Iain Ferguson

For those of a similar name, see Ian Ferguson (disambiguation).

Iain Ferguson

Personal information
Date of birth	(1962-08-04) 4 August 1962
Place of birth	Newarthill, Scotland
Height
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
	Fir Park Boys Club
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1978–1984	Dundee	119	(40)
1984–1986	Rangers	32	(6)
1986	→Dundee (loan)	3	(2)
1986–1988	Dundee United	75	(27)
1988–1990	Heart of Midlothian	52	(8)
1989	→Charlton Athletic (loan)	1	(0)
1990	→Bristol City (loan)	11	(2)
1990–1993	Motherwell	51	(10)
1993–1994	Airdrieonians	31	(9)
1994–1996	Portadown	39	(14)
1996–1997	Dundee	14	(1)
1997–1998	Dundalk	4	(0)
	Gretna	?	(?)
International career
1982–1983	Scotland U21	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Iain Ferguson (born 4 August 1962, in Newarthill, North Lanarkshire) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a striker for numerous Scottish clubs during the 1980s and 90s.

Career

Ferguson started his professional career with Dundee, who signed him from Fir Park Boys Club in 1978. He flourished at Dens Park, becoming a first-team regular under Don Mackay as well as an Under-21 internationalist.

Ferguson's performances attracted attention from larger clubs and in 1984 Jock Wallace signed him for Rangers for £200,000. The Ibrox side were enduring a transitional period however, and after collecting only one medal with Rangers, for the League Cup victory in 1984–85, Ferguson returned to Tayside with Dundee's rivals Dundee United in 1986, Jim McLean paying £145,000 to secure his services.

In his two seasons at Tannadice, Ferguson helped United to reach consecutive Scottish Cup finals, as well as the UEFA Cup final in 1986–87. He scored several important goals during United's European run, netting the winner in the 2–1 defeat of Barcelona at the Camp Nou and the opening goal in the semi-final victory at Borussia Mönchengladbach. United lost by the odd goal in all three finals however, and despite featuring in one of the Tangerines most celebrated sides, Ferguson was destined not to earn silverware there.

In 1988–89 Alex MacDonald equalled Hearts’ record transfer fee to sign Ferguson, as a replacement for the Newcastle United-bound John Robertson. He maintained his penchant for scoring important goals, notching the only goal when Hearts defeated Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup. However, when Robertson returned to Tynecastle a mere 8 months after his departure, Ferguson found his position threatened. The common perception was that the two players’ styles were not compatible, and Ferguson frequently found himself relegated to the substitutes’ bench. He spent time on loan with Bristol City and Charlton Athletic before joining Motherwell in December 1990.

Ferguson quickly became a hero at Fir Park as he helped the Steelmen to their first trophy since the 1950s, the 1991 Scottish Cup. He scored the opening goal as Motherwell defeated his old side Dundee United 4–3 after extra time in a thrilling showpiece. Two years later, he moved to Lanarkshire rivals Airdrieonians before joining Portadown in the Irish League. After a brief return to Dundee, Ferguson spent the second half of the 97–8 season in Ireland with Dundalk, where he made four league appearances and one FAI Cup appearance in an injury hit spell. He then returned to the UK, and played in English non-league football with Gretna.

Ferguson was the subject of an arrest in October 2006 when he was charged with handling stolen football gear at his Glasgow indoor market stall. All charges were subsequently dropped.

Honours

• Scottish Cup: 1990–91
• Scottish League Cup: 1984–85

See also

• Dundee United F.C. season 1987-88

References

Dundalk FC matchday programme, Dundalk v Drogheda Utd, April 1998

External links

• Profile at londonhearts.com