Evan Ferguson F Brighton b.2004

[Razors left peg]

And yet no other club in Europe would touch him...

I like Brentford and how they do things, but let's not pretend they are some beacon of morality in football. If you tried to have a no d1ckheads policy with footballers you'd end up struggling to field 11 players on the pitch.

Ferguson took a stupid picture with a rapist, but there's never been any suggestions of personality issues with him

[EalingGreen]

And yet no other club in Europe would touch him...

Er, other clubs were concerned his addiction - a medical condition - might lead to further bans. While the Saudis offer the highest price, but not the only one.

I like Brentford and how they do things, but let's not pretend they are some beacon of morality in football.

It's not a question of "morality" - I mean the player never bet on any games he was playing in and besides, the owner made his wealth from gambling, and a gambling company sponsors their shirts etc.

Rather when assessing whether s.o. is a dic khe ad, they mean s.o. who abuses his talent, doesn't live and train properly, causes problems with other players, won't follow instructions, picks and chooses when he puts in the effort, that sort of thing. In other words, a waster.

And as anyone who's ever watched BFC could tell you, from the moment Toney walked in the door, he quite simply got better and better, game by game. That wasn't the record of a waster, rather it was a reward for being a top professional, who applied himself 100%. Remember, this was a guy who not long before he joined, had been out on loan to Scunthorpe and Shewsbury etc, after Benitez decided he wasn't good enough for Newcastle, even when they were in the Championship! Maybe that earlier period showed a lack of professionalism, but he was still a teenager when he signed for NUFC, and if so, then he clearly learned his lesson and grew up since.

If you tried to have a no d1ckheads policy with footballers you'd end up struggling to field 11 players on the pitch.

Hmmm. Can't say I've ever seen BFC suffer that problem, full bench too every game.

Meanwhile, take a look at the players they sell - they generally go on to do ok.

Ferguson took a stupid picture with a rapist, but there's never been any suggestions of personality issues with him

As I said, I've no idea whether that is indicative of anything at all - time will tell.

Just as Toney's gambling addiction had no effect on his application as a professional.

[Razors left peg]

Hmmm. Can't say I've ever seen BFC suffer that problem, full bench too every game.

Meanwhile, take a look at the players they sell - they generally go on to do ok.
.

All football fans are delusional, and should be... but having a holier than thou attitude as a Brentford fan is quite something. You completely missed my point in the above. I said that if a no d1ckheads policy was enforced in football every club would struggle to field a team of 11, including Brentford. Every single club has their fair share of d1ckheads, if you think that Brentford are the only club that can weed them out when dealing with rich, driven, cocky , 20 somethings lads, then fair play! Id love to have that level of dedication and blind support for any club.

As Ive said, I actually like how Brentford do business. They scout extremely well but they are also a massive money making machine for their owner, who made his money in the gambling business.... so maybe a little less of the superiority complex wouldnt go astray.

[Jolly Red Giant]

All football fans are delusional, and should be... but having a holier than thou attitude as a Brentford fan is quite something. You completely missed my point in the above. I said that if a no d1ckheads policy was enforced in football every club would struggle to field a team of 11, including Brentford. Every single club has their fair share of d1ckheads, if you think that Brentford are the only club that can weed them out when dealing with rich, driven, cocky , 20 somethings lads, then fair play! Id love to have that level of dedication and blind support for any club.

As Ive said, I actually like how Brentford do business. They scout extremely well but they are also a massive money making machine for their owner, who made his money in the gambling business.... so maybe a little less of the superiority complex wouldnt go astray.

too true

Brentford and Brighton are very similar in approach and it is noteworthy that both Benham and Bloom have similar backgrounds.

As for Ferguson - with the sale of Pedro, Birghton are a little light in terms of strikers. Apart from the Greek kid (and Ferguson would eat up chances in the Greek SL) - Hurzeler has Encisco who is really an AM or winger and who ended up on loan at Ipswich while Ferguson was at West Ham - Rutter who is more of an AM than a striker (and Ferguson has played more PL games and scored more PL goals that both) - and Welbeck who is 34, who had a bit of a purple patch last season, form and injury free wise (and still missed a month with injuries). Brighton have already spent what they got for Pedro - but unless they are going to go out and spend a similar sum as what they got for Pedro (and I can't see that after spending £35m on the Greek kid) they will have to use Ferguson. I have serious doubts about the rumours of Ferguson being sold for £20m - if that were to happen there would be a stampede of clubs (including in the PL) who would snap that up. The only thing to stop that is some serious off-field issues that haven't surfaced but that the clubs know about (and I highly doubt that because it is not in Ferguson's character as far as we have seen).

Now - whether it works out for Ferguson at Brighton we will hace to wait and see. But I do think that where ever he ends up he will still develop into a top class striker (unless his development is seriously hindered by injury - as happened last year.

[Eirambler]

https://romapress.net/brightons-evan...fered-to-roma/

Seems to be currently being offered around the continent.

[Rayzor]

https://romapress.net/brightons-evan...fered-to-roma/

Seems to be currently being offered around the continent.

This would be similar to west ham, unless he hits the ground running and bangs in the goals straight away, he'll just spend another season on the bench. He needs to go somewhere where he'll be their no 1, maybe ipswich to replace delap, Celtic, or maybe Holland or Belgium. Stay away from a top 5 league, play plenty of games and hopefully score goals.

[Eirambler]

There should be plenty of teams in Top 5 leagues that he would be a starter in, the depth of the Premier League isn't repeated across the other four. Especially the French League.

Ultimately Brighton won't care anymore if they're committed to selling him, they'll just want to get what they can for him at this point.

[Jolly Red Giant]

Heard today that Ferguson got glandular fever last year and the recovery can take many months to get your energy back and not be exhausted all the time. If he did have glandular fever that is very likely an explanation for his dip in form and why he didn't start many games last season.

[Eirambler]

Wouldn't that then mean that Brighton should want to keep him and rebuild his value, rather than sell him for a fraction of what he was thought to be worth a couple of years ago?

[CraftyToePoke]

& wouldn't Brighton or the player simply have said this rather than allow the various rumours which arose in the vacuum which have damaged his value ?

[Jolly Red Giant]

& wouldn't Brighton or the player simply have said this rather than allow the various rumours which arose in the vacuum which have damaged his value ?

Did a bit of rumaging around. In Sept 2023 Ferguson suffered an injury against Newcastle. A couple of weeks later he was ruled out with 'illness' - a few weeks later the rumours of glandular fever surfaced. He was clearly rushed back too soon and suffered a back injury and thigh injury in November, and then another ankle injury in February and again in April. RDZ played him when he clearly wasn't fit because he had several other strikers also out injured. He then had to have surgery on his ankle over the summer and was unable to train until late August. The kid has had a really difficult time with injuries since he ankle was hacked to bits by Fabinho in a game against Liverpool in Jan 2023. The injuries alone have stunted his development and if he had glandular fever on top of this then it is no wonder that he lost form and and confidence (there were also some rumours last summer that he was drinking too much - which again would not have helped his situation if true).

Ferguson is only 20 and won't be 21 until October. In today's modern game that is very young for a footballer. While young kids can break true and become sensations - often they go off the edge and their form peters out. Ferguson is an exceptionally talented footballer but I would argue that his career has been mismanaged by Brighton - they have not cared for him injury-wise - he was clearly rushed back into the team too early in the second half of the 23-24 season and by doing so his injuries were compounded - something that can have a long-term impact for a young player.

As for why footballers and clubs don't make public comment about glandular fever - that is actually quite common for a variety of reasons - it can be mis-diagnosed, it can impact different people in different ways, it can lead to accusations of mishandling of treatment, and it can certainly undermine the value of a player.

As for what is happening now - in February Brighton fans were calling for Hurzeler's head. They had a run of 12 games with only 2 wins (against Ipswich and Man U) - before winning 4 in a row and then losing 3 in a 5 game winless streak. They ended up winning 4 of the last 5 to make things respectable. I said before that I don't think Bloom is convinced about Hurzeler - he was hit and miss last season and other teams will have a better understanding of how to play against him this coming season (always happens with second season coaches in the PL). They have sold Pedro - and have replaced him with an 18 year old kid who has played 22 games and scored 7 goals in the Greek superleague. Now this kid could turn out of be really good - and Brighton do have a good reputation with players - but they are not infallable (they spent £25m on Kadioglu last season and he played 6 games - and they sold Gyökeres to Coventry for less than £1m). I have argued before that until Bloom is convinced that Hurzeler can get the job done at Brighton, Ferguson will go nowhere. If Ferguson leaves this summer then if will be because Bloom has made his decision. But here is the problem - Brighton are short of strikers and they are not being linked with any striker of consequence (apart from a couple of kids). At this point in time they need Ferguson - and even if they do sign another striker I suspect that a loan move is more likely than a permanent transfer - Ferguson's contract runs to 2029. I think the rumours of Ferguson being offered to Roma and Atalanta are a smokescreen for O'Riley's transfer to Roma and maybe in part designed to send a message to Ferguson.

Ferguson has been unlucky - injuries (and possible illness) have derailed his development for more than a year. The talent and potential is clearly there - it is just a question of it being fulfilled. Ferguson recently training under coaching supervision with O'Brien in Marbella is a positive sign. He looked in good physical condition and it is clear that O'Brien takes his own development very seriously. I remain optimistic until there is evidence to the contrary.

[pineapple stu]

Did a bit of rumaging around. In Sept 2023 Ferguson suffered an injury against Newcastle. A couple of weeks later he was ruled out with 'illness' - a few weeks later the rumours of glandular fever surfaced. He was clearly rushed back too soon and suffered a back injury and thigh injury in November, and then another ankle injury in February and again in April. RDZ played him when he clearly wasn't fit because he had several other strikers also out injured. He then had to have surgery on his ankle over the summer and was unable to train until late August. The kid has had a really difficult time with injuries since he ankle was hacked to bits by Fabinho in a game against Liverpool in Jan 2023. The injuries alone have stunted his development and if he had glandular fever on top of this then it is no wonder that he lost form and and confidence (there were also some rumours last summer that he was drinking too much - which again would not have helped his situation if true).

Did a bit of rummaging about (by which I mean I googled "Evan Ferguson glandular fever") and the first result is a discussion on his thread on the Brighton forum.

Two posts in particular stand out -

The idea that he had glandular fever was invented on NSC [in October 2023].​

However, people like to believe random **** random people say on the Internet so its now some sort of truth in the most suggestive minds.

Lets simply stick to the facts, and see if that can get us a clue or not, huh? Leave the intelligent and rational stuff to me, please.

September 2023
Sept 2: Evan Ferguson scores a hattrick against Newcastle.
Sept 7: It is revealed that Ferguson has been playing through a sore patellar tendon and felt too sore to answer the call up from Ireland.
Sept 14: Evan Ferguson resumes training
Sept 16: Ferguson makes a five minute substitute appearance against Manchester United
Sept 21: Ferguson is missing against AEK
Sept 23: De Zerbi reveals Ferguson "had a temperature" which was the reason he missed the AEK game
Sept 24: Ferguson starts up front against Bournemouth

Since this (one game against AEK) is the only time Ferguson has been missing through illness and the rumours of this "glandular fever" started a month later, we have to presume that September is supposedly when Fergie had this fever.
NSC Gold content access
So in September, according to intelligent and rational discussion on North Stand Chat, Evan Ferguson suffered from glandular fever AND played four games of professional football.

I don't know any doctors, so lets use the sometimes practical tool that is ChatGPT to ask if this is even possible:

"It would be extremely difficult—if not impossible—for elite footballers to play at a high level while suffering from glandular fever. The virus (Epstein-Barr virus, EBV) causes extreme fatigue, muscle weakness, and an enlarged spleen, which poses a serious risk of rupture if subjected to physical contact."

So according to rational and intelligent discussion on Fergie missing one game through illness, Roberto De Zerbi decided to put Evan Fergusons life in danger (that spleen rupture is no good) through starting him against Bournemouth.

We can believe that. We can believe all of this nonsense. Or we can just accept the lad had a cold and missed a game. What seems most reasonable to you?

I don't know if he had glandular fever obviously, or why his form has gone to pot. But in the interests of balance, I think those views have to be put out too. Again, the starting point that "Irish player's problems must be the fault of anyone and anything but him" isn't my favourite argument of all time.