LEGEND BILL WAS SUPREME SAVER
Sky Blues hero wowed the fans at Highfield Road
EVERY football club has its legendary players. Some may have only played for the club for a short period, while others may have stayed for years and years.
They might have gained legend status through all the goals they scored, through being tough and uncompromising or by giving one hundred per cent every time they played.
The reasons for legend or cult status are numerous, but you mention the name Bill Glazier to Coventry City fans of a certain age and I guarantee they will all say: “What a great keeper he was.”
And, for me, he is without doubt the best keeper never to have been capped by England.
Born in Nottingham in 1943, Bill Glazier started his career at Torquay United as a member of their ground staff, but combined this as goalie in the reserves in the Western League. Crystal Palace were impressed with the six feet tall keeper with the strong athletic build, so the Eagles took him to Selhurst Park where he spent three seasons as their first choice goal keeper. Another football club also liked Glazier and saw him as a keeper who would fit in nicely with their ambition of becoming a top-flight football team. And so it was that Jimmy Hill, the ambitious Sky Blues manager, made the London club an offer of £35,000 in 1964 which, at that time, was a world record for a shot-stopper. Palace couldn’t turn it down so Glazier was on his way from the capital to the West Midlands.
And what a signing it turned out to be as he became a fans’ favourite with his amazing ability, his consistency and the familiar sight of him diving to tip shots and crosses away from his net.
Hill brought him to Highfield Road as he knew promotion would be out of reach without a top- class keeper.
Glazier quickly established himself as a potential future England international with outstanding performances between the posts. They earned him three appearances in his debut season for the England under-23 team.
But just as he was being tipped for full international honours, disaster struck when he broke his leg badly in a game versus Manchester City in 1965. The injury kept him out of action for a whole year and as a certain Gordon Banks was now England’s number one goalie, his international career was over before it had started.
But in the season of 1966/67, after working his way back to fitness, Glazier was back in goal for Coventry City and of the team that won the Second Division championship, missing just one game in the successful campaign.
So Hill and Coventry City breaking the world record for a goalkeeper paid off as they were now a First Division side.
Breathtaking
Glazier remained at Highfield Road for another eight seasons, making a total of 402 appearances. During his time, he saved the Sky Blues many times from dropping back down to the second tier with breathtaking performances.
He became adept at saving penalties, keeping an impressive eight out of the net. And, strangely, all of these were away from home.
Amongst these penalty saves were stops from the likes of Denis Law, Charlie Cooke, Francis Lee, and Martin Peters. No mean feat there.
His career at Coventry was rewarded in November 1974 with a testimonial against England’s World Cup-winning side of 1966.
What a tribute to a great goalkeeper and a crowd of 15,525 turned out to watch an entertaining 6-6 draw.
It showed how well regardpart ed he was as the England side that won the World Cup at Wembley against West Germany all turned out that night. Banks, Cohen, Wilson, Stiles, Jackie Charlton, Moore, Ball, Hunt, Bobby Charlton, Hurst, Peters.
Tremendous
Bill Glazier liked to roll his sleeves up and spit into his gloves as a player, and when the sun was strong he would put his favourite red cap on his head.
As a supporter stood behind the goal I had great views of him diving about making tremendous saves. The City fans loved him.
They say you should never meet your hero as you can be let down and disappointed.
Well, I recall I was stood at the bar in the casino next to the Ricoh Arena before a home match. The service was slow, which I mentioned to the bloke stood at the bar next to me. He agreed and asked me if I was going to the game.
His face looked familiar and I asked if he was a City fan, too? He told me he was there for the Legends Day as he was an ex-Coventry player. It was Bill Glazier!
If I hadn’t had the bar to rest on, I reckon I’d have done a Del Boy and fallen over! When I composed myself, I ended up having a pint with Bill, now 76, and he told me a few tales about a couple of players, and he was a really modest chap.
So that’s Bill Glazier, the best keeper never to be capped by England – and a true legend.
This is one of the many articles in the new edition of our sister publication Late Tackle, out now priced £3.49