Robert Ferguson was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 footballer who played for Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

 during the early part of the 20th century.

Life and playing career

Born in Cleland, Lanarkshire, Scotland

Cleland, North Lanarkshire

Cleland is a small village near Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland - see . The two nearest towns are Wishaw and Motherwell. The village has a strong mining heritage and is a typical example of a working class village in North Lanarkshire and the Glasgow area...

, Robert played for Third Lanark before he was signed by manager Tom Watson

Tom Watson (football)

Tom Watson was an English football manager who managed Sunderland A.F.C. and Liverpool F.C. around the turn of the 20th century....

 for Liverpool in 1912. Ferguson made his debut on the 4 September 1912 in a First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 match at Anfield

Anfield

Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...

 against Oldham, a game that saw the Reds win 2–0, He scored his first goal the following month on 19 October in a 4–1 home league win over Blackburn

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

. Robert was an ever present for the rest of the season, the only player in the Liverpool ranks to do so.

Ferguson was a reliable, hard-working defender during the period leading up to World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 of 1914–18, but during the 1914–15 campaign Ferguson lost his place to Donald McKinlay

Donald McKinlay

Donald McKinlay was a Scottish defender, who was comfortable anywhere on the park, playing for Liverpool F.C. He enjoyed one of the longest careers of any Liverpool player, making his debut as an 18-year-old in 1910 and playing his last game 18 years later...

and never really gained it back, Robert's Anfield contract ended in 1915 after he had made 103 appearances scoring two goals.

Career details

• Liverpool F.C (1912–1915) 103 appearances, 2 goals
• 1913–1914 FA-Cup Runners-up medal

External links

• Player profile at LFChistory.net