Big Dunc

No matter how you dress it up, he was a massive disappointment.

Attitude, fitness, off field discipline all contributed, as did Hateley being magnificent and the football and police authorities singling him out for scandalous treatment.
 
blue division said:
He went to jail for the so called assault on McStay.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/soccer-player-jailed-for-foul-play-1577101.html
Click to expand...

He went to jail for breach of probation triggered by the McStay incident. As previously pointed out, he was getting himself in all sorts of bother and had prior convictions.

Fair play to him for growing up and changing his behaviour later in life. Was never gonna work out for him while Hately was here. Walter should have bitten the bullet and moved Hately on to accommdate Ferguson or not signed big Dunc at all.

Alex Ferguson was the master at that kind of thing, getting rid of big names at the right time to make room for the next generation.
 
Baz said:
I saw him play in a friendly against Germany the season before he signed. Think it was at Ibrox. We lost 1-0 but big Dunc gave the German defence a torrid time and nearly scored a belter of an overhead kick.

Germany were world champions at time and nobody bullied their defence like that. Genuinely thought he was going to be a superstar and was delighted when we got him.
Click to expand...
I remember that game,Scotland wore a horrible white /pink& purple zigzag away strip that night.
There was talk of German teams wanting big Duncan after that
 
shawlandsbear said:
I remember that game,Scotland wore a horrible white /pink& purple zigzag away strip that night.
There was talk of German teams wanting big Duncan after that
Click to expand...

My memory is playing tricks on me then... I thought it was the markedly more staunch red and purple pin-striped '82 throwback effort.
 
Baz said:
I saw him play in a friendly against Germany the season before he signed. Think it was at Ibrox. We lost 1-0 but big Dunc gave the German defence a torrid time and nearly scored a belter of an overhead kick.

Germany were world champions at time and nobody bullied their defence like that. Genuinely thought he was going to be a superstar and was delighted when we got him.
Click to expand...

Also was there that night. He was immense against the WOrld CHamps.
 
He would never have gotten a game in front of Hateley the form he was in, would needed to have been prepared to be a bit part player until his form waned.
Was hung out to dry by the SFA as they waited until he was jailed and done his time hit him with a 12 game ban.

The media in Scotland would have crucified him then you add in Murray issuing a threat to players that they were not to visit him.
Glad he went South and stuck two fingers up to the prats at SFA.
 
You could launch in a corner and he'd steam into the box scattering the defence and back four like pins in a bowling alley
 
Last edited:
Whitburnbear said:
I seem to remember Duncs case was immediately after the announcement of some ludicrous drive to get that the police involved in on-field incidents.

Am i imagining that ? anyone remember that
Click to expand...
Not saying you are wrong but can't recall that.
Although if it was true they certainly did not get involved in the scottish junior cup final played at Ibrox which i think was at the end of that season where there was proper brawling going on including a real full on headbutt.

Edit did a bit of research and it was largs v glenafton and there was 4 sent off in a game shown live in scotland,can't find any footage on youtube though
 
Last edited:
blue division said:
Jailed for that.
What an injustice as the mentally challengeds started to take control of the legal system.
Click to expand...

Scotland is a petty wee country, I hate saying it but it's been true all my life. The 2-2 game against the scum in 87 and a police enquiry is called for, I can't remember one after the 1999 game. We've always been a target and we've never been streetwise about it.
 
Target men don’t usually hit their peak until their late 20’s to 30’s in terms of first touch and movement.....

Hateley was in his prime at this point so it must have been disheartening for DF
 
British transfer record signing at the time seems incredible how much things have changed in Scottish and English football since then.

That game against Germany and the overhead kick probably inflated his price to a stupid levels for that period in football.
 
TheMilster said:
He would never have gotten a game in front of Hateley the form he was in, would needed to have been prepared to be a bit part player until his form waned.
Was hung out to dry by the SFA as they waited until he was jailed and done his time hit him with a 12 game ban.

The media in Scotland would have crucified him then you add in Murray issuing a threat to players that they were not to visit him.
Glad he went South and stuck two fingers up to the prats at SFA.
Click to expand...

The sad thing looking back now is Hateley was sold to QPR a mere 12 months after Dunc went on loan to Everton

That said, from Ferguson’s own personal point of view, getting out of Scotland at that time was probably the thing that saved his career.
 
Partickger said:
His problems were threefold.

Hateley was undroppable
Injury
SFA

It’s a shame as I still think he’d have gone on to be a Rangers great under the right circumstances.
Click to expand...
As I said in other thread mate, I got the impression he tried too hard.

Hateley laid one on a plate for him up at Dunfermline and he practically skied it from about 10 yards.
 
Oduwa said:
This old chestnut.

What more could Rangers have done for a serial offender who was on his last warning from the crown and assaulted someone very publicly?
Click to expand...
That’s a pile of sh1te...he was young and wouldn’t take any nonsense, but how much trouble had he been in as he got older. and if you’re meaning the Mcstay (I think it was) ‘headbutt’ I can only presume you’re joking.
 
Mearns Ranger said:
It probably wasn't really justified at the time, but Jim McLean was having almost none of selling to us, which really bumped up the fee if I recall correctly.

Ferguson was an outstanding talent. I think Hateley was about 33 at the time, and we thought we were going to be needing to be replacing him fairly soon. Ferguson was the obvious choice.

However, when we signed him, McCoist was injured, and we ended up playing him up front with Hateley. Two of them were going for the same balls etc etc, and it just never worked. Dunc even found himself out on the left wing at one point.

The biggest factor was probably that Hateley raised his game big time, and Dunc couldn't get in the team due to a variety of issues, both on and off the field.

In an ideal world, we'd have loaned Dunc out until Hateley was done, and then brought him in in Hateley's place, but the timing, among other things just meant it wasn't to be.

If you're looking for a comparison in recent times, he was like an overly aggressive Peter Crouch, or maybe even Edin Dzeko. Big and ungainly looking, but a ferocious competitor and he could play as well. Had a good touch and was strong as an ox.
Click to expand...



For us to fork out 4 million sovs then put the player out on loan was never an issue even back then.
 
Super_Rangers72 said:
That’s a pile of sh1te...he was young and wouldn’t take any nonsense, but how much trouble had he been in as he got older. and if you’re meaning the Mcstay (I think it was) ‘headbutt’ I can only presume you’re joking.
Click to expand...

It’s not really he had two convictions for assault, one for breach of the peace and one for drunk driving all before he came to us. FFS even shoplifters eventually get the jail for repeat offending.
 
GodStruth said:
Walter played him left mid, principally because he couldn't drop Hateley. He was as good on the deck (for a big guy) as he was in the air.

Disgracefully treated by the SFA (and not supported by the club)

Should have been ten times the player he was for us, but did very well at Everton when he left
Click to expand...

Did very well? For the money he was paid I'd expect a one in two scoring ratio. Over his entire career he had the stats of an attacking mid.
 
I take it Big Dunc wasn't on one of Jim (punch the interviewer) McClean's infamous 7 to 10 year player contracts at Dundee Hibs before we signed him.
 
Last edited:
When he was fit, and up for it, he was unmarkable, , he scared the shit out of the toughest of central defenders.
 
Angrybluebear said:
It’s not really he had two convictions for assault, one for breach of the peace and one for drunk driving all before he came to us. FFS even shoplifters eventually get the jail for repeat offending.
Click to expand...
As far as I am concerned he was basically a decent enough guy ( since proven I think unless you break into his house), and importantly he was one of us...
 
Signing Duncan Ferguson reinvigorated Hateley who everyone had wrote off. He stepped up a gear and was unplayable in that 93-94 season. It was arguably his best season for us.

In the meantime Dunc was being played out of position to accommodate Hateley. We also signed Durie and had McCoist relatively fit.

We were too easy to let Dunc go, by the time he was sold Hateley's goals had dried up. He only scored 1 I think after Christmas and then Ally got the leg break for Scotland. We had a terrible end to the season and if we'd kept on to Dunc after his loan period it could have been the making of him.
 
Mark Hateley was a better player. Dunc was up against probably the greatest striker we’ve had, certainly in the top 3.
 
Big Dunc for me was an Andy Carroll type of player, great in the air good on the ground and always in the treatment table
 
Oduwa said:
This old chestnut.

What more could Rangers have done for a serial offender who was on his last warning from the crown and assaulted someone very publicly?
Click to expand...
What assault?
FFS heard it all now!
 
He was in last chance saloon from the authorities off the pitch but what happened on the pitch that day was scandalous and the aftermath outrageous
 
dh1963 said:
No matter how you dress it up, he was a massive disappointment.

Attitude, fitness, off field discipline all contributed, as did Hateley being magnificent and the football and police authorities singling him out for scandalous treatment.
Click to expand...
This,no way was he worth the 4 million we paid for him,Jim McLean played Murray like a fiddle.
 
RandyMac said:
Following on from reading the disappointing players thread - what was Big Duncan Ferguson like as a player back then?

I would only have been a few years old at the time, but to think we paid Dundee Hivs(!) roughly the same money we paid Lazio for Paul Gascoigne(!) 2 years later..it just seems unbelievable in this day and age.

Was the transfer fee for DF justified? Who could he be compared to in more recent times?
Click to expand...

We played a british record transfer fee for a guy who wasn't going to be in the top two strikers at the club.

Rather than strengthen a midfield full of injury prone players, or a defence burned out by the previous season, we fucked our entire budget on a guy we didn't need, and were fucked out of europe by a team of nobodies as a result
 
adamski said:
We played a british record transfer fee for a guy who wasn't going to be in the top two strikers at the club.

Rather than strengthen a midfield full of injury prone players, or a defence burned out by the previous season, we fucked our entire budget on a guy we didn't need, and were fucked out of europe by a team of nobodies as a result
Click to expand...


That result in my mind is one of our worst in Europe ever, worse than Progress last year. We had a squad full of experienced internationalists that were used to winning things. Not a squad flung together with one season back in the top flight under our belts.
 
Tugay83 said:
He went to jail for breach of probation triggered by the McStay incident. As previously pointed out, he was getting himself in all sorts of bother and had prior convictions.

Fair play to him for growing up and changing his behaviour later in life. Was never gonna work out for him while Hately was here. Walter should have bitten the bullet and moved Hately on to accommdate Ferguson or not signed big Dunc at all.

Alex Ferguson was the master at that kind of thing, getting rid of big names at the right time to make room for the next generation.
Click to expand...
Hateley carried us that entire season.

And in patnership with Laudrup a large proportion of the next. It would have been mental to dispose of Hateley at that time.
 
I remember Big Dunc at Ibrox playing against Brown & Gough...he was unbelievable, battering them, winning flick ons and then chasing the ball and getting to it 1st, absolutely jaw dropping.
When we signed him I was really looking forward to watching him play.
There are a lot of parallels with Andy Carroll. Much like Carroll, Dunc picked up a lot of wee injuries that meant he was rarely more than 75% fit for us.

The move down South was beneficial for him as he’d become a real target when he was out on the town, Everton and the different expectation level allowed him to get as fit as he was ever going to get and play some good games.
Nowhere near the player I thought he could have been, but he maybe pushed his body too much as a youngster.
 
Oduwa said:
This old chestnut.

What more could Rangers have done for a serial offender who was on his last warning from the crown and assaulted someone very publicly?
Click to expand...

I really do wonder about you and your real loyalties sometimes. There have been a hundred worse incidents since in Scottish Football and on the Rugby pit h, but not a word has been breathed by either the SFA or the Police. Like the Woods/Butcher/McAvennie issue, it was a total and unnecessary over reaction.
 
Arkansasgerstill said:
I really do wonder about you and your real loyalties sometimes. There have been a hundred worse incidents since in Scottish Football and on the Rugby pit h, but not a word has been breathed by either the SFA or the Police. Like the Woods/Butcher/McAvennie issue, it was a total and unnecessary over reaction.
Click to expand...

Look at the state of you!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Latest posts

Back
Top