 December 1971) is a Scottish football coach and former player who is the manager of Scottish League One club Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

He began his career at Dundee United in 1990, and moved to Rangers in 1993 for what was then a British transfer record fee. He spent the remainder of his career in England, moving to Everton in 1994 before a stint with Newcastle United between 1998 and 2000, after which he returned to Everton, where he retired in 2006.

During his career, Ferguson won the FA Cup with Everton in 1995. He was capped for Scotland seven times, playing at UEFA Euro 1992, but made himself unavailable for selection for the national team from 1997 due to a dispute with the Scottish Football Association (SFA).[3] He has scored more goals than any other Scottish player in England's Premier League since its creation in 1992.[4]

Ferguson's aggressive style of play resulted in a career total of nine red cards, as well as a three-month prison sentence following an on-field assault of Raith Rovers' John McStay in 1994. Eight of those red cards were in the English Premier League, where he holds the joint record for dismissals alongside Patrick Vieira and Richard Dunne.[5] He is known by the nicknames "Big Dunc"[6] and "Duncan Disorderly".[7][8]

Ferguson was promoted to the first-team coaching staff at Everton in 2014. Following the dismissal of Everton manager Marco Silva in December 2019, he was named as the team's caretaker manager until Silva's replacement Carlo Ancelotti was appointed manager a few weeks later, at which point Ferguson was made assistant manager. Ferguson left Everton after a second stint as caretaker manager in 2022. After a brief spell as Forest Green Rovers manager, he was appointed manager of Inverness Caledonian Thistle in September 2023.

  1. ^ a b "Duncan Ferguson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference PremProfile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sunday Times was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Premier League Player Stats". Premier League. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Premier League is 25 years old: Facts and figures behind the first quarter-century". BBC Sport. 8 August 2017.
  6. ^ "Newcastle hero Ferdinand: Carroll just like big Dunc". www.tribalfootball.com. 11 January 2010. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  7. ^ Fearon, Matthew (3 March 2010). "The ten best self-destructive sports stars". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012.
  8. ^ Hann, Michael (3 February 2006). "Duncan Ferguson: a fine example". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2021.