The Scottish Connection

Tommy Docherty -- Willie Cunningham -- Bobby Beattie -- Bill Shankly

Tommy Docherty

Player Info

Position: Wing-Half
Born: 24th August 1928
Other clubs: Celtic, Arsenal, Chelsea
Honours: Division Two Champions (1950-51), Division One Runners-up (1952-53 & 1957-58), FA Cup Runners-UP (1954)

Manager Info

Previous clubs managed (before PNE): Manchester United
Managerial reign: June 1981 - December 1981
Honours: None

Tommy Docherty was born on 24th August 1928 in Pershaw, Glasgow.

He began his playing career at Celtic in 1948 although his chances were somewhat limited. He soon moved to Preston North End just over a year later and made his debut in the 3-1 defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road on Christmas Eve 1949.

In the 1950-51 season he really established himself as a regular in the side as he played in every league game and was part of a solid North End defence playing alongside Cunningham, Scott and Mattinson, as well as Gooch in goal. This defence only conceded 49 goals which helped North End clinch the Division Two championship and promotion to Division One.

The following season Tommy was an ever present again and this just showed how influential he was in defence. He helped Preston achieve a very good 7th position in Division One, a season after winning promotion.

His form did not go unnoticed by the Scotland national team either. He made his debut for Scotland against Wales in 1952 and went on to win 25 caps - 22 of them whilst with PNE and he also chipped in the solitary goal.

He left North End for Arsenal in August 1958 for a fee of £28,000. He made 323 appearances for North End.

His management career began at Chelsea as caretaker in September 1961. He was made permanent manager in January 1962. After Chelsea he then managed Rotherham United, QPR, Aston Villa, Porto, the Scotland national team, Man Utd, Derby County, QPR (2nd spell) and Sydney Olympic.

In June 1981 he returned to manage Preston, but this turned out to be a complete disaster as he took North End to the bottom of Division Three. He only lasted 6 months as he was sacked in December 1981.

He later had a disasterous spell as Wolves manager which culminated in their relegation to Division Three, and his last managerial job was a brief spell at Altrincham.