Richard Forsyth

Richard Forsyth
Personal information
Full name Richard Michael Forsyth[1]
Date of birth (1970-10-03) 3 October 1970 (age 54)[1]
Place of birth Dudley, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
198?–1987 Stourbridge
1987–1995 Kidderminster Harriers 303 (71)
1995–1996 Birmingham City 26 (2)
1996–1999 Stoke City 95 (17)
1999–2000 Blackpool 13 (0)
2000–2002 Peterborough United 70 (2)
2002 → Cheltenham Town (loan) 5 (1)
2002–2004 Cheltenham Town 34 (3)
2004 Northwich Victoria 3 (0)
2006 Wolverhampton Casuals
2007 Shawbury United
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Richard Michael Forsyth (born 3 October 1970) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made nearly 250 appearances in the Football League playing for Birmingham City, Stoke City, Blackpool, Peterborough United and Cheltenham Town.[3]

Playing career

Forsyth was born in Dudley, Staffordshire (now West Midlands).[4] He began his football career with Stourbridge before joining Kidderminster Harriers in 1987. In eight years with the club he played more than 300 games in all competitions, scoring 71 goals.[5] He was part of the team which won the Conference title in 1993–94,[6] and was the club's leading league scorer for the 1994–95 season with 13 goals,[7] before moving to Birmingham City for a fee of £100,000.[6]

A year later he moved on to Stoke City for a £200,000 fee,[8] where he scored the first League goal in Stoke's new Britannia Stadium,[9] went on to spend three seasons with the club playing more than 100 games in all competitions.[4] His next move was to Blackpool on a free transfer in 1999, and then to Peterborough United, also on a free, where he linked up again with former Birmingham manager Barry Fry.[8] In October 2002, amid financial uncertainty at Peterborough, Forsyth joined Cheltenham Town on a month's loan;[10] on his return to Peterborough, the club expected him to remain with them, but, claiming the player had been "unsettled" by Cheltenham's offer of a longer permanent contract, finally allowed him to join Cheltenham for a fee of £15,000.[11][12] In January 2003 he sustained a hamstring injury which put paid to the remainder of his season.[13][14] Released at the end of the 2003–2004 season, Forsyth joined Northwich Victoria on non-contract terms,[15] but within weeks he suffered cruciate ligament damage which would keep him out for the season.[16]

He has since played for Stoke City's Masters team,[17] and for Wolverhampton Casuals[18] and Shawbury United[19] of the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division.

After his career in football, he taught physical education at North East Wolverhampton Academy and Ormiston Forge Academy.[20]

Career statistics

Source:[21]

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Birmingham City 1995–96 First Division 26 2 2 0 9 0 4 0 41 2
Stoke City 1996–97 First Division 40 8 1 0 3 0 0 0 44 8
1997–98 First Division 37 7 1 0 4 1 0 0 42 8
1998–99 Second Division 18 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 22 2
Total 95 17 4 0 7 1 2 0 108 18
Blackpool 1999–2000 Second Division 13 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 16 0
Peterborough United 2000–01 Second Division 30 2 5 1 2 0 1 0 38 3
2001–02 Second Division 32 0 4 0 2 1 1 0 39 1
2002–03 Second Division 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
Total 70 2 9 1 4 1 2 0 85 4
Cheltenham Town 2002–03 Second Division 12 2 3 0 0 0 2 1 17 3
2003–04 Third Division 27 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 29 2
Total 39 4 5 0 0 0 2 1 46 5
Northwich Victoria 2004–05 Football Conference 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Career total 246 25 22 1 20 2 11 1 299 29
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Anglo-Italian Cup, Football League Trophy.

Honours

Kidderminster Harriers

References

  1. ^ a b "Richard Forsyth". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  2. ^ Sewell, Albert, ed. (1996). News of the World Football Annual 1996–97. London: Invincible Press. p. 401. ISBN 978-0-00-218737-4.
  3. ^ "Richard Forsyth". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Richard Forsyth". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
  5. ^ "Richard Forsyth". Harriers-Online. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
  6. ^ a b "Northwich Victoria Player profile Richard Forsyth". NonLeague Daily. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Kidderminster Harriers Leading Scorers". KidderminsterHarriers.com. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
  8. ^ a b "Posh sign midfielder Forsyth". BBC Sport. 13 July 2000. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  9. ^ "Club records". Stoke City F.C. 26 October 2008. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008.
  10. ^ Fudge, Simon (10 October 2002). "Forsyth joins Robins on loan". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  11. ^ "Forsyth joins Cheltenham for five figure fee". Peterborough United F.C. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012.
  12. ^ "Season 2002–2003". Cheltenham Town F.C. 29 August 2007. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012.
  13. ^ "Forsyth joins injured list". Cheltenham Town F.C. 15 January 2003. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012.
  14. ^ Fudge, Simon (27 March 2003). "Forsyth facing season out". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  15. ^ Sullivan, Martin (6 August 2004). "Richard Forsyth". Cheltenham Town F.C. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012.
  16. ^ "Aldershot Town 2–1 Northwich Victoria". ESPNsoccernet. 3 September 2004. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012.
  17. ^ "Brit-10-Years: Where Are They Now?". Stoke City F.C. 10 September 2007. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008.
  18. ^ "Match Report". Wolverhampton Casuals F.C. 26 October 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  19. ^ "Martin to move?". Stourbridge News. 7 March 2007. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  20. ^ "Cheltenham Town where are they now: Richard Forsyth". Gloucestershire Echo. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  21. ^ Richard Forsyth at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)