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Dick Campbell (footballer, born 1953)

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Dick Campbell
BEM
Personal information
Full name Richard Menzies Campbell
Date of birth (1953-11-22) 22 November 1953 (age 71)
Place of birth Dunfermline, Scotland
Team information
Current team
 East Fife (manager)
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)
Total 243 (21)
Managerial career
1987 Cowdenbeath
1999 Dunfermline Athletic
2000–2005 Brechin City
2005–2007 Partick Thistle
2007 Ross County
2008–2015 Forfar Athletic
2016–2023 Arbroath
2024– East Fife
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Richard Menzies Campbell[1] BEM (born 22 November 1953) is a Scottish football manager and former player, who is currently manager of East Fife.

Campbell's playing career was low-profile and he is more known for his management career which includes successful lengthy spells at Brechin City, Forfar Athletic and Arbroath. Campbell has also managed Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline Athletic, Partick Thistle and Ross County. He has achieved five promotions at four clubs with the highlights taking Brechin from the fourth tier to the second tier and repeated the feat with Arbroath many years later. He was appointed East Fife manager in February 2024.

Playing career

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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

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Campbell has accrued more than 1,300 games in the dugout either as an assistant manager or manager in Scottish football. He has won four separate Manager of the year awards and over 40 manager of the month awards in a career spanning decades.

Cowdenbeath

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

Dunfermline Athletic

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He moved to Dunfermline Athletic to become Bert Paton's assistant. Paton and Campbell guided Dunfermline to promotion in the 1995–96 Scottish First Division season, and also achieved their highest league position in the new format, (pars had previously finished 3rd in the top league) finishing fifth in the 1996–97 Scottish Premier Division season. 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 three-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

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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 five seasons he helped Brechin rise from 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

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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 Donnelly at the start of the 2006–07 season. However, despite a decent start, a string of poor results saw Thistle languishing in the bottom half of the table and his tenure was ended on 27 March 2007.[2]

Ross County

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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

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On 8 May 2008, Campbell was appointed manager of Scottish Third Division side Forfar Athletic.[3] 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 on to finish in the promotion play off positions in three of the four seasons in League One, missing out on the league championship on the last day to Greenock Morton in the 2014–15 campaign. Following an overhaul of the Forfar squad and a poor run of form midway through the 2015–16 campaign Campbell was sacked on Saturday 12 December 2015, after seven years in charge.[4]

Arbroath

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After leaving Forfar, Campbell made it clear that it was his intention to return to football management at the earliest opportunity.[5] After less than three months out of management, Campbell returned to Angus after being appointed manager of Scottish League Two side Arbroath in March 2016.[6] When appointed manager Arbroath were 8th in League Two and the immediate priority for Campbell was to steer the team clear of the relegation play-off spot. Though the end to the season was largely lacklustre with several disappointing results, Campbell did achieve his immediate remit as Arbroath avoided a bottom place finish and finished 9th.

Before the 2016–17 season, kicked off confidence was starting to grow that Arbroath could mount a serious title challenge. Campbell was keen to construct his own side and was active in the summer transfer window, with signings including Ryan McCord and Colin Hamilton. These acquisitions helped to bolster a squad which many felt had sufficient quality, mainly provided through star-man Bobby Linn, but lacked the confidence required to succeed. However, Campbell was able to guide the "Red Lichties" to the Scottish League Two title in his first full season.

In his second season, Arbroath finished 3rd and were narrowly beaten in the Championship play off semi final against Dumbarton. He then led Arbroath to the Scottish League One title in the 2018–19 season. In the 2019–20 season, a season curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Campbell guided Arbroath to a historic league finish of 5th – the club's highest in many decades. Gayfield Park quickly became a notoriously difficult venue for away teams to visit as The Lichties became effective at using the bitterly cold and gusty wind conditions to their advantage. Campbell helped to provide the biggest upset of the entire Championship season as Arbroath became the only team to defeat eventual champions Dundee United at Tannadice.

Arbroath improved on this performance in the 2021–22 season, as they challenged for promotion to the Premiership.[7] With two games remaining they were within one point of league leaders Kilmarnock, and the one automatic promotion place.[8] They then lost 2–1 at Kilmarnock in the penultimate match, despite having led for most of the game.[9] That result sealed the league title for Kilmarnock and meant Arbroath went into the playoffs, where they lost on penalties to Inverness CT.[10]

Campbell struggled to build on this near-miss, however, as the team finished 8th in the 2022–23 season and narrowly avoided relegation. He left Arbroath on 25 November 2023, following a Scottish Cup defeat by The Spartans.[11]

East Fife

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On 6th of February 2024, Campbell was announced as the new manager of East Fife, replacing Greig McDonald who had resigned earlier that week.[12]

Personal life

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Campbell was brought up in Hill of Beath.[13][14][15][16] He 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 was assistant manager.[17] The pair worked together once again at Arbroath.[18]

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,[19] and so joining his brother Ross, who was already at the club.[20]

Campbell was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to association football and the community in Angus.[21][1]

Honours

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Brechin City
Partick Thistle
Forfar Athletic
Arbroath

Individual

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Managerial statistics

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As of match played 30 November 2024
Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Cowdenbeath 1987 1987 12 5 4 3 041.67
Dunfermline Athletic January 1999 November 1999 31 9 11 11 029.03
Brechin City 2000 January 2005 171 77 32 62 045.03
Partick Thistle January 2005 March 2007 103 40 26 37 038.83
Ross County June 2007 November 2007 12 6 3 3 050.00
Forfar Athletic 8 May 2008 12 December 2015 346 141 72 133 040.75
Arbroath 8 March 2016 25 November 2023 322 130 89 103 040.37
East Fife 6 February 2024 35 15 9 11 042.86
Total 1,032 423 247 362 040.99

References

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  1. ^ a b "King's Birthday Honours: Sarah Hunter and Ian Wright among those included". BBC Sport. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Campbell axed by Partick Thistle". BBC News. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  3. ^ "Campbell takes the helm at Forfar". BBC News. 8 May 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  4. ^ "Dick Campbell: Forfar sack boss after seven years in charge". BBC Sport. 12 December 2015. Archived from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  5. ^ Robertson, Neil (14 December 2015). "Dick Campbell insists he is definitely not ready to retire after being sacked by Forfar". Courier Sport. The Courier. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  6. ^ Nicholson, Eric (8 March 2016). "Arbroath appoint Dick Campbell as manager". Courier Sport. The Courier. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  7. ^ McVeigh, Niall (9 May 2022). "'Close to immortality': Arbroath's part-timers chase Premiership dream". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Arbroath 4-1 Queen of the South: Dick Campbell's side move within point of Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 16 April 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  9. ^ Petrie, Andrew (22 April 2022). "Kilmarnock 2-1 Arbroath: Rugby Park side seal Scottish Championship title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  10. ^ Lindsay, Clive (13 May 2022). "Arbroath 0-0 Inverness CT (agg: 0-0): Visitors through to Premiership play-off final after penalties". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Arbroath: Dick Campbell resigns after seven years in charge". BBC Sport. 25 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Dick Campbell Appointed Manager". East Fife FC. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Dick Campbell, the Forfar manager who comes in many guises". The Herald. Glasgow. 3 August 2013.
  14. ^ Smith, Ewan. "Dick Campbell: My twin bought me a new Merc for my 60th – I gave him a scarf and gloves!". The Courier.
  15. ^ Smith, Ewan (June 2021). "Dick Campbell: 'They cut my cancer out like a cake slice. If it was in the middle I was a goner'". The Courier.
  16. ^ Bienkowski, Stefan (6 July 2019). "How to survive 32 years as a manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  17. ^ "Ian Campbell profile". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
  18. ^ "Arbroath appoint Dick Campbell as manager". Courier Sport. The Courier. 8 March 2016. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  19. ^ "New Signings". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  20. ^ "Forfar Ath 1-6 Partick Thistle". BBC Sport. 18 August 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  21. ^ "No. 64082". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2023. p. B30.
  22. ^ "Forfar boss Dick Campbell wins League One manager award". BBC Sport. 11 November 2014. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  23. ^ "Forfar Athletic: Dick Campbell picks up monthly award". BBC Sport. 8 April 2015. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  24. ^ "Campbell lands League 2 award". SPFL. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  25. ^ "CAMPBELL IS LEAGUE 1 MANAGER OF YEAR". SPFL. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  26. ^ "CAMPBELL NAMED MANAGER OF THE YEAR". SPFL. The Scottish Professional Football League. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
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