Dick Campbell (footballer)

Dick Campbell
Personal information
Full name Richard Campbell
Date of birth (1953-11-22) 22 November 1953
Place of birth Dunfermline, Scotland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1970–1971 Dundee United 0 (0)
1971–1974 Cowdenbeath 55 (11)
1974–1975 Dunfermline Athletic 14 (0)
1975–1977 Ross County
1977–1983 Brechin City 157 (7)
1983 East Stirlingshire 17 (3)
Teams managed
1987 Cowdenbeath
1999 Dunfermline Athletic
2000–2005 Brechin City
2005–2007 Partick Thistle
2007 Ross County
2008–2015 Forfar Athletic

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Richard "Dick" Campbell (born 22 November 1953 in Dunfermline, Fife) is a Scottish association football manager and former player.

Campbell's playing career was low-profile and is more known for his management career which includes successful lengthy spells at Brechin City and Forfar Athletic . He also managed Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline Athletic F.C., Partick Thistle and Ross County. He has achieved four promotions at three different clubs with the highlight taking Brechin from the old Scottish Third Division to the Scottish First Division which earned him his move to Partick.

Playing career

Campbell's playing career was mainly spent in the lower leagues of Scottish football. Having started out with Dundee United's youth system he then played for Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline Athletic, Ross County (then in the Highland League), Brechin City and East Stirlingshire.

Coaching career

Campbell has accrued more than 1200 games in the dugout either as an Assistant Manager or Manager in Scottish Football.

Cowdenbeath

Campbell's first managerial experience was a short spell at the helm of Cowdenbeath F.C. in 1987, after which he returned to coaching at Brechin City.

Dunfermline Athletic

He moved to Dunfermline Athletic to become Bert Paton's assistant. Paton and Campbell guided Dunfermline to promotion the Premier Division in season 1995 / 1996 and also achieved their highest league position finishing 5th in the Scottish Premier League in season 1997 / 1998. Paton and Campbell's team were known for their adventurous attacking style of play. They were also praised for their handling of the club during the time of legendary captain Norrie McCathie's tragic death. When Paton resigned in early 1999, Campbell was given temporary control of the team. After a 3-month probationary period, Campbell was made permanent manager at East End Park. However he left before the end of the year, despite Dunfermline sitting top of the First Division, the club was taken over by new owners who decided Campbell wasn't their man.

Brechin City

After several months out of the game, Campbell was appointed manager of Brechin City in 2000, with Paton this time acting as his assistant. Over the following 5 seasons he helped Brechin rise from the depths of the Third Division to the First Division, despite their status as a part-time club. The chance to work with full-time players again tempted him to move to Partick Thistle in 2005.

Partick Thistle

Campbell took over as Thistle manager after the end of Gerry Britton's and Derek Whyte's reign as joint player managers. Initial success was gained, and he won a Manager of the Month award within a month of taking over at the club. Despite this early success, Thistle finished ninth at the end of the 2004–05 season, and were therefore relegated to the Second Division. In the 2005–06 season, he guided the Partick Thistle team to promotion through the play-offs into the First Division, after finishing fourth in the Second Division.

Campbell has been praised in recent times for his negotiation skills, with particular reference to the signing of Simon Donelly at the start of the 2006–07 season. However, despite a decent start, a string of poor results sees Thistle languishing in the bottom half of the table and his tenure was ended on 27 March 2007.[1]

Ross County

In the summer of 2007, Campbell was appointed manager of just-relegated Ross County, with the proviso that he would have only one chance at earning the club promotion, and would be sacked if he was unsuccessful. Ultimately, Campbell was not even given a full season in charge, and despite leading the club to the top of Division Two he was sacked on 2 October, allegedly for the team not playing a certain style of football.

Forfar Athletic

On 8 May 2008, Campbell was appointed manager of Scottish Third Division side Forfar Athletic.[2] On 17 May 2010, he led the club to promotion to the Second Division after defeating local rivals Arbroath in the play-offs, a result which relegated the Red Lichties. Forfar went onto finish in the promotion play off positions in 3 of the 4 seasons in League one, missing out on the league championship on the last day to Greenock Morton in the 2014-2015 campaign. Following an overhaul of the Forfar squad and a poor run of form midway through the 2015/2016 campaign Campbell was sacked on Saturday 12th December 2015, after 7 years in charge.[3]

Personal life

Campbell has a twin brother Ian who is also a former football player and manager. They worked together for many years at both Dunfermline, where Ian was a coach, and Brechin City, where Ian was Dick's joint-assistant. When Dick left to manage Partick Thistle, Ian took over the Brechin managerial reins. The brothers were reunited at Forfar, where Ian assistant manager.[4]

Campbell is a fully qualified Senior SFA staff coach and was an accessor from 1995 - 2010.

Campbell's son Iain is also involved in football, with the left-back leaving Alloa Athletic during the 2009 close season to join his father at Forfar[5] and so joining his brother Ross at the club.[6]


Campbell was diagnosed as suffering from kidney cancer in March 2011.[7]

Campbell currently works for Fife based Recruitment Company, Avenue Scotland as Business Development Manager.

Campbell is a popular After Dinner Speaker on the Scottish circuit where he regularly entertains crowds with his tales and experiences in Scottish Football.

Campbell has his own charity which has contributed over £100,000 to dementia sufferers in the Fife area mainly through building Sensory gardens in care homes. The sensory gardens can greatly assist sufferers from the condition by providing elements which encourage interaction. It’s the concentration of different experiences that defines a sensory garden. Some are passive places, designed to be calming, while others are designed to stimulate activity or to be used within therapeutic programmes.

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Campbell axed by Partick Thistle". BBC News. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  2. ↑ "Campbell takes the helm at Forfar". BBC News. 8 May 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  3. ↑ "Dick Campbell: Forfar sack boss after seven years in charge". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Ian Campbell profile
  5. ↑ New Signings
  6. ↑ Forfar 6 Forres 1
  7. ↑ "Campbells share Forfar burden as Dick fights cancer". BBC Sport. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  8. ↑ "Forfar boss Dick Campbell wins League One manager award". BBC Sport. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "Forfar Athletic: Dick Campbell picks up monthly award". BBC Sport. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.

External links

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