A club with little or no ambition then, is that it ? Whose only intention is to just survive and make no attempt to progress. And you have suggested this as well on here, are you now disagreeing with yourself ? I hope this current crop of kids can and will do well for us, but if that happens we will just sell them on for a profit again anyway, and that means we end up back at square one yet again in a year or so. This constant short term fix attitude is getting harder to take.
I didn't realise that we had such a player clear out in the late 70s, from what was a promotion winning squad after all. I didn't become a fan until the next promotion season actually, in season 1980-81. So messrs Glavin, Banks, Aylott, & McCarthy were my first 'stars' of the team. Ohh and lets not forget about Norman bite yer legs Hunter lol. Great memories of a time when footy still had its innocence then, certainly different to what its become now anyway.
Ronald Michael Glavin. Born 27 March 1951 Glasgow Scotland. Age 11 he signed for Scottish Junior Club Lochend Rovers. Some six years later he signed for Partick Thistle and spent four seasons at Firhill. He was prominent in the 4-1 win in the Scottish League Cup Final against Celtic and it was really no surprise therefore when the Glasgow giants paid £90,000 to secure his services. He had scored 35 goals in 136 games for Thistle and bagged 35 in 101 appearances for the Bhoys. It probably came as a surprise when then Barnsley Manager Allan Clarke offered Celtic £40k to bring Ronnie to Oakwell in 1979. Slightly reticent at first he was made a very attractive offer and three games in registered his first ever goal for the Reds in a 3-1 win against Reading. He underlined his worth by weighing in with 23 goals ( 8 penalties) in 48 League and Cup appearances. The following season he was up to his old tricks again scoring three in a 4-2 League Cup win against Mansfield Town. On Boxing Day he netted twice in a 3-0 victory against Walsall his second being a " screamer" from all of 30 yards. It was a Glavin strike that fired the Reds to promotion to the 2nd Division in Season 1980/81 with a victory over Rotherham and he netted another treble in a 4-1 win over Newport, ending up with 18 in 37 League appearances. In the 1982/83 season he proved he wasn't a one season wonder scoring 17 from 35. He also delivered the South Yorkshire bragging rights scoring against both the Owls and the Blades. It's said that Jack Charlton looked worried when Ronnie came on as a sub at Hillsborough and he had every right to be. With minutes to spare "the Glav" took aim and fired the winner to send Reds devotees into absolute raptures. Between 1979-84 a regular chant on the Oakwell terraces was " one Ronnie Glavin, there's only one Ronnie Glavin" and it's for certain that every Reds fan priveledged enough to see the great man in action would echo that sentiment to this very day. I never saw him play but I've spoken to numerous fans who did and they all say that to their mind, that he was the best player they have ever seen in the famous Red shirt.! In 182 League and Cup games, this diminutive Glaswegian scored 92 goals ( a goal every two games) and what's more they all came from MIDFIELD. Outstanding skill, guile, awareness, acceleration and a natural ability to score goals were Ronnies main attributes. He survived a heart attack in 2015 and thank the Lord is still going strong and still living in his Principality. Given his phenomenal record and the awe in which he is still held by Reds fans ,wouldn't it be a nice touch for fans to have their admiration rewarded by having a road near the Stadium, a Stand or a Suite dedicated to this Barnsley FC legends name.?
Good watch that. Ronnie is my all time favourite Barnsley player. Football was a lot more interesting back then.
With a yard more pace would have been a Scotland regular interesting how he rated Ian Banks as an England player had a superb left foot and complimented Ronnies wizardry.
I love my country just as much as I love my club at footy. But even I was daft enough to suggest at the time that IF Ronnie Glavin had played for the Scotch against England in 1981-82, I would have cheered for him against us. Doesn't that sound ridiculous nowadays, I mean, who would have heard of the Scotch mob ever beating us at footy ? lol.
Ronnie would have easily got in current Scottish team but in 80s Scotland had quality with a nucleus of Liverpool Man United and Leeds based players including Graham Souness and Lou Macari in Ronnies position but at Oakwell we were lucky to watch a great player in a great team. Pity Ronnie never played in the top division.
Plenty of highlights of Ronnie the Legend on youtube as there will be on Currie better to judge for yourself . Like when Adam Hamill is on form the pitch is his stage,