Bernard Joseph Slaven (born 13 November 1960) is a former professional football striker. He scored 223 goals in 569 league and cup appearances throughout an 18-year career and also earned seven caps for the Republic of Ireland.
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 scored 31 goals in 43 appearances to become the highest scorer in the Scottish Football League in the 1984–85 campaign before he was sold to Middlesbrough for a fee of £25,000 early in the following season. 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 the club's Player of the Year and scored 146 goals in 381 appearances during his eight years at Ayresome Park.
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.
Despite being born in Scotland, having an Irish grandfather enabled him to play for Ireland. He won seven caps for the Republic of Ireland, 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.
Club career
Early career Bernie Slaven was born on 13 November 1960 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 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 attending 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 was transferred to Greenock Morton in November 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."World Cup Doonhamers" 13 December 2010 www.qosfc.com 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."
Albion Rovers 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. 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. 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. Still, Rovers chairman Tom Fagan demanded £40,000 to sell Slaven, 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. Middlesbrough responded to the letter with the offer of a two-week trial.
Middlesbrough In a trial game against Bradford City, Slaven scored and impressed enough to win a move to the club, who secured his services after paying Albion Rovers a £25,000 fee. He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road on 12 October, and seven days later scored on his competitive home debut for the club to secure a 1–1 draw with Bradford City. Middlesbrough went on a run of five wins in eight games during November and December, but manager Willie Maddren was sacked after picking up just one point in January. Slaven scored two headed goals to secure a 3–1 victory over Grimsby Town on 4 March in new manager Bruce Rioch's first match in charge. However, the final game of the 1985–86 season against Shrewsbury Town guaranteed safety for the winners and relegation for the losers, and a 2–1 defeat for "Boro" saw the club relegated out of the Second Division.
Middlesbrough entered liquidation during the 1986–87 season, and the Official receiver sacked Rioch and his staff and banned the club from Ayresome Park. After a new consortium rescued the club Rioch was reinstated as manager, and though he used the opportunity to overhaul the club's playing staff, Rioch made Slaven a key part of his new squad. Despite this, Rioch was not afraid to publicly criticise Slaven, and following the club's first defeat of the season by Blackpool on 11 October stated that "...he's overdue a good performance, I wasn't pleased with his form and it's time to show us what he gets paid for". He responded well to the criticism, and scored all three goals when Blackpool returned to Ayresome Park in the FA Cup the following month. He played in all the club's 58 league and cup games that season, scoring 22 goals, to help Middlesbrough to secure promotion as runners-up to AFC Bournemouth.
He helped secure a second-successive promotion in 1987–88, which saw Middlesbrough rise from the Third Division to the First Division within two years of avoiding liquidation. He scored 24 goals in 58 appearances, including hat-tricks in a 4–1 win at Huddersfield Town and a 4–0 home win over Shrewsbury Town. However, Middlesbrough lost to Leicester City on the last day of the season and so finished third behind Aston Villa on goals scored, and needed to secure promotion through the play-offs. He scored against Bradford City in the play-off semi-final to help secure a 3–2 aggregate victory and a place against Chelsea in the play-off final. He provided an assist for Trevor Senior in the first leg at Ayresome Park and then scored Boro's second goal to secure a 2–0 win; Chelsea won the return fixture 1–0 at Stamford Bridge, but Middlesbrough won 2–1 on aggregate to replace Chelsea in the top-flight.
Slaven scored a first-half hat-trick in a 4–3 win over Coventry City on 1 October, shortly after he and several teammates agreed new four-year contracts with Middlesbrough. At the end of the month he was moved to the left wing to accommodate new club record signing Peter Davenport. Still, he soon was returned to centre-forward after Davenport struggled to score the goals to justify his £700,000 transfer fee. In November, Slaven was dropped from the starting eleven for the trip to face Nottingham Forest, which brought to an end his run of 136 consecutive league appearances. The team struggled in the second half of the 1988–89 season, and when Slaven scored both goals in a 2–1 win over West Ham United at Upton Park on 11 April he ended the club's run of 11 league games without a victory. Middlesbrough dropped into the relegation zone for the first time on the last day of the season; their 1–0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday confirmed Middlesbrough's relegation alongside West Ham United and Newcastle United. Having scored 15 league goals despite playing many games on the left wing of a relegated team, Slaven was named as the North-East Player of the Year by local journalists.
Middlesbrough struggled with injuries throughout the 1989–90 campaign and ended up finishing just one place above the relegation zone, leading to Rioch's dismissal. They did however, manage to beat Port Vale, Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle United, and Aston Villa to reach Wembley to face Chelsea in the 1990 Full Members Cup final; this was the club's first appearance at Wembley. The final itself was to be a disappointment however, with a free kick from Chelsea's Tony Dorigo proving to be the only goal of the afternoon. Despite Middlesbrough finishing in 21st-place, Slaven scored 32 goals in all competitions, which led to speculation of a move away from Ayresome Park. He handed in a written transfer request, which was turned down by manager Colin Todd, and Slaven agreed to a new contract and withdrew his transfer request.
He went six games without a goal early in the 1990–91 season but broke this run with a hat-trick in a 4–2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at the Goldstone Ground on 27 October. However, he was substituted at half-time during a home defeat to Charlton Athletic on 10 November, and reacted badly, leaving the ground and not witnessing the second half. He returned to the starting eleven the following week and went on to claim a goal in his next five appearances. However, he again fell out with Todd after being played at left-wing in January. He was dropped from the first team altogether after telling the media that "if the manager is not going to play me in the middle, then he should drop me". He returned to the centre-forward role and claimed two goals in a 3–0 home win over rivals Newcastle United on 12 March, though went on to finish the season on a run of 15 games without a goal. Middlesbrough finished in the play-off places but lost out to Notts County in the semi-finals. Todd intended an overhaul of the playing squad and placed Slaven on the transfer list along with ten of his teammates.