Name: Thomas Henderson Docherty

Nickname: "The Doc"



Country: Scotland
Club: Preston North End
Position: *DMF, CMF
Side: RF/BS
Age: 26-30 years (24/4/1928)

Height: 170 cm
Weight: 68 kg

Attack: 69
Defence: 79
Balance: 83
Stamina: 88
Top Speed: 78
Acceleration: 80
Response: 82
Agility: 77
Dribble Accuracy: 76
Dribble Speed: 75
Short Pass Accuracy: 78
Short Pass Speed: 75
Long Pass Accuracy: 81
Long Pass Speed: 77
Shot Accuracy: 62
Shot Power: 82
Shot Technique: 62
Free Kick Accuracy: 61
Curling: 66
Header: 80
Jump: 83
Technique: 78
Aggression: 73
Mentality: 88
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 84

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 7
Weak Foot Accuracy: 5
Weak Foot Frequency: 5
Consistency: 7
Growth type: Standard

CARDS:
P12 - Enforcer
S08 - Slide Tackle

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Sliding

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Balanced

INFO:

One of the legendary personalities of Scottish football. Tommy Docherty was maybe more widely known as a manager of several English clubs in the 60s and 70s but he was also a good player and a favourite at Preston North End, where he played for 9 years. A combative and tenacious right half, he formed an excellent partnership down Preston's right flank with full back Willie Cunningham and the great Tom Finney. Docherty was mostly recognised for his aggressive tackling and energetic defending but he was actually a good supporter of the attack and often got forward and used the space created by Finney to deliver some nice crosses into the box, notably for Preston's first goal in the 1954 FA Cup final. He had the tough task of replacing fellow legendary Scottish manager Bill Shankly at Preston's right half position but did so with aplomb. He was a real fighter on the pitch and always gave his best for the full 90 minutes. He played over 300 games for Preston and also gained 25 caps for Scotland, playing at two World Cups in 1954 and 1958.

After his retirement Docherty started a long, tumultuous managerial career filled with controversy, ups and downs, good humour and exciting football. His first job was at Chelsea, where he assembled a young team full of talent that would go on to great success under his successor, Dave Sexton. Players brought into the first team by Docherty include some of Chelsea's biggest legends such as Peter Bonetti, Peter Osgood, Charlie Cooke and Ron Harris. After a series of off-pitch altercations which led to him falling out with pretty much every player at the club, he left in 1967. He had a bunch of other short jobs (including as manager of Scotland) before joining Manchester United in 1972. There he took charge of a declining team and couldn't avoid relegation, but got United promoted again and back near the top of the table. He also took charge of them in 2 FA Cup finals. This job also ended in controversy as it was revealed he was having an affair with the wife of one of United's physios. He was sacked after the bad publicity. He was known equally as one of the most loved and hated figures in British football at the time. His good sense of humour went hand in hand with a knack for controversy and altercations with his own players. Docherty died on New Years Eve 2020, and will never be forgotten.