A stereotyped look at Duncan Ferguson's career would present him simply as just another of football's old-school hardmen.
But as author Alan Pattullo, told us on Team 33 this week, if you take a closer look at the ex-Rangers, Everton and Newcastle striker, a hugely complex and fascinating figure emerges from beneath the red-misted veil.
In his book, In Search of Duncan Ferguson: The Life and Crimes of a Footballing Enigma, he interviews a range of people who played and worked with the current Everton first team coach to paint a fascinating picture of a player who is a bundle of walking contradictions at closer glance.
Listen to the full interview below via the podcast player or download via iTunes:
On one hand, Pattullo shared anecdotes about why staff and team-mates adored Ferguson, yet at the same time red cards and the infamous on-pitch headbutt on Raith Rovers' John McStay (which landed him with a prison sentence) coloured his career.
Pattullo took us through that incident and whether it really was the reason Big Dunc cut his Scotland career short as popularly believed - he did win just seven caps which seems crazy in hindsight!
He also gave his take on why getting kicked early in a game actually helped the Scotsman's performances - including in his famous first Merseyside derby - and whether Ferguson was the type of player who saw professional football as a job rather than an "obsession". We also tied that into Ferguson's surprising decision to go into coaching after a period in exile - a decision that "flabbergasted" one of his former managers.
There was also a great anecdote involving ex-Everton manager Walter Smith and the conversation he had with Ferguson in a stairwell on the day he was sold in 1998.
Then there is the paradox of a hard man who had to carry a brittle body and the impact his off-the-field lifestyle had.
Pattullo mused about whether the ex-Toffees striker could survive in today's Premier League, but also charted Big Dunc's journey from just another player to cult hero at Everton during two spells at Goodison Park.
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