Richard Forsyth

Richard Forsyth
Personal information
Full name	Richard Michael Forsyth
Date of birth	3 October 1970 (age 53)
Place of birth	Dudley, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team
198?–1987	Stourbridge
1987–1995	Kidderminster Harriers
1995–1996	Birmingham City
1996–1999	Stoke City
1999–2000	Blackpool
2000–2002	Peterborough United
2002	→ Cheltenham Town (loan)
2002–2004	Cheltenham Town
2004	Northwich Victoria
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
Club	Season	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

Conference National champions: 1994

References

^ ^a ^b "Richard Forsyth". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
^ Sewell, Albert, ed. (1996). News of the World Football Annual 1996–97. London: Invincible Press. p. 401. ISBN 978-0-00-218737-4.
^ "Richard Forsyth". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Richard Forsyth". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
^ "Richard Forsyth". Harriers-Online. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Northwich Victoria Player profile Richard Forsyth". NonLeague Daily. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ "Kidderminster Harriers Leading Scorers". KidderminsterHarriers.com. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Posh sign midfielder Forsyth". BBC Sport. 13 July 2000. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
^ "Club records". Stoke City F.C. 26 October 2008. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008.
^ Fudge, Simon (10 October 2002). "Forsyth joins Robins on loan". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
^ "Forsyth joins Cheltenham for five figure fee". Peterborough United F.C. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012.
^ "Season 2002–2003". Cheltenham Town F.C. 29 August 2007. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012.
^ "Forsyth joins injured list". Cheltenham Town F.C. 15 January 2003. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012.
^ Fudge, Simon (27 March 2003). "Forsyth facing season out". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
^ Sullivan, Martin (6 August 2004). "Richard Forsyth". Cheltenham Town F.C. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012.
^ "Aldershot Town 2–1 Northwich Victoria". ESPNsoccernet. 3 September 2004. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012.
^ "Brit-10-Years: Where Are They Now?". Stoke City F.C. 10 September 2007. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008.
^ "Match Report". Wolverhampton Casuals F.C. 26 October 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
^ "Martin to move?". Stourbridge News. 7 March 2007. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
^ "Cheltenham Town where are they now: Richard Forsyth". Gloucestershire Echo. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
^ Richard Forsyth at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)