Source: Liverpool_Echo
Merseyside’s Hardest Footballers: Duncan Ferguson - An Everton Braveheart, with attitude
Duncan Ferguson 300[LNB]INSPIRATION or exasperation? World beater or a waster? Head man or head case?[LNB]Duncan Ferguson's football career sparked more opposing views than perhaps any other footballer.[LNB]But there is one description which is never queried. He is a very hard man.[LNB]The two burglars who recklessly attempted to rob Ferguson's Formby home were testament to that, as were the eight Premier League footballers involved in Ferguson's record-equalling haul of top flight red cards.[LNB]But it wasn't just a barely concealed penchant for physical violence which marked Ferguson down as a tough guy.[LNB]Often portrayed as injury-prone throughout his Everton career - just 191 starts in almost a decade at Goodison - he was often the recipient of some X-rated challenges.[LNB]One particularly brutal challenge on his first appearance after returning to the club from Newcastle in August 2000 saw him sidelined for six months.[LNB]The injury required surgery on his calf, led to numerous complications with his back and when the problem was finally resolved many years later, physio Mick Rathbone declared he had never met a footballer with such a high pain threshold and was stunned that he had been able to continue playing football.[LNB]Stoic resolve apart, there was no hiding from the fact that Ferguson's career was saturated in controversy.
