Sunday, 23 December 2018

Jim's column 22.12.2018

Benny Glover is not a name that immediately springs to mind when talking about Coventry City’s promotion squad of 1967 and although he had one of the shortest playing careers in the club’s history he did appear for the club in that momentous season. Sadly I discovered last week that he passed away earlier this year.

Fifty two years ago last weekend Benny Glover made his one and only appearance for the Sky Blues when he played the last thirty or so minutes as a substitute in City’s 3-2 victory over Cardiff City at Highfield Road. Five days later he celebrated his 20th birthday.


Born in Birmingham he was the eighth of 14 children and was pinched by the Sky Blues from under the noses of Aston Villa and Birmingham City. He came for a trial at Ryton in 1964 and agreed to play as an amateur. He played as a wing half in the club’s youth team that season, appearing in the same team as Mick Coop, John Burckitt, John Matthews and Pat Morrissey. By the summer of 1966 he had made sufficient advancement to be offered a professional contract and then made rapid progress after less than a dozen reserve appearances to be considered for the first team.

On a Friday afternoon in early November 1966 club captain George Curtis walked up to him in the corridor outside the dressing rooms at Highfield Road and asked, ‘Chicken or steak for lunch tomorrow, Benny?’

He had been called into City’s 13-man squad because of a doubt to Dietmar Bruck. If Bruck had failed a fitness test Glover would have been 12th man and substitute. As it turned out Bruck played and Benny had to wait a further three weeks for his big chance.

The Cardiff game was a memorable one for quite a few reasons. City’s record signing, Ian Gibson, was restored to the first team by Jimmy Hill after six games on the sidelines. Whilst the two had not patched up their differences – caused either by Hill refusing to pay Gibbo’s bonuses or by his tendency to play too deep, depending on who you believe – the Scot’s form over the next few weeks healed the rift.

With Bill Glazier injured, his deputy Coventry-born Peter Thomas made his debut in goal, it would be his only ever appearance too. Another league debutant was Leamington’s Mick Coop who had appeared as a substitute and played in a League Cup game. Mick went on to play over 400 games for the club.

The win was the start of a terrific run of 25 unbeaten games which extended from November through to the end of the season and many looked back on Hill’s decision to recall Gibson (largely forced on him because of injury) as a watershed in that great campaign.

In Ben Glover’s 30 minutes of fame against Cardiff he almost scored after being put clean through with only the goalkeeper to beat. He came on for the injured John Tudor and although he was substitute on two further occasions he failed to get on the pitch and had to be content with regular reserve team football for the next twelve months.

The competition for midfield places was tough at Highfield Road with Willie Carr and Pat Morrissey in direct competition and in February 1968 as Noel Cantwell started to thin down a big professional playing staff Benny was released. He joined Southern League Weymouth making over 230 appearances for the Dorset side over four years and in 1972 joined Salisbury City.
                                                           Benny receiving his award from Paul Fletcher in 2007 

In retirement Benny lived just outside Tewkesbury. He enjoyed a game of golf and one of his three children, daughter Mandy, represented Great Britain at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta in the volleyball team and is still a major force in British volleyball. He returned to the club in 2007 when the Former Players Association organised a 40th anniversary reunion of the boys of 1967. He met former colleagues he had not seen for almost 40 years and received a memento from City chief executive Paul Fletcher.

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