Duncan Scott Forbes (19 June 1941 – 23 October 2019) was a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. He spent 33 years at

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

, 13 as a player, seven on the commercial staff and 13 as chief scout. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' noted his aggressive defending by writing "Forbes got his customary booking; the referee ought to take his name in the changing room rather than on the pitch thus saving time."

Career

Forbes joined

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

in September 1961 from Scottish non-league side Musselburgh Athletic, making his league debut later that season. He quickly established himself as a regular in the Layer Road side, playing in two promotion-winning teams and two relegation teams over the next 7 years. In September 1968, after playing 270 league games for Colchester, scoring twice, he moved to Norwich City for a fee of £10,000. At Carrow Road, he helped the Canaries into Division One, and in 1970 he was voted the fourth winner of the Barry Butler Trophy, the fans' award for

player of the year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

. He was captain of the Norwich team that won promotion to the first division for the first time in 1972. In October 1976 he looked to have lost his place and joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

on loan. He returned to Carrow Road and won his place back, finishing his Norwich career with 295 league appearances, in which he scored 10 times. On leaving Norwich he played for Great Yarmouth Town, before joining

Diss Town Diss Town Football Club is a football club based in Diss, Norfolk, England. Affiliated to the Norfolk County FA they are currently members of the and play at Brewers Green Lane. History The club was established in 1888 following a suggestion ...

as player-coach. Playing colleague

Dave Stringer David Stringer (born 15 October 1944 in Great Yarmouth) is an English former footballer and manager of Norwich City. As a player, he won the fans' vote to be Norwich City player of the year in 1972, the same year that they won promotion to the ...

said of Forbes, "If he shouted in Norwich it could be heard in Yarmouth", adding that "his former defensive partner was the 'perfect leader'".

Retirement

Within a year of leaving Carrow Road, he returned, joining the Norwich City commercial staff where he was in charge of Club Canary organising trips to away matches. In March 1988, he was appointed as Norwich's Chief Scout, a post he held until his retirement in 2001, by which time he had spent 33 almost unbroken years at Carrow Road. In 2002, Forbes was made an inaugural member of the

Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame The Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame honours Norwich City F.C. players, coaches, managers, directors and executives who have "made the greatest contribution to the club in its long history both on and off the pitch." During the club's centenary se ...

. In 2013, Forbes, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, moved to a care home. Alongside Karl Duguid, Forbes was inducted into Colchester United's Hall of Fame at the club's annual Former Players' Dinner on 30 January 2016. Ray Crawford accepted the award on Forbes' behalf.

Death and legacy

Forbes died at Woodside House Care Home on 24 October 2019 at the age of 78. Joint majority shareholders

Delia Smith Delia Ann Smith (born 18 June 1941) is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills in a no-nonsense style. One of the best known celebrity chefs in British popular culture, Smith has influenced viewers t ...

and

Michael Wynn-Jones Michael Wynn-Jones (born September 1941) is a Welsh writer, editor and publisher. He is the joint majority shareholder of Norwich City Football Club, with his wife, the former television cook Delia Smith. Early life Wynn-Jones studied at Lancin ...

issued a statement remarking that "We have lost not only a club legend but someone who will forever be part of Norwich City folklore. City to the core, and one of the nicest men you could hope to meet, Duncan will be sorely missed by the club, but his legacy will forever live on." In 2022, Norwich City set about marking Forbes' contributions to the club. The Norwich City Community Sports Foundation launched a new project to support people with dementia, called "Duncan's club", and a mural the height of the stadium was painted on Carrow Road, featuring an image of Forbes and the text "6 foot 2, eyes of blue, Duncan Forbes is after you".https://www.canaries.co.uk/content/club-honour-duncan-forbes-with-permanent-mural A permanent plaque has also been installed. Forbes was an inaugural inductee into the

Honours

Norwich City *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

: 1971–72 * Football League Cup runner-up: 1972–73, 1974–75 Individual * Colchester United Player of the Year: 1967 * Norwich City Player of the Season: 1969–70

References

10. As a Spurs supporter, while meeting Duncan during a scouting evening in Europe a while ago... and having met many players over the years, found him to be a man that Norwich City must be very proud of. RIP Duncan...

External links

*
Duncan Forbes
at ex-canaries.co.uk
Duncan Forbes
at Colchester United Archive Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Duncan 1941 births 2019 deaths Footballers from Edinburgh Scottish footballers Colchester United F.C. players Diss Town F.C. players Great Yarmouth Town F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players English Football League players Association football central defenders Norwich City F.C. non-playing staff