GoS-DB Players

Greens on Screen started its life in 1999 before many of the football sites that we are familiar with today, including Plymouth Argyle's own official site. Greens on Screen is dedicated to the sights, sounds and history of Plymouth Argyle Football club. It is owned and run by the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive, a charity dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and display of the heritage of our great football club.

The site owes its existence to Steve Dean.Without Steve's dedication and commitment for over 25 years, GoS would not exist and be the valued and loved resource for all football fans that it is today. The site is truly the envy of many clubs, and we owe a huge debt to Steve for his tireless work, and continued support behind the scenes.

Greens on Screen's first page was published in January 1999. Its early purpose was to bring Plymouth Argyle a little closer to those unable to see their team, and whilst it has changed a great deal over the years, its core themes - sights and sounds for Westcountry exiles - still stand. The site was very lucky to take on the content of Trevor Scallan's Semper Viridis in the summer of 2007, and in 2009 launched GoS-DB, a wealth of facts and figures from PAFC's history. A year later, we embarked on a complete history of Argyle, with much-valued contributions from chapter authors. Greens on Screen was taken over by its new custodians, The Argyle Archive, in 2024.

Greens on Screen is an amateur website and proud of it. It is run by a team of volunteers from the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive (Argyle Archive). Without the hard work and much-valued contributions of these volunteers, running the site would not be possible. Greens on Screen is self-taught and as a result, a little bit quirky.

Greens on Screen remains advertisement free, which means we are grateful for the generous support of our donors and the work of our volunteers to help keep it free of promotions. If you would like to support the work of Greens on Screen, please consider donating to the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive.

GoS's sole aim is to be a service to fellow supporters, and we look forward to continuing to celebrate Argyle's history for many years to come.

Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive.
April 2024

Can you help? This page is the result of the best endeavours of all concerned. If you spot a mistake or know of facts to add, or have a better photo, please get in touch using 'Contact Us' (top, right).

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FRED FORBES

Note: The various PAFC 'complete record' books show Fred Forbes as the first goalscorer in the match at Torquay on 1 April 1929, but not in the line-up. Their line-ups are wrong: a search of the Football League ledgers shows that Forbes played at inside-right, not Frank Sloan as indicated in the books. The resulting appearance counts for both Forbes and Sloan are therefore different than shown in the books.

Born: 05 August 1894

Came from: Everton Went to: Bristol Rovers

First game: 14 March 1925 Last game: 04 May 1929

Appearances: 166 (166/0) Goals: 54

Born in Leith, now a district of Edinburgh, Forbes could play at inside or outside-right or through the middle as a centre-forward. He started his career with Leith Athletic and also played for Heart of Midlothian before moving south in 1922 for 14 games in two years with Everton. With Goodison Park teammate Jack Cock, he then made the long move to Home Park, spending five seasons in green and clocking up 166 games and 54 goals. In 1929 he moved to Bristol Rovers where he made over 60 appearances in a year long stay, and then returned north of the border with Leith. However, a second spell in England ensued when he joined Northampton Town in 1932 to make another 35 Football League appearances before returning to finish his career with Airdrieonians.

YOUR CONTRIBUTION

If you can add to this profile, perhaps with special memories, a favourite story or the results of your original research, please contribute here.

APPEARANCE DETAILS [reselect competitions]

The details below reflect appearances in the following selected competitions: Southern & Western Leagues, English Football League, Football League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Minor Cups

Excluded: Football League (1939), War Leagues

I'm very grateful to many who have helped write GoS-DB's player pen-pictures, and to Dave Rowntree, the PAFC Media Team and Colin Parsons for their help with photos. Thanks also to staff at the National Football Museum, the Scottish Football Museum and ScotlandsPeople for their valuable assistance.

The following publications have been particularly valuable in the research of pen-pictures: Plymouth Argyle, A Complete Record 1903-1989 (Brian Knight, ISBN 0-907969-40-2); Plymouth Argyle, 101 Golden Greats (Andy Riddle, ISBN 1-874287-47-3); Football League Players' Records 1888-1939 (Michael Joyce, ISBN 1-899468-67-6); Football League Players' Records 1946-1988 (Barry Hugman, ISBN 1-85443-020-3) and Plymouth Argyle Football Club Handbooks.