John Gregg feels current Irish League hitman has similar attributes to legendary Glenn Ferguson

The debate over who the best Irish League striker is has been raging for years with everyone having their own opinion.

Joe Bambrick, Dessie Dickson and Tommy Dickson are some of the names held in high regard from years gone by. Coming into more recent times the likes of Gary Haylock, Stevie Cowan, Vinny Arkins and Andy Waterworth are in the conversation.

One player who is rightly held in high esteem regardless of what era you're speaking about if Glenn Ferguson. The former Glenavon and Linfield hitman scored a remarkable 563 goals in 1,040 appearances in the Irish League.

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'Spike's' goal ratio stands up against anyone but it was his other qualities on the pitch which helped him standout as he would always put a shift in for his team as well. One of his former teammates, John Gregg, believes a current ace marksman in the league has those similar attributes as well as being prolific in front of goal.

Joe Gormley made his 500th appearance on Tuesday night as Cliftonville edged out Bangor in the BetMcLean Cup, and during his time in the Irish league he has bagged 278 goals. While Gormley's strike rate is not too disimilar to that of Gregg feels they have more than that in common.

“He is up there with the best – his stats show that," said Gregg, whose Dungannon Swifts side face Gormley and the Reds this afternoon. "He’s very much a leader for Cliftonville as well. He likes to run in behind and play off the shoulder but he works exceptionally hard too.

“I was lucky enough to play with Glenn Ferguson at Glenavon when I first came back and people always talked about Spike’s goals – it wasn't just his goals, he occupied centre-halves who knew they were in a game.

“He worked tirelessly when we didn't have the ball and Joe ticks those boxes too. They are not just goal scorers, there’s a lot more to their games. All credit to him he’s a fantastic goalscorer and right up there with the best for me.”

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