Glial cell are actually about 1:1. A few years ago a researcher wanted to cite something to back up the usual 9:1 figure, but after asking everybody for several months nobody knew where the figure came from. So, they did a study themselves and did a count and found it to be 1:1. I don't have the reference on me, it was a talk I went to about a year ago (I work at a neuroscience research institute).

I have asked a number of neuroscientists about the importance of glia and have always received the same answer: the evidence that they are functionally important is still "very weak". They might be wrong, but given that some of these guys could give hour long lectures on exactly why they think this, and know the few works that claim otherwise... I'm inclined to believe them.