The football hero who nobody wants

© Associated Newspapers Ltd., 08 July 1999
by David Bond

While Nicolas Anelka spends the rest of the summer picking which European superpower to play for, one of football's real heroes is facing the prospect of a return to anonymity. Unable to attract the interest of a new club, 25-year-old goalkeeper Jimmy Glass was back in training at Swindon today one month ahead of what looks like being another season in the reserves.

But back in May Glass was making headline news. For it was his dramatic injury-time goal which saved Third Division Carlisle from being relegated from the Football League. To score a goal like that under any circumstances would have been extraordinary. When you're a goalkeeper, however, it's another matter entirely. His goal-scoring exploits were repeated time and again on television and even included in Match of the Day's round-up the evening after the game. He was promptly splashed over the back pages of every national newspaper and in-depth features about football's new hero followed, detailing how he had always had an eye for goal even though he decided to make a career out of saving them.

One paper, so impressed at his ability to do the unthinkable, invited him to perform more miracles including persuading Home Secretary Jack Straw to give Fulham and Harrods owner Mohammed Fayed a British passport and make Robin Cook attractive to blonde supermodel Caprice. Not surprisingly, he failed. But what is more surprising is that the media attention which followed Glass's heroics failed to earn him a first-team place at the team he saved, or any other League club. "I'm a bit disappointed, to say the least," he said.

At the time of his goal, the former Crystal Palace and Bournemouth player was on a month's loan at Carlisle. Following the end of his temporary spell Glass says he asked the club for a small pay rise, mainly to cover the more regular expense of the near 800-mile round trip from his home in Surrey to Cumbria. According to Glass, they refused. And despite speculation linking him with Plymouth and Millwall the keeper has had no firm offers from anyone else. So it's back to Swindon's County Ground where he says he is fortunate enough to have three years left on his contract. "The hardest thing in football is staying in a job," said Glass, "so I should count my blessings. But I'm desperate to play first-team football. When I went to Swindon last season I was confident that I could make the number one jersey my own. But they didn't really give me a chance from day one. I went to Bournemouth and Carlisle and did well and enjoyed being involved every week. The thought of going back to playing in the reserves or not getting a regular game is a bit disappointing."

Even more depressing for Glass was Carlisle's response to his last-day heroics. The club, which is owned by Michael Knighton, the man made famous for his embarrassing attempts to buy Manchester United, say they are still waiting for Glass's response to an offer they made at the end of the season. He says he approached them about a small pay rise in May and hasn't heard from them since. He said: "I don't really want to go on about it too much as I don't want to burn my bridges. I only wanted a little bit more, mainly to cover travel. It's a long way from London to Carlisle. But they said no and didn't want to negotiate. If you knew how much I was asking you would think it was even madder. I went there and did exactly what they asked of me. I'm not just talking about the goal here, but about the clean sheets I kept in the month before that game. I was a bit pissed off but I suppose that's football and they must have thought I didn't do enough for them."

Martin Wilkinson, general manager at Carlisle, said: "We offered Jimmy a contract which was an improvement but we are still awaiting his response." Whoever you believe, it looks like Glass has had his 15 minutes of fame - for the time being at least. Yet despite the fickle nature of the past few months he remains upbeat and optimistic. "Football isn't a simple game," he explained. "I don't have an agent and I haven't spent the summer punting myself around this club and that club. I'm still only 25, and keepers don't usually mature until about the age of 30. I've still got a lot of my career ahead of me and I've been looking forward to getting back into training. You have to be optimistic about it and I will work really hard to try and get a first-team place at Swindon next season. But whatever happens I had that moment, scoring that goal at the end of last season. Perhaps, while I'm waiting for people to recognise me as a keeper, I can make a living as a striker."

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