Allan Richard Glover (born 21 October 1950) is an English retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, best remembered for his eight years in the Football League with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

. An

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

and winger, he also played for Orient, Brentford,

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

and

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

Club career

Queens Park Rangers

Glover began his career at

and made seven appearances during a disastrous 1968–69 season, which saw Rangers relegated from the First Division. He departed Rangers in June 1969.

West Bromwich Albion

Glover signed for First Division club

in June 1969 for a fee £70,000, with Albion winger Clive Clark transferring the other way to

Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...

as a makeweight. Glover's progression at

The Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an all-seater football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of Championship club West Bromwich Albion since 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the cl ...

was slow and he failed to break through into the team until 1973–74, when he made 42 appearances and scored five goals. He made 41 appearances and scored two goals during the 1974–75 season, before falling out of favour with new manager

Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as t ...

. Glover joined Third Division club

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

midway through the 1975–76 season. Glover had one of the shortest careers on record at

Roots Hall A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

, due to being carried off injured after 30 seconds on his debut on New Year's Day 1976. Glover signed for Fourth Division club Brentford on loan in October 1976. He impressed enough during his six appearances for manager Bill Dodgin to bid for a permanent transfer, but a terms failed to be agreed. Glover departed West Bromwich Albion in March 1977, having made 107 appearances and scored 10 goals for the club.

Orient

Glover and West Bromwich Albion teammate Joe Mayo transferred to Second Division club Orient in March 1977, as the makeweights in the deal which took

Laurie Cunningham Laurence Paul Cunningham (8 March 1956 – 15 July 1989) was an English professional footballer. A left winger, he notably played in England, France and Spain, where he became the first ever British player to sign for Real Madrid. Cunningham ...

to The Hawthorns for £110,000. Glover failed to win a regular place in the first team at Brisbane Road and he made 37 league appearances and scored five goals during an 18-month stay.

Return to Brentford

Now playing in the Third Division, Brentford manager Bill Dodgin finally signed Glover on a permanent contract in November 1978. He failed to challenge for a regular first team place and made just 26 appearances, scoring two goals, before being released at the end of the 1979–80 season.

Staines Town

After his release from Brentford, Glover dropped into non-League football and joined hometown Isthmian League Premier Division club

Staines Town Staines Town Football Club was a semi-professional Association football, football club based in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex. History Early days Staines Town FC was founded in 1892 and was known under various names including ''Staines F.C ...

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glover, Allan 1950 births People from Staines-upon-Thames English footballers Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Association football wingers Association football inside forwards Leyton Orient F.C. players Staines Town F.C. players Isthmian League players Living people