Glenn Ferguson
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Glenn Ferguson | ||
| Date of birth | 10 July 1969 | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1990 | Ards | 52 | (13) |
| 1990–1998 | Glenavon | 204 | (99) |
| 1998–2009 | Linfield | 320 | (175) |
| 2009–2011 | Lisburn Distillery | 68 | (24) |
| Total | 544 | (311) | |
| International career | |||
| 1991–2000 | Irish League XI | 4 | (2) |
| 1997–1998 | Northern Ireland B | 2 | (0) |
| 1999–2001 | Northern Ireland | 5 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2011–2016 | Ballymena United | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Glenn 'Spike' Ferguson (born 10 July 1969) is a Northern Irish former football player and current manager. He is currently out of work following being sacked at Ballymena United on 29 February 2016.
During his playing career, he played for Ards and Glenavon before joining Linfield in January 1998 for an Irish League record transfer fee of £55,000. He was released by Linfield in May 2009, after which he signed for Lisburn Distillery where he finished his career.[1]
He is Linfield's top scorer in European competition with 5 goals: Ferguson opening his European account with a consolation goal as Linfield were beaten 5-1 at the Makario Stadium in the 1998–99 UEFA Cup. The following week he netted again the home leg.
Ferguson netted twice against FC Haka in the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League and his fifth and final goal in European competition was against Stabæk Fotball in the 2002–03 UEFA Cup.
Ferguson amassed over 1,000 domestic appearances and scored a total of 563 goals in Irish football, placing him 2nd behind Jimmy Jones (646) on the list of all-time goalscorers in Irish Football. He had also been capped 5 times by Northern Ireland.
Early life
Glenn was born on 10 July 1969 in the Ulster Hospital Dundonald to Thomas and Ida Ferguson and is the youngest of their three children.
Records
On 1 December 2006, he scored his 226th goal for Linfield, which took his career total to 476, making him the third highest scorer in the history of the local game, behind only Jimmy Jones and Joe Bambrick.
On 2 February 2008, during the CIS Cup Final, Ferguson came off the bench with 20 minutes remaining with Linfield trailing 2–1 to Crusaders. He scored twice in the last five minutes to turn around the match. Linfield won 3–2. These were his 500th and 501st goals in Irish Football, and his 250th and 251st for Linfield.
On 9 February 2008 he became the all-time top goalscorer in the Irish Cup with two strikes against Bangor.[2]
Ferguson scored his 277th goal in his 500th game for Linfield in a 4–1 win over Coleraine on 13 December 2008.[3]
On 28 August 2010, he played his 1,000th senior match in Northern Ireland - in Lisburn Distillery's 2–1 win over Newry City.[4] Ferguson made his final career appearance on 30 April 2011, playing for Lisburn Distillery in their 4–3 home win over Cliftonville.[5]
International career
Having been previously capped for Northern Ireland B, Ferguson was first called into the Full Northern Ireland squad late in 1998. He made his debut against Canada on 7 April 1999 but did not play again until 2001. In all he won five caps, Glenn Ferguson also represented the Irish League four times, scoring twice.
Managerial career
Ferguson was appointed manager of Ballymena United on 30 December 2011. Ferguson's first game in charge was against Linfield F.C. on 8 January 2012. Ferguson won his first trophy as manager when the Sky Blues defeated Ferguson's former club Linfield in the County Antrim Shield final on 27 November 2012. Ferguson got Ballymena United to the Irish Cup Final for the first time since winning the cup in 1989 and were beaten 3-1 in the final by Glenavon. Ferguson was sacked in 2016 and replaced by David Jeffrey.
Club honours
Player
In his 21-year career Ferguson won 30 winner's medals.[6]
Glenavon
- Irish Cup (1): 1996–97
- Gold Cup (2): 1990–91, 1997–98
- Floodlit Cup (1): 1996–97
- County Antrim Shield (2): 1990–91, 1995–96
- Mid-Ulster Cup (1): 1990–91
- IFA Charity Shield (1): 1992 (shared)
Linfield
- Irish League (6): 1999–00, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08
- Irish Cup (4): 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08
- Irish League Cup (4): 1998–99, 1999–00, 2005–06, 2007–08
- County Antrim Shield (5): 1997–98, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06
- IFA Charity Shield (1): 2000
- Setanta Cup (1): 2005
Lisburn Distillery
- Irish League Cup (1): 2010–11
Manager
Ballymena United
- County Antrim Shield (2): 2012–13, 2015–16
Personal pwards and achievements
- Irish League top scorer[7] (2) 1994-95 (27 goals), 2003–04 (25 goals)
- Ulster Footballer of the Year[8] (3) 2000-01, 2003–04, 2005–06
- Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association Player of the Year[9] (3) 2000-01, 2003–04, 2005–06
- Northern Ireland PFA Player of the Year[10] (1) 1994
References
- ^ Distillery win race for Ferguson
- ^ Welcome to Linfield Football Club
- ^ http://www.linfieldfc.com/interview.asp?inv=422 Official Linfield Website (15 December 2008)
- ^ Lisburn Distillery 2–1 Newry City
- ^ Lis. Distillery 4–3 Cliftonville
- ^ Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats: Glenn Ferguson
- ^ Northern Ireland - List of Topscorers
- ^ Irish League Footballing Greats: Ulster Footballer of the Year Award Winners
- ^ Irish League Footballing Greats: Northern Ireland Football Writers' Player of the Year
- ^ Irish League Footballing Greats: Northern Ireland PFA Player of the Year
External links
- 1969 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Belfast
- Association footballers from Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland international footballers
- Ulster Footballers of the Year
- Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association Players of the Year
- Ards F.C. players
- Glenavon F.C. players
- Linfield F.C. players
- Lisburn Distillery F.C. players
- NIFL Premiership players
- Ballymena United F.C. managers
- Football managers from Northern Ireland
- Association football forwards