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Former Manchester United and Scotland manager Tommy Docherty has died at 92 after a long illness, his family announced.
Docherty, known as ‘The Doc’, spent nine years playing with Preston and won 25 games for Scotland. He went on to manage 12 clubs, including Chelsea, Aston Villa and Derby, and was in charge of Scotland.
But he was best known for his five-year spell at Old Trafford, overseeing an FA Cup final victory over Bob Paisley’s Liverpool in 1977.
United said: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Tommy Docherty, who led us to victory in the FA Cup in 1977 with an exciting attacking team in the best traditions of Manchester United. Everyone at the club sends their deepest condolences to Tommy’s loved ones. “
Docherty died at his home in the northwest on December 31. A spokesman for the family said in a statement sent to the Palestinian Authority news agency: “Tommy passed away peacefully surrounded by his family at home. He was a beloved husband, father and dad and we will miss him very much. We ask that our privacy be respected at this time. There will be no further comment. “
His time at Preston included an appearance in the 1954 FA Cup final and he won the first of his 25 international matches, playing twice in the 1954 World Cup.
In 1958, Docherty joined Arsenal, where he effectively ended his playing career. Although he made a few appearances for Chelsea after moving to Stamford Bridge in February 1961, the change was his first step in management and coaching.
He could not prevent Chelsea from relegation from the top flight at the end of the 1961-62 season, but they recovered on the first try. In 1964-65 they won the League Cup with an aggregate victory over Leicester, but lost the 1967 FA Cup final to Tottenham.
Glasgow left to become coach of an old-fashioned Rotherham and memorably said: “I promised to take Rotherham out of the Second Division and take them to Third. The old president said, ‘Doc, he’s a man of his word!’
He left Rotherham after a year and began amassing a dizzying number of clubs. He spent stints at QPR, Aston Villa and Porto and a stint as Terry Neill’s assistant manager at Hull before leaving in 1971 to become Scotland’s coach, first temporarily and then permanently.
In December 1972, with Scotland en route to the 1974 World Cup finals in West Germany, he resigned to take over Manchester United. “One of my biggest regrets was leaving work in Scotland when I did,” he later said.
United were relegated to the Second Division in 1974, but returned the following season as champions. After surprisingly losing the 1976 FA Cup final 1-0 to Second Division Southampton, he again led United to the FA Cup final the following year when they beat favorite Liverpool 2-1.
However, the celebrations did not last as he was fired almost immediately for having an affair with the wife of the club’s physical therapist Laurie Brown. Docherty later married Mary Brown and they remained together until her death.
He returned to management in Derby before returning to QPR, where he was fired, then reinstated after just nine days, and then fired again.
Docherty then spent stints at Sydney Olympic, Preston, South Melbourne and then ran Sydney Olympic again in 1983 before becoming manager of Wolves. Altrincham was his last managerial position before retiring at the end of the 1987-88 season.
He subsequently worked as an after-dinner speaker and media expert. Docherty was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in November 2013.
