| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | ||
| Place of death | Strathaven,South Lanarkshire, Scotland | ||
| 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) | |
| International career | |||
| 1971[2] | Scotland U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 1971–1976[3] | Scottish League XI | 2 | (0) |
| 1971–1978 | Scotland | 22 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1982–1983 | Dunfermline Athletic | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Thomas Forsyth (23 January 1949 – 14 August 2020) was a Scottishfootball player and coach. Forsyth played as adefender forMotherwell,Rangers andScotland.
Forsyth started his career atjunior clubStonehouse Violet, then spent five years atMotherwell, playing over 200 times for the club[4] before being signed byRangers in October 1972. He scored the winning goal in the1973 Scottish Cup Final againstOld Firm rivalsCeltic from six inches.[5]
During his Rangers career, Forsyth made 332 appearances in all competitions and won threeleague championships, fourScottish Cups and twoLeague Cups; these successes included two domestic trebles, in1975–76 and1977–78.[6][7]
Forsyth played 22 times forScotland, including at the1978 World Cup.[6] He captained Scotland once, against Switzerland in 1976.[8]
After his playing retirement, Forsyth was appointed manager ofDunfermline Athletic in 1982, although he relinquished the position within a year.[6] According to his assistant and successorJim Leishman, Forsyth left his role as Dunfermline manager due to frustration with the club'spart-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."[9] He then accepted a position as assistant-manager to formerRangers team-mateTommy McLean atMorton in 1983.[6] Forsyth was appointed McLean's assistant atMotherwell thenHearts when McLean moved to these clubs in 1984 and 1994 respectively.[6]
On 14 August 2020, Forsyth died peacefully at home with his family by his side, at the age of 71.[10]
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