Campbell Forsyth

Robert Campbell Forsyth (5 May 1934 – 15 November 2020)[1] was a Scottish footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Southampton. He also made four international appearances for Scotland, all in 1964.

Campbell Forsyth
Personal information
Full name Robert Campbell Forsyth[1]
Date of birth (1934-05-05)5 May 1934
Place of birth Plean, Stirlingshire, Scotland
Date of death 15 November 2020(2020-11-15) (aged 86)[2]
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
Falkirk
Shettleston
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1955–1960 St Mirren 104 (0)
1960–1965 Kilmarnock 75 (0)
1965–1968 Southampton 48 (0)
Total 227 (0)
National team
1957[3] Scotland U23 1 (0)
1964[4] SFA trial v SFL 1 (0)
1964 Scotland 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Football career

Early career

Born in Plean, then in Stirlingshire, Forsyth was briefly a trainee at nearby Falkirk before joining Junior Football club Shettleston from the east end of Glasgow.[5] He joined St Mirren in April 1955, shortly before his 16th birthday, where he stayed for five years, making over 100 first-team appearances.[6] In 1957 he played his one and only game for the Scotland national under-23 football team, a 1–1 draw with England.[7]

Kilmarnock

In November 1960, he joined Kilmarnock; 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.[8]

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".[9]

Campbell made his international debut for Scotland in a 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.[10]

Campbell missed a game on 12 May, as his daughter was born the day before, but returned for three games later that year. Campbell suffered an injury and veteran keeper Bill Brown was brought back; Campbell never played again for the national side.[7]

Southampton

In December 1965, he moved to England when he was signed by Southampton, 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.[11] 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.[5]

He made his Southampton debut within days of his signing, in a 4–1 victory over Plymouth Argyle on 11 December.[11] 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.[12]

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.[13] 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.[13]

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.[5]

Martin played the next five games, but after three straight defeats, Forsyth was recalled although he 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.[14] After a spell in the reserves, Forsyth decided to retire in May 1968.[5]

International appearances

Forsyth made four appearances for Scotland as follows:[15]

DateVenueOpponentResult[16]GoalsCompetition
11 April 1964Hampden Park, Glasgow England1–00British Home Championship
3 October 1964Ninian Park, Cardiff Wales2–30British Home Championship
21 October 1964Hampden Park, Glasgow Finland3–10World Cup qualification
25 November 1964Hampden Park, Glasgow Northern Ireland3–20British 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 Marriott hotel and country club at Dalmahoy near Edinburgh.[5]

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.[5]

Forsyth died on 15 November 2020 at the age of 86.[2][17]

Honours

Kilmarnock[18]

Southampton[19]

References
  1. "Campbell Forsyth". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  2. "Campbell Forsyth: An appreciation". Southampton FC. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  3. Scotland U23 player Forsyth, Campbell, FitbaStats
  4. Ronnie McDevitt (2016). Scotland in the 60s: The Definitive Account of the Scottish National Football Side During the 1960s. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 9781785312458.
  5. Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. p. 512. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
  6. "Campbell Forsyth". DT92. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  7. Vallance, Matt (11 April 2014). "Forsyth recalls Scotland's hat-trick over England". The Scotsman. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  8. "Killie Clinch Championship on the Final Day!". www.killiefc.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  9. "Dramatic Four Goal Deficit Comeback Sees Killie Win Their First Euro Tie!". www.killiefc.com. 22 September 1964. Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  10. "Sweet victory for the Scots at rain-swept Hampden". www.londonhearts.com. 11 April 1964. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  11. In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. p. 83.
  12. In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. pp. 86–87.
  13. In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. p. 89.
  14. In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. p. 95.
  15. "Campbell Forsyth". Scottish FA. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  16. Scotland score first
  17. "Tribute to Campbell Forsyth". Kilmarnock FC. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  18. "Kilmarnock". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  19. "Southampton". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
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