Tommy Docherty
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thomas Henderson Docherty (24 April 1928 – 31 December 2020), commonly known as The Doc, was a Scottish
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player and manager. Docherty played for several clubs, most notably Preston North End, and represented
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
25 times between 1951 and 1959. He then managed a total of 13 clubs between 1961 and 1988, as well as the Scottish national team. Docherty was manager of
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
between 1972 and 1977, during which time they were relegated to the
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
, but promoted back to the First Division as champions at the first attempt.


Playing career


Club

Born in Shettleston Road in Glasgow's east end, Docherty began his playing career when he joined junior football club
Shettleston Shettleston ( sco, Shuttlestoun, gd, Baile Nighean Sheadna) is a district in the east end of Glasgow in Scotland. Toponymy The origin of the name 'Shettleston' is not clear and, like many place-names of possibly medieval origin, has had a mult ...
. The turning point in his playing career came in 1946 when he was called up for
national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...
in the
Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fusi ...
. While completing his national service, Docherty represented the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
at football. On demobilisation, he was offered a contract with
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
in 1947. Docherty would later say that
Jimmy Hogan James Hogan (16 October 1882 – 30 January 1974) was an English football player and Manager (association football), coach of Irish descent. He enjoyed some success as a footballer, reaching an FA Cup semi-finals, FA Cup semi-final with Fulham F ...
, the club's coach, was his greatest influence. In November 1949, after spending over two years with Celtic, he moved to England and joined Preston North End. With them he won the
1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
title and got to the
1954 FA Cup Final The 1954 FA Cup Final was a football match between West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End, played on 1 May 1954 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. It was the final match of the 1953–54 staging of English football's primary cup com ...
. Altogether Docherty made close to 300 appearances for the club. He left
Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End. Deepdale is "widely recognised as being the oldest 'continuously used' football stadium in the world, though this is contested". History ...
in August of that year to join
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
for £28,000. With them he made 83 appearances, scoring once. He then went to play for
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
where he brought an end to his playing career in 1962.


International

At Preston, Docherty received the first of his 25 full
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
international
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...
. His solitary goal came in a 7–2 defeat by
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in 1955. He was part of the Scotland squads that played at the
1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
and
1958 FIFA World Cup The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the sixth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country. Brazil be ...
finals which were held in Switzerland and Sweden, respectively.


Managerial career


Chelsea

In February 1961, Docherty was offered the post of player-coach of
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. Less than twelve months later, upon
Ted Drake Edward Joseph Drake (16 August 1912 – 30 May 1995) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he first played for Southampton but made his name playing for Arsenal in the 1930s, winning two league titles and an FA Cup, as wel ...
's departure and with the club facing
relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
from the top flight, Docherty took over as manager. He was unable to keep the club in the First Division, however, and the team was relegated at the end of the 1961–62 season. During his first year in charge he sold many of the club's older players and brought in new ones such as
Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queen ...
,
Bobby Tambling Robert Victor Tambling (born 18 September 1941) is an English former professional association football, footballer, who played as a Forward (association football), forward, most notably for Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Pa ...
,
Peter Bonetti Peter Philip Bonetti (27 September 1941 – 12 April 2020) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Chelsea, the St. Louis Stars, Dundee United and England. He was known for his safe handling, lightning reflexes a ...
and
Barry Bridges Barry John Bridges (born 29 April 1941) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward in the Football League for Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Birmingham City F.C., Birmingha ...
. He also changed the club's home colours, switching from white shorts to blue shorts, the combination that remains as of 2022. The team, nicknamed "Docherty's Diamonds", achieved promotion back to Division One in their first attempt and finished fifth the following year. In 1964–65, Chelsea won the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
in April with an aggregate win over
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
, but in the FA Cup were beaten 2–0 in the semi-final by eventual winners
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. Docherty led Chelsea to the FA and the
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European Association football, football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecess ...
semi-finals a year later, before reaching the
FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...
in 1967, which they lost to
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
. He resigned in October 1967. The core of the team Docherty had put together, including
Peter Osgood Peter Leslie Osgood (20 February 1947 – 1 March 2006) was an English footballer who was active during the 1960s and 1970s. He is best remembered for representing Chelsea and Southampton at club level, and was also capped four times by Englan ...
,
Charlie Cooke Charles Cooke (born 14 October 1942) is a Scottish former footballer. He played as a winger for Aberdeen, Dundee, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, before ending his career in the United States. Club career Cooke began his professional career wi ...
, Ron Harris, Bonetti and
John Hollins John William Hollins (born 16 July 1946) is an English retired footballer and manager. He was initially a midfielder who, later in his career, became an effective full-back. Hollins, throughout his footballing career, featured for clubs such a ...
, went on to win the FA Cup and
Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
under Docherty's successor,
Dave Sexton David James Sexton (6 April 1930 – 25 November 2012) was an English football manager and player. He was notable for managing Chelsea to their first ever major European trophy. Playing career Son of former professional boxer Archie Sex ...
. A decade later Sexton succeeded Docherty as manager of Manchester United.


Rotherham, QPR, Aston Villa, Porto and Scotland

The month following his departure from Chelsea, Docherty became manager of
Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
. He said of his year there: "I promised I would take Rotherham out of the Second Division – and I took them into the Third. The old chairman said 'Doc, you’re a man of your word!'" He was then appointed manager at
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
, only to leave 29 days later after arguing with the club chairman over transfer policy. He then became
Doug Ellis Sir Herbert Douglas Ellis, (3 January 1924 – 11 October 2018) was an English entrepreneur. He was the chairman of Aston Villa Football Club from 1968 to 1975, and again from 1982 until 2006. Ellis was knighted in the 2012 New Year Honours L ...
' first manager at
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
in December 1968, for 13 months. On 19 January 1970, with Aston Villa bottom of the Second Division, Docherty was sacked. From there he went to
FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...
, where he stayed for 16 months before resigning in May 1971, having failed to usurp Benfica and Sporting. On 2 July 1971, he was appointed by
Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
as assistant manager to
Terry Neill William John Terence Neill (8 May 1942 – 28 July 2022) was a Northern Irish football player and manager. A centre-back, he captained and later managed Arsenal, guiding the club to a European final in 1980 and three consecutive FA Cup final ...
, but on 12 September he left to become the caretaker manager of
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, with that position becoming permanent in November 1971. Scotland were on course to qualify for the 1974 World Cup under Docherty, having won both of their matches against
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
in qualification Group 8. Docherty managed 12 Scotland games, the last of which was a 2–0 home win against the Danes in November 1972. He left the job a month later and was succeeded by
Willie Ormond William Esplin Ormond (23 February 1927 – 4 May 1984) was a Scottish football player and manager. As a player, Ormond was well known as one of Hibernian's Famous Five forward line, winning three league championships in the late 1940s an ...
, who secured qualification for the World Cup by winning a home match against
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
in September 1973.


Manchester United

In December 1972, Docherty attended a match that
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
lost 5-0 to
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
; in the
Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international footba ...
boardroom afterwards he was offered the Manchester United job by Matt Busby. His first game in charge of United was against
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
. The game finished 1–1, with
Ted MacDougall Edward John MacDougall (born 8 January 1947 in Inverness) is a Scottish former footballer. MacDougall was a prolific goalscorer who played for eight teams, scoring 256 goals in 535 League appearances and winning seven full international caps fo ...
scoring one of his few goals for United. Although United were in serious trouble when he took them over, because of an ageing squad, he managed to keep them in the First Division in 1972–73. The 1973–74 season saw United continue to struggle and they were eventually relegated to the Second Division. In the following season, United returned to the top flight as Second Division champions. In 1975–76 they finished in third place in the First Division and also reached the
1976 FA Cup Final The 1976 FA Cup Final was the 95th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 1 May 1976 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Manchester United and Southampton. United had finished third in the First Division that season, and were strong fa ...
, but lost 1–0 to
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
who were then in the Second Division. Docherty led United to the FA Cup final again in 1977, this time as underdogs, and beat league champions Liverpool 2–1. Shortly afterwards, news that Docherty was having an extramarital affair with the wife of a United
physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patien ...
, Laurie Brown, became public. He was sacked in a blaze of publicity in July 1977, and was replaced at Old Trafford by Dave Sexton, the same man who had replaced him at Chelsea. The affair also resulted in the end of his marriage to Agnes, who had been his wife since December 1949. In 1988 Docherty married Mary, and the couple remained together until his death in 2020. After his sacking, Docherty had a frosty relationship with the club.


Later career

Docherty became manager at
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...
in September 1977, where he stayed for two seasons before resigning in May 1979. His next appointment was at Queens Park Rangers in May 1979. When he took over at
Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...
, Rangers had been relegated to the
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
(three years after almost winning the league title) and he had to lift the team's spirits to start the new season. QPR finished the season four points short of promotion to the First Division. In May 1980, Docherty was sacked by chairman Jim Gregory, then reinstated after just nine days away. In October 1980, he was sacked for the second time in five months. This was followed by a short spell in Australia coaching Sydney Olympic in 1981. He returned to England in July that year to manage Preston North End, where he had spent nine years as a player. He left after a few months, returning to Australia to manage
South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at ...
until the following year. He also managed Sydney Olympic again in 1983. Docherty returned to England once more with
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
just after their relegation from the First Division in 1984. He was sacked just over a year later, however, after Wolves had suffered a second successive relegation, eventually going on to suffer three relegations in a row the season after Docherty's departure. Under Docherty's management, Wolves' 1984–85 season in the Second Division, after a good start, later disintegrated and included a 21-match winless run in all competitions (19 of those in the Second Division) as Wolves finished the season bottom of the table. Docherty took up his final managerial position at
Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
. He retired from management at the end of the 1987–88 season.


Personal life

Docherty married his first wife, Agnes, in December 1949, after he left his native Scotland to sign for Preston North End. They were married for 27 years until Docherty announced his affair with Mary Brown in 1977. Docherty and Agnes had four children together:
Mick Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broade ...
(himself a former professional footballer and manager), Thomas Jr., Catherine and Peter. After marrying Mary Brown, he had two more children – daughters Grace and Lucy – who were born during the 1980s. Agnes died in September 2002 at the age of 73. In 2008, Tommy Docherty Jr. released a book, ''Married to a Man of Two Halves'', which was based on memoirs and newspaper cuttings which he had discovered when clearing out his mother's house after her death. Docherty died on 31 December 2020, aged 92, following a long illness.


Honours


Player

Preston North End *
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
: 1950–51


Manager

Chelsea *
Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...
: 1964–65 Manchester United *
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
: 1974–75 *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
: 1976–77 Scotland *
British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...
: 1971–72 (shared)


Individual

*
Scottish Football Hall of Fame The Scottish Football Hall of Fame is located at the Scottish Football Museum. Nominations are made each year by fans and a committee selects the inductees. The first inductions to the Hall of Fame were in November 2004 in a ceremony at Hampden Par ...
: 2013


See also

*
List of Scotland national football team captains This article lists all the captains of the Scotland national football team. As of 16 November 2022, Scotland have played 816 officially recognised international matches and have had 155 different team captains. George Young captained Scotland m ...
*
List of Scottish football families This is a list of Scottish football (soccer) families. ;Families included on the list must have: # at least, one member of the family is capped by a national team on the senior level or an important person in the game of football (e.g., notable ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Docherty, Tommy 1928 births 2020 deaths 20th-century British Army personnel 1954 FIFA World Cup players 1958 FIFA World Cup players Altrincham F.C. managers Arsenal F.C. players Association football wing halves Aston Villa F.C. managers Celtic F.C. players Chelsea F.C. managers Chelsea F.C. players Derby County F.C. managers English Football League managers English Football League players FA Cup Final players FC Porto managers Footballers from Glasgow Glasgow United F.C. players Manchester United F.C. managers People from Gorbals Preston North End F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. managers Rotherham United F.C. managers Scotland B international footballers Scotland international footballers Scotland national football team managers Scottish expatriate football managers Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees Scottish Football League players Scottish football managers Scottish footballers Scottish Junior Football Association players South Melbourne FC managers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. managers