Everton may refer to:

Places[link]

Australia

• Everton, Victoria
• Electoral district of Everton, Queensland

Canada

• Everton, Ontario

South Africa

• Everton, part of Kloof, KwaZulu-Natal

United Kingdom

• Everton, Bedfordshire, England
• Everton, Hampshire, England
• Everton, Liverpool, a district of Liverpool, England
• Everton, Nottinghamshire, England
• Everton, Shetland

United States

• Everton, Arkansas
• Everton, Indiana
• Everton, Missouri

Sport[link]

• Everton F.C., an English football club based in Liverpool, England
• Everton L.F.C., a team playing in the Women's Premier League
• Everton Tigers, a basketball franchise formerly owned by the football club
• Everton de Viña del Mar, a Chilean football team named after the original British football team
• Everton F.C. (Port of Spain), a former Trinidad and Tobago football team

People[link]

Given name[link]

This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

• Everton Blender, a Jamaican reggae singer and producer
• Everton Weekes, a West Indian cricketer
• Everton Augusto de Barros Ribeiro, a Brazilian footballer
• Everton Cardoso da Silva, a Brazilian footballer born in 1988
• Everton José Modesto Silva, Brazilian footballer
• Everton Bilher (born 1988), Brazilian footballer
• Éverton Barbosa da Hora, Brazilian footballer
• Everton Guimarães Ferreira (born 1986), Brazilian footballer
• Éwerthon, a Brazilian footballer born in 1981

Surname[link]

• Chloe Everton, (b.1979), British sports presenter
• Clive Everton, (b.1937), Welsh snooker commentator, journalist and author
• James Everton, (b.1992), British radio presenter
• John Scott Everton, (1908–2003), American college president and diplomat

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Marouane Fellaini

Personal information
Full name	Marouane Fellaini-Bakkioui[1]
Date of birth	(1987-11-22) 22 November 1987 (age 24)
Place of birth	Etterbeek, Belgium
Height	1.94 m (6 ft 4 1⁄2 in)[2]
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Everton
Number	25
Youth career
1994–1997	Anderlecht
1997–2000	Mons
2000–2002	R. Francs Borains
2002–2004	Sporting Charleroi
2004–2006	Standard Liège
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2006–2008	Standard Liège	64	(9)
2008–	Everton	107	(14)
National team‡
2004–2005	Belgium U18	3	(0)
2006	Belgium U19	6	(1)
2006–2007	Belgium U21	7	(0)
2007–	Belgium	34	(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of match played 13 May 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11:18, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

Marouane Fellaini-Bakkioui (born 22 November 1987) is a Belgian footballer who plays for Everton and the Belgium national football team. Born in Etterbeek to Moroccan parents, Fellaini played youth football for Mons, R. Francs Borains and Sporting Charleroi before joining Standard Liège. After winning the Belgian First Division and the Ebony Shoe whilst a Liège player, he moved to England to join Everton. At Everton he was the club's Young player of the Season for 2008–09, when the club were losing finalists in the FA Cup.

Club career[link]

Early career[link]

Born in Etterbeek, Brussels, Fellaini began playing football at the age of 8 for Anderlecht. In his first season at Anderlecht's Academy, he scored 26 goals and in his second he scored 37. Fellaini's first love was track, with the 10,000 metres being his preferred event. However, his father, Abdellatif who was a professional footballer himself guided his son towards football. He was at Anderlecht's academy until the age of 10 when he joined Mons, due to his father getting a new job in the city.^[3] Three years later, he joined R. Francs Borains before leaving the club when he signed for Sporting Charleroi. At the age of 17, he signed his first permanent contract with Standard Liège. Between 2006 and 2008, he made 84 appearances for the club, scoring 11 times.^[4] He is known for his heading ability and stamina, which made him one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the Belgian First Division and resulted in him winning the Ebony Shoe in 2008,^[5] an award given to the best player of the season of African descent.

Everton[link]

Fellaini playing for Everton

After rejecting the advances of Manchester United^[6] and following reported interest from Aston Villa,^[7] Real Madrid, Tottenham and Bayern Munich,^[8] Fellaini signed for Everton in September 2008 on a five-year deal from Standard Liège for an initial transfer fee of £15 million (a record for a Belgian player and a club record for Everton).^[9] He made his Everton debut in a 3–2 away victory at Stoke City on 14 September 2008,^[10] and scored his first goal for the team against Newcastle United in a 2–2 home draw on 5 October 2008.^[11] Fellaini went on to score 9 goals in his first season, the most he has scored in a single season at the club to date.^[12]

During his debut season he was booked 10 times in his first 17 games and avoided a lengthy suspension by attending a personal hearing with England's chief referee, Keith Hackett, where he vowed to improve his behaviour. He kept his promise as he only picked up 3 further bookings in 16 games following the meeting, although his total was still more than any other Premier League player.^[3] At the end of the 2008–09 season Fellaini was named Everton's Young Player of the Season.^[13]

In his time in England he has become well known for his large "afro" hair, becoming a cult hero with Everton fans regularly sporting afro wigs as a homage to Fellaini.^[3] Fellaini was deployed as a second striker during the 2008–09 season, when Everton had all of their forwards out injured, usually playing behind another midfielder being used as an attacker, Tim Cahill.^[12] Later Fellaini reverted to play in his favoured defensive midfield area. His performances in late 2009 and early 2010 became so impressive that David Moyes labelled him "as good as anyone in the league", and he re-iterated this after Fellaini won Man of the Match against Manchester City on 16 January.^[14][15] Fellaini was stretchered off in the 34th minute of the Merseyside Derby on 6 February after a two footed tackle by Sotirios Kyrgiakos, ruling him out for the rest of the 2009–10 season.^[14]

Fellaini suffered an ankle injury in an FA Cup replay victory against Chelsea in February 2011 and although he was able to play in a 2–0 win against Sunderland a week later, the injury caused him to miss the remainder of the 2010–11 season.^[16] He did not play a competitive match until August 2011, when he appeared as a substitute in a 1–0 loss to Queens Park Rangers at Goodison Park and played the full match in the very next fixture, as Everton beat Sheffield United 3–1 in the League Cup.^[17] In November 2011 he signed a new five-year contract with the club.^[18] He finished the season having won the most tackles, aerial duels and made more passes than anyone else at the club. He won the second highest amount of tackles in the league and won possession of the ball 190 times, the most out of any player.^[19]

International career[link]

Fellaini with Belgium in 2008

This section requires expansion.

Eligible to play for either Belgium or Morocco, Fellaini he chose to represent the country of his birth from youth level upwards. He represented the U-23 team at the 2008 Olympics and achieved 4th place, losing to Brazil.

His senior team debut was made in February 2007, and his first goal for the senior team came in a 2–1 defeat against Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualification.^[20]

International goals[link]

Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2007–03–24	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	Portugal	1–1	1–2	2008 Euro Qualifying
2	2008–10–11	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	Armenia	2–0	2–0	2010 World Cup Qualifying
3	2009–11–15	Jules Ottenstadion, Ghent	Hungary	1–0	3–0	Friendly
4	2010–10–12	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	Austria	2–2	4–4	2012 Euro Qualifying
5	2011–10–11	Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf	Germany	1–3	1–3	2012 Euro Qualifying

Personal life[link]

Fellaini was born to Moroccan parents from Tangier and brought up in Brussels.^[21] His father, Abdellatif, was a former goalkeeper for Raja Casablanca and Hassania Agadir who signed for Racing Mechelen but was unable to play as his former Moroccan club refused to release his paperwork. Instead of returning home, he opted to become a bus driver for STIB.^[22]

Statistics[link]

Club[link]

As of match played 13 May 2012.

Honours[link]

Standard Liège[link]

• Belgian First Division winner: 2007–08
• Belgian Ebony Shoe winner: 2008

Everton[link]

• FA Cup runner-up: 2009

• Young Player of the Season winner: 2008/09

References[link]

External links[link]

• Marouane Fellaini career stats at Soccerbase
• Marouane Fellaini – UEFA competition record
• Marouane Fellaini – FIFA competition record
• Marouane Fellaini at the Internet Movie Database
• Premier League
• Belgium Stats at Belgian FA

Belgium squads v t e Belgium squad – 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Bailly 2 De Roover 3 Colpaert 4 Vermaelen 5 Mulemo 6 Lombaerts 7 Overmeire 8 Haroun 9 Mirallas 10 Vertonghen 11 Martens 12 Boeckx 13 Gillet 14 De Mul 15 Pocognoli 16 De Sutter 17 Fellaini 18 Ciman 19 De Smet 20 Vanden Borre 21 Cordier 22 Blondel 23 Witsel Coach: De Sart v t e Belgium squad – 2008 Summer Olympics Fourth Place 1 Bailly 2 De Roover 3 Kompany 4 Vermaelen 5 Pocognoli 6 Fellaini 7 De Mul 8 Haroun 9 Mirallas 10 Vertonghen 11 Martens 12 Ma-Kalambay 13 Ciman 14 Mulemo 15 Simaeys 16 Vanden Borre 17 De Smet 18 Dembélé 19 Odjidja-Ofoe Coach: De Sart

Duncan Ferguson

Ferguson in 1994, during his Rangers days
Personal information
Full name	Duncan Cowan Ferguson[1]
Date of birth	(1971-12-27) 27 December 1971 (age 40)
Place of birth	Stirling, Scotland
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position	Striker
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)
1999–2000	Newcastle United	30	(8)
2000–2006	Everton	123	(25)
Total		360	(100)
National team‡
1992–1997	Scotland	7	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:40, 20 February 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12:40, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Duncan Cowan Ferguson (born 27 December 1971) is a Scottish former footballer. He was notorious for his "hardman" image^[2] and nicknamed "Big Dunc"^[3] and "Duncan Disorderly".^[4]

Ferguson began his football career at Carse Thistle before being signed by Dundee United in 1990 on his first professional contract. He moved to Rangers in 1993 for a then British transfer record of £4 million. He spent the remainder of his career in England with two spells at Everton (1994 to 1998 and 2000 to 2006) and Newcastle United between 1998 and 2000. Ferguson retired from football in 2006.

During his career, Ferguson won the FA Cup with Everton in 1995, competed in the qualifying stages of the UEFA Champions League in 2005, also with Everton, and participated in the UEFA Cup in 1999 with Newcastle and 2005 with Everton. He was capped for Scotland seven times but made himself unavailable for selection in his national team due to a dispute with the Scottish Football Association.^[5] He has scored more goals than any other Scottish player in the FA Premier League.^[6] Ferguson was noted for his aggressive and highly-competitive style of play, which resulted in nine red cards and a three-month prison sentence following an on field assault of Raith Rovers' John McStay in 1994.

Club career[link]

Dundee United[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2011)

Born in Stirling, Ferguson made his professional debut for Dundee United against Rangers at Ibrox Stadium on 10 November 1990. He scored one goal in the league that season against Dunfermline Athletic in March 1991. He achieved greater impact in the Scottish Cup that season, scoring three goals in five matches and helping Dundee United to reach the final. Once there, they lost to Motherwell, 4–3 after extra time.

The following season saw him become a first team regular, with 41 appearances and 16 goals he became the clubs top scorer. His good form continued in 1992–93 with 33 appearances and 15 goals. The form he displayed at Dundee United also saw him win a call up to the Scottish national team. Ferguson accrued four caps during 1992 and 1993, playing in three friendlies and one European Football Championship match. These outings yielded no goals for the striker.

Rangers[link]

Ferguson's form at Dundee United attracted the interest of several clubs. Walter Smith signed Ferguson for Rangers in July 1993, for a then British transfer record fee of £4 million. Smith had begun his managerial career at Dundee United under Jim McLean, just as Ferguson had begun his professional playing career. Soon after Smith left Dundee United to assist Graeme Souness at Rangers, where he eventually took over the managerial role in 1991. The paths of Ferguson and Smith were to cross numerous times from this point.

Ferguson made little impact at Rangers, coupling indifferent displays and persistent injury woes. He played twenty-three games and scored five goals. He was also played out of position by Smith, often as a left winger and on one occasion even as a left back in a match against Levski Sofia.

In the 1993–94 season, Ferguson played 16 games but only scored once, in a 4–0 defeat of Raith Rovers. It was in this game that Ferguson headbutted the visitors' John McStay in the south-west corner of the Ibrox pitch. Referee Kenny Clark and his linesmen missed the incident, hence Ferguson avoided a dismissal, but he was subsequently charged with assault and, as it was his fourth such conviction, he received a three-month prison sentence in 1995, by which time he had left the club.^[7]

In contrast, season 1994–95 saw Ferguson start in fine form. Gary Pallister and David May of Manchester United endured a torrid time in a pre–season friendly. This was followed by a last–minute winner against Motherwell, from a Brian Laudrup assist on the first game of the season.^[8] Four days later, Ferguson scored a hat–trick in a 6–1 win over Arbroath.^[9] The next match saw Ferguson pressure a Partick Thistle player into scoring an own goal, leading to a 2–0 win for Rangers.^{[citation needed]}

A Champions League qualifier against AEK Athens left Rangers 2–0 down after the first leg.^[10] Smith elected to play a partnership of Ferguson and Mark Hateley up front, in an effort to overcome the deficit. The two players were poorly suited to playing alongside each other; they often ended up competing for the same ball. Despite Ferguson having outscored Hateley in the first five games of the season, Smith decided to drop Ferguson in favour of Gordon Durie.

Everton[link]

In October 1994, Everton were struggling under the management of Mike Walker and looking for options to reinvigorate their faltering season. The solution enacted was to take two Rangers players on loan–deal, Ian Durrant for one month and Ferguson for three.^[11]

The deal failed to secure Walker’s tenure, and saw the managerial role handed to Joe Royle in November. Royle decided to let Durrant return north to Rangers but then signed Ferguson permanently in a £4 million deal — making him Everton's record signing after a string of dominating performances including goals against Liverpool, Leeds Utd and Sheffield Wednesday.

While still on loan, Ferguson contributed a goal in the 2–0 Merseyside derby victory at Goodison Park on 21 November 1994 giving him almost cult like status with the Evertonians, who are always desperate to beat their neighbours..^{[citation needed]}

Ferguson also helped Everton progress to the semi–final stage of the 1995 FA Cup. Despite recovering from an injury at the time, he was given a substitute appearance in the final against Manchester United, a game that saw Everton victorious and provided Ferguson with the only honour of his career in a 1–0 result. Ferguson was described by Joe Royle as 'the biggest thing since Dixie' in reference to Ferguson's iconic status with the Evertonians, and in comparison to Everton's all time record scorer Dixie Dean

The subsequent, 1995–96 season was less successful for Ferguson. A persistent hernia problem caused him to be unavailable for large amounts of time. He was also jailed in September 1995, for an incident in Scotland were he headbutted an opposition player. Manager Joe Royle was less than happy, stating that the club were strongly advised there was little chance of Ferguson being imprisoned upon signing him. Ferguson was released in November 1995, and played an important role in the second half of the season with important goals and performances as the toffee's climbed to 6th position in the league.^[12]

From here, Ferguson continued to be the focal point of Everton’s attack. In the 1996–97 season, he helped maintain the club’s top-flight status but also suffered another injury setback, this time requiring surgery on his knee. He started the season in blistering form, with a man of the match display against Alan Shearer's Newcastle United on the opening day, and a brace at Old Trafford 4 days later in a 2-2 draw with Man Utd.Howard Kendall returned to manage the club in the 1997–98 season, and decided that season to reward Ferguson with the captaincy of the team. It was during this season that Ferguson removed himself from contention for the Scottish national team after believing they did very little to protect him from his earlier prison sentence.

After Everton were almost relegated during the 1997–98 season, Kendall made way for Walter Smith, reuniting Ferguson with his Rangers manager. Smith maintained the strategy of bypassing the midfield and instead lofting the ball straight to Ferguson which at times did see some success, but iritated some players and fans who preferred to play football on the floor.^{[citation needed]}

Ferguson was controversially sold to Newcastle United for a fee of £8 million in November 1998.^[13] The deal was done to sell Ferguson by the Everton chairman, Peter Johnson, without the knowledge of Walter Smith. Ferguson wrote a 2 page goodbye letter in the club magazine to fans, stating his sadness at leaving and that he would never forget them.^[14]

Newcastle United[link]

Upon bringing Ferguson to Newcastle, team manager Ruud Gullit was swiftly rewarded. Ferguson scored twice on his debut against Wimbledon in the Premier League. The final result was a 3–1 victory to Newcastle and the tantalising prospect of Ferguson and Alan Shearer forming a formidable strike partnership.

Though it was not to be; Ferguson again found himself struck down by injury and appeared only seven times for Newcastle during the 1998–99 season. He did however make a substitute appearance in the 1999 FA Cup Final. His extended absence lasted from late December until April and curbed the early promise of his Tyneside career. Likewise, the first half of 1999–2000 brought more misfortune for Ferguson.

Injury would once again hinder Ferguson’s career and he was unable to participate in the final seven league matches of the season. These injury woes made his position at Newcastle untenable and he was eventually sold back to Everton by Bobby Robson for £3.75 million; almost half the price he was bought for from Everton two seasons earlier. His final appearance came in the FA Cup semi-final defeat to eventual winners Chelsea.

Return To Everton[link]

Ferguson re-joined Everton on the eve of the 2000-2001 season, after Everton with money to spend from player sales made a dramatic bid under new owner Bill Kenwright to bring Ferguson back. After weeks of negotiations with Newcastle Utd, Ferguson waived his sell on payment to seal a move back to his beloved blues and was paraded to hundreds of joyous fans outside the clubs stadium . Ferguson’s return to Goodison Park brought no change to his injury problems. Just two games into his second spell at Everton, he was injured. Regardless, he managed to participate in 13 Premier League games during the 2000–01 season and provided a crucial six goals in that time. This was enough to justify the return and once again keep Everton from relegation, though 16th place was their lowest under Walter Smith and fears were rife that 2001–02 would see Everton relegated. Ferguson's goal in the merseyside derby at goodison park saw him celebrate by showing his Everton tattoo to the travelling Liverpool fans much to their anger.

The next two seasons were largely anonymous for Ferguson with the player battling to recover from his sciatica and rediscover his best form, hardly helped by his advancing years. 2001-2002 seen Ferguson start brightly upfront in a partnership with Kevin Campbell, however he was out the side with a back injury until March 2002, when new manager David Moyes gave Ferguson the captains arm band once again in an attempt to get the best out of him in the very imporant run in. Ferguson responded by playing through the pain barrier and scoring 4 goals in the final 8 games, but his season was cut short when he was sent off for punching Bolton's Bo Hansen during Everton's 3-1 win in April 2002. Ferguson went under the knife in October 2002 after only playing 1 of Everton's 1st 10 games, a sub appearance against Wrexham in the league cup in an attempt to cure a long standing nerve problem in his back. He returned in April 2003 but figured just 7 times off the bench with a return of 0 goals. Once in his early thirties and participating in the 2003–04 season, Ferguson again started to add value to the Everton team but he was eclipsed by the emergence of Wayne Rooney. He was once again club captain and stayed relatively injury free, scoring goals as Everton once again avoided releagtion. He did however miss 2 months of the season after being sent home from training following a brawl with manager David Moyes.

During the 2004–05 season, manager David Moyes began to utilise Ferguson effectively as a substitute. With 1 year left on his contract, and rumours that he would be released at the end of the campain, the striker’s contribution from the bench was pivotal in Everton’s campaign that season and his tally of five league goals helped lift Everton to a fourth–placed finish. A particular highlight was his match–winning goal against Manchester United, reminiscent of ten years prior when Ferguson scored against the same team to give Everton victory. The intervening period had seen Manchester United unbeaten by Everton in the league. By this stage, Wayne Rooney had been sold to Manchester United, but Everton had still managed to finish fourth in the final table - their highest yet in the Premier League and their highest finish overall in 17 years. Ferguson was rewarded with a one year deal at the end of the campaign, despite attempts to bring in further forwards such as Michael Owen, Craig Bellamy and Milan Baros.

The 2005–06 season saw Ferguson regain the number 9 shirt - the number he has tattooed inside the Everton crest on his left upper arm. However, the 2005-2006 season was somewhat less fruitful for Ferguson with goals proving elusive and frustration dominating his displays, the latter factor reaching a head when Ferguson inadvertently headed the ball into his own net during Everton's 1-0 home defeat to Portsmouth in September 2005, a result which briefly dropped the team to the foot of the table.

Ferguson’s low point of the 2005–06 season was his sending off against Wigan Athletic for violent conduct. His confrontation with Paul Scharner and subsequent fracas with Pascal Chimbonda resulted in a total match–ban of seven games and saw Ferguson’s Premier League red–card count reach eight, equalling Patrick Vieira’s record. Scharner later claimed that he had sworn at Ferguson in his native language and that the Everton man's punch "was a nice punch".^[15]

On 7 May 2006, against West Bromwich Albion at Goodison Park, Ferguson was named captain in the game that marked the end of his Everton career. His 90th minute penalty kick was saved by Tomasz Kuszczak, but he subsequently scored from the rebound, netting his final goal for the club. Towards the end of his career he got a reputation as the hardman of the English game. Ferguson was not given a new Everton deal and retired, moving his family to Mallorca and spuring advances from a number of clubs.^[16]

Personal[link]

Burglary attempt[link]

In 2001, Ferguson was the victim of a burglary attempt by two men at his then home in Formby, Liverpool. Ferguson confronted the pair and was able to detain one of them who subsequently spent three days in hospital.^[17] The second man managed to flee but was eventually caught. Both men were sentenced to fifteen months imprisonment for their actions.

Gaol[link]

Ferguson has had four convictions for assault - two arising from taxi–rank scuffles,^[18] one an altercation with a fisherman in an Anstruther pub^[18] and the most infamous: his on–field headbutt on Raith Rovers defender John McStay in 1994 while playing for Rangers, which resulted in a three-month prison sentence. The first incident led to a £100 fine for butting a policeman (was fined a further £25 for a Breach of the Peace),^[19] while the second resulted in a £200 fine for punching and kicking a supporter on crutches. He had been put on a year's probation for the third offence.^[20]

Campaigning[link]

Ferguson has pledged his support to the "Keep Everton in Our City" campaign, making a rare public statement:

Coaching[link]

In October 2011 Ferguson joined former club Everton, coaching the youth teams in an unofficial capacity, as he prepared to take his coaching qualifications. Not formally an employee, he is currently assisting Alan Irvine, the club's academy manager.^[22]

Statistics[link]

All figures correct as of 07:47, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Club performance[link]

International appearances[link]

Ferguson refused international selection after 1997, in part in protest against his treatment by the SFA after his conviction for assault on John McStay, particularly the imposition of a 12-game ban on top of his 3-month prison sentence.^[23]

Honours[link]

Everton[link]

• FA Cup: 1

1994-95

Rangers[link]

• Scottish Premier League

1993–94

References[link]

References for statistics[link]

• Statistics from BBC Sport
• Statistics from Guardian Unlimited
• Duncan Ferguson at scottishfa.co.uk
• Statistics from Sky Sports
• Duncan Ferguson career stats at Soccerbase
• Statistics from Yahoo! Sport

External links[link]

• Profile by 4thegame
• Profile by Born To Be Blue
• Profile by ESPN Soccernet
• Profile by Football Database
• Profile by Glenrothes Arabs
• Profile by icLiverpool
• Profile by Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
• Profile by ToffeeWeb
• Duncan Ferguson at the Internet Movie Database

v t e Scotland squad – UEFA Euro 1992 1 Goram 2 Gough (c) 3 McStay 4 Malpas 5 McCoist 6 McClair 7 Durie 8 McPherson 9 McKimmie 10 McCall 11 McAllister 12 Smith 13 Nevin 14 Gallacher 15 Boyd 16 McInally 17 Whyte 18 Bowman 19 McLaren 20 Ferguson Coach: Roxburgh

Gordon Strachan

Strachan as manager of Celtic
Personal information
Full name	Gordon David Strachan
Date of birth	(1957-02-09) 9 February 1957 (age 55)
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1971–1977	Dundee	69	(13)
1977–1984	Aberdeen	183	(55)
1984–1989	Manchester United	160	(33)
1989–1995	Leeds United	197	(37)
1995–1997	Coventry City	26	(0)
Total		635	(138)
National team
1980–1992	Scotland	50	(5)
Teams managed
1996–2001	Coventry City
2001–2004	Southampton
2005–2009	Celtic
2009–2010	Middlesbrough
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Gordon David Strachan OBE (born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is currently without a club, having last managed Middlesbrough. Strachan played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. Prior to Middlesbrough, Strachan managed Coventry City, Southampton and Celtic. In club football, he played 626 games scoring a total of 138 goals, playing 21 of 25 career seasons in either the English or Scottish top flight. In international football Strachan earned 50 caps, scoring 5 goals and playing in two FIFA World Cup final tournaments, Spain 82 and Mexico 86. Strachan retired from playing in 1996 at age 40, setting a Premier League record for an outfield player.

A right-sided midfielder, Strachan made his senior debut in 1974 with Dundee before moving on within Scotland, to spend seven seasons at Aberdeen. He first played for the Scotland national team in 1980. While at Aberdeen Strachan won multiple domestic league and cup honours in the early 1980s, as well as the 1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup and 1983 European Super Cup. Moving to England, Strachan won the 1985 FA Cup Final in five seasons with Manchester United, before spending the next seven seasons as club captain at Leeds, winning the 1991–92 First Division league title. He played his last game for Scotland in 1992 while still at Leeds, and then moved to Coventry in 1995 for a final three seasons, as a player-coach.

Strachan became full time manager of Coventry when the incumbent Ron Atkinson was appointed as Director of Football. After five years in the job he was sacked in 2001, when Coventry were relegated from the top flight for the first time in 34 years. However, he immediately returned to the Premier League with Southampton and guided that club to the 2003 FA Cup Final – losing 1–0 to Arsenal. Strachan resigned from Southampton in 2004 and took a 16 month break from management before returning to Scotland to become manager of Celtic in the Scottish Premier League. With Celtic he achieved three successive league titles and other domestic cup wins, before resigning in May 2009 after failing to win a fourth title. Five months later he became manager of Middlesbrough in the English Football League Championship, but left the club after a year in the job.

Strachan was named as FWA Footballer of the Year for the 1990–91 season while at Leeds. He was also named Manager of the Year in Scotland multiple times by writers and players while at Celtic. In 2007, Strachan was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame. He is the father of Craig Strachan and Gavin Strachan, also footballers.

Club career[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2010)

Dundee[link]

Born in Edinburgh, Strachan began his career with Dundee, making his debut in the 1974-75 season and becoming a regular player the 1975-76 season, soon becoming captain of the side.

Aberdeen[link]

Strachan came to prominence at the age of 20 when he was signed by Aberdeen on 1 November 1977 for a fee of £50,000.^[1] With the famous Aberdeen team of the 1980s, managed by Alex Ferguson and one of the few sides to break the traditional dominance of the Old Firm in Scottish football, he won two Scottish League titles, three Scottish Cups, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup.

Manchester United[link]

In August 1984, Manchester United spent £500,000 to take him to Old Trafford in August. Strachan had previously signed for Bundesliga side 1. FC Köln, and United paid £75,000 compensation to resolve the row.^{[citation needed]}

He contributed to the Red Devils' FA Cup victory over Everton in 1985, but gradually began to suffer a loss in form and eventually lost his place as a regular first team player in the 1988-89 season. However, he enjoyed one of his finest moments in a United shirt late in the 1987-88 season, when he scored a late equaliser against league leaders Liverpool in a 3-3 draw at Anfield despite being down to 10 men and trailing the hosts 3-1 well into the second half.^[2]

Aberdeen manager Alex Ferguson followed him to Old Trafford in November 1986 following the dismissal of Ron Atkinson.

Leeds United[link]

Leeds United manager Howard Wilkinson came to the rescue in March 1989, when he paid £200,000 for Strachan's services. The transfer fee soon paid dividends as Strachan's form resulted in helping Leeds to winning the Second Division title in 1990 and gaining promotion to the First Division after an eight-year exile. The following season he helped Leeds finish fourth in the First Division and Strachan was voted Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year. A year later, he was a part of the team's strength in Leeds overtaking Manchester United to win the 1991–92 League Championship title in the last ever season of the old Football League before the creation of the FA Premier League. Strachan continued to be an active first-team player as Leeds enjoyed mixed fortunes during their first three seasons of the Premier League, although he was sometimes kept out of the side by back problems.

Coventry City[link]

Strachan remained at Leeds United until March 1995, when he moved to Coventry City to work as player-coach under new manager Ron Atkinson. Strachan was not a regular first-team player at Highfield Road, but he helped coach the club's players to a high enough standard to escape relegation from the Premier League in 1995–96.

International career[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2010)

Strachan had a fruitful International career with Scotland which included 5 goals. He appeared in two FIFA World Cups — in 1982 and 1986 – and it was in the latter that he scored his most famous International goal, a cross shot against West Germany in Scotland's second match of the tournament in Querétaro, Mexico. His celebration was unique and comical too, as he attempted to vault the advertising hoarding, his relatively small height made it difficult if not impossible, so he merely rested his right leg on it as his team-mates joined him in celebrating. This goal gave Scotland a surprise lead against one of the world's top national sides, but they ultimately lost the game 2–1 and failure to beat Uruguay in the final game of the group stages ended their hopes of reaching the last 16, despite playing ten men from the first minute after a challenge on Strachan.

Managerial career[link]

Coventry City[link]

When Ron Atkinson became Coventry City's Director of Football in November 1996, Strachan was promoted to the manager's seat. He finally retired as a player at the end of the season after making his last appearance at the age of 40, at the time a record for an outfield player in the FA Premier League. Only goalkeeper John Burridge, who had played for Manchester City at the age of 43 in the 1994–95, had played at a greater age in the Premier League at the time.

Strachan also helped Coventry survive a Premier League relegation battle. After losing their penultimate league game, it looked as though their 30-year top flight tenancy had come to an end. But thanks to a victory on the final day, a draw for Middlesbrough (who had been deducted three points by the FA) and a defeat for Sunderland, they avoided relegation. Coventry stayed in the top flight for a further four years until the 2000–01 season, during which Strachan became unpopular with fans.^[3] In the face of increasing supporter unrest he was sacked five games into the 2001–02 Division One campaign.^[4]

Southampton[link]

Strachan returned to management within weeks, taking the manager's job at Premier League Southampton – who had sacked manager Stuart Gray after a terrible start to their first season at the new St Mary's Stadium. Most pundits had already written off their survival chances by the time of Strachan's appointment in October 2001, but he turned round their fortunes and they finished 11th in the Premier League. The Saints progressed further in 2002–03 when they finished eighth and reached the FA Cup Final, where they lost 1–0 to Arsenal. As Arsenal had qualified for the UEFA Champions League, Southampton won a place in the UEFA Cup.

In February 2004, Strachan announced his resignation as Southampton manager. He had earlier announced his intention not to renew his contract when it expired at the end of the 2003–04 season, but resigned even earlier than intended because he wanted to spend time with his family.

Celtic[link]

After a 16 month break, Strachan returned to management on 1 June 2005, when he succeeded Martin O'Neill as manager of Celtic in the Scottish Premier League (SPL). For 2005–06, his stated aim was to regain the SPL title from rivals Rangers. He had an embarrassing start to his campaign as Celtic manager, losing 5–0 to Slovakian champions Artmedia Bratislava on 27 July 2005 and 3 days later drawing 4–4 with Motherwell in his first SPL match in charge of the Glasgow club. The loss against Artmedia meant that Celtic suffered an early exit from European competition, despite winning the return match 4–0.

After this disastrous start, Celtic started to improve under Strachan. A low-point was the shock defeat in the third round of the Scottish Cup to First Division Clyde on 8 January 2006. However, the following month his team made history when they beat Dunfermline Athletic 8–1, a record victory margin for the SPL.

Strachan's first season was ultimately successful as he coached Celtic to victory in the Scottish League Cup and, on 5 April 2006 his side clinched the SPL title in record time and with six matches remaining. Reflecting this achievement, Strachan was voted 'manager of the year' by the Scottish Football Writers' Association 8 days later.^[5]

The following year Strachan restructured the team and made a series of signings, bringing in players such as Hibernian's Derek Riordan, Chelsea's Jiri Jarosik, Kenny Miller and Lee Naylor both from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink from PSV Eindhoven, Thomas Gravesen from Real Madrid and Paul Hartley and Steven Pressley from Heart of Midlothian. Celtic flourished, and by mid-January 2007 held a 17 point lead in the SPL table.

Champions League football again returned to Celtic Park, the team having automatically qualified for the group stages and drawn alongside Benfica, FC Copenhagen and Manchester United. Home victories against all three Group F members saw the team progress to the final 16 of the Champions League for the first time since the competition was re-formatted in 1993. Celtic lost the tie, against eventual winners AC Milan in extra time, missing out on a place in the quarter finals.

On 22 April 2007 Strachan guided Celtic to their 41st league championship, and second in succession. A 2–1 victory against Kilmarnock^[6] left Celtic 13 points clear of Rangers with four matches remaining. Later that day Strachan was recognised as the inaugural Scottish PFA Manager of the Year for 2007. Celtic went on to win the Scottish Cup, beating Dunfermline.

In the 2007–08 season, Strachan led Celtic into the last 16 of the Champions League again after beating AC Milan, Benfica and Shaktar Donetsk. However by April there was a lot of criticism from the press and the fans after the 1–0 loss to Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup quarter final and the 1–0 loss to 10 man Motherwell in the league. But he proved the critics wrong again and after beating Rangers twice at home, on 22 May 2008, Strachan became only the third ever Celtic manager to guide the club to three consecutive Scottish league titles.

After failing to lead Celtic to another league title in the 2008/09 season, he stepped down as manager on 25 May 2009.^[7][8]

Middlesbrough[link]

Strachan was appointed manager of Championship team Middlesbrough on 26 October 2009, in succession to Gareth Southgate and signed a four-year contract.^[9][10] He had been linked with the Middlesbrough manager's job 15 years earlier, when still a Leeds United player.^[11]

His first game in charge was on 31 October where Middlesbrough lost 1–0 to Plymouth Argyle with Adam Johnson missing a penalty.^[12] On 5 December 2009, Middlesbrough won their first match under Strachan, 5–1 away to Queens Park Rangers.^[13] after a poor run of results including a 3–0 loss at home to Blackpool and a 1–0 loss at home to Cardiff City Strachan got his first home win- 3–0 against Scunthorpe.^[14]

After a poor start to the 2010–11 season with Middlesbrough in 20th place,^[15] Strachan left the club by mutual consent on 18 October,^[16] and voluntarily tore up his contract,^[17] meaning that the club did not have to pay him compensation for the two and a half years remaining on his deal.^[16][18]

Management style[link]

Typically playing a traditional 4–4–2 formation,^[19][20][21] and very occasionally 4–5–1,^[19][22] Strachan is widely known for his rigorous management style,^[23] and admits to watching video replays of his club's games two, sometimes three times.^[24] He also places great emphasis on player health and fitness, forbidding his players to drink alcohol excessively or regularly, and often giving dietary advice to his players, attributing his own longevity as a player to a strict and somewhat unusual diet involving seaweed.^[25][26] Players such as Scotland international Gary Caldwell have attributed their success at Celtic to lifestyle changes enforced by Strachan.^[27]

Rivalries[link]

During his managerial career Strachan has had an ongoing public feud with Alex Ferguson. In his 1999 autobiography the Manchester United manager said "I decided this man could not be trusted an inch – I would not want to expose my back to him in a hurry". In his own 2006 autobiography Strachan said of the comments he was "surprised and disappointed".^[28] The rivalry dates from Strachan's time playing under Ferguson, first at Aberdeen and later Manchester Utd.^[29] The hostilities between the two men are widely recognised to have decreased especially since they were seen on cordial terms during Celtic and Manchester United Champions League fixtures in both 2006 and 2008.

Other work[link]

While taking a break from management after leaving Southampton in 2004, Strachan turned down an offer to become the manager at their local rivals Portsmouth,^{[citation needed]} and was also widely tipped to be Berti Vogts's replacement as Scotland manager, before the post was filled by Walter Smith. During the break, Strachan analysed football matches for the media, most notably alongside Adrian Chiles on BBC Sport's Match of the Day 2.

For the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Strachan was appointed as the official FIFA Ambassador for Scotland, joining fifty others in fund raising for SOS Children's Villages, the official charity of the tournament.^[30]

He currently works as a regular pundit for ITV's coverage of the FA Cup.

Personal life[link]

Strachan is the father of Craig and Gavin Strachan, also footballers, and Gemma Strachan.^{[citation needed]}

Renowned for his deadpan humour in media interviews, quotes attributed to Strachan have become part of popular football culture.^[31][32]

Career statistics[link]

Player[link]