THE rollercoaster life and career of Duncan Ferguson has taken another downward step with the former Scotland striker being declared bankrupt over unpaid tax debts.
It has emerged that Ferguson, 44, now a first team coach with former club Everton, was made bankrupt at the High Court in London on the petition of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
The notice posted on the London Gazette website on Wednesday states that Duncan Cowan Ferguson “occupation unknown” of Formby in Liverpool was made bankrupt by order of the High Court on January 15, following a petition by the Commissioners of HMRC lodged on December 1.
In his heyday at Newcastle United and Everton, Ferguson is thought to have earned up to £30,000 per week, and he also earned a slice of various transfer fees – when Rangers bought him from Dundee United for £4 million in 1993, it was a record fee between two Scottish clubs, overtaken only by Celtic playing £4.4 m for Scott Brown in 2007.
Stirling-born Ferguson moved from Rangers to Everton after an infamous assault on John McStay of Raith Rovers. Ferguson’s head butt cut McStay’s lip and saw him become the first British internationalist to be jailed for an on-field assault.
Earlier in his career, Ferguson picked up two convictions for assault as well as convictions for breach of the peace and drink-driving.
Indeed, Ferguson, who was then just 23, was on probation at the time of the McStay incident in a Scottish Premiership match at Ibrox Park.
He was neither booked nor sent off for the head butt, but the SFA gave him a lengthy ban on video evidence and Glasgow’s Procurator Fiscal initiated criminal proceedings which saw Ferguson jailed for three months after he had been transferred to Everton.
Their manager Joe Royle said at the time: “Anyone who knows him will tell you he is a very pleasant young man. He is no bad lad at all. He has been guilty sometimes of stupidity, but mostly immaturity. We all see events on football pitches every week and they are a lot worse than what Duncan now finds himself imprisoned with hardened criminals for.”
Ferguson, who was capped just seven times for Scotland, went on to enjoy a stellar career in two spells with Everton and his goal tallies there and at Newcastle are a record for a Scot in the Premier League.
Neither Everton or Ferguson were making any statements yesterday.
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