 Ferguson in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1978-02-02)2 February 1978 (age 47)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Hamilton, Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Rangers SABC[3] | |||
| 1994–1997 | Rangers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–2003 | Rangers | 151 | (24) |
| 2003–2005 | Blackburn Rovers | 36 | (3) |
| 2005–2009 | Rangers | 137 | (20) |
| 2009–2011 | Birmingham City | 72 | (0) |
| 2011–2014 | Blackpool | 80 | (1) |
| 2012 | →Fleetwood Town (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Clyde | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 484 | (48) | |
| International career | |||
| 1997–1998 | Scotland U21 | 12 | (1) |
| 1998–2009 | Scotland | 45 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2014 | Blackpool (caretaker) | ||
| 2014–2017 | Clyde | ||
| 2018–2021 | Kelty Hearts | ||
| 2021–2022 | Alloa Athletic | ||
| 2025 | Rangers (interim) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Barry Ferguson (born 2 February 1978) is a Scottishfootball coach, former player andpundit who was most recently manager ofScottish Premiership clubRangers.
Ferguson spent most of his playing career at Rangers, in two spells either side of a £7.5 million transfer to English clubBlackburn Rovers. He totalled 431 games and 60 goals for Rangers, whom he captained between 2000 and 2003 and again between 2005 and 2009.[4] Ferguson won theScottish Premier League,Scottish Cup andScottish League Cup five times apiece for Rangers, including atreble in 2003, which earned him the honour ofSFWA Footballer of the Year. He also helped Rangers to reach the2008 UEFA Cup final.
Ferguson made 45 appearances for theScotland national team, starting from 1998. In 2009, following behavioural incidents while on national duty, he was stripped of the captaincy of Rangers and told he would no longer be considered for international selection.[5][6]
Later in his career, he returned to England withBirmingham City,Blackpool andFleetwood Town. Towards the end of his playing spell with Blackpool, he served ascaretaker manager of the club. Ferguson was appointedplayer-manager ofClyde in June 2014; he resigned from this position in February 2017. He became manager ofKelty Hearts in October 2018, and he left them in May 2021 after guiding them to promotion to theSPFL for the first time. Ferguson then became manager ofAlloa Athletic soon after, but left the club on 14 February after a run of one win in eleven games. In February 2025, he was appointed interim head coach of Rangers.
Born inHamilton into aRangers-supporting family,[1] Ferguson's older brotherDerek played for the club in the same midfield position in the 1980s, with the younger sibling often being invited behind the scenes atIbrox Stadium as a child.[7][8][9]
Around the age of 8 he began playing for Mill United in Hamilton.[10] In his early teens, although highly rated, he made it into the last thirty or so candidates for the Scotland Schoolboys squad at trials inLargs only to be rejected due to his 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) stature.[11][10]
Having trained with Rangers since 1991, Ferguson signed a professional contract upon finishing his education atBrannock High School in 1994.[12][4][11] Aside from his brother, Ferguson's idol wasIan Durrant, who was still an important player when he joined the club.[11][13]
Ferguson was promoted to the first-team squad for the1996–97 season. He made his debut on the last day of that season againstHearts on 10 May 1997.[4] He made a number of sporadic appearances the following season under managerWalter Smith's policy of easing him into the first team.
Ferguson became a regular fixture in the first team during the1998–99 season under new managerDick Advocaat (displacing fellow youth graduateCharlie Miller).[14] The Dutchman soon secured Ferguson on a long-term contract as he became an important member of the squad. He scored his first career goal in aLeague Cup match againstAlloa Athletic on 18 August 1998, and played against his brother on three occasions during that season when Rangers facedDunfermline Athletic, with a 20-year-old Ferguson scoring his first league goal in the match atEast End Park. His brother, then 31 years old, made his last appearance at Ibrox in the reverse fixture.[9][15] Injury prevented him from being involved in the1998–99 season run-in as the club achieved thetreble; Ferguson watched the1999 Scottish Cup final from the stands as Rangers won by a single goal, scored byRod Wallace three minutes into the second half.
Ferguson was so influential the following season that he was given an extended six-year deal at Rangers in October 1999. He was named theScottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year for1999–2000, a season in which Rangers retained the Premier League and Scottish Cup, beatingAberdeen inthe final.[16]
Ferguson received minor facial injuries after engaging in a drunken hotel brawl following a 6–2 defeat toCeltic in August 2000. After being sent off in the match, he had made obscene gestures to the crowd and then went drinking inBothwell in his club tracksuit.[17][18] When the club crashed out of theUEFA Champions League group stage at the hands ofAS Monaco, largely because of a mistake by captainLorenzo Amoruso,[19] the Italian was stripped of the captaincy and it instead went to the 22-year-old Ferguson.[20] An incident in which two bags of ice were thrown at the Celtic dug-out during a 2–0 defeat at Ibrox in September 2001 was attributed to Ferguson, who was criticised for his petulance and immaturity.[21][22] Celtic managerMartin O'Neill played down the incident, saying he thought the ice had been thrown by his club's doctor.[23] The young Ferguson went on to successfully guide his team to aLeague Cup[24] andScottish Cup later that season under managerAlex McLeish, who had replaced Advocaat in December 2001. In the latter final, anotherOld Firm clash, Ferguson tied the score at 2–2 with a free kick (Peter Lovenkrands scored the winning goal).[25]
During their second season together,2002–03, Ferguson captained the side to a domestic treble.[26] After scoring 18 goals from midfield, he also wonScottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year andScottish PFA Players' Player of the Year.
On 29 August 2003, Ferguson joinedPremier League clubBlackburn Rovers for a fee of £7.5 million.[27] WithEverton also chasing Ferguson,[28] Rangers had initially denied that he was leaving.[29] He made his Blackburn debut in a Premier League match againstLiverpool on 19 September atEwood Park,[30] and scored his first goal against the same team, also at Ewood Park, during aLeague Cup match on 29 October.[31]
Graeme Souness made Ferguson captain of Blackburn in July 2004 and he seemed to be adapting well to Premiership football, despite the team still struggling and a managerial change, which sawMark Hughes replacing Souness. However, after 16 months at the club, including a lengthy period out through injury after fracturing his kneecap in a Premiership match againstNewcastle United,[32] during the January 2005 transfer window, Ferguson submitted a written transfer request, admitting that the draw of playing in the Premiership and a Lancashire derby could not compare with anOld Firm match, nor could the team's desire to win be matched.[33][34]
After much discussion between the clubs, a fee of £4.5 million was agreed and Ferguson rejoined Rangers just before the close of the transfer window.[35] Ferguson later said that the fee Rangers paid was actually £100,000 plus the fees Blackburn owed from the original transfer.[citation needed] Ferguson's second debut for Rangers came in aLeague Cup semi-final victory overDundee United. He was a 69th-minute substitute forAlex Rae during the 7–1 win. His first goal after his return was the opening goal in a 1–1 draw againstInverness CT on 5 March 2005. Ferguson played in the2005 Scottish League Cup final[4] and was part of the Rangers team that won theleague title on the last day of the season.[36]
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At the start of the2005–06 season, managerAlex McLeish re-appointed Ferguson as club captain. McLeish had not wanted to remove the captaincy mid-season fromFernando Ricksen. Ferguson played the latter part of the season carrying an ankle injury as Rangers ended up in a third-place finish in the Premier League. At the end of the season, Ferguson revealed that he had snapped ligaments and confessed that he should have undergone the surgery sooner.[37]
After an incident in the dressing room atCaledonian Stadium,Inverness, on 27 December 2006,[38] it was announced onBBC Radio Scotland's New Year's Day broadcast ofSportsound that Ferguson had been stripped of the Rangers captaincy after a meeting with then managerPaul Le Guen. He was also dropped from the squad for the next match. Later Le Guen claimed Ferguson was undermining him.[39] "I'll go on record as saying I never had one bust-up with him, never had one argument with him. I don't know where all this comes from," explained Ferguson eleven years later.[34] "No disrespect to Inverness Caley – they had good players, no doubt – but we're Rangers here. We were dropping points against teams that we should be beating. So, I let it out a wee bit. There was no arguments, nothing in the dressing room. After I had said that, we flew back down to Glasgow. We were playing Motherwell next, I think, and I came in the day of, or the day before, the Motherwell game. I came in, put my bag down,Yves Colleu, who was the assistant manager, comes in and says, 'Paul wants to speak to you'. I went into his office and went to sit down, and [Le Guen] said, 'Don't sit down. That's you finished; you won't play with Rangers again.'"[34]
The match at Motherwell was won 1–0 by Rangers, and goalscorerKris Boyd reportedly showed solidarity with the deposed skipper by holding up six fingers, in reference to Ferguson's shirt number.[40] Following the resignation of Le Guen as manager on 4 January,[41] Ferguson was re-instated to the Rangers side by caretaker managerIan Durrant[13] and was also re-appointed as captain. Later that year, sports journalistGraham Spiers publishedPaul Le Guen: Enigma, documenting his tenure at the club. According to Spiers, Le Guen left because he was being "undermined" by other Rangers personnel,[39] including Ferguson and then club doctor, Ian McGuinness.[42]
The2007–08 season began with Ferguson scoring twice in the firstSPL match againstInverness.[43] His scoring form continued and he netted the second in a 3–0 win over rivals Celtic, as well as in theUEFA Champions League againstVfB Stuttgart.[44] The Old Firm goal was Ferguson's first against Celtic since the 2002 Scottish Cup Final.
In January 2008, he scored a controversial goal in Rangers'2007–08 Scottish League Cup semi-final win againstHearts. He later admitted to handling the ball in the buildup to the goal but that the infringement was unintentional.[45] Rangers went on to win both theLeague Cup final and theScottish Cup final.[46]
On 14 May 2008, Ferguson made his 400th appearance for Rangers in theUEFA Cup Final againstZenit Saint Petersburg at theCity of Manchester Stadium; he captained the side to a 2–0 defeat.[47]
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The summer of 2008 saw Ferguson undergo an operation on a fresh injury problem that would see him ruled out until early November;[48] the injury was not the same one that plagued him towards the end of the season prior.[48] He returned to the first team on 1 November in a 5–0 league win over Inverness at Ibrox.
In April 2009, after an extended hotel drinking session with Rangers teammateAllan McGregor after Scotland's defeat tothe Netherlands,[49] followed by both players making inappropriate gestures while on the bench during the next match againstIceland, Ferguson was stripped of the captain's armband for both club and country.[5] He recovered from this setback to help Rangers win the2009 Scottish Cup Final againstFalkirk[50] (his last match for the club, having not started since the Scotland incident). Rangers also won theSPL title[51] but missed out on another treble with a defeat in the2009 Scottish League Cup Final.[52]
Ferguson was inducted into theRangers F.C. Hall of Fame in 2004 at the age of 26.[4]
Ferguson made 82 appearances inEuropean competitions, all of them for Rangers,[53][54] which made him the record European appearance holder at the club.[55] Ferguson overtookDavid Narey's record for the number of European appearances made whilst playing for a Scottish club by starting in aUEFA Cup match againstWerder Bremen. He brokeKenny Dalglish's record for the number of competitive European appearances by a Scottish footballer when he played in his 80th match in Europe, againstSporting CP.
On 17 July 2009, Ferguson completed a move to EnglishPremier League newcomersBirmingham City on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee,[56] reported as "in the region of £1.2m".[57] Joining up with boss Alex McLeish once again,[4] the former Rangers manager said that Ferguson has "unfinished business in England" and that he believed the former Scottish international to be "very capable of competing with the best players in the Premier League."[58] He made his debut in the opening game of the season, againstManchester United on 15 August 2009, and his first goal for the club came as the only goal of theFA Cup third round replay againstNottingham Forest in January 2010.[59] Ferguson won the Birmingham City players' Player of the Year award for 2009–10.[60]
Ferguson helped Birmingham beat Arsenal in the2011 League Cup Final at Wembley, despite playing the last hour of the game with a broken rib.[61] During both of his two seasons with Birmingham, Ferguson made over two thousand passes without recording an assist.[62] In season 2009–10 Ferguson had the highest number of completed passes of any player in the Barclays Premier League, according to Opta statistics.[63]
With Birmingham needing to reduce their wage bill following their relegation from the Premier League, Ferguson joined Championship clubBlackpool on 22 July 2011 for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around £750,000. This enabled him to move closer to his family in Scotland, and he signed a two-year deal, with the option of staying on for a further year.[64][65][66] He was given thecaptain's armband (taking over fromCharlie Adam, who had departed forLiverpool) for the club's opening League fixture atHull City on 5 August.[67]
Ferguson scored his first goal forthe Seasiders in a 2–0 victory overIpswich Town atBloomfield Road on 10 September.[68] It was his first goal in English league football for seven years.
In late October 2012, after a falling out with chairman Karl Oyston, Ferguson was made to train with the Blackpool youth team. Early the following month, he received a call fromMicky Mellon, manager of nearbyFleetwood Town. Although he doubted Ferguson would want to play inLeague Two, Mellon put forward the offer of coming on loan. Ferguson accepted, the only such move of his career, and spent three months atHighbury Avenue.[10]
Ferguson was reinstated to the side byPaul Ince on 20 February in his first game in charge, a 2–0 defeat atLeeds United. He had been named as a substitute for the previous couple of games, under the caretaker-managership ofSteve Thompson. He was given the captain's armband, in the absence ofAlex Baptiste, for the home victory over Derby County on 26 April.
In October 2013, Ferguson had a sixth and final operation on his ankle,[69] which kept him out until 3 December. "After the surgery, the surgeon said, "Right, it's over. Don't try [playing] again."[69]
On 21 January 2014, Ferguson was installed as Blackpool'scaretaker manager in the wake of Ince's sacking.[70] "I didn't want to take it, but nobody else would take the job," Ferguson explained in 2020. "And it was a chance to keep the club up."[69] He initially stated that he would not be playing while in the managerial role,[71] but on 12 April, at Leeds, he named himself in the starting line-up in an attempt to stave off the threat of relegation. "Bob [Malcolm] says to me, 'You'll need to come back in.' I said, 'Bob, I've not trained for six weeks.' He said, 'You'll need to come back and play; we're struggling.'"[72]
Although Blackpool won only three of their twenty games with Ferguson in charge, they avoided relegation by two points.[73] Ferguson left Blackpool at the end of the 2013–14 season.[74]
Ferguson made twelve appearances forScotland's under-21 team.[75] He made his full international debut at the age of 20 againstLithuania on 5 September 1998.[76] However, an injury-plagued season prevented him from picking up more caps. Indeed, Ferguson did not return to the Scotland set up until a year later, starting in a 2–1 win againstBosnia-Herzegovina on 4 September 1999.
He was appointed captain of the national side in 2004 by then-managerBerti Vogts, following the retirement ofPaul Lambert. Ferguson captained Scotland a total of 28 times. He led the side to a single-goal victory over former World ChampionsFrance 1–0 at theParc des Princes in Paris on 12 September 2007. This completed a double-header of single-goal victories against the French during theUEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
Ferguson received criticism for being a disruptive influence on the team despite captaining his country for years.[77] On 3 April 2009, he was banned from ever representing Scotland again after serious breaches of squad discipline,[6] and the captain's armband was given toDarren Fletcher. Additionally, Ferguson's club, Rangers, stripped him of the captain's role and suspended him for two weeks without pay.[5]
Following the dismissal ofGeorge Burley as manager of Scotland, SFA chief executiveGordon Smith confirmed that the incoming manager would be free to select Ferguson should he so wish.[78] On 6 July 2010, Scotland coachCraig Levein confirmed that Ferguson will not play for Scotland again. Levein had hoped he would return, but Ferguson informed him that he wanted to focus on club football instead.[79]
In June 2014,[80] Ferguson was appointedplayer-manager ofScottish League Two clubClyde. Clyde were drawn away toRangers in theChallenge Cup after a 2–0 home win againstAyr United; Rangers won 8–1.[81] On 27 September, Ferguson made his playing debut againstAnnan Athletic in a 1–1 draw atBroadwood, but came off early in the second half with an injury.[82] Towards the end of the 2–0 defeat toLowland League clubSpartans in the second round of theScottish Cup, Ferguson was sent to the stands after a verbal altercation with Clyde supporters.[83] In April 2015, Ferguson said that he had retired as a player.[84]
In his second season at Clyde, the team came third and reached the play-offs, in which they defeatedElgin City 5–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.[85] In the final, however, they lost 3–2 toQueen's Park, despite winning the second leg 1–0 at Hampden.[86] Clyde went on a poor run of form during his third season, failing to win a league match in December, January or February.[87] With the club sitting in eighth place in late February, Ferguson resigned.[87]
In October 2018, Ferguson had discussions withLowland League clubKelty Hearts about becoming their new manager.[88] He was offered and accepted the position later that month.[89] Hearts finished third in the Lowland League in Ferguson's first season in charge.[90] They won the championship the following season,2019–20, after it was curtailed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[91]
Ferguson guided Kelty into theSPFL for the first time in their history when they beatBrechin City over two legs in theScottish League Two play-offs at the end of the2020–21 campaign.[92] The result also ended Brechin City's 67-year stint in the senior leagues.[92] A day after the play-offs ended, Ferguson left Kelty.[93]
Shortly after leaving Kelty, Ferguson was appointed manager ofAlloa Athletic.[94] After struggling in the league, the club announced on 14 February 2022 that Ferguson had tendered his resignation.[95]
On 24 February 2025, Ferguson was appointed as interim head coach ofScottish Premiership clubRangers following the dismissal ofPhilippe Clement.[96] He brought former teammatesNeil McCann,Billy Dodds andAllan McGregor onto the coaching team.[97]
Ferguson regularly appears onSTV'sPeter & Roughie's Football Show and the online sports showPLZ Soccer – Football Show. He also has a regular column in theDaily Record newspaper.[98]
Ferguson is married to Margaret, a trained psychologist.[69] They have three children.[99][100] His son,Kyle, is also a professional footballer, acentre back who signed forHarrogate Town in June 2022.[101]
During the2014 Scottish independence referendum Ferguson was a supporter of theBetter Together campaign againstScottish independence.[102]
In July 2017 it was reported that Ferguson successfully applied for bankruptcy after running up debts of £1,425,633, whilst having only £3,000 worth of assets to help pay off his creditors.[103] Ferguson exited bankruptcy in July 2018, having co-operated with an insolvency firm.[104]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rangers | 1996–97[105] | Scottish Premier Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |
| 1997–98[106] | Scottish Premier Division | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 11 | 0 | ||
| 1998–99[105][107] | Scottish Premier League | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10[c] | 0 | – | 40 | 2 | ||
| 1999–2000[108] | Scottish Premier League | 31 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12[d] | 0 | – | 49 | 5 | ||
| 2000–01[109] | Scottish Premier League | 30 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 11[e] | 0 | – | 47 | 4 | ||
| 2001–02[110] | Scottish Premier League | 22 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9[f] | 2 | – | 39 | 6 | ||
| 2002–03[111] | Scottish Premier League | 36 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | – | 48 | 18 | ||
| 2003–04[112] | Scottish Premier League | 3 | 0 | – | – | 2[g] | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 153 | 24 | 26 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 46 | 2 | – | 240 | 35 | |||
| Blackburn Rovers | 2003–04[112] | Premier League | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 16 | 2 | ||
| 2004–05[113] | Premier League | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 22 | 2 | |||
| Total | 36 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 38 | 4 | ||||
| Rangers | 2004–05[113] | Scottish Premier League | 13 | 2 | – | 2 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 2 | |||
| 2005–06[114] | Scottish Premier League | 32 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10[g] | 0 | – | 46 | 5 | ||
| 2006–07[115] | Scottish Premier League | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8[c] | 3 | – | 41 | 7 | ||
| 2007–08[116] | Scottish Premier League | 38 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 18[h] | 1 | – | 62 | 9 | ||
| 2008–09[117] | Scottish Premier League | 22 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 27 | 2 | ||
| Total | 137 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 36 | 4 | – | 191 | 25 | |||
| Birmingham City | 2009–10[118] | Premier League | 37 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 43 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11[119] | Premier League | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 41 | 0 | |||
| Total | 72 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 84 | 2 | ||||
| Blackpool | 2011–12[120] | Championship | 42 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 3[i] | 0 | 45 | 1 | |
| 2012–13[121] | Championship | 19 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 0 | ||||
| 2013–14[122] | Championship | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 21 | 0 | |||
| Total | 80 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | 86 | 1 | |||
| Fleetwood Town (loan) | 2012–13[121] | League Two | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 8 | 0 | |||
| Clyde | 2014–15[123] | Scottish League Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Career total | 485 | 47 | 45 | 8 | 33 | 5 | 82 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 648 | 67 | ||
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 May 2000 | Lansdowne Road,Dublin, Ireland |  Republic of Ireland | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 7 September 2002 | Svangaskarð,Toftir, Faroe |  Faroe Islands | 2–2 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| 3 | 17 November 2007 | Hampden Park,Glasgow, Scotland |  Italy | 1–1 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Blackpool (caretaker) | 21 January 2014 | 3 May 2014 | 20 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 015.0 |
| Clyde | 13 June 2014 | 26 February 2017 | 120 | 46 | 23 | 51 | 038.3 |
| Kelty Hearts | 18 October 2018 | 24 May 2021 | 70 | 46 | 12 | 12 | 065.7 |
| Alloa Athletic | 27 May 2021 | 14 February 2022 | 33 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 027.3 |
| Rangers (interim) | 24 February 2025 | 18 May 2025 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 040.0 |
| Total | 257 | 110 | 53 | 94 | 042.8 | ||
Birmingham City
Individual
Kelty Hearts
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
