Thanks: Glenn Cockerill

I suspect few would ever have thought I’d be thanking Swindon when they signed Glenn from us in 1979. He joined for a pittance in 1976 after appearing for Louth Town, but eventually became one of our most sought-after players. Ask your Dad, he’ll tell you Cockerill was a schemer, good on the ball and always able to beat a man and grab a goal. Recently, fans voted him the sixth greatest player of a generation.

£100,00 (£480,000 accounting for inflation) was the fee, a huge amount and something that kept the club afloat. it allowed Colin Murphy to build his own side, one capable of challenging for promotion at the top end of Division Four. When he made it to Division Three, he knew who he needed to push the club on. Glenn Cockerill.

Lucky, Swindon were feeling particularly benevolent and let us have him back for £40,000, around £145,000 in today’s money. Not a bad bit of business that. When the empire began to crumble in 1984 he was off again, this time to Sheffield United, who paid us £140,000 or around £427,000 by today’s standards.