Dick Campbell is one of Scottish football’s biggest characters and the Arbroath boss is currently the longest serving manager in the country.
On Wednesday, Campbell will celebrate his seventh year in charge of Arbroath.
And as he approaches his 70th birthday, Campbell’s love and passion for the game shows no sign of waning.
Campbell hit the headlines again in Friday’s Championship crunch clash with Hamilton when he was sent to the stands for berating officials Craig Napier and Stewart Luke.
Arbroath get their second red card on the night this time for manager Dick Campbell.
He seems incensed at first but still has time for a laugh with some of the Accies fans in the stand 😂#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/FXf9pBUE3n
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) March 3, 2023
He was then captured on the BBC Scotland cameras giving a one-fingered salute.
However, the context surrounding the gesture suggested it was done in jest rather than with venom.
I’ve known Dick Campbell for 26 years, having first encountered him whilst he was assistant boss at Bert Paton’s Dunfermline in 1997.
And as he celebrates 36 years of coaching, Courier Sport looks at five things we’ll miss about Campbell when he eventually retires:
Dick Campbell and his legendary touchline antics
Dick Campbell is pure box office in the dugout.
He heads and kicks every ball and scraps for every single decision.
When calls don’t go his way, such as Ricky Little’s controversial red card in the 0-0 draw with Hamilton, the officials know about it.
At one point on Friday, Campbell even chucked his trademark bunnet to the deck in frustration.
Campbell does step over the line at times.
"They were throwing their pies at me…I was just catching them and eating them!" 🤣🤣
Legendary @ArbroathFC manager Dick Campbell tells @CraigWLevein and @AmyJIrons about his pitch invasion 😂
Full Sacked in the Morning episode 👉 https://t.co/9N0G02Zz9Q pic.twitter.com/ZROnZrcHUk
— BBC Radio Scotland (@BBCRadioScot) November 6, 2021
He was famously hit with a seven-game ban in 2018 for storming onto the pitch to confront referee Mike Roncone after the official’s failure to award Arbroath a penalty in a 4-1 defeat at Ayr United.
On Friday he was rightly sent to the stands on 58 minutes after furiously protesting to officials Napier and Luke.
Some of ref Napier’s decisions were questionable.
But as Campbell faces another dugout ban, there’s no questioning his spirit.
The live birth of a meme pic.twitter.com/uZik1O2rVJ
— Alan Temple (@alanftemple) March 3, 2023
As he took his seat in the stand, Campbell shook hands with some punters and gesticulated jokingly at others.
“Apologies for any offence taken by that inopportune camera work there,” said BBC commentator Alasdair Lamont as the images flashed on the screens.
Dick Campbell has a wicked sense of humour
There’s a reason why Campbell is still a regular on the after-dinner speaker circuit.
His quick-witted nature and storytelling skills have stood the test of time.
Last season, as he masterminded Arbroath’s charge to the brink of the Scottish Premiership, he was in hot demand for podcasts and TV interviews.
In one interview with former Sky Sports anchor man Jeff Stelling, Campbell racked up the view count on social media.
He later claimed: “My video has been viewed over 1 million times but my wife Anne-Marie still hasn’t watched it.”
Campbell isn’t afraid to speak his mind and he labelled football’s powerbrokers a ‘shower of greedy b*******’ after an ill-fated bid to form a European Super League.
Arbroath players will miss the hairdryer moments
“All my players know not to give me opinions,” Campbell once told Courier Sport.
“If I’m in my dugout and I ask them to do something and they don’t do it then it’s simple.
“They come off and I get someone else on. I don’t argue with them.”
Campbell is likely to spend a spell in the stand after his latest red card.
But it won’t faze him the slightest, as he often watches games from a seat.
Arbroath players know only too well when Campbell is unhappy during games as he leaves his seat in the stand to take up prime position in the dugout.
You can visibly see the lift Arbroath players get when Campbell is on the touchline.
There are no slackers and every single loose ball is keenly-contested. Campbell wouldn’t accept anything less.
Dick Campbell simplifies the game but moves with the times
Campbell will never be a laptop manager, swamped with xG stats and data-drive team selections.
He has always primarily been a motivator.
“I can’t make silk’s purse out of a pig’s ear but I can make a unit,” Campbell told Courier Sport.
But anyone who’s daft enough to believe Campbell devises team selection on the back of a fag packet, ala ‘Mike Bassett: England manager’, should think again.
Behind the scenes, Campbell embraces the use of modern technology.
Arbroath’s sports scientist Kevin Milne is at every training session, using GPS vests to track running data that is used by Campbell to formulate opinions.
Part-time Lichties have rarely, if ever, been found wanting fitness-wise in a Championship dominated by full-time teams.
And that’s testament to Campbell’s willingness to listen to data and dietary requirements to keep his players in peak condition.
Family man happy to be a figure of fun
Campbell’s favourite phrase is ‘Saturday’s fitba day.’
His Saturday mornings follow the same ritual, as he starts the day with Anne-Marie and two poached eggs on toast.
The only thing more important than football to Campbell is his family.
But football is at the heart of everything he does.
Scottish football will miss Campbell when his time in the game is up, but he’ll miss it more.
Above all else, he’ll miss the banter.
There’s a reason why almost every interview or clip with Campbell is shared thousands of times on social media.
“Watch your back!”
Dearie me, I give sole control of the @Arbroath TV🎙to @Fermer_innes & the place falls to bits!
Seriously, though, well done Fermer & Arbroath for providing brilliant coverage for fans who couldn’t be there for @EastFifeFC
📺 https://t.co/yRPNUfG2o5 pic.twitter.com/d5XMoXNPqZ
— Ewan Smith (@ewansmithpr) July 15, 2021
There is even a ‘no context Dick Campbell’ Twitter feed dedicated to one-liners and funny moments from one of our most celebrated bosses.
BBC hit series ‘A View From the Terrace’ uses THAT famous moment when the advertising hoardings struck Campbell at a wind-swept Gayfield in their opening credits.
In it, Campbell says: “You better not be laughing at me or you’ll get that…”
As Campbell tries to steer Arbroath to safety, let’s hope there are many more magical moments to celebrate from a coaching career that has spanned five decades.
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