Glentoran F.C.

History

Early years

Glentoran was founded in 1882 by the workers of the Protestant-dominated Harland & Wolff shipyard, and draws much of its identity from its industrial roots in East Belfast. The shipyard’s cranes still overlook their ground - The Oval - symbolising the club’s heritage. In 1889, Glentoran FC was established as a limited company, and benefited from investments by local industrial leaders Viscount Pirrie and G.W. Wolff. This investment further tied the club to the nearby Harland and Wolff shipyard workers.

Glentoran made its first appearance in the Irish Cup during the 1886-87 season. They reached the semi-final of the competition, where they were beaten 2-1 by Ulster. The Irish League was established in 1890, with Glentoran being among the founding members, alongside Clarence, Cliftonville, Distillery, Linfield, Milford, Oldpark and Ulster. In the inaugural season, Glentoran finished in 5th place. In 1894, Glentoran won the first of its 23 league titles.

Vienna Cup

In 1914, Glentoran undertook their first European tour, with the key highlight being their participation and victory in the Vienna Cup. The tour began with a 4-3 loss to Deutsche in Prague, followed by a 4-1 win over Hertha Berlin. The team then traveled to Vienna for the Vienna Cup, a week-long tournament organised by the Vienna Football Club. In the first match against a Vienna select team, Glentoran dominated but conceded a late equalizer, resulting in a 1-1 draw. The final match was decisive, and Glentoran secured a convincing victory to win the Vienna Cup, making them the first British team to claim a European trophy.

1960s

In 1964–65, Glentoran faced Panathinaikos in the European Cup and drew 2–2 at home and lost 3–2 away. In the following season's Fairs Cup, they faced Antwerp resulting a 1–0 defeat away and 3–3 draw at home. The Cup-Winners' Cup in 1966–67 saw Glentoran draw 1–1 with Rangers in front of a packed Oval before losing the away leg 4–0.

Glentoran’s greatest moment in Europe came in a 1967 European Cup tie against Benfica. In the first leg at The Oval, Glentoran took an early lead with a penalty before football legend Eusébio equalized, ending the match 1–1. In the return leg at Benfica’s Estádio da Luz, part-time Glentoran defied expectations with a 0–0 draw. Although Benfica advanced on away goals, Glentoran became the first team eliminated by this rule and the first to prevent Benfica from scoring at home.

In 1967, Glentoran took the unusual step of running the Detroit Cougars football franchise in the United Soccer Association. The newly formed league had planned for an inaugural season in 1968, but when the rival National Professional Soccer League announced a start date of 1967 and a television contract with CBS, the league owners decided to fast track their league by importing entire squads from Europe and South America.

George Best watched Glentoran with his grandfather as a youth, but was rejected by the club for being "too small and light". However, Best did make one appearance for Glentoran, in the club's centenary match against Manchester United.

1970s

The club won the Irish league title in 1972 and 1977, coupled with an Irish Cup win in 1973. This cup win gave Glentoran a place the following season in the European Cup Winners Cup. In November 1973, Glentoran made history by becoming the first Irish club to reach the quarter-finals of the competition with a 3–1 victory over Brann in Belfast, following a 1–1 draw in Bergen. They faced Borussia Mönchengladbach in the quarter-finals and were beaten 2–0 and 5–0. Four seasons later they faced Juventus in a European Cup match and lost 1–0 at home and 5–0 away.

1980s

In 1981–82, Glentoran reached the second round of the European Cup and faced eventual semi-finalists CSKA Sofia. After a 2–0 defeat away, Glentoran went 2–0 up in the return leg to force the game into extra time. The final result was 2–1, Glentoran going out 3–2 on aggregate.

The 1985 Irish Cup final between Glentoran and Linfield featured a memorable incident: Glentoran fans brought a cockerel, their club emblem, and a pig painted in Linfield’s royal blue to the match, both of which stayed on the sidelines throughout. Fans repeated the cockerel tradition at the 2006 final, but Glentoran lost 2–1, ending their unbeaten post-war record of five consecutive Irish Cup final victories against Linfield, a streak that began in 1966.

1990s

In 1995 Glentoran played their traditional Boxing Day match against Linfield on a snow-covered pitch. In the first half the orange ball was damaged, and not having a replacement the teams were forced to play with a white ball for the remainder of the game. The incident was used as a "What Happened Next" question on the BBC's A Question of Sport.

Former Linfield manager Roy Coyle took charge of the club in 1997 and under his stewardship the club entered another period of success. In Coyle's first cup final in charge he gave up the right to lead the team out, instead he asked long serving Kitman Teddy Horner have this honour.

2000s

The 2002–03 season was successful for the club. Of the four trophies available in Northern Ireland, Glentoran won three, capturing the Irish League championship, Irish League Cup and County Antrim Shield but losing the Irish Cup Final 1–0 to Coleraine. The only Irish League to win all trophies is Linfield who have achieved this on 3 occasions. They won 7 trophies in 1921–22 and 7 in 1961–62 and also 4 trophies in 1955–56.

WOn 23 April 2005, Glentoran defeated their rivals Linfield in the second last game but one of the league season. In the 93rd minute of the match, Glentoran, who needed victory in order to have a chance of clinching the league title, scored a goal via their centre forward (and former Linfield player) Chris Morgan. There were confrontations between the two sets of fans following the match. Hooliganism was commonplace at matches between the clubs in the past.

Roy Coyle won 16 trophies with Glentoran and is the club's most successful manager in the club's history.

Financial troubles (2011–2019)

After eight years in charge of Glentoran, Roy Coyle resigned as manager after a string of indifferent results. On 14 February 2006 the club announced that former Newry City manager Paul Millar was to take over the manager's position. He led the team into the Irish Cup final with rivals Linfield. Despite taking the lead in the first half, Linfield won the game with two goals from Peter Thompson. He also led his new club to their biggest ever defeat against their cross-city rivals Linfield in a 6–0 defeat at Windsor Park. The Glens had sought to reduce the gap between them and Linfield by signing Kyle Neill and Gary Hamilton from Portadown and re-signing former fan's favourite Gary Smyth. Also arriving was another former player, Jason Hill, former Portadown and Newry City player Cullen Feeney and promising young keeper Ciaran McLaughlin from Ards.

Paul Millar was dismissed as manager on 17 May 2007, after just 15 months in the role. Despite leading the team to two consecutive second-place finishes behind Linfield, he lost the support of the board and fans.

On 24 May 2007 former Crusaders and Glenavon manager Roy Walker was appointed as Glentoran manager along with assistant manager Billy Sinclair. Walker previously led Crusaders to two league titles in 1995 and 1997. After leaving football management for seven years, Walker became a football analyst with BBC Radio Ulster. He was quoted as saying, "Glentoran were my boyhood team and are probably the only club which could have attracted me back."

However, on 26 May 2007 it was revealed that Walker would not be able to take up the post, due to not possessing the necessary UEFA coaching qualifications. Less than a week later, Glentoran appointed Alan McDonald as manager, replacing Roy Walker, who stepped down but vowed not to rest until director of football Tom Dick resigned. Dick eventually did so but criticized chairman Stafford Reynolds, who later announced he would step down if a suitable replacement was found. As manager, McDonald secured several players, including former Glentoran player Rory Hamill, Daryl Fordyce (Portsmouth), Jamie McGovern (West Brom), David Scullion (Dungannon Swifts), and re-signed Chris Morgan and Tim McCann. Meanwhile, Darren Lockhart and Gary Smith left on loan to Crusaders. In January, Glentoran added Shane McCabe (Dungannon) and Darren Boyce (Coleraine) to the squad.

Alan McDonald won two trophies with The Glens and also led the Glens to the final of the Setanta Cup. In McDonald's first season as manager, Glentoran defeated Crusaders in the County Antrim Shield final. The next season, Glentoran won the league after a strong race with Linfield. Glentoran finished three successive seasons, 2006–2008, as runners-up to three times Double Champions Linfield. Since then, notable signings at the club include Matthew Burrows from Dundela, Johnny Taylor (from Hearts) and former Lisburn Distillery player Andy Waterworth for a fee of £30,000. Glentoran's build up to the season included friendlies against Hearts, Burnley and Ipswich Town. However, Glentoran's start to the season was delayed by a referee strike led by their association's Chairman, David Malcolm, citing higher wage demands. This ultimately postponed all week one fixtures. The following week, in the game against Glenavon, Glentoran's pitch was declared unplayable. Matches against Bangor and then Linfield were cancelled, and this led to Glentoran facing Bangor in the first Irish League game to be played on a Sunday. The historic scoreline was 1–0.

New ownership and management (2019–)

Mick McDermott became Glentoran manager as part of a deal involving new investment in the club, which was approved by 96% of shareholders at an EGM on 16 May 2019. Paul Millar returned as assistant manager, while Kieran Harding stayed on as coach. However, Gary Smyth and Paul Leeman were absent from the dugout in subsequent matches. On 21 May, the club announced Smyth’s departure, a decision that divided fans. Leeman left two days later, despite both being offered their previous roles under the new management team.

On 4 February 2020, the Glentoran Chairman Stephen Henderson announced on behalf of the club, that it was finally free of external debt. Once having been £1.77 million in the red, the Board of Directors had cleared 80% of the debt across the decade and prior to the new investment in the club. A combination of the investor and the old board then settled the final remaining debt with the last outstanding creditor.

During McDermott's first full season in charge at the East Belfast club, he and Millar led the side to victory in the Irish Cup final on 31 July 2020. Glentoran defeated Ballymena United 2–1 in the final after extra-time, with goals coming from Paul O'Neill and Robbie McDaid.

McDermott was replaced by Rodney McAree on 17 January 2023. McAree managed Glentoran until the conclusion of the 2022/23 season, and guided them to European qualification. In June 2023, McAree departed Glentoran and was replaced by former Linfield manager, Warren Feeney.

This move was one in that was viewed controversially by many Glentoran supporters, with Feeney’s Linfield history and lack of managerial success being two of the biggest sticking points with Glens fans.

In July 2023, Glentoran were involved in a record-breaking Europa Conference League game against Gzira United from Malta. The first leg finished 2-2, with the second leg finishing 1-1. The tie then went to extra time and penalties, with Gzira winning 14–13 on penalties. This was the highest scoring penalty shoot-out ever in European competition.

Feeney left the club by mutual consent on 15 March 2024, following a major backlash from most of the fans supporters clubs. Declan Devine was subsequently appointed as caretaker until the end of the season.

Stadium and redevelopment

In March 2003, the club's board of directors advised the shareholders of Glentoran Recreation Company Ltd to sell the Oval to a property development holding company called Girona. To date, no new ground has materialised. A campaign waged by a group of volunteer supporters called Rest In East, was then set up to keep the club in east Belfast. The club's board of directors have suggested moving close to Comber, well outside the city bounds of Belfast, which the majority of supporters firmly oppose.

On 3 November 2005 a fans forum voted 417–0 in favour of forming Glentoran Community Trust, the first supporters' trust to be formed in Northern Ireland. It was officially formed on 15 May 2006 and registered with the Registry of Companies Belfast under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1965–1978. The trust sits completely independent of the parent club, giving the ordinary non-shareholding supporter a voice. On 29 January 2008, the GCT took another historic step, when one of its members, Stephen Henderson was elected to the board of directors by the shareholders of Glentoran FC, with the most votes ever gained in an election. This would prove an important step for the club during the financial crisis that would soon engulf it.

On 12 January 2011, a resolution was passed that gives the GCT two permanent board members.

Recently, Glentoran formed a strategic alliance partnership with Insaka AFC, the football club of the African Youth Diaspora in the Irish Republic by forming Insaka-Glentoran Football Academy at the same time becoming the first club on the island of Ireland to adopt a whole club approach to the UEFA 'Respect' campaign.

On 24 May 2016, supporters approved a board recommendation, at the club end of season AGM, to demolish and redevelop The Oval into a modern new community-based stadium, over alternative proposed moves to sites at Sydenham and Titanic Quarter. Funding will come from a £10million amount that has been on hold for the Glens under the Government's £110m sports grounds improvement programme that has led to the creation of the new Windsor Park and Ulster Rugby's Kingspan Stadium in tandem with redevelopment at venues across the country.

In March 2021 Glentoran submitted plans to redevelop The Oval, at cost of £8m to £10m. However the plans were suspended after the 2022 collapse of Stormont, as funding could not be secured.

European record

UEFA ranking

As of 5 July 2024

Players

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Academy

Glentoran runs the Glentoran Academy, to help promote football to younger players. It is the fastest-growing football academy in the country and includes players, both boys and girls, from the age of 4. The academy also includes a disability section and a Polish language section, where playing for the team requires attendance at training and at English language classes. In 2015–16, the club had 44 players representing Northern Ireland at different age groups, twice as many as any other club. In the summer of 2016, 4 more players left the academy to take up places at English professional clubs' academies. The academy was set up in June 2008.

Managerial history

See Category:Glentoran F.C. managers.

List only counts permanent managers.

Sam Jennings (1936–38)

Louis Page (1939–40)

Frank Thompson (1945–47)

Frank Grice (1948–55)

Jimmy McIntosh (1955–57)

Ken Chisholm (1958)

Tommy Briggs (1959–60)

Alex Young (1968)

Peter McParland (1968–71)

Kieran Dowd (1971/72)

Alex McCrae (1972)

George Eastham Sr. (1972–74)

Arthur Stewart (1977–78)

Ronnie McFall (1979–84)

Billy Johnston (1985–87)

Tommy Jackson (1987–93)

Robert Strain (1993/94)

Tommy Cassidy (1994–97)

Roy Coyle (1997–2006)

Paul Millar (2006–07)

Alan McDonald (2007–10)

Scott Young (2010–12)

Eddie Patterson (26 February 2012 – 17 October 2015)

Honours

Senior honours

Irish League/Irish Premier League/IFA Premiership: 23

1893–94, 1896–97, 1904–05, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1924–25, 1930–31, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1976–77, 1980–81, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2008–09

Irish Cup: 23

1913–14, 1916–17, 1920–21, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1950–51, 1965–66, 1972–73, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1995–96, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2019–20

Irish League Cup: 7

1988–89, 1990–91, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2009–10

County Antrim Shield: 27

1900–01, 1901–02, 1910–11, 1915–16, 1917–18, 1920–21, 1924–25, 1930–31, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1943–44, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1956–57, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1989–90, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2024–25

Charity Shield: 2

1992 (shared), 2015

Defunct competitions

Gold Cup: 14

1916–17, 1951–52, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1966–67, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1982–83, 1986–87, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01

City Cup: 15

1896–97, 1898–99, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1931–32, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1974–75

Ulster Cup: 9

All-Ireland honours

Blaxnit Cup: 1

1972–73

Dublin and Belfast Inter-City Cup: 1

1943–44

European honours

Vienna Cup: 1

1913–14

Intermediate honours

Honours won by Glentoran II

County Antrim Shield: 1

1908–09

Irish League B Division: 1

1958–59

Irish Intermediate League: 4

1915–16, 1918–19, 1919–20, 1929–30

B Division Section 2/Reserve League: 9

1985–86, 1986–87, 1989–90, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2025-26

Irish Intermediate Cup: 9

1893–94, 1897–98, 1908–09, 1912–13, 1915–16, 1917–18, 1930–31, 1940–41, 1961–62

George Wilson Cup: 11

1965–66, 1966–67, 1979–80, 1986–87, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14

Steel & Sons Cup: 13

1904–05, 1908–09, 1910–11, 1914–15, 1918–19, 1932–33, 1937–38, 1957–58, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1989–90, 2000–01, 2001–02

McElroy Cup: 4

1915–16, 1917–18, 1933–34 (shared), 1938–39

Junior honours

Honours won by Glentoran II

Irish Junior League: 6

1896–97, 1897–98, 1901–02, 1904–05, 1908–09, 1909–10

Irish Junior Cup: 1

1889–90