Arbroath Hall of Fame Inductee 2018 – John McGlashan
John McGlashan was the epitome of a true Arbroath legend.
The supporters of Arbroath FC were asked to vote for their next Hall of Fame inductee and John was an overwhelming choice from all ages of our fans.
The essence of entering the Arbroath Hall of Fame is that the individual is deemed to have “made an outstanding contribution and have played an important part in the History of Arbroath Football Club” and John certainly falls into this legend status.
Born in Dundee in 1967, John soon found a love of sport at Whitfield High School where he captained his school team to victory on the popular BBC show “We Are the Champions.”
John’s Football Career started with Main’s Boy’s Club before joining Dundee Violet before making the move to Montrose FC.
Former Scotland Captain Bruce Rioch brought John down to Millwall after 2 seasons at Links Park but a bad ankle injury robbed him of game time during his 2 seasons at the Den and had brief loan spells with Fulham and Cambridge United.
Peterborough United broke their club record as they signed John for £100,000 in 1993 as he helped them to 10th place before a move to Rotherham United the following season, who were at the time managed by Archie Gemmell.
John fulfilled his boyhood ambition by signing for Dundee in 1997 and played a huge part of their title winning side in the 97-98 season.
The following season John joined the Lichties on loan from Dundee for the first time making 14 appearances and scoring 2 goals before the offer of full time football and a long contract from Ross County was too hard to turn down.
John helped Ross County win promotion in successive seasons before returning to Gayfield permanently in 2000 where he made another 122 appearances on the pitch scoring 25 goals. John was a tall and imposing midfielder, always pushing forward and a real presence in the penalty box.
John went on to be named the manager of of Dundee Violet in the summer of 2005 but returned to Gayfield only a few months later in September to become our player / Manager taking over from Harry Cairney who resigned.
Arbroath were going through a tough period at that time but John turned around our fortunes and sealed promotion from Division Three in 2008.
John spent a lot of time in the community when he wasn’t at Gayfield, especially with the Café Project and made a huge impact on an off the pitch during his time at Arbroath.
John also donated his time to the football based “Showcase the Street” charity in Dundee, and also spent time volunteering for Barnardo’s.
After playing his last game for the Lichties at aged 39, John would go on to manage Tayport and Dundee Violet as well as returning to Dens to coach the Dundee youths.
Despite leaving Gayfield, John remained a very close friend of the club. He recommended that we sign Simon Murray from his days as Tayport Manager, as he believed Simon was a player that was worth of a chance in senior Football.
Tragically John passed away earlier this year. He has been sadly missed by everyone and his death sent a shockwave throughout Scottish Football.
His legacy continues, with his family and loved ones doing countless charity work for MND Scotland to help aid further research and hopefully find a cure for Motor Neurone Disease.
John was highly thought of by everyone he met and a true gentleman on and off the pitch.
We are honoured that he was part of the Arbroath Family and delighted he will forever be in our Hall of Fame.
He will always be in our thoughts.
