Campbell Forsyth
Encyclopedia
Robert Campbell Forsyth (born 5 May 1939) is a retired Scottish footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for St. Mirren
, Kilmarnock
and Southampton
. He also made four appearances for Scotland
in 1964.
, then in Stirlingshire
, Forsyth was briefly a trainee at nearby Falkirk
before joining Junior Football
club Shettleston
from the east end of Glasgow. He joined St. Mirren
in April 1955, shortly before his 16th birthday, where he stayed for five years, making over 100 first-team appearances.
; at the end of his first season with "Killie", the club gained the runners-up position in the Scottish League Division One. After finishing fifth in 1962, Kilmarnock were again runners-up in both 1963 and 1964, but in 1965 they finally claimed the title. Although Campbell had been the first-choice keeper throughout most of the championship-winning season, an ankle injury during the run-in put him out of the last few weeks of the season, with Bobby Ferguson
replacing him for the last-day triumph.
Earlier in the championship-winning season, Forsyth had been involved in Kilmarnock's first-ever European tie, against Eintracht Frankfurt
in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Having lost the first leg 3–0, Kilmarnock pulled off a 5–1 victory in the second leg, with Forsyth making a "great save from Schämer
's boot". Unfortunately, in the next round Kilmarnock went down 6–1 on aggregate to Everton
.
Campbell made his international debut for Scotland
in a memorable 1–0 win over England on 11 April 1964, in front of over 133,000 fans at Hampden Park
. England had arrived at Hampden after a run of six consecutive wins, in which they had scored 28 goals, yet Campbell and the Scottish defence kept a clean sheet with Alan Gilzean
scoring the only goal of the match after 72 minutes.
Campbell made three further appearances for Scotland at the end of 1964, but as a result of his ankle injury he lost his place to veteran Bill Brown.
, then in the Football League Second Division
, for a fee of £10,000. The deal had been arranged by manager Ted Bates
some weeks earlier, but had been "put on ice" while Kilmarnock remained in the European Cup. Their defeat by Real Madrid
in the First round proper enabled the deal to be finalised. Campbell immediately replaced Tony Godfrey and settled in quickly at The Dell, with his fine displays between the posts playing a prominent part in "The Saints" successful push for promotion.
He made his Southampton debut within days of his signing, in a 4–1 victory over Plymouth Argyle
on 11 December. At the time of his debut, Southampton were seventh in the table, having lost seven of their first twenty games, but with only three further defeats, they ended the season as runners-up, one point ahead of Coventry City
, thus securing promotion to the First Division
for the first time in the club's history.
Forsyth retained the No. 1 shirt for the start of the Saints' debut season in the top flight but in the eighth game of the season, on 17 September 1966, he broke a leg in a collision with Denis Hollywood
and Liverpool
's Ian Callaghan
, being replaced in goal by David Webb
. With the only other professional 'keeper available being 19 year-old Gerry Gurr who was not considered ready for the First Division, manager Ted Bates signed Dave MacLaren
from Wolverhampton Wanderers
for a fee of £5,000, despite his having conceded nine goals to the Saints almost exactly 12 months previously.
By the start of the following season, Forsyth had fought his way back to fitness and was preferred to Eric Martin
(who had been signed in March to strengthen the side). Forsyth was unable to re-discover his old form however, and was dropped in October after conceding a goal to Leicester City
's 18-year old goalkeeper, Peter Shilton
. Forsyth misjudged Shilton's long punt upfield, which, instead of splashing harmlessly in the mud, spun off The Dell pitch and flew over Forsyth's head into the goal. "The Saints" lost the game 5–1.
Martin played the next five games, but after three straight defeats, Forsyth was recalled but was unable to halt the club's slide down the table. Forsyth made his final Southampton appearance in a 5–3 defeat at home to Chelsea
on 6 January 1968, in which he was blamed for two of Chelsea's goals. After a spell in the reserves, Forsyth decided to retire in May 1968.
hotel and country club at Dalmahoy
near Edinburgh
.
He also continued to serve Southampton as a scout
; amongst the players that he recommended to the club were Jim Steele and Gerry O'Brien
.
Southampton
St. Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
, Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
and Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
. He also made four appearances for Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
in 1964.
Early career
Born in PleanPlean
Plean is a former mining village, in the Stirling Council area of central Scotland located on the main A9 road from Falkirk. At the 2001 census, Plean had a population of 1,740. Plean has some historic buildings, some council houses and an estate...
, then in Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...
, Forsyth was briefly a trainee at nearby Falkirk
Falkirk F.C.
Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...
before joining Junior Football
Scottish Junior Football Association
The Scottish Junior Football Association is an affiliated national association of the Scottish Football Association and is the governing body for the Junior grade of football in Scotland. The term "Junior" refers to the level of football played...
club Shettleston
Shettleston F.C.
Shettleston Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Shettleston, in the East End of Glasgow. Nicknamed the Town, they were formed in 1903 and are based at Greenfield Park...
from the east end of Glasgow. He joined St. Mirren
St. Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
in April 1955, shortly before his 16th birthday, where he stayed for five years, making over 100 first-team appearances.
Kilmarnock
In November 1960, he joined KilmarnockKilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
; at the end of his first season with "Killie", the club gained the runners-up position in the Scottish League Division One. After finishing fifth in 1962, Kilmarnock were again runners-up in both 1963 and 1964, but in 1965 they finally claimed the title. Although Campbell had been the first-choice keeper throughout most of the championship-winning season, an ankle injury during the run-in put him out of the last few weeks of the season, with Bobby Ferguson
Bobby Ferguson (footballer born 1945)
Robert "Bobby" Ferguson is a Scottish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.-Playing career:Born in Ardrossan, Ferguson came through Kilmarnock's youth system in the early 1960s, taking over in the first-team following an injury to Campbell Forsyth in 1964–65...
replacing him for the last-day triumph.
Earlier in the championship-winning season, Forsyth had been involved in Kilmarnock's first-ever European tie, against Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt is a German sports club, based in Frankfurt, Hesse that is best known for its association football club.- Club origins :...
in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Having lost the first leg 3–0, Kilmarnock pulled off a 5–1 victory in the second leg, with Forsyth making a "great save from Schämer
Lothar Schämer
Lothar Schämer is a German former professional football defender.Lothar Schämer played his entire professional career at Eintracht Frankfurt. In 1963 he was part of the Frankfurt squad that debuted in the new founded Fußball-Bundesliga scoring the first goal with a penalty against 1. FC...
's boot". Unfortunately, in the next round Kilmarnock went down 6–1 on aggregate to Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
.
Campbell made his international debut for Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
in a memorable 1–0 win over England on 11 April 1964, in front of over 133,000 fans at Hampden Park
Hampden Park
Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
. England had arrived at Hampden after a run of six consecutive wins, in which they had scored 28 goals, yet Campbell and the Scottish defence kept a clean sheet with Alan Gilzean
Alan Gilzean
Alan John Gilzean is a former professional footballer from the 1960s and 1970s and played for Dundee in his native country and English club Tottenham Hotspur.-Dundee:...
scoring the only goal of the match after 72 minutes.
Campbell made three further appearances for Scotland at the end of 1964, but as a result of his ankle injury he lost his place to veteran Bill Brown.
Southampton
In December 1965, he moved to England when he was signed by SouthamptonSouthampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
, then in the Football League Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
, for a fee of £10,000. The deal had been arranged by manager Ted Bates
Ted Bates (footballer)
Edric Thornton "Ted" Bates MBE was a former Southampton F.C. player, manager, director and president which earned him the sobriquet Mr. Southampton.-Playing career:...
some weeks earlier, but had been "put on ice" while Kilmarnock remained in the European Cup. Their defeat by Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
in the First round proper enabled the deal to be finalised. Campbell immediately replaced Tony Godfrey and settled in quickly at The Dell, with his fine displays between the posts playing a prominent part in "The Saints" successful push for promotion.
He made his Southampton debut within days of his signing, in a 4–1 victory over Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
on 11 December. At the time of his debut, Southampton were seventh in the table, having lost seven of their first twenty games, but with only three further defeats, they ended the season as runners-up, one point ahead of Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
, thus securing promotion to the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
for the first time in the club's history.
Forsyth retained the No. 1 shirt for the start of the Saints' debut season in the top flight but in the eighth game of the season, on 17 September 1966, he broke a leg in a collision with Denis Hollywood
Denis Hollywood
Denis Fallen Hollywood is a Scottish former football full-back, who played most of his career for Southampton between 1961 and 1972, making a total of 267 appearances for the club.-References :...
and Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
's Ian Callaghan
Ian Callaghan
Ian Robert Callaghan MBE is a former Liverpool footballer who holds the record for most appearances for the club.-Life and playing career:...
, being replaced in goal by David Webb
David Webb (footballer)
David James Webb is an English former professional footballer who made 555 appearances in the Football League playing for Leyton Orient, Southampton, Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers, Leicester City, Derby County, A.F.C. Bournemouth and Torquay United. He became a manager, taking charge of A.F.C...
. With the only other professional 'keeper available being 19 year-old Gerry Gurr who was not considered ready for the First Division, manager Ted Bates signed Dave MacLaren
Dave MacLaren
David "Dave" MacLaren is a retired Scottish football player and manager.MacLaren began his career at local club Auchterarder before being signed to Dundee...
from Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
for a fee of £5,000, despite his having conceded nine goals to the Saints almost exactly 12 months previously.
By the start of the following season, Forsyth had fought his way back to fitness and was preferred to Eric Martin
Eric Martin (footballer)
Eric Martin is a former football goalkeeper who played 290 games for Southampton F.C. between 1967 and 1975, including 248 Football League games.-External links:*...
(who had been signed in March to strengthen the side). Forsyth was unable to re-discover his old form however, and was dropped in October after conceding a goal to Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
's 18-year old goalkeeper, Peter Shilton
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....
. Forsyth misjudged Shilton's long punt upfield, which, instead of splashing harmlessly in the mud, spun off The Dell pitch and flew over Forsyth's head into the goal. "The Saints" lost the game 5–1.
Martin played the next five games, but after three straight defeats, Forsyth was recalled but was unable to halt the club's slide down the table. Forsyth made his final Southampton appearance in a 5–3 defeat at home to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
on 6 January 1968, in which he was blamed for two of Chelsea's goals. After a spell in the reserves, Forsyth decided to retire in May 1968.
International appearances
Forsyth made four appearances for Scotland as follows:| Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Goals | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 April 1964 | Hampden Park Hampden Park Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland... , Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... |
1–0 | 0 | British Home Championship 1964 British Home Championship The 1964 British Home Championship international Home Nations football tournament was an unusual affair in which victory was shared between the England, Scotland and Ireland national football teams after all teams scored four points by beating Wales and then winning one and losing one of their... |
|
| 3 October 1964 | Ninian Park Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship... , Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for... |
2–3 | 0 | British Home Championship 1965 British Home Championship The 1965 British Home Championship was an outright victory for the English football team in the run up to the 1966 FIFA World Cup which was held in the country... |
|
| 21 October 1964 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | 3–1 | 0 | World Cup qualification | |
| 25 November 1964 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | 3–2 | 0 | British Home Championship | |
Later career
After retiring from football, Forsyth was employed by the pub and brewery chain, Watney, as a representative for 28 years. He then became a corporate host for the MarriottMarriott International
Marriott International, Inc. is a worldwide operator and franchisor of a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by son J.W. Marriott, Jr...
hotel and country club at Dalmahoy
Dalmahoy
Dalmahoy is hotel and former country house near Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is located off the A71 road, south of Ratho. The house is protected as a category A listed building, while the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national...
near Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
He also continued to serve Southampton as a scout
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
; amongst the players that he recommended to the club were Jim Steele and Gerry O'Brien
Gerry O'Brien
Gerald O'Brien is a retired Scottish professional footballer, who played as a substitute during the FA Cup run of Southampton in 1976.-Early career:...
.
Honours
KilmarnockKilmarnock F.C.
Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...
- Scottish Football LeagueScottish Football LeagueThe Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
- Champions: 1964–65
- Runners-up: 1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64
Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
- Football League Second DivisionFootball League Second DivisionFrom 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
- Runners-up: 1965–66