Player Profile

Signed on a four-year deal in June 1998, goalkeeper Glass came to Swindon from Bournemouth on a Bosman free transfer, after manager Steve McMahon had let Town hero Fraser Digby leave the club. After playing most of the pre-season matches, Glass found himself on the bench for the first game of the season, and though he made his debut in the next match, a 2-1 win over Wycombe in the Worthington Cup on 12th August, he made just three more appearances that season. all due to Talia's injuries. After playing in a 4-1 win over Oxford in September, Glass got a dead leg and wasn't fit to play the next game - his next chance didn't come until March the next year, when he played in a 4-0 defeat at Q.P.R., and a 6-0 humiliation at home to Ipswich - a game in which he again got injured, but was forced to carry on as the Town had no substitute keeper. By now, Jimmy Quinn was in charge at Swindon - and the two obviously didn't see eye-to-eye - after the Ipswich match, Quinn criticised Glass in the press, failing to mention the fact that he was injured.

When he regained his fitness, Glass was offered the chance to go to Carlisle on loan. As Carlisle had just sold their only goalkeeper, it was guaranteed first team football, and he gratefully accepted the offer - despite Carlisle being precariously positioned at the bottom of the league, and favourites to drop into the Conference. They went into their last game, needing to better Scarborough's result to avoid relegation - and going into injury time, Carlisle were drawing with Plymouth - Scarborough's game had already finished as a draw. In a desperate attempt to salvage the needed win, Glass moved upfield for a corner, and amazingly, it fell to him in the area, and he smashed it in. Glass was an instant hero - and his goal was replayed on countless television stations around the world. Michael Knighton, Carlisle's under-fire chairman, said, "I believe in the hand of God. He had a little wink at me in the ninetienth minute and I thank Him very much. I believe in a Methuselah, Frankenstein, alien beings and flying saucers. But most of all I believe in on-loan goalkeepers from Swindon who score goals in the dying seconds."

Two days later, when Glass returned to Swindon, Quinn told him he could leave on a free transfer, and it seemed likely that he would sign for Carlisle on a permanent basis - but the deal fell through, when Knighton refused to accept Glass' wage demands. Glass also accused Quinn of going back on his word - asking for a transfer fee of £15,000 - and he was still at Swindon at the start of the following season. Surprisingly, Glass found himself in the first team in September - having rejected another loan at Carlisle, another injury to Talia let him in for a 2-1 win over Blackburn, a match that began Glass' longest run of games in a Town shirt. In the eighth match of this run, Glass was again publicly blamed by Quinn for an error that cost the Town a draw at Bolton - and it proved to be his last match for Swindon.

With Steve Mildenhall coming through the ranks as a capable back-up, and with Swindon in financial difficulties, Glass negotiated his release from the club in January 2000, agreeing to leave for a £25,000 pay-off, to be paid in two instalments. The day before Glass' first payment was due, the Town went into administration for the first time. With a huge gambling debt to pay off, Glass threatened to sue for the full amount of the remainder of his contract - £140,000 - and his deal was eventually renegotiated, with Glass receiving a cheque for £40,000.

In his book titled "One Hit Wonder", Glass gives a graphic account of his time at Swindon, and he makes it clear exactly how unenjoyable it was - slating the club's training facilities at the time, criticising both Steve McMahon and particularly Jimmy Quinn, and telling of his addiction to gambling whilst he was at the County Ground - when his £40,000 settlement cheque arrived, he owed £50,000. After leaving Swindon, he made just one more start in league football, and Glass makes his feelings on the subject very clear, saying "with hindsight, I can see that Swindon killed my career... after leaving Swindon, with Jimmy Quinn's comments plastered all over the papers, I had to prove myself all over again."

Playing Record

Senior

Reserve and Youth Team Appearances

Note that appearance data for reserve and youth teams may not be complete. Expand for more information.

Career details

Club	Details
Chelsea Chelsea	1987 (youth)
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace	1988 (youth) July 4th, 1991 (signed professional contract)
Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich	(loan)
Carshalton Athletic Carshalton	(loan)
Portsmouth Portsmouth	February 10th, 1995 (loan)
Gillingham Gillingham	December 1995 (loan)
Burnley Burnley	January 1996 (loan)
AFC Bournemouth Bournemouth	March 8th, 1996 ; transferred out (June 24th, 1998)
Swindon Town Swindon	June 24th, 1998 (transferred in, Bosman free transfer); released (January 2000)
Carlisle United Carlisle United	April 22nd, 1999 (loan); expired (1998/9)
Cambridge United Cambridge United	January 20th, 2000 (non-contract)
Brentford Brentford	March 22nd, 2000 (non-contract)
Exeter City Exeter City	July 2000 (trial)
Crawley Town Crawley Town	July 2000
Oxford United Oxford United	August 8th, 2000
Crawley Town Crawley Town	February 2001
Kingstonian Kingstonian	February 2001
Yeovil Town Yeovil Town	July 2001 (trial)
Brockenhurst Brockenhurst	August 2001
Salisbury City Salisbury	September 2001
Spire Broadway Spire Broadway	2003
Bournemouth Sports Bournemouth Sports	February 2004
Weymouth Weymouth	rptd March 16th, 2004
Bournemouth Sports Bournemouth Sports	April 2004
Lewes Lewes	July 2004
Poole Town Poole Town	rptd October 1st, 2011 (goalkeeping coach)
AFC Bournemouth Bournemouth	June 2016 (player liaison officer)