Don't want to be pedantic but I'm pretty sure Ronnie's goal was the only one of the game to give us a 1-0 win. Was an Easter Monday I think.......83 ish?
He could run just as fast with the ball as without it, which is a rare commodity. It's a shame there's not much footage of him, there was no social media or Quest back then, otherwise the modern day fans would appreciate what we're talking about. The home game against Newport in that promotion season summed him up perfectly. He was so far in advance of the opposition that it was almost like watching George Best against Northampton in the FA Cup. I can still remember each goal of that hat trick as if it was yesterday. Great memories he gave our generation.
You're not being pedantic Mickey and are quite right. I've become so conditioned to leaving Swillsboro over recent years that I forgot we occasionally won there. I seem to recall we won 2-0 a little earlier which involved a rare Glynn Riley goal.
King Ronnie scored the winner and we won 1-0. That goal and result are indelibly imprinted on my memory
I remember this game well. My father and I were sitting in the North Stand. A small section of it had been allocated to Barnsley, in addition to the Leppings Lane. Wednesday supporters were across the aisle from us. After we had scored the atmosphere was extremely tense. My father refused to leave games before the final whistle however on that occasion we left about 30 seconds early. By the time we were on the concourse the whistle had gone and all hell was breaking loose. watching Barnsley in the 80s is an an abiding memory of my childhood and no player was more central to that experience than Ronnie. What a player!
Me and my mate were in Leppings Lane end and he got hit by coin thrown from the seats above us, he might have lost an eye if he'd not been wearing glasses. They certainly were dark times for the violence on the terraces. Wensdeh games were always trouble, another occasion was when they beat us 3-0 at Oakwell, first game of the 1980/81 season, me and my dad were stood near the corner of The Ponty and West Stand and suddenly it got really packed - didn't realise they were Wendies, don't know where they came from. Then all hell broke loose in front of us, it was awful.
The man is a ******* wizard. As previously mentioned the buzz when he got on the ball in an already cracking side will never be repeated. He went to the moon and we all went with him.
When I worked, I used to sit with longstanding Reds fans in the Canteen and they all used to wax lyrical about King Ronnie, who in their view, was the greatest ever player to don the famous Red shirt. Ronnies last stint with the Reds ended in 1986 and my first game was the 5-2 demolition of Bournemouth in 1988, so regrettably, I never saw the great man play. Have to say, that down the years, having seen many fantastic players at Oakwell, for Ronnie to still wear the mantle "best ever" some 34 years after he left, he must have been some player. In the thirty two years supporting the Club, my two favourite players have to have been Paul Futcher and Craig Hignett. Favourite team was the one that got us to Wembley to play Ipswich in the play off final. Although Dave Bassett wasn't everybody's cup of tea, he set us up to play exciting attacking football, with a feeling that we could outscore any team we might come up against.
My mate says it was the one and only time he's had an orgasm at a football match. I also recall Ronnie scoring the equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Hillsborough after we had played them off the park all night. He took it round their keeper and slotted it in just after Derrick Parker was crocked by, I think, Mark Smith (or possibly Mick Pickering)
Back in 1980, a couple of friends & I went to watch a Celtic match. It was at Celtic Park before all the huge stands were built. We ended up in the infamous 'Jungle'. Prior to the game, we'd made a pact to keep quiet and say nothing, so no one could tell we were English. However, in the second half, Celtic went close to scoring and one of my friends shouted out something along the lines of "Oh, good shot, lad. Tha wor unlucky theer". Everyone one round us suddenly stopped talking and turned to face us. We were asked in quite explicit terms, where we wanted our remains sending to. My idiot friend who had caused the problem blurted out "We're from Barnsley and Ronnie Glavin plays for us". Suddenly, the atmosphere changed and everyone was patting us on the back, shaking our hand, asking how Ronnie was playing and telling us that he was a huge favourite of fans in the Jungle. We got away with it somehow and escaped unscathed. A few years ago, I told Ronnie the story at the Lamproom's Evening With Ronnie Glavin, thanking him for saving our lives! God laughed at the tale and admitted one of those Celtic fans who confronted us could well have been his brother!
Nov 3rd 1979 on crutches after breaking mi leg. eldest born 6 days before. Glynn Riley and Mike Lester scored. We’d lost to em at home In The first Match of the season 0-3 ( damn Terry Curran) piggies thinking it would be easy. Beating em at their ground Probably one of the biggest highlights of watching’t tarn. Was sat in their South Stand. Can’t remember why tbh probably cos of being on crutches.
Yep, I was there. Redders came into his own a bit in the prem and scored 15 from midfield in a relegated side, so a hard comparison perhaps on goals by shots. Glavin however had electric pace and could beat players for fun and could turn a game on his own. So, best player I've seen award goes to him.