Duncan Ferguson towered above the Liverpool defence to score in the Merseyside derby in 1994
Duncan Ferguson towered above the Liverpool defence to score in the Merseyside derby in 1994
The one really sad thing about state-of-the-art designer stadia? They don’t shake any more. Not like the Grand Old Lady shook on November 21, 1994 - a night when a Goodison Park legend was born and a night when a Goodison Park hero returned to his spiritual home.
A night when the original Dogs of War were unleashed. A night when an all-time hero had been in a police cell the day before, but wrote the first of his many chapters in Goodison Park folklore.
At six o’clock on the morning before the first Merseyside derby of the 94/95 season, on-loan striker Duncan Ferguson was given his shoes and laces back - separately - and told he could leave St Anne Street police station. He had been on the lash Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday night, when he drove through a No Entry sign and into a bus station and was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.
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Released on Sunday, he was leading the Everton line in his first Merseyside derby and in Joe Royle’s first match as manager of the club he served so well as a player. Ferguson was already facing an imminent court case for an alleged assault committed while on probation.
But Big Dunc was already a past master at dealing with off-the-field distractions. There was plenty for him to deal with on the field, to be fair.
Think Everton’s current struggles are serious? Under Mike Walker, they had started the 1994-95 season by failing to win a game in the first three months of the season. When Liverpool arrived, Everton had four points from 12 Premier League games and had replaced Walker with Royle. Having somehow avoided the drop by beating Wimbledon on the last day of the previous season, they already looked like relegation certainties.
Duncan Ferguson would go on to become an Everton legend
Duncan Ferguson would go on to become an Everton legend
Liverpool were flying high in third place. Ferguson was so ineffective in the first half, Royle thought he might still have a hangover and considered hooking him.
But he decided to persevere and, in the 56th minute, Ferguson out-jumped Neil Ruddock and David James in front of the Gwladys Street end and headed Everton into the lead. It was his first ever goal for the blues.
He then had a hand - quite literally, as VAR would have noticed these days - in setting up the late goal for Paul Rideout that sealed one of the most significant derby wins in Everton’s history. Ferguson left the field with young blues hanging on to his jersey.
Ferguson would go on to become an Everton icon
Next up, they went to Chelsea and won and then thumped Leeds at home. Everton secured Premier League survival with a game to spare and another Rideout goal beat Manchester United in the 1995 FA Cup final.
That is the last trophy the grand old team won. There have been some inspirational centre-forwards who have shaken Goodison Park but, in my lifetime, none more inspirational than Big Dunc.
And for blues, there have been many memorable Merseyside derby occasions at Goodison Park. But, in my lifetime, few as memorable as the one Big Dunc helped provide.
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