In a candid revelation, former Everton and Newcastle United player Duncan Ferguson shared details of a terrifying home invasion that occurred in 2001. The incident took place at his renovated barn in Rufford, Lancashire, while Ferguson, his wife Janine, and their young daughter were present. The ex-forward recounted the experience on the Stick to Football podcast, sponsored by Sky Bet, highlighting his reputation as one of the Premier League’s most formidable figures.
Ferguson described the unsettling night when two intruders broke into his home.
Duncan Ferguson said: “I think they were stoned or drunk, they must have been. I’m on my couch at quarter to one in the morning just with my trackie bottoms on. No top on, trainers there [on the floor]. And I just heard something. I heard that again and heard that again. I was fit as a fiddle then, pumped up for the game. And I had a conservatory and I saw two shadows walking through the conservatory. My heart was pounding. I was thinking ‘what do you do?’ but obviously I was going to go forward wasn’t I? Fight or flight isn’t it? And mine is the fight one. I went forward and didn’t give the boys a chance really, they never knew what hit them.”
Ferguson continued to detail his confrontation with the intruders, admitting that one managed to escape.
Duncan Ferguson continued: “I filled him in. To be fair I gave him a bad one. I was pumped up, what are you gonna do? My wife was upstairs with a three-month old baby. It’s 1am in the morning, she’s shouting out the window. She’s hearing ‘thud, thud, thud’ and shouting ‘you’re going to f—ing kill him, stop!’ But you’ve got the mist. Then you look down and think ‘oh my God’. I think that’s not a good move. Or phone the police and get an ambulance at the same time, so that’s what happened.”
Reflecting on the aftermath, Ferguson revealed that the intruders faced legal consequences for their actions. One of the burglars required three days of hospitalization due to the injuries sustained during the encounter. Ultimately, both were sentenced to 15 months in custody.
The harrowing experience only added to Ferguson’s tough persona, a trait well-known during his football career. His time at Newcastle United was marked by a notable confrontation with then-manager Ruud Gullit, particularly after being dropped for the Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland, which turned out to be Gullit’s final game as manager.
Ferguson’s account serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of such incidents and his instinctive response to protect his family.
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