Hey Mark,
firstly welcome back to the most beautiful sport in the world and also welcome to the forum.
Now to your question:
it depends a little which glue you use. Some are easier to remove than others.
Revolution3, Finezip, Tibhar Clue all are quite easy removable, the Revolution3 mostly even comes off in one piece, but for any other glue just pour a few drops of oil (e.g. babyoil) let it sink in for a couple of minutes and then gently rub it off. Should be much easier now. No matter if wbg or speedglue.
I once bought a brush and tried it (there is a extra brush for this from Nittaku) but don't use it anymore, 'cause i have better feeling in my thumb than when I use that brush and hence a much lesser damaged sponge.
Hope you can find this helpful.