Ian Ferguson

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Ian Ferguson MM Lodge Scotia No.178

Ian was Initiated into Lodge Scotia on 13th September 1988

Passed on the 11th October 1988

Raised on the 14th March 1989

Mark 28th November 1989 

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Ian was born on the 15th March 1967, the second youngest of six children. He was brought up in Janefield Street, Glasgow, a stones throw from Celtic Park.

Ian Ferguson started his professional footballing career with Clyde Football Club in 1984, making 26 appearances in a two year spell, scoring six goals. He then signed for St.Mirren in 1986 making 57 appearances and scoring 10 goals. One of these came in the 1987 Scottish Cup Final when there was 10 minutes left in extra time. Up popped a 20 year old youngster to smash the ball past Billy Thomson and send the whole of Paisley into a frenzy. They had won the Scottish cup for only the third time in the clubs history. If the form books had anything to do with it, the trophy should have gone to Dundee United, as the team they had at the time was full of Internationalists such as Billy Thomson, David Narey, Maurice Malpas and Paul Hegarty, to name but a few. This truly was Roy of the Rovers stuff and Ian Ferguson's name will forever be mentioned by the Buddie faithful.

February 15th 1988 was a day that will live with Ian for years to come. St.Mirren had agreed a transfer fee of £800,000 from Manchester United, it was an open secret that Rangers wanted him and he became more annoyed that the board would rather see him go to England than sell him to Rangers. While travelling down to Manchester in the car, he told the driver to about turn. He went back to Paisley and forced the club to sell him to his boyhood heroes, Glasgow Rangers.

Graeme Souness eventually got his man and Ferguson signed for Rangers nine months after lifting the Scottish Cup and went on to become a Rangers Legend, spending 12 years at the club.

Ian was a very hard working midfielder who wouldn’t shirk from a tackle. He was a very hard player but certainly not a dirty player, that was Graeme Souness' job! He went on to win the League Championship in his first season with Rangers, which was the start of the 9 in a row years. Ferguson is one of only three players to have all 9 winners medals from that time, Richard Gough and Ally McCoist being the others.

Ferguson's total of ten Scottish League titles is a record second only to Bobby Lennox of Celtic (who won eleven).

In the 12 years that Ian was at Rangers he certainly mingled with some recognised international players, gracing the field with the likes of Graeme Souness, Terry Butcher, Ray Wilkins,Trevor Francis, Paul Gascoigne and Brian Laudrup to name but a few but mostly his pals Ian Durrant, Ally McCoist and the Late Davie Cooper.

He also featured in the first title win with manager Dick Advocaat in 1998–99 (a campaign in which the club won a treble, Ferguson appearing as a subsititute in the finals of the League Cup and Scottish Cup). The following season he found his playing time increasingly limited under Advocaat, and moved on to Dunfermline Athletic in 2000.

Ian spent two years at East End Park, during which he helped newly-promoted Dunfermline to keep their place in the top division (9th in 2000–01) and then improve it (6th in 2001–02). He then moved to Australia to see out the final years as a player and begin his managerial career.

Moving Down Under, Ferguson has had successful spells as manager and coach at Northern Queensland Fury F.C and Perth Glory where he was Assistant Manager to another former Ranger, Davie Mitchell, before becoming Manager in 2010. 


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Honours as a player

St Mirren

Scottish Cup 1986-87

Rangers

Scottish League (10) 1988–89, 1989–90,1990-91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99

Scottish Cup (3) 1992–93, 1995–96, 1998–99

Runner-up 1988–89, 1997–98

Scottish League Cup (5) 1988–89, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1998–99

Honours as a Manager

Perth Glory

A-League: Runner-up 2011–12

Ferguson won nine international caps for Scotland, achieved at irregular intervals over a period of nine years. He played on the night Scotland beat France in the Parc des Princes. His last appearance was in a goalless draw against Estonia in February 1997.

Compiled by Alan Duthie. Our Sincere Thanks to Brother Ian Ferguson for allowing us to write the article.

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