Shane Ferguson

Shane Kevin Ferguson (born 12 July 1991) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays for Championship club Millwall and the Northern Ireland national team. He previously played for Newcastle United in the Premier League, where he had two spells on loan to Birmingham City of the English Championship, as well as Rangers of the Scottish Championship. He is capable of playing anywhere on the left flank as a full back or winger.

Shane Ferguson

With Birmingham City in 2013 pre-season
Personal information
Full name	Shane Kevin Ferguson[1]
Date of birth	(1991-07-12) 12 July 1991[2]
Place of birth	Derry, Northern Ireland
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[3]
Playing position(s)	Left back / left winger
Club information
Current team	Millwall
Number	11
Youth career
2001–2007	Maiden City Academy
2007–2009	Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2016	Newcastle United	23	(0)
2013	→ Birmingham City (loan)	11	(1)
2013–2014	→ Birmingham City (loan)	18	(0)
2015	→ Rangers (loan)	0	(0)
2015–2016	→ Millwall (loan)	25	(2)
2016–	Millwall	141	(5)
National team^‡
2007–2008	Northern Ireland U17	8	(0)
2008–2009	Northern Ireland U19	16	(3)
2008–2012	Northern Ireland U21	11	(0)
2009	Northern Ireland B	1	(0)
2009–	Northern Ireland	42	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 July 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10:19, 5 June 2020 (UTC)

Early life

Born in Derry, County Londonderry, Ferguson began playing youth football for his hometown club, Maiden City Academy, and Gaelic football for Derry GAA.[4] After finishing his GCSEs at St Mary's High School, he moved to England where he was offered a scholarship at the Newcastle United Academy.

Club career

Newcastle United

Ferguson joined the Newcastle United youth system in July 2007.[5] In June 2009, he signed a new three-year contract.[6]

Ferguson made his first team debut at left back on 25 August 2010, in a League Cup tie away at Accrington Stanley.[7] He then played in the next round of the League Cup, on 22 September, away at Chelsea and he assisted in the first goal in the 4–3 win.[8] He made his Premier League debut on 5 January 2011 against West Ham United as a second-half substitute.[9] He made his first Premier League start against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 2 April 2011.[10] Ferguson signed a new five-year contract on 27 May 2011, having made a good impression in the final part of the season.[11]

A lengthy lay off due to a pre-season ankle ligament injury sustained against Darlington meant the young full back was unable to travel with the first team to a pre-season tournament in the United States.[12] After appearing in the League Cup second round against Nottingham Forest, he made his first Premier League appearance on 10 December 2011, as a late substitute for Davide Santon.

In the early months of the 2012–13 season Ferguson assisted a number of goals for strikers Demba Ba and Papiss Cissé with some quality crosses from the left wing.

Loans to Birmingham City, Rangers and Millwall

Ferguson playing for Millwall in 2015

In late February 2013, Ferguson joined Championship club Birmingham City on loan until 1 April.[13] He scored his first goal for the club, and his first senior competitive goal, with a free kick from just outside the penalty area, to complete Birmingham's 4–0 away win against Crystal Palace on 29 March.[14] His loan was extended until the end of the season,[15] and he made 11 appearances before returning to Newcastle.

In July 2013, Ferguson rejoined Birmingham on loan for the season.[16] He played regularly at the start of the season, but fell out of favour, and appeared only three times in the last three months of the season after the arrival of Liverpool's Jordon Ibe on loan.[17]

Having made no first-team appearances in the first half of 2014–15, he was one of five Newcastle players to join Scottish Championship club Rangers on loan on 2 February 2015.[18] He was still recovering from a knee ligament injury,[19] and only regained fitness in time to make two appearances: as a second-half substitute in the first leg of the play-off final and as a starter in the second, as Rangers lost out to Motherwell.[20]

Ferguson joined Millwall on loan on 7 August 2015 on a 92-day loan from parent club Newcastle. His debut came a day later in a 2–1 away win against Shrewsbury Town. On 1 September, Ferguson's loan spell at the club was extended until 9 January 2016.[21] Ferguson scored his first Millwall goal in November 2015 against Colchester United. He made 24 appearances and scored 2 goals for Millwall before returning to Newcastle in January 2016.[22]

Milwall

On 26 January 2016, Ferguson signed an eighteen-month contract with Millwall for an undisclosed fee.[23]

International career

Ferguson has been capped for the Northern Ireland national team at various youth levels. He made his senior debut when he came on as a substitute in a 3–0 friendly defeat to Italy on 6 June 2009.[24] He was called up for the 2011 U21 European Championship qualifier against Germany on 13 November but did not leave the bench. Simultaneously, he had also been a regular in the U-19 squad in their bid to qualify for the 2010 European Championships and helped them to a place in the elite round.[25] He played all three matches of that round, but Northern Ireland failed to win any of the games and finished at the bottom of their group.[26]

In May 2011 it was reported that Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington believed that Ferguson would switch his allegiance to the Republic of Ireland after he failed to reply to telephone calls.[27] In the months that followed, Ferguson did not comment on his future at international level. However, under-21 coach Steve Beaglehole later stated that he believed Ferguson never attempted to switch allegiances despite failing to respond to Worthington's calls[28] as he had started in all the 2013 European Championship qualifiers from September onwards. In November, Ferguson ended the speculation by publicly committing his international future to Northern Ireland. On 20 February 2012 Ferguson was included in Michael O'Neill's first squad following his appointment as the Northern Ireland manager.[29][30]

Ferguson scored his first goal for Northern Ireland in an international friendly versus Finland on 15 August 2012. A year later, he produced what O'Neill called "90 minutes of the really highest quality" as Northern Ireland beat Russia in a 2014 World Cup qualifier.[31]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 6 March 2020

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Newcastle United	2009–10[32]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2010–11[33]	Premier League	7	0	0	0	2	0	—		9	0
	2011–12[34]	Premier League	7	0	1	0	1	0	—		9	0
	2012–13[35]	Premier League	9	0	0	0	1	0	4[lower-alpha 1]	0	14	0
	2013–14[17]	Premier League	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	2014–15[36]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2015–16[37]	Premier League	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	Total		23	0	1	0	4	0	4	0	32	0
Birmingham City (loan)	2012–13[35]	Championship	11	1	—		—		—		11	1
	2013–14[17]	Championship	18	0	2	0	3	0	—		23	0
	Total		29	1	2	0	3	0	—		34	1
Rangers (loan)	2014–15[36]	Scottish Championship	0	0	0	0	—		2[lower-alpha 2]	0	2	0
Millwall	2015–16[37]	League One	39	3	0	0	1	0	6[lower-alpha 3]	0	46	3
	2016–17[38]	League One	40	2	6	2	2	0	4[lower-alpha 4]	0	52	4
	2017–18[39]	Championship	24	0	2	0	2	1	—		28	1
	2018–19[40]	Championship	35	2	4	2	3	0	—		42	4
	2019–20[41]	Championship	21	0	2	0	2	0	—		25	0
	Total		159	7	14	4	10	1	10	0	193	12
Career total			211	8	17	4	17	1	16	0	261	13

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in Scottish Championship play-offs
3. Three appearances in Football League Trophy, three in League One play-offs
4. One appearance in Football League Trophy, three in League One play-offs

International

As of match played 24 March 2019[42][43]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Northern Ireland	2009	1	0
	2012	5	1
	2013	7	0
	2014	5	0
	2015	4	0
	2016	8	0
	2017	4	0
	2018	3	0
	2019	2	0
Total		39	1

International goals

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.[42]

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	15 August 2012	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	4	Finland	1–0	3–3	Friendly

Honours

Millwall

• EFL League One play-offs: 2017[44]

References

1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Millwall" (PDF). English Football League. p. 25. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
2. "Shane Ferguson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
3. "Shane Ferguson: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
4. Douglas, Mark (10 October 2010). "Shane Ferguson reveals his tough side". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle upon Tyne. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
5. "Shane Ferguson". Newcastle United F.C. Archived from the original on 12 September 2010.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
6. "Toon starlet signed new deal". Shields Gazette. 24 June 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
7. "Accrington Stanley 2 – NUFC 3". Newcastle United F.C. 25 August 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
8. Dawkes, Phil (22 September 2010). "Chelsea 3–4 Newcastle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
9. Chowdhury, Saj (5 January 2011). "Newcastle v West Ham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
10. Chowdhury, Saj (2 April 2011). "Newcastle v Wolverhampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
11. "Shane Ferguson signs a five-year deal at Newcastle". The Journal. Newcastle. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
12. "Shane Ferguson could miss start of season". Daily Mirror. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
13. Walker, Andy (28 February 2013). "Fergie signs". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 2 March 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
14. King, Dan (29 March 2013). "Loan Watch: Fergie Storms The Palace". Newcastle United F.C. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
15. "Birmingham City: Newcastle's Shane Ferguson extends loan deal". BBC Sport. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
16. "More Fergie time at Blues". Birmingham City F.C. 23 July 2013. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
17. "Games played by Shane Ferguson in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
18. "Rangers sign five Newcastle players on loan on deadline day". BBC Sport. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
19. "Rangers: Newcastle's Shane Ferguson closer to debut on loan". BBC Sport. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
20. Halliday, Stephen (28 May 2015). "Rangers 1–3 Motherwell: Well closer to safety". The Scotsman. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
    Wilson, Richard (31 May 2015). "Motherwell 3–0 Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
21. "Ferguson extends loan stay at Millwall". Millwall F.C. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
22. "Millwall manager Harris explains the latest with loanees Saville and Ferguson". Millwall F.C. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
23. "Millwall seal permanent deal for Ferguson". Millwall F.C. 26 January 2016.
24. "Italy 3–0 Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. 6 June 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
25. Euro goals for Toon Teens
26. "U19s complete qualifiers". Irish Football Association. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
27. "NI poised to lose Devine and Ferguson to Republic". BBC Sport. 18 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
28. Ryder, Lee (15 November 2011). "Shane Ferguson 'focused on Northern Ireland'". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
29. McKinlay, Stuart (16 November 2011). "Ferguson: I won't switch to Republic". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
30. King, Dan (17 November 2011). "Ferguson Pledges His International Future". Newcastle United F.C. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
31. "Michael O'Neill savours first win as Northern Ireland boss". BBC Sport. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
32. "Games played by Shane Ferguson in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
33. "Games played by Shane Ferguson in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
34. "Games played by Shane Ferguson in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
35. "Games played by Shane Ferguson in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
36. "Games played by Shane Ferguson in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
37. "Games played by Shane Ferguson in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
38. "Games played by Shane Ferguson in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
39. "Games played by Shane Ferguson in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
40. "Games played by Shane Ferguson in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
41. "Games played by Shane Ferguson in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
42. "Ferguson, Shane". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
43. "Northern Ireland: S. Ferguson". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
44. Hunt, Josh (20 May 2017). "Bradford City 0–1 Millwall". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2018.

External links

• Shane Ferguson profile at Irish Football Association
• Shane Ferguson at Soccerbase