Michael John Ferguson (born 3 October 1954) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a striker. He spent the best years of his playing career at

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

. Although his career was plagued by injury, he managed a decent strike-rate at most of the clubs he played for.

Biography

Ferguson was discovered by

's scouting system, broadened under

Jimmy Hill James William Thomas Hill, OBE (22 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was an English footballer and later a television personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including player, trade union leader, coach, manager, director ...

's management to be able to identify young talent anywhere in the country. In his first spell at the club he scored 51 goals in 127 league games over a six-year period. In 1977, he was top scorer with 13 league goals, but the following season he and Ian Wallace formed a devastating strike partnership scoring 37 league goals between them; Ferguson's share was 17 from 30 games, including three

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

s. Ferguson was a key member of what was Coventry's most exciting top-flight team. Playing alongside Ian Wallace,

Bobby McDonald Robert Wood McDonald (born 13 April 1955) is a former Scottish footballer, who played in the left back position. McDonald was a defender of great control and positional sense who also had a happy knack of scoring goals. He played for King Str ...

Tommy Hutchison Thomas Hutchison (born 22 September 1947) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a midfielder. He made over 1,100 appearances, including 314 in the Football League alone for Coventry City, and more than 160 apiece in the competition f ...

Terry Yorath Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), A ...

and

Graham Oakey Graham Oakey (born 5 October 1954) is an English former footballer who made 88 Football League appearances for Coventry City. Oakey was a product of Coventry's youth development system. He made his league debut in a home 2-2 draw against Ma ...

Ferguson was often unplayable in the air, while surprisingly skilful for such a tall player on the floor. He is one of 30 players selected for Coventry City's Hall of Fame. During this period he was regularly considered for inclusion into the England international squad, though the call-up never came. After an £750,000 (£500,000 and Martin O'Neill) transfer to Nottingham Forest was cancelled in late 1979 Everton paid £280,000 for him in August 1981, but little more than a year later he moved to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

, initially on loan. In those months on loan he scored enough goals to be the club's top scorer for the season, but injuries interrupted his career and he played only two more league games for them. He was allowed back to his old club Coventry City on loan in March 1984; the three goals he scored in what remained of that season were enough to save Coventry from relegation from the top flight, ironically at Birmingham's expense. He went on to play for

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

and finally non-league

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone. The area accommodates ...

. Ferguson retired from playing in 1987, but remained in football, working in community development with several professional clubs. Despite the effects of injury on Ferguson's career, he made more than 200 league appearances (mainly in the top flight), scoring more than 80 league goals.

Honours

* with Coventry City ** Club's top league scorer 1977. ** Hall of Fame * with Birmingham City ** Club's top league scorer 1982.

References

General * * Specific

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Mick 1954 births Living people Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne English footballers Men's association football forwards Coventry City F.C. players Everton F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Wealdstone F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players