Barry Ferguson Almost Signed For Ton

Birmingham City midfielder Barry Ferguson almost signed for Morton on loan as a frustrated 18-year-old struggling to make an impact at Rangers.

Ferguson (pictured, left) was desperate for first team action, but he couldn't force his way into a very successful nine-in-a-row team. His driving desire to play first team football forced him to look for alternatives to further his career, and in his autobiography Blue: The Life And Times of Barry Ferguson, Ferguson revealed that Morton wanted him on loan - and that he would've been up for the move, but John Brown convinced him not to go. "My mind was mixed up then. I wanted to play for Rangers, but the nine-in-a-row team were the lords of the manor, and it was so hard to break through. Morton wanted me on loan, and in a strange twist of fate, Alex McLeish once tried desperately to get me on loan to Motherwell. I'd have taken both those moves, but I was encouraged by people like John 'Bomber' Brown and John McGregor to stay put at Ibrox."

I'd heard this story about a year ago. I was told that the reason Ferguson was so keen on joining us was that Ross Matheson had been a good pal of his in the Rangers youth teams. When Matheson (pictured, below) left Ibrox to come to Morton he was keen to follow. Ferguson confirms his friendship with Matheson later in the book: "I had a mate called Ross Matheson who was a right good player, but he ended up at Raith Rovers and Morton before drifting out of football." He then mentions another ex-Ton player, Jazz Juttla. "Then there was Jazz Juttla, the first kid to really make it out of the Asian community to play at Gers. He showed a lot of courage to overcome prejudice on the way, but he too didn't quite make the grade."


Ferguson went on to win numerous trophies while captaining Rangers in two separate spells. He also captained Blackburn Rovers in the English Premiership, where he currently plays for Birmingham City. He has 45 Scotland caps to his name and is in line for a return to the international fold under new boss Craig Levein. It would've been nice to have seen a player of his calibre play at Cappielow, even if it was only for a short loan spell.

amazon.co.uk - Blue: The Life And Times Of Barry Ferguson