Big Dunc just had to get away

, 18 January, 74comments  |  Jump to most recent
Ferguson talks about heartbreak of leaving Everton
Duncan Ferguson has revealed how difficult he found it coming to terms with the end of his playing career at Everton and how he sought an escape to Majorca with his family rather than drag his career out longer at another club.

After arriving from Rangers in 1994, the Scottish striker rapidly became a folk hero at Goodison Park and enjoyed two spells with the Blues before retiring in 2006 at the age of 34.

To help him come to terms with his departure from Everton, Ferguson took himself and his family out of the spotlight and to the Balearic Islands.

Some extracts from his interview with the Liverpool Echo:

“When I knew I was coming to the end of my career, when I knew I wouldn't be an Everton player any more due to injuries and things, it hit me hard.

"I just couldn't see myself going to another club and giving the same as I was giving for Everton. If I'm being totally honest, I also wasn't quite the same player. I had deteriorated and was starting to get a bit frustrated.

“Moving to Majorca was me just detaching myself away from the whole thing. I didn't even have a mobile phone. If someone wanted to reach me, they had to go through a handful of people. It was about getting away from it all. I had my wife and three kids and this was the chance to spend time with them.

“Football had given me the chance to do that. It was a fantastic 20-odd years I'd had but it hit me like a train to know I was no longer going to be an Everton player. I don't like the attention and haven't done many interviews. People write stories about you and you gain a reputation and that's that.

“I have spent an entire career trying to shake off a reputation I earned in one day. That's the way it has been for me but I have never been someone who gets that bothered about things I can't control. Any problems I had during my time in England were all on the park and were part and parcel of football but my situation with Scotland has stayed with me throughout it all.

“It's a massive void. I have thought about it a lot over my career and people who know me will tell you I wanted to play 100 times for my country.

I wish I'd broken the all-time cap record and scored more goals than the lot of them.

“I could certainly have gained the caps as I made my debut when I was just 20 and was still being asked to play aged 34. It was my last year at Everton in 2006 and it was probably the last time I spoke to Ally McCoist. Walter Smith was the Scotland manager and he asked Coisty to see if I would come back.

“That was 14 years after my debut and it remains a huge regret of mine that I didn't win 100 caps for Scotland. could have said ‘yes' but because of the situation with the SFA I dug my heels in. I still believe I was right to do that. That doesn't change my belief that I could have won 100 caps as I was capable of being in that squad over the 14 years. As it happens I have only seven caps. To me that's unbelievable but what can you do?

“It's fair comment that people will look at my career and say I didn't do this or that and I missed lots of games. I did have injury problems and I have scars all over my body to prove it.

“I had about a dozen operations which scuppered parts of my career and my development. There was a pattern of getting fit then injured then getting fit again and there were also a few suspensions thrown in. So I never quite managed to get that run of consistency in my career. It was always stop, start.

“Obviously it is there to be thrown at me that I didn't play that many games. It depends what people mean by branding me an underachiever. If it's the case that I've scored more Premier League goals than any other Scot then where does that leave the rest of them?”

Now back in the UK, Ferguson is back at his beloved Everton as a coach at Finch Farm.

Quotes or other material sourced from Liverpool Echo



Reader Comments (74)

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Steve Guy
1 Posted 18/01/2013 at 17:13:48
Destined to be our manager one day and I for one look forward to it.
Wayne McNee
2 Posted 18/01/2013 at 17:13:56
Legend!
Lifted the team both mentally & physically at periods when ( let's face it ) was all we had to offer.
Different story today but I'd still bring him on for the last 10mins of a draw or being beat :)
Kevin Hudson
3 Posted 18/01/2013 at 17:23:05
I wonder if he receives Christmas cards from Stefan Freund?!
Jamie Barlow
4 Posted 18/01/2013 at 17:20:44
Southall said he could have been one of our greatest ever players but he just couldn't be arsed.

Could have done so much more than he did.

Still thought he was great though.

Philip Quilliam
5 Posted 18/01/2013 at 17:21:45
Duncan was one of those special players that have an in built affinity for Everton, there have been a few down the years. I truly hope that this guy can prove his worth coaching and managing. If he can instill 50% of his passion into players then we will be producing some gems. Thanks for the playing memories Dunc (not all of them are positive - I remember you getting sent off at Leicester when we were already down to 10 men and you started charging around to get retribution for something and we lost a 2-0 lead - never a dull day).
Derek Williams
6 Posted 18/01/2013 at 17:26:56
I hate to be a dissenting voice but he never scored enough goals and only ever looked really up for it against the so called bigger teams.

In my humble opinion like!

I think he only ever realised about 60 to 70% of his true potential. A good guy though and a proper Evertonian.

Philip Quilliam
7 Posted 18/01/2013 at 17:28:38
Sorry - typo - 1-0 lead.
Kevin Naylor
8 Posted 18/01/2013 at 17:32:54
The fact that the RS were shit scared of him gives him legend status automatically. Was he ever on the losing side in a Derby? True he never played enough but for me the most memorable player since the glory days of the eighties by far.
James Morgan
9 Posted 18/01/2013 at 17:45:05
Not necessarily a rep gained in just one day, Duncan...
Nevertheless a legend!
Alan Newton
10 Posted 18/01/2013 at 18:12:37
It's hard not to Love the guy. I was only 16 when he first come to Goodison and was stood right behind the Gwladys Street goal when he scored his first against the Shite. We were bottom of the table without a win to our name (I think) and that was the start of a love affair with the tall, gangly Glaswegian nut job! But, he was our nut job.

I remember a few years later when I departed Liverpool for University and I would be continually defending him when all other football fans abused him and referred to him as a loon. Big Dunc was incredibly talented and those first few years when he was relatively injury free really showed what he was all about. You look at some of the goals he scored with his feet, at Old Trafford, Anfield and against the Shite @ Goodison, and you could see he could play. It wasn't just all about what he could do in the air. But, boy, what an absolute terror in the air. I'd love to have him up top alongside Jelavic now, with the wing play we've seen this season.

Derek( #617) was right in so much as he didn't realise his full potential. He didn't due to suspensions and a plague of injuries, but only the suspensions were his doing. I often felt sorry for him when he was struggling with injuries and you could sense the frustration when he was back and not fully fit (This often did lead to him losing his temper and getting suspended!). But, there is no doubting he was a SPECIAL Everton player and he'll be forever remembered fondly. I watched a 10 min montage of his goals posted on twitter earlier and I was smiling all the way through. I'd love him to become a successful manager, especially at Everton!

Stu Smith
11 Posted 18/01/2013 at 18:22:10
I remember a chat with a bloke when we played Villa one shitty night. Merson scored last minuite from just inside our half. Anyway Dunc was injured and we had loads of crosses that no-one got on the end of and James was claiming everything.

I said to the guy next to me after our striker bottled out of a 50/50 with James. "Duncan would have got that" The guy next to me said "If Duncan was playing, James wouldn't have come for it especially if he saw Duncan coming because he would have shit himself"

Fav Duncan goal v Man U from Arteta free kick.

Brian Hill
12 Posted 18/01/2013 at 18:46:47
Kevin Naylor, Duncan played (and scored) in the game where McAllister scored from miles out in the last minute. Another goalkeeping gem from the great Paul Gerrard. Sorry to bring back such hideous memories. Not sure about Ferguson's overall derby record.
Ian Bennett
13 Posted 18/01/2013 at 18:55:48
Jamie – I always felt that. A ray of light in a dark time for us, but he should have been a lot better. How much was from injury and how much couldn't be arsed is open to debate.

Favourite was I think a perfect hattrick(?) against Bolton. And 2 - 2 Man Utd, OT. Plus any against Liverpool. Or any London team.

Kristian Duerden
14 Posted 18/01/2013 at 19:01:34
I hope there will be another one like the Big Man, but I doubt there will be. Makes me smile at Liverpool's attempt with Andy "Tescos" Carroll. I'd rather walk alone...
Paul Ellam
15 Posted 18/01/2013 at 19:13:10
The goal he scored in the 1 - 0 win over Man Utd in 2005 is one of my best memories from supporting Everton, full stop.
Dennis Stevens
16 Posted 18/01/2013 at 19:38:14
Imagine if we'd had him in a really good team!
Martin Handley
17 Posted 18/01/2013 at 20:01:44
Big Duncan and Jelly baby — now that would've been some combo especially with Baines and Pienaar on one side, Hibbert and Mirallas on the other.

I remember the joke about Dunc walking down Matthew Street when he sees Babb and Ruddock walking towards him, he nods his head to say hello and those two fall to the ground clutching their faces.

Andy Callen
18 Posted 18/01/2013 at 20:04:51
I understand how Ferguson can divide opinion amongst Evertonians.

For those lucky enough to have been old enough to truly appreciate our great teams of the past, up to the great team of the 80s I imagine he will always be a player who never lived up to his potential.

For those of us born in the 80s and were too young to really appreciate those teams and grew up with the team of the 90s he was a shining light, one of a few good things we could hold on to.

It was not easy being an Everton fan at school during that time, but with Big Dunc we always had a come back. NSNO.

David Pearl
19 Posted 18/01/2013 at 20:24:37
Injuries held him back from being a real Everton Legend.. that and being sold behind his managers back. I remember meeting him in the mens in a bar on the Albert Dock and him slagging off Kevin Cambell (I wont say what he said exactly) when he was being left on the bench. I also remember he took one of my mates to get an Everton tattoo once (and paid for it). Duncan has a huge heart and loves Everton, he gave us his all and I can't have enough respect for that.
Dean Adams
20 Posted 18/01/2013 at 20:29:16
He was with us in some dark times and for me was one of the major heros. A definate legend for me. He was great on times and on occasions could drive you mad, but you would never dare tell him that. One of the best moments I can remember at Goodison was of Duncan warming up on the touch line, in a game we scored seven goals in. Strange but the goals have faded, even Speeds hat trick but Duncan getting a massive roar from the Goodison faithful will always live with me as we laughed at Souness's Southampton getting battered.
Andy Meighan
21 Posted 18/01/2013 at 20:22:32
Martin (#654) — Dixie Dean, circa 193? I can't understand the adulation of Ferguson; he only played when he felt like. Yes, he had his moments but we've had far far better players than him that don't get held in the esteem he does.

I can't forget the silly sendings-off or the non-appearances against the so-called lesser sides. Getting up for it against the big sides does not constitute a legend in my eyes. Oh and I see no-none has mentioned his refusal to take a pen against Sunderland in the cup.

Martin Handley
22 Posted 18/01/2013 at 21:28:58
Is Dunc officially a fully qualified member of the backroom staff now?
Dave White
23 Posted 18/01/2013 at 21:35:34
It's his name on the back of my shirt. Being a legend isn't just about playing and scoring record it's also about personality and charisma.

The Everton tattoo, the header against Man Utd, where everyone in the way was simply mown down, and stretching Steffen Freund's neck... total legend.

I'd love to meet the two pricks that tried to burgle him, I bet they retired from a life of crime after the pasting they got that night!

"Carl Bishop, 37, was apprehended by the Everton striker when he broke into his home in Formby, Merseyside.

The drug addict, from Walton, in Liverpool, required two days of hospital treatment following the incident and complained that he had been assaulted by Ferguson, but this was dismissed by police. "The incident happened very quickly and Mr Ferguson was very frightened" —Anthony Limont (prosecutor)."

Bollocks was he!

Alan Newton
24 Posted 18/01/2013 at 22:27:17
If there was a Facebook type LIKE button for these posts, that last one from Dave White (#677) would get it ...... "Bollocks was he!" [scared]

I recall that story very well and just remember thinking.... 2 guys have broke into a house and if it wasn't bad enough they were confronted with a 6'5" professional athlete, it was a fuming Big Dunc. I bet they didn't have time to blink before the first blow landed. Oops.....!

Kev Johnson
25 Posted 18/01/2013 at 22:48:51
I'm with you, Andy (661). Ferguson was hugely over-rated. All this legend stuff is rubbish.

If all all football was played the argy-bargy Ferguson way (yeah, with a bit of skill thrown in once every blue moon) then I wouldn't bother with it.

Si Cooper
26 Posted 18/01/2013 at 23:13:47
Have to admit I got a lot of enjoyment seeing him terrify defenders by out-playing them at their own game.

Something majestic about his aerial play in his pomp that few have, and you have to appreciate that.

Steve Smith
27 Posted 18/01/2013 at 22:45:22
Serious under acheiver in football terms but absolute legend none the less, his love for the club and it's supporters is genuine and from the heart, in some respects I hope he doesn't become our Manager, only because I would hate to see him sacked if it didn't work out.
Aidan Wade
28 Posted 19/01/2013 at 04:27:19
I started following Everton in the Dunc era, I do think he underachieved, I think he could have made it at any club as the complete centre forward. Beset by injury and his reputation. A player so good with his head that his feet never got the credit they deserved. His passion for a club so far from his birth for me was evidence of Everton's inherent magic. What marks Everton as a "big" club.

Players who play for us and move on, never feel the same again. The Royal Blue is something special, that's what Dunc reminds me of. May he live forever.

Spragg Johnson
29 Posted 19/01/2013 at 05:46:19
As Alan Ball famously said "Once Everton has touched you, nothing will be the same" ... Dave Hickson likewise would die for us but only lose a limb for his other clubs.

Read Pat van den Hauwe's book too ... This IS a special club - and Big Dunc is the personification of the spirit hat exists here. NSNO.

Derek Thomas
30 Posted 19/01/2013 at 08:15:08
Dave White I think it was a typo, they mixed up the -ing with the -ed on frighten.

For the 2 guys concerned it was an 'Oh shit' moment, with a bit of Crocodile Dundee... 'this is a knife' and Jaws 'I think we need a bigger boat'.

The man was a Legend; legends aren't about facts, they're the whole vibe, not just stats. Yes he could be a lazy under-achieving arsehole but he was OURs — and we it seems, are His!

Bobby Mallon
31 Posted 19/01/2013 at 08:32:47
He is my all-time favourite player for Everton. When he was up for it, he scared the living daylights out of opponents, especially the Red Shite and the Mancs. He just raised the expectations of the whole crowd, even the away supporters had an affinity for him. For me — true legend.
Peter Bell
32 Posted 19/01/2013 at 08:52:15
Dunc picked my son up after he fell over in a shop, then gave him a pound; that's why he is a legend — always great to the kids and young fans.
Gavin Ramejkis
33 Posted 19/01/2013 at 09:20:54
I always liked Dunc, my brother's daughter was just a little girl when she wrote him a letter after he got sent down to Barlinnie and she still has the letter he wrote back to her. I was fortunate to meet him many many many years ago in Leisure Lakes, he was really nice, down to earth and had loads of time to say hello and get a photo taken with anyone.

He made mistakes playing for us including some stupid sendings-off but the 90s would have been a whole lot darker without him. His goals gave me hope during watching him play alongside some really crap players. He scared the living daylights out of defenders and as offered above he also had two cracking feet and scored with those too.

Teresa Lowrie
34 Posted 19/01/2013 at 10:16:01
Big Dunc was so hard, he made Purple Aki do squats for him.
Barry Rathbone
35 Posted 19/01/2013 at 10:03:19
The phrase "got the club" is difficult to define but Dunc did.

If you cannot countenance Evertonians bleating "get real, we're not big", "we don't need to win trophies" "knife to a gunfight", surrender, he's your man.

The only regrets are injuries and not having a team to match his defiance and skill yet some complain he upped it for the RS and Man Utd. No he didn't; while others cowered he revelled in it.

Legend.

Peter Foy
36 Posted 19/01/2013 at 10:39:24
I'm sure he'll get the job one day. I just hope Kenwright is a distant memory when it happens.

It would be a waste otherwise.

Ray Roche
37 Posted 19/01/2013 at 11:16:43
Kev Johnson @697

Kev, half of me agrees with you, he DID under-achieve with us, and could have been a great player and a true legend but for... what? Injuries? Attitude? Big game player? Probably all three.

But he came to Goodison when we NEEDED someone who could lift our spirits. The crowd certainly accepted him as one of our own and the affection with which he is remembered and which he obviously feels for Everton warms the heart.

A lot of the lads who regard Big Dunc as a Legend haven't got the memories to fall back on like some of us who can remember the true greats, the likes of Ball, Young, Labone, Kendall and Harvey etc., or later greats like Reid, Steven, Sharp and Gray who could deservedly carry that title with ease; so, maybe, we must allow him that status for those without the benefit of some great memories.

Ken Crowther
38 Posted 19/01/2013 at 11:48:26
Ray Roche #747

Exactly!

Kev Johnson
39 Posted 19/01/2013 at 12:04:42
Fair enough, Ray (747).

I think the whole "legend" thing is a puff of smoke, a modern cliche. Everything's "iconic" nowadays, everyone's a "legend". It's a joke. It means nothing.

Nevertheless, the Big Fella's heart was definitely in the right place – he was a true blue, no doubt about that, and he always gave 100%. (Not 110% – another modern cliche!). I genuinely appreciate that. I was probably a bit harsh, reacting against the wholesale adoration of him. I was just never a fan of his style of play, that's all.

Ray Roche
40 Posted 19/01/2013 at 13:27:45
He probably didn't have your flair, speed, grace, all the things essential to your game, Kev. Incidentally, when are you going to put pen to paper on your lucrative contract? Or was all that talk some weeks ago just a big tease from your agent? (I've got the right Kev, haven't I?)
Tony I'Anson
41 Posted 19/01/2013 at 13:42:56
Alan (#632), Stirling not Glasgow. Accent gives it away by a mile.

Great place to live, btw: www.stirling.co.uk ;-)

Kev Johnson
42 Posted 19/01/2013 at 13:50:54
Ray — yes, you have the right, Kev! I'm not in a position to comment on the player/manager/CEO contract at the moment — partly because it's top secret and partly because Lyndon and Michael tend to object if my lively sense of humour interferes with the serious topics under discussion on TW!

COYB!

Bobby Thomas
43 Posted 19/01/2013 at 13:50:48
The Big Man has matured, I reckon.

He seems regretful, frustrated.... a tad resentful.

Injuries never helped him, he was on the downside from roughly 28 for me and it got worse as he got older. I think the fire of his underachievement may help his coaching.

There was an interview in the Evertonian with his old Dundee Utd gaffer, Jim MacLean(?) who was basically saying that Ferg going into coaching really surprised him, he just didn't think that was the way he'd go. Any quote I've seen from anyone in football is basically really surprised the big stuff has stayed in the game. Remember an interview with Fergie and when asked what advice he would offer the a young Duncan, it would be "stay in more"!!

I reckon, personal view, that the Big Man would do things a little different if he had time over again; certainly didn't help himself.

I am of the opinion that he would pick and chose when to do it, it came a little easy to him really. He was a tremendous player, up until he was 27/28 he could go in behind as well. He wasn't pacey but he had a yard, great link into feet, he wasn't just the target man... we didn't help some of the stuff we played under Joe was awful. But, by the end, he was just the battering ram caricature people thought he was.

The Man Utd game when he netted that diving header from the free kick was his last great performance. I reckon he had a jab that night or it was adrenaline, he was doing things he couldn't do any more at 33/34. He gave Ferdinand murder. His link play was superb, he was running in behind and he was physical, aggressive and a nightmare to play. Led the line like a dream. I remember thinking during the game this is the last time we will see the real Duncan. Unfortunately, due to injuries and what I read as a flippant attitude, we didn't see it often enough.

He may well put the energy of underachievement into the coaching. You live and learn and it sounds like he's learning.

As a player he got nowhere near what he could have been. The two main elements in the equation there were his body and his mentality. Scratch the surface though and it may just make him a cracking coach. Crucially, it sounds like he wants to give more, the desire is there... Could be the case; it wasn't always there when he was playing for me.

Footballers are just people and there are all types of personalities in a dressing room. Fergie was the lazy underachiever. Sounds like he may regret it but, when you're 23 or so, most people don't have a clue what the fuck's going on.

The top players have the ability AND the attitude/mentality. Michael Owen for example. Cold as ice and level headed at 18/19. The Big Man was... somewhat different; he was a well paid headcase!! Sounds like he's grown up now.

Go 'ed Big Man, do it.

David Cornmell
44 Posted 19/01/2013 at 15:18:39
The fact he was nicknamed "Duncan Disorderly" speaks volumes. That my favourite story about him is the battering he gave the two half-witss who tried to rob him raises the volume to deafening.

He was forever crocked and about as motivated as a Jamaican on payday. His reputation counted against him and defenders could almost mug him with impunity – he never received anything resembling a fair deal from the officials.

He was easily frustrated, and quite a few of the "daft sendings-off" were down to the officials' aforementioned bias and Dunc's low frustration threshold.

He never scored anywhere near often enough, was never consistently fit often enough (although that generally applied across the squad in those days – we used to have dreadful injury tolls year on year), and never disciplined enough. What might have been indeed... Dunc's tale is of completely unrealised potential.

Trevor Lynes
45 Posted 19/01/2013 at 16:06:55
Strangely enough, we played without a midfield when he was in the team and the long punt was our game. Personally I hated it!!

My memory of him is when he elbowed Hitzlsberger off the ball, in a game versus Villa, which was not seen by the ref. In those days, players were not disciplined after the event to the degree they are now, so he got away with it.

He was far too undisciplined for my money and often let the team down by being sent off.

Brian Denton
46 Posted 19/01/2013 at 16:27:01
How did "as motivated as a Jamaican on pay day" get past the Editor? Just askin' like......
Bobby Thomas
47 Posted 19/01/2013 at 16:25:30
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/duncan-ferguson-is-five-years-tee-total-1544796
Michael Kenrick
Editorial Team
48 Posted 19/01/2013 at 18:18:30
Yea, I just saw that one, Brian (#795), and thought someone would probably take umbrage. Shocking stereotyping... and presumably racist undertones... or simply a nod to the less frenetic pace of life on that particular Caribbean Isle?
Ray Roche
49 Posted 19/01/2013 at 18:37:25
MK, I thought it was quite a funny comment, about as shocking as the comment, popular here in Wales amongst fellow golfers, "Running like a Scouser with a handbag" referring to a badly hit, low shot that keeps on running along the fairway. As opposed to my own majestic drive which travels for several hundred yards. Which happens nightly in my dreams.
David Cornmell
50 Posted 19/01/2013 at 18:55:10
Was just a throwaway line in reference to the generally perceived easygoing nature of residents in that part of the world. Apologies if it offended anyone.
Brian Denton
51 Posted 19/01/2013 at 21:19:45
I didn't take offence particularly; it just rather jumped out at me. Nowadays you don't tend to see that sort of expression, any more than I would expect to see anything about a thick Irishman etc.
Ste Traverse
52 Posted 19/01/2013 at 22:22:15
Ferguson certainly isn't in the first rank of Everton legends along side your Deans,Labones, Balls and Southalls.

I wouldn't even put him in the top 5 Blues strikers I've seen, and I'm only 36.

But he was the reverse of his predecessor in the no 9 shirt, Tony Cottee.

Whereas TC scored his goals against the smaller sides, Ferguson saved his best performances for the top clubs.

But with his injuries,suspension, lack of motivation at times and the wrong type of service, he never really became the player he could well have been.

True Blue, no doubt though. I remember being up at Middlesboro when HE kissed a celebrating fan after equalising in a league cup game. It should be the other way round!

Thor Sørensen
53 Posted 19/01/2013 at 23:11:58
Aidan Wade @ 715 and Spragg Johnson @ 716. I love your posts! (about Everton being special)

Despite being born in Norway and growing up "lightyears" away from my beloved Everton, I'm an avid and passionate follower of the club. Everton have been in my blood and under my skin since the mid 90s.

Duncan's immense passion for Everton, a club so far from his birth, was similar to mine and something I could really relate to. It's all down to, as Aidan points out, "Everton's inherent magic"

Duncans style of play and love for the club made an everlasting impression on me as a little kid, and for me too, Duncan Ferguson is someone who reminds me that Everton is special, like no other club.

"Once Everton has touched you, nothing will be the same" is such a true statement. It sums Everton up perfectly.

I'm an Everton fan first and a football fan second, and that's down to players like Neville Southall, Dave Watson and Duncan Ferguson playing with their hearts on their sleeves and showing me what Everton is all about. I will be forever greatful for this, and that is why, for me, Duncan Ferguson is a real legend.

Paul Dark
54 Posted 20/01/2013 at 00:09:01
A legend in EVERY sense. There will never be another. May he be our manager, talisman and presence at EFC for the next 50 years!

Rarely has a player understood so instinctively what it mean to be an Evertonian. The dignity, the respect, the limitless skill, even the linguistic articulateness (see above) are all overlooked in favour of cheap media myths.

We are all waiting for you, Big Man - and we love you!

Bjørn-Ivar Pedersen
55 Posted 20/01/2013 at 00:22:31
Being a hero, is more like who you are, rather than what you do.

My hero was ,since I realized that those football, and rock-stars did not put dinner on my table, and my father did, so he became my hero. But next to Bob Latchford who made me start supporting this club... yes in every each way Big Dunc is a person you cannot avoid mention when it comes to big names, because, he might never give us the rate of goals, but he kept dragging away two or three defenders making room for his next man.... AND, he is the only player we ever had in modern days that could give us a reminder of good 'ol DIXIE!

Jelavic is troubled by defenders, witch make rooms for Fellaini and others, like big Dunc... so let the guys do their work. Amen.

Dave White
56 Posted 20/01/2013 at 02:25:59
Thanks Ray Roche 747, you're totally right.

For me Big Dunc is the biggest personality I've grown up with as an Evertonian. He will always be a legend to me!

Ernie Baywood
57 Posted 20/01/2013 at 13:12:06
He's a legend for me. The record books probably won't hold him in such high esteem but I'm sure every generation has a player that they loved watching – and they won't all necessarily have the stats to be in our top 10 ever.

No-one, in the time I've been an Evertonian, has raised the roof like Duncan did. And he did it when we were absolute shite.

Favourite goal – Leeds when Watson got a hat-trick. Think he got the 4th with a towering header over Roque Junior. Not an important goal but was a happy day and a cracking, textbook Dunc goal.

Andy Meighan
58 Posted 20/01/2013 at 14:10:40
For all you Duncan lovers, let me enlighten you a bit. When we were struggling (badly) under Kendall Mk III, we had played Sheffield Wednesday on the Saturday and (I could be wrong here) I'd say about 4 games from the end of the season, they beat us 3 - 1 in a shambolic performance from us but Duncan scored our goal. The general feeling around the pubs of Walton that night was that wew were fucked.

Anyway... later on the same night, two of my mates walked in the Chinese on Muirhead Ave and who's in there? Duncan... with a couple of local characters, shall we say. One of my mates spots him and shouts "Hey Duncan, that was fuckin' awful today," to which, the legend replied: "I done my bit didn't I? Anyway I don't give a fuck as long as my pigeons are alright."

So that's the talisman who's held in such high regard by our fans. Fucking shocking... and we all know what happened on the last day of the season, don't we? I think the phrase is "skin of our teeth".

Legend??? Don't make me retch. Remember, he got well paid for playing for Everton.

Alex Parr
59 Posted 21/01/2013 at 00:10:19
I personally loved the guy, and still do. A true hero for me growing up, when there were very few to look up to (first game in 1986 as a 6 year old, so just vaguely remember the glory years) - and a man who instilled and embodied to me and others, the pride and passion that is part of every Evertonian.
True, he let himself down sometimes, and us. He fell far below the standards expected on occasion. But to me, part of his fallibility is what made him so endearing, and yet so frustrating. Human nature, pride and passion, raw and unleashed. I would be fuming at what he did one minute and forgiving literally the next.

Would love to meet him one day and speak properly, as I think his enigma created due to the sheer lack of interviews, self-promotion and hyperbole of modern day footballers just added to his appeal. But I think he would have a few interesting tales to tell, and would be as passionate now about the club as I always felt he was when wearing the number 9 on it.

To me, a legend.

David Ellis
60 Posted 21/01/2013 at 02:17:11
Sorry – I am old enough to remember better times and better players. DF was just too inconsistent to be a legend on the pitch. He did help us up by our bootstraps in 94/95 (but of course was injured for the Cup Final). I was pleased we got good money for him when we offloaded him to Newcastle – he was hugely overrated as a player by then.

Clearly a passionate character which is probably why he is so adored and gets into trouble off the pitch.

The other thing that magnfies the legend of Big Dunc is that we did not have ANY consistently effective strikers (other than perhaps Kevin Campbell and briefly Rooney) between 1994 and the arrival of Yakubu in around 2006.

Give me Bob Latchford any day!

Ray Roche
61 Posted 21/01/2013 at 09:33:06
Andy,@025,

I remember that game vividly, the car journey home was the most depressing journey I can ever remember. Sheff Wed finished the season, 3 games later, 4 points above us and were also in the relegation mix with us and that home game was THE "must win" match of the season. We lost the next game 4-0 at Champions Arsenal and then had the 1-1 draw with Coventry when we stayed up on goal difference.

It was the season when people wrongly state that the "goal" against Bolton should have stood and Bolton would have stayed up and we should have been relegated. It is also forgotten that much maligned Michael Madar scored 4 goals in 5 games from March 14th onwards and helped us get wins against Blackburn and draws against Spurs (a) and Leicester (h) to keep us up. Horrible days.

Jim Hourigan
62 Posted 21/01/2013 at 11:13:41
Character - Yes
Legend - No
Potential - Yes
Achievement - No
Thug - make your own mind up
Tony J Williams
63 Posted 21/01/2013 at 11:59:44
Well that's it then Andy, a "my mate" story, surely holds all the weight in the world and must be true.

All these people who think Duncan was a legend are clearly deluded because of your mate's story.

Patrick Murphy
64 Posted 21/01/2013 at 12:49:35
Did your mate happen to support the dark side, I was never that impressed with some of Duncan's antics, but I struggle to believe that he would be as glib as that, especially in a public place.
Martin Mason
65 Posted 21/01/2013 at 12:49:39
Duncan was a really likeable character for sure but a legend he wasn't (for me anyway), not even a great player. At his best and against lesser defenders almost unplayable and against good defenders usually ineffective.

To class him as legend is perhaps to demean other Everton Legends which were in my time were players such as Young, Wilson and Ball. I put Ball alongside Georgie Best as the best player of that generation, absolutely brilliant, totally underrated and for many years influential in making us the best team to watch in English soccer. Duncan is a league or two behind that.

Steavey Buckley
66 Posted 21/01/2013 at 13:10:52
As time goes by, Dunc is a part of the past, of a past Everton team, like now, that won nothing. Except, for a cameo appearance at Wembley that resulted in Everton winning the FA Cup. It is a pity, that Everton could not 'kick on'' with Joe Royle as manager. He was sacked not to long after to be replaced a nice guy called Walter, but a nice guy who found it hard to win over the fans.

And he went too, to be replaced by the current manager, David Moyes. Who has his critics, but has kept Everton afloat with some hope. Lastly, big Dunc was probably more effective alongside Alan Shearer at Newcastle, but still could not win anything. And Newcastle are still potless after many years of trying.

Patrick Murphy
67 Posted 21/01/2013 at 13:21:30
Steavey, Newcastle haven't won a domestic trophy since the mid 1950s and haven't been champions of England since before Dixie scored his 60 goals - 1927. That's why I don't like the way they are portrayed as some sort of bastion of English football whilst we are portrayed as success starved little Everton a club who just make up the numbers, despite being crowned champions 4 times and winning the FA Cup 3 times since Newcastle last paraded a domestic trophy around the Toon.

Tony J Williams
68 Posted 21/01/2013 at 13:24:13
"Dunc is a part of the past, of a past Everton team, like now, that won nothing. Except, for a cameo appearance at Wembley that resulted in Everton winning the FA Cup" – Eh? Won nothing by winning the FA Cup???
Andy Meighan
69 Posted 21/01/2013 at 13:31:32
Tony (#236) — I'm serious, pal, that's not a "My mate" story... my two mates had been the game and I'd left them say an hour earlier. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. I know it's the truth.

But that's not the reason I don't rate Duncan, not at all... he just didn't do enough when we needed someone big to stand up. Admittededly he played in some shocking sides but, as Ray said, no-one mentions the much maligned Mick Madar whose goals probably kept us up in the end.

But, as they say, it's a game of opinions and life would be pretty boring if we all had the same one.

John Audsley
70 Posted 21/01/2013 at 13:29:22
For all the Blues who followed us through the nineties and noughties (fucking stupid name that) Duncan was a hero as we had nothing much else to grab onto.

We had good players like Hinchcliffe, Parkinson, Kanchelskis, Speed, Campbell and the odd World Class one like Beardsley but Duncan arrived at a time when we needed a hero and he gave us one.

Injuries, Suspensions etc mean he isn't an Everton Great in the classic sense of Ball, Young or Southall but to the fans at the time he gave them hope when they had very little and at times was world class.

Plus he hated the Shite and they shat themselves every time he was on the pitch.

Most clubs would have loved to have him, I certainly did and am proud of him as a Blue.

And Bollocks to the #025 line about the pigeons — like he actually would have said that in a full restaurant!!!!!!!!!!!!

Richard Tarleton
71 Posted 21/01/2013 at 13:59:19
I'm one of those who don't think he quite pulled it off. He was fearsome and had a good touch, especially on his left foot, but like Joe Jordan before him, he was one of those terrifying Scottish centre-forwards who simply don't get enough goals. He doesn't for me as a number 9, get my vote above any of these whom I've watched: Hickson, Young, Pickering, Royle, Latchford, Sharp, Gray. Lineker or Jelavic. I felt his main priority was looking after his pigeons.
John Nelson
72 Posted 21/01/2013 at 14:34:07
I think the "legend" viewpoint generally depends on what era you started watching the blues i.e pre 80's or post 80's. Being post 80's myself, I can say nothing other than I fucking loved the man.

People point out "unfulfilled potential" but the obvious injuries/suspensions aside, remember he played mostly in fucking diabolical teams. I would love to see a fully fit Big Dunc in our team today, which is no doubt a huge improvement on those dark days.

Big Dunc highlights for me: being in awe when meeting him at the player lunches when I was 9 and 10 (and him being absolutely spot on), the header against Man Utd in '95, the header against Utd in '05 (the atmosphere that game was unbelievable), the numerous goals against the RS... And seeing him put Paul Scharner on his arse!

Steavey Buckley
73 Posted 21/01/2013 at 17:42:52
Tony J Williams: Everton did not establish themselves at the top in the old League 1 under under Joe Royle after they won the cup. If they had, things may have been better today. And use the word *may* with caution.
John McGovern
75 Posted 21/01/2013 at 18:48:51
Not sure how he gets referred to as a legend. The biggest mistake ever made was not in transferring him to Newcastle but buying him back. Everton have a long history of having a big gun at centre forward.. I would not place him in my top ten - Dixie Dean, Tommy Lawton, Dave Hickson,Fred Pickering, Alex Young, Joe Royle,Bob Latchford, Andy Gray, Graham Sharp and Gary Lineker.. I pick these not only for the goals they scored but also for the manner in which they played the game. We got poor value for money in terms of matches played and goals scored against the wages we paid out..

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