With all the foreign superstars scattered among Premiership clubs it’s refreshing to see young British footballers being thrust into first team action throughout the league. There’s no better baptism than having the opportunity to pit your wits against the likes of Gerrard, Terry, Vidic and Fabregas. It’s exactly what a young professional needs in his quest for a successful career. More and more gifted young players are coming off the academy conveyor belts throughout the league and, as far as Newcastle United are concerned, the latest addition to this trend is Shane Ferguson.
Ferguson, now a full Northern Ireland international, started his career at his hometown club Derry City, before joining Newcastle’s youth academy in 2007 as a 16 year old. Ferguson made his first team debut last August in a League Cup encounter with Accrington Stanley. He has only featured four more times since then, most recently as an impressive substitute in place of Jose Enrique against Everton and Stoke. With the Spaniard’s participation in the impending fixture with Wolves in doubt Ferguson could yet be called into action for the crunch clash on Saturday. Once more, Enrique’s future at the club is currently in limbo amidst rumours he is waiting until the Magpies assure their Premiership status before entering negotiations on a new contract. It is also rumoured that Kenny Daglish is monitoring Enrique’s situation; Ferguson’s time may well be nigh.
Regardless if Ferguson steps into any potential breach left by Enrique this summer, going on his latest cameo performances he appears to have the ability to materialise into a fan’s favourite in the North East. Ferguson produced the only real memorable moment of any significance as far as Toon fans were concerned in the 4-0 drubbing at The Britannia. He announced himself to the Geordie faithful with a superb dribble in which he deceived three Stoke players before placing his shot into the grateful arms of Asmir Begovic. If the young Irishman can reproduce moments of magic of that ilk on a regular basis then his prospective future in the famous black and white stripes appears bright.
Former Newcastle left back John Beresford was part of Kevin Keegan’s entertainers in the ’90s and he knows the attributes required to be a success at St James’ Park. In an interview with The Evening Chronicle Beresford was optimistic about Ferguson’s potential. He was quoted as saying “Shane’s got pace and movement, he works the ball and likes to take people on, one-on-one. With all of that at his disposal I think he could go a lot further in the game.” Whether or not you rate Beresford’s opinion as credible or not is a matter of choice, but what is true is that Ferguson has caught the eye on Tyneside recently and he may well be one to look out for.
Newcastle’s academy isn’t distinguished with producing an array of stars, and when placed alongside academies such as West Ham’s and Manchester United’s it is outshone. Andy Carroll, Shola Ameobi and Steven Taylor are the only notable products of the academy in the last decade that I can recollect, this isn’t a great return and one the club may well need to address. So does the early promise shown by Ferguson represent a change to this habit? Well that remains to be seen. Ferguson has only represented the first team on five occasions so we can only speculate on whether or not he will progress into a first team regular.
In my opinion the early promise of one player isn’t enough evidence to suggest that there is a high calibre of top quality youngsters waiting in the wings at Newcastle. Nor does it confirm or deny that Shane Ferguson will have a bright future at the club, or indeed in the game. What is evident is that the youngster has raised a few eyebrows on Tyneside with his performances and any future he has in the game is down to his own hard work, commitment and desire.
Written by Tom MacGregor
