Legend On The Line: Martin Ferguson

by Tom Flynn

(first published in the September 2010 Finn Harps match programme)

Martin Ferguson was born on the 21st of December 1942. At the age of 20 Martin’s football career began, with Kirkintilloch Rob Roy. He made the move to senior football in less than a season, first with Patrick Thistle, then Dunfermline. In the 1965/66 season Martin signed for English League side Barnsley, making 40 appearances and scoring seventeen goals in an inside forward role. It was in the 1966/67 season, while playing with Doncaster Rovers, that the Vikings manager Keith Kettleborough recommended Martin for the Waterford job.

When Martin came to Waterford in 1967 as player/manager he was just 25. Although he was only here for one season, we won the Championship and made it to the FAI Cup Final. Unfortunately, he had a disagreement with the then chairman and his contract was terminated just before that final. He was very disappointed not to finish the season, particularly when it had been so successful. But Martin explained “I was very fortunate that I had some exceptionally talented players with a good mix of experience. In particular, I had the three England players, Peter Thomas, Peter Bryan, and Johnny Matthews, along with the local stalwarts like Alfie Hale, Al Casey and John O’Neill. I was very proud of bringing in Terry Stafford, who looked like he would have had a promising career but unfortunately passed away at a young age. I also signed Jackie Morley from Cork, who became the rock of the team at centre-half.”

After leaving Waterford he came back to Glasgow and got married. Subsequent teams he played for include Patrick Thistle and East Kilbride Juniors, where he played until he was 35 before taking up a coaching job with Albion Rovers.

He joined East Stirling as their manager in 1979 and then went back to Albion Rovers as gaffer, where he had two happy years. Then, in 1983, he met up with Alex Miller (ex-Aberdeen manager and Liverpool coach) with whom he had a successful partnership for fourteen years. “We took St Mirren and Hibernian into Europe, and also won the Scottish League Cup with Hibs – their first trophy in decades.” Whilst at Hibernian, he was also responsible for the coaching of the young players such as Stephen McManus and Paul Hartley, who went on to play for Scotland.

Following that his brother Alex offered him the overseas scouting job with Manchester United, which he has now been doing for thirteen years. Martin is sure he does not need to list the trophies they have acquired over this time and it has been an honour and a privilege for him to be part of such a monumental club. His job involves not only looking for talent, but reporting on their opponents in the Champions League, which is quite a challenge. Because of this he has been quite a visitor at such grounds as the San Siro, Camp Nou, the Bernabeu, and the Olympic Stadium in Rome; he has had the privilege of attending three of the European Cup finals. Martin has been involved with several famous players including Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Japp Stam, Diego Forlan, Anderson and Nemanja Vidic. He would like to think he helped in the recruitment of local boy John O’Shea after having a 90 minute telephone call with his father. That connection was given to him by yours truly of which I am proud as I love to see local boys making the grade.

One thing he finds remarkable is how football has changed since his playing days. When he was full-time in 1965, his weekly wage was twenty eight pounds. There was no such thing as “coaching” as we know it today. He often wonders how players like Denis Law, Bobby Charlton, Jim Baxter, and Jimmy Johnstone would have developed if they had access to some of the multi-million pound training facilities, in-house physios and state of the art technology that today’s players enjoy.

In conclusion he often thinks fondly of Waterford and his time here. Martin comments “I’ve always been made welcome when I’ve returned for under-21 International matches. Tom Flynn keeps me informed of how the Blues are doing and I wish them all the best for this season and the future!”