Ferguson, George

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Fullname: George Ferguson
aka: N/A
Born: […]
Died: […]
Birthplace: […]
Signed: 9 March 1945
Left: 31 August 1948
Position: Full-Back, Left-Back
Debut: Celtic 3-0 Partick Thistle, League, April 1945
Internationals: N/A
International Caps:N/A

Biog

George Ferguson signed for Celtic in 1945 from junior side St Anthony’s and made his debut in a 3-0 Regional League triumph over Partick Thistle in the final league game of the season at Parkhead in April 1945.

He was in the very first team picked by new manager Jimmy McGrory, so a bit of a great accolade for George. However it wasn’t to be so great with Celtic thereafter as McGrory struggled to measure up as a manager in anyway close as he did when he was a player.

George Ferguson started for Celtic in the early part of the 1945-46 season. In his debut Celtic v Rangers match, he fluffed a clearance that allowed a Rangers player in to beat Willie Miller to grab a goal. Despite the error, he still kept his place for the next week in a 2-0 win over Hamilton. However, he wouldn’t go on to play many games for the first team, playing just a handful of games early in this season.

He was given a further chance in season 1947-48, with a further few games, but it was a poor season as Celtic came close to relegation, with Celtic losing four of the five games he played in. The only victory was over Aberdeen (1-0), having come in for Jimmy Mallan who was recovering from broken ribs after a brutal match v Hearts. It was also the only match Konrad Kapler won out of nine matches he played with Celtic.

George Ferguson’s last game was a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Morton in January 1948, the following week after the Aberdeen victory.

Celtic were actually hitting their nadir around the time he was at the club, and he was to be one of the ‘revolutionary changes’ (in his case moved out) that was supposed to buckle up the first team. He was criticised as:

“[he] seldom kicked true or with reasonable length even from open position”.

It wasn’t to be so easy for Celtic even after he left, and Celtic were a shambles and no easy place for any player to come to.

George Ferguson played a total of 11 league games for the Hoops before signing for second tier Dumbarton in August 1948 (joining fellow ex-Celts Lynch, Cantwell and Donegan) where he went on to be a regular for the next six seasons. It wasn’t exactly easy at Dumbarton either, just staving off relegation in his first season there in the second tier before heading to the mid-table after a couple of seasons there.

He appears to have hung his boots in the senior game at the end of season 1953/54, but sadly for Dumbarton in season 1954/55, the club was humiliatingly relegated to the the third tier, despite being joint on points with the next last team (Dundee Utd).

Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

none

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