“You will be back big man to lead us again” The reaction from a blue as Duncan Ferguson leaves Everton

Everton have confirmed that Duncan Ferguson has left his role as First-Team Assistant Manager to pursue his managerial ambition. We got the reaction from a blue.

July 4^th, a day celebrated by millions as the separation of themselves from long standing ties and the first steps on the path of self determination, Independence day as it has been universally recognised is seen as a fresh start. At Everton’s Finch Farm training ground on the same day, another separation was taking place , albeit one that was probably not as well received, Duncan Ferguson has announced his departure from Everton Football Club. 

As a blue it is hard to know where to start with digesting this news, I like every other blue will understand that it is a move made simply through ambition, a move determined by a man’s insatiable drive to become a fully fledged manager in his own right , but it doesn’t make it any easier to palate . Dunc is quite simply a part of the fabric of the club, a mainstay through times of hardship and joy alike. He is and was unwavering in his love and support for our club , and was often the life raft of hope we would cling to, his energy and love for the club was contagious .

I was lucky enough to see him not only on the touchline, supporting whole heartedly any of the procession of managers he assisted, and driving the players on, determined for them to show what it means to wear the royal blue, to show what he showed every time he stepped over the white line. I was lucky enough to see big Dunc the player. Nobody can say that he was the most gifted striker they had ever seen, but by the same token no premier league defender will ever tell you they enjoyed playing against him. He was heart and hustle personified, he was a wrecking ball, and to coin the old football adage ‘he was good on the floor for a big man’.

He was a player that came alive on the big occasion, just ask Liverpool and Manchester United, two of his favourite counterparts. A 6-foot-4 personification of brute strength sprinkled with a little finesse, almost unplayable in the air and surprisingly quick over 20 yards, he could give nightmares to some of the toughest defenders in the game. He never gave anyone less than 100% and even had the iconic number 9 he wore so proudly tattooed on his arm, just in case we were in any doubt how much he loved the club .

Even his controversial sale to Newcastle didn’t change a thing for us blues, we knew he never wanted to go and we also knew he would be back, it’s very hard to keep somebody from their true love, and at Goodison Park Duncan had found his. When he returned it was jubilant although there was a feeling of inevitability around it, Dunc was home and back with his blue family.

More than one stint on the side lines followed after his retirement, never failing to answer the call to duty from our club, never hesitating in stepping up, and each and every time giving us the same full throttle passion we had always come to expect from him. This was one of our own on the touchline, not since Howard had we felt such an affinity to the gaffer. A true blue leading the rest of us into battle, and loving every minute of it.

It’s with a heavy heart that I say farewell to Dunc, although that sense of  inevitability about his future return still persist, you will be back big man to lead us again, and you will be welcomed with open arms by us all. So for now go and spread your wings, take the things you learned at Everton, and from Howard, Joe and Walter, and show everyone what your truly capable of. As for the rest of us, we will simply keep your seat warm , and  say, until we meet again .

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