If Duncan Ferguson had played in 2015, he surely would have been a $100 million dollar man. He did after all break the British transfer record in 1993, earning a £4 million switch to Rangers. He seemed to have the world at his fingertips; he was on the verge of something big.
Unfortunately things didn’t turn out as anyone planned. Ferguson would become known for issues off the field more than anything else. But was the media’s portrayal of Ferguson as the game’s biggest villain accurate? Would he had been successful with another club or another manager? Was he really the aggressor or was he actually the victim?
Alan Pattullo tackles these questions and many more with In Search of Duncan Ferguson: The Life and Crimes of a Footballing Enigma, easily the best retelling of Ferguson’s career. Pattullo does the Ferguson story right, approaching it from different angles and perspectives. He looks for the truth behind the story, traveling many miles to speak with those that knew, played, and worked with Ferguson.
The number of goals “Big Dunc” scored was impressive (the most of any Scot in the EPL), but the record number of red cards was equally troubling. Given the right situation, could the Stirling native have made it bigger and farther?
We admired Pattullo’s work even more considering how elusive Ferguson actually was. The same can be said for his story as no one could say they knew Ferguson until now.
It’s great to see someone in a different light. Everyone always stamps Ferguson as a criminal and a vagrant on and off the field, but that is certainly not the case. He was just misunderstood, the Eric Cantona or Luis Suarez of his generation.
