Bernie Slaven

Bernard Joseph Slaven (born 13 November 1960) is a former professional football striker.

He scored 223 goals in 567 league and cup appearances over the course of an 18-year career and also earned seven caps for the Republic of Ireland.

Bernie Slaven was born on 13 November 1960; he was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire but grew up in the Castlemilk area of Glasgow.

An only child, his father, Hugh, was a delivery driver for the Co-op and his mother, Alice, was a tailor.

He joined Partick Thistle Amateurs at the age of 14 and played at left-half.

He went on to play for Eastercraigs, and again played left-half as their centre-forward was future Everton player Graeme Sharp.

At the age of 18, Slaven rejected an approach from Scottish Second Division club East Stirlingshire and instead joined junior league side Johnstone Burgh.

However, he soon became disillusioned with the long train journeys to Johnstone and stopped going to the club.

After his contract with Johnstone Burgh ended he joined local club Rutherglen Glencairn.

During his time as an amateur footballer he worked for the Co-op, before spending some time unemployed.

He started his career in his native Scotland with Greenock Morton in 1980, before moving on to Airdrieonians, Queen of the South, and then Albion Rovers in 1983.

He was transferred to Greenock Morton in December 1980 for a fee of £750, but remained with Rutherglen Glencairn for the rest of the season.

He made his debut for Morton as a second-half substitute in a 3–0 win over Airdrieonians in October 1981.

He made his first start against Celtic at Cappielow, and had a goal disallowed during the game, which ended in a 1–1 draw.

He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw with Airdrieonians, which was the only goal of his 13 Scottish Premier Division appearances in the 1981–82 season.

He soon fell out with manager Benny Rooney after demanding more game time.

Slaven made nine non-scoring appearances during the 1982–83 campaign, and was released in the summer.

Slaven joined Scottish First Division club Airdrieonians on a one-month contract after manager Bill Munro needed short-term replacements during an injury crisis.

He then spent three months without a club, before signing with Dumfries side Queen of the South.

He played two Second Division matches for the club before again becoming a free agent.

He made little impression at Palmerston Park, and in a later interview teammate George Cloy said of Slaven, "He was just a man who liked playing football. He was a nice enough guy but he wasn't one of the more rowdy ones."

Slaven joined Albion Rovers in April 1983 after being signed by Benny Rooney – his former manager at Morton; however, it would be Rooney's successor, Andy Ritchie, who converted Slaven from a left-half into a centre-forward.

He scored 31 goals in 43 appearances to become to highest scorer in the Scottish Football League in the 1984–85 campaign, before he was sold on to Middlesbrough for a fee of £25,000 early in the following season.

In this new position he scored 31 goals in the 1984–85 season with many set up by Vic Kasule.

Slaven won the 1984–85 Daily Record Golden Shot award in the process.

Ritchie would not enjoy the benefits of his decision though, as he was replaced by Joe Baker early in the season, and Baker went to also appoint Slaven as club captain.

Slaven went on to be named as both the club's and the division's Player of the Year.

During this time as a semi-professional he was working as a gardener, but Rovers chairman Tom Fagan demanded £40,000 to sell Slaven, which was a high price for a non-professional third-tier player.

Slaven refused to play for Rovers, and was subsequently contacted by a reporter from The Sunday Post, who wrote to 54 English and Scottish clubs on his behalf.

He was promoted three times with the club: out of the Third Division in 1986–87, out of the Second Division via the play-offs in 1988, and again out of the Second Division in 1991–92.

He also played for Middlesbrough in the 1990 final of the Full Members Cup, and became the first Irish player to score a goal in the Premier League in the inaugural 1992–93 season.

He was twice named as the club's Player of the Year and scored a total of 146 goals in 381 appearances during his eight years at Ayresome Park.

Despite being born in Scotland, his Irish grandfather enabled him to win seven caps for the Republic of Ireland, which he did between 1990 and 1993.

This short international career resulted in the honour of being named in Ireland's 1990 FIFA World Cup squad – though he did not feature in the tournament.

He took a free transfer to Port Vale in March 1993, and helped the club to lift the Football League Trophy two months later.

He returned to the North-East in February 1994 after joining Darlington on a free transfer.

He helped the club to avoid finishing bottom of the English Football League at the end of the season, before he announced his retirement in May 1995.

He later played non-League football for Billingham Synthonia.

He went into radio after retiring as a player, presenting shows and providing commentary on Middlesbrough matches with Ali Brownlee for Century Network and Real Radio.

He also presented television programmes on Boro TV and published two autobiographies.