3/1 To Win
A key member of the side for nearly half a decade, Craig Forsyth has confirmed his commitment to Derby County by signing a new contract that will keep him with the club until at least 2020.
A lot has changed since the Scotland international first arrived at Pride Park Stadium and there have been plenty of ups and downs along the way.
Here, we take a look back at the numbers that have defined the left-back’s career with the Rams so far…
Value For Money
Forsyth originally joined the Rams on loan in March 2013, playing 10 games in the second half of the season as Nigel Clough’s side finished in midtable.
Injuries have meant that the full-back hasn’t played the amount of games that he would have liked, but he reached 150 appearances in all competitions for the club against Hull City on Boxing Day.
Despite his rotten luck over the past two years, he is now in his sixth season at Pride Park, which makes him one of the longest serving players in the squad, a superb achievement for a player that cost just £150,000 from Watford at the end of his loan spell.
Rare Quality
The 28-year-old provides quality over quantity in terms of goalscoring, with just the four strikes in his Derby career so far, but he certainly doesn’t do tap-ins.
A couple of clinical finishes against Birmingham City join a towering header at Preston North End on the left-back’s highlight reel, but the best of the bunch was a thunderous hit into the roof of the net against Watford in a 4-2 win towards the end of the 2013/14 season. Speaking of which…
Key To Play-Off Push
Forsyth was ever present during his first full season at the club, retaining his position as Derby’s first choice left-back even after Clough was replaced by Steve McClaren in September 2013.
Although the campaign eventually ended in disappointed, he incredibly featured in all 49 league games during the season, including the three play-off ties.
Overall, Forsyth missed just 20 minutes of the Sky Bet Championship campaign, playing 4,390 of a possible 4,410 minutes.
Bombing Forward
The Scot has made 12 key passes so far this season, a decent total for a defender that is a part of the second-best defence in the Championship.
‘Fozzy’ has been showing signs of returning to his attacking best this season, a point that is illustrated perfectly by his run and superb cross to assist Sam Winnall’s vital equaliser against Leeds United at Elland Road.
Enjoy…
Fozzy's run and cross 👌
— Derby County (@dcfcofficial) November 1, 2017
@Winnall19 loves his tap-ins! 😄 pic.twitter.com/JqVYkg81Wq
Back To His Best
Forsyth has already made more appearances in all competitions this season than he did in the last two campaigns combined.
If he plays against Ipswich Town on Saturday, it will be his 20th game of the season - after playing just 17 across 2015/16 and 2016/17 - a true sign of his return to both form and fitness, and the faith that Gary Rowett has shown to his No.3.
