Tom Forsyth

Thomas Forsyth (23 January 1949 – 14 August 2020) was a Scottish football player and coach. Forsyth played as a defender for Motherwell, Rangers and Scotland.

For other people named Tom Forsyth, see Thomas Forsyth (disambiguation).

Tom Forsyth
Personal information
Full name Thomas Forsyth
Date of birth (1949-01-23)23 January 1949
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death 14 August 2020(2020-08-14) (aged 71)
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Stonehouse Violet
1967–1972 Motherwell 150 (17)
1972–1982 Rangers 218 (2)
Total 368 (19)
National team
1971[2] Scotland U23 1 (0)
1971–1976[3] Scottish League XI 2 (0)
1971–1978 Scotland 22 (0)
Teams managed
1982–1983 Dunfermline Athletic
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Club

Forsyth started his career at junior club Stonehouse Violet, then spent five years at Motherwell, playing over 200 times for the club[4] before being signed by Rangers in October 1972. Perhaps most famously he scored the winning goal in the 1973 Scottish Cup Final against Old Firm rivals Celtic from six inches;[5] Forsyth's goal is still referred to when players score from close range in Scottish football.[6] During his Rangers career Forsyth made 332 appearances in all competitions and won three league championships, four Scottish Cups and two League Cups; these successes included two domestic trebles, in 1975–76 and 1977–78.[7][8]

International

Forsyth played 22 times for Scotland, including at the 1978 World Cup.[7] He captained Scotland once, against Switzerland in 1976.[9]

Managerial career

After his playing retirement, Forsyth was appointed manager of Dunfermline Athletic in 1982, although he relinquished the position within a year.[7] According to his assistant and successor Jim Leishman, Forsyth left his role as Dunfermline manager due to frustration with the club's part-time status: "I think the problem when Tam came to Dunfermline was that he was geared for full-time football at the time, and Dunfermline were part-time. The players would come in and Tam wanted that much on the Tuesday and the Thursday I think he forgot that these guys were part-time."[10] He then accepted a position as assistant-manager to former Rangers team-mate Tommy McLean at Morton in 1983.[7] Forsyth was appointed McLean's assistant at Motherwell then Hearts when McLean moved to these clubs in 1984 and 1994 respectively.[7]

On 14 August 2020, Forsyth died peacefully at home with his family by his side, at the age of 71.[11]

See also

References
  1. http://www.worldfootball.net/spieler_profil/tom-forsyth/
  2. (Scotland U23 player) Forsyth, Tom, FitbaStats
  3. (SFL player) Thomas Forsyth, London Hearts Supporters Club
  4. Tom Forsyth, MotherWELLnet
  5. Murray, Ewan (4 February 2007). "Cup classics: pick out the all-time best". Scotland on Sunday.
  6. Ralston, Gary (17 November 2008). "Hibernian 2–2 Aberdeen". Daily Record.
  7. "Tom Forsyth: Former Motherwell, Rangers & Scotland defender dies at age 71". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  8. (Rangers player) Forsyth, Tom, FitbaStats
  9. Scotland v Switzerland, Scottish Football Association.
  10. Hart, Ross (22 August 2020). "Jim Leishman remembers ex-Dunfermline manager Tom Forsyth". Dunfermline Press. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  11. "Tom Forsyth: Former Motherwell, Rangers and Scotland defender dies aged 71". Sky Sports News. Sky. 14 August 2020.
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