Glentoran Gazette contributor and former editor, John Grayden, first saw the Glens play in May, 1959. In this series he picks imaginary sides from throughout the years in a random selection of categories. A few are factual while most are subjective and by no means definitive. While he has seen the majority of the players in action, some from other eras are included because of their contribution to the club’s history.
Managerial class: Glentoran players who became bosses
4-5-1 formation
This one picks a team of players who played for Glentoran but went on to high profile, trophy winning careers as managers at either Glentoran, other club or in five cases as manager of Northern Ireland.
Goalkeeper: DECLAN DEVINE
Currently in his second spell managing Derry City in the Airtricity League. Came to Glentoran from Omagh Town in 1995 and although he only stayed for two seasons he pocketed an Irish Cup medal. He left for Derry city as part of the deal that saw Liam Coyle move to the Oval.
Right back: ARTHUR STEWART
Played almost 300 games for the Glens in two spells as well as Derby County from 1967-70. He was the Detroit Cougar who got the biggest taste for the game in the States, later playing for and then coaching the New Jersey Americans in separate spells. His two year term as Glens manager from 1977 included the famous European games against Juventus.
Centre back:TOMMY JACKSON
After three years at Glentoran and memorably marking Eusebio out of the game on a famous European night in east Belfast, Tommy moved to Everton in 1968, signed for Nottingham Forest in 1971 and Manchester United in 1975 before joining Waterford as player manager in 1978. He won the FAI Cup in his four year term there before becoming boss as Crusaders in 1983 and returning to the Oval in 1987 where he won 16 trophies in six seasons. He later managed Ballymena.
Centre back: ROY COYLE
Arguably the Glens greatest manager and unquestionably the league most successful boss. The club’s director of football won 16 trophies at the Oval in nine years in the hot seat from 1997. In all, he collected 50 league and cup wins as boss of Linfield, Ards and Derry City. Roy also managed Newry City leaving the Glens and has had two spells as caretaker boss here since his return to the club in his current role.
Left back: RONNIE McFALL
Former Glens player and a man with the keenest eye for talent in the local game. He rarely signed a duff player and his list of impressive imports and local acquisitions is legendary. Towards the end of his long stint at Shamrock Park – sandwiched between two spells in the Oval hotseat - Ronnie was the longest serving manager in European club football. He lifted 29 league cup titles in his time as manager at both clubs.
Right midfield: BILLY BINGHAM
After a playing career which started at the Oval in 1948 and encompassed almost 500 games for clubs including Sunderland and Everton as well as 56 Northern Ireland caps, the speedy winger turned his hand to first coaching and then manging. He is best remembered for his second spell in the Northern Ireland hotseat, leading the squad to the 1982 World Cup in Spain, a campaign which included a famous victory over the host nation, winning the final British Home International Championship in 1984 and to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
Centre midfield: DANNY BLANCHFLOWER
Left the Glens for Barnsley in 1949 after more than 120 appearances on the first step to a pro career in England that saw him join Aston Villa and then Spurs where some fans regard him as the club’s greatest ever player. Had been groomed by Spurs legendary manager Bill Nicholson but when he resigned Danny lost out to fellow Ulsterman Terry Neill. He managed Northern Ireland from 1976-79 and bossed Chelsea in 1979.
Centre midfield: MICHAEL O’NEILL
After a playing career which encompassed clubs in Northern Ireland, including 44 games for the Glens between 2002 and 2004, Scotland, England and the United States, Michael has made waves in management including a memorable spell at Dublin’s Shamrock Rovers where landing the club its first league title in 16 years he became the first manager to lead a League of Ireland club to the group stages of a European competition. He then revitalised the Northern Ireland international sides during his nine years in charge and qualifying for the finals of the European Championships for the first time in 2016, the national side’s first major championship in 30 years. Michael is currently in charge of EFL club Stoke City.
Centre midfield: BERTIE PEACOCK
The Coleraine man is unlucky not to be included in the starting eleven but he was squeezed out by the achievements of Messrs Doherty, Bingham, Blanchflower and O’Neill. Bertie left the Glens in 1949 to join Glasgow Celtic where he played more than 300 games and during his tenure as Northern Ireland manager from 1961-64 he gave George Best his first international cap. In the local game he guided Coleraine to the club’s only Irish League title in 1974 and was joint founder of the Milk Cup, now known as SuperCupNI, a tournament that has grown in one of Europe’s biggest youth competitions. From a Glentoran perspective, he was the man who advised John Colrain to accept the manager’s job at the Oval.
Left midfield: PETER DOHERTY
My late father’s favourite footballer. Peter left the Glens as a teenager in 1933 to sign for Blackpool. He moved on to Manchester City three years later for a near-record British transfer fee. His time at Maine Road where he had become a prolific goalscorer was interrupted by the Second World War in which he served in the RAF. He later moved to Huddersfield Town and Doncaster Rovers where he became player manager, the springboard for his taking control of the Northern Ireland side. He famously led the squad to their first World Cup finals in Sweden in 1958, becoming the least populous country to qualify for the finals, a record that stood until 2006. Bolstered by some of the country’s greatest-ever players including Glenmen Bingham, McIlroy, Peacock, McParland and Danny Blanchflower the team reached the quarter finals of the tournaments against the odds.
Striker: Paul Kirk
A league winner with the Glens in the 1969/70 season, Paul had a spell at Aston Villa before returning to Belfast to play for Crusaders and Linfield before moving to Waterford United where he won an FAI Cup medal in 1980. He managed Lisburn Distillery for 13 years from 1996-2009 when he was surprisingly dismissed despite having a year to run on his contract. He has since managed Lisburn Rangers and Rathfriland Rangers in the Amateur League.
SUBS
BILLY NEILL
A classy wing half who became a Glentoran legend in spite of his north Belfast roots. Billy played 473 games for the Glens before retiring in 1963 and then serving the club as manager in three spells later that decade. He was the architect of the squad which became the famous Cougars while his experience was later leaned on by Northern Ireland managers Billy Bingham and Bryan Hamilton. Playing fields on the outskirts of Dundonald are named after him.
JOHN COLRAIN
It would be remiss not to include the man who changed the face of Glentoran in the mid-60s after inheriting some excellent prospects from Billy Neill. He arrived as a player manager and fashioned the likes of Jackson, Conroy, Ross, Stewart and Bruce into a feared unit, took many of them to the States in the guise of the Detroit Cougars and shocked some of the biggest names on the European club stage, all in a two-year period. It felt the world had come to an end when he was dismissed after a contract dispute. He later managed St Patrick’s Athletic briefly before dying of a heart attack at the age of 50.
TOMMY CASSIDY
Tommy came through the ranks as a midfielder at Glentoran before leaving for Newcastle United in 1970. He spent a decade at St James Park before finishing his playing career at Burnley. After a controversial spell in Cypris, he took over as Glens manager in July 1994, spending 3.5 years in the job, winning the Irish Cup in 1996.