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Chris Burns - Midfielder
D.O.B. - - Manchester
1st Debut : Nuneaton Borough (H) - 12/10/96
Last Game : Cheltenham Town (H) - 04/05/99
2nd Debut : Redditch United (H) - 18/08/01
Last Game : Salisbury City (H) - 02/01/06
The best player I've ever seen in a Gloucester City shirt.
On the night that City played Cardiff in their FA Cup replay Chris was busy knocking in five goals for them at the dark side of the Golden Valley bypass in a noddy cup game. After two years at Whaddon he made the step up to Portsmouth under Jim Smith and scored ten times in ninety appearances, including an FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool in 1992.
Following loan moves to Swansea City and AFC Bournemouth and permanent ones again at Swansea plus time at Northampton Town he arrived at Meadow Park in October 1996.
It took a while for him to score his first goal; three months later away at Yeading in an FA Trophy tie but it would be that competition in which the team excelled only for it to provide heartbreak for a second time at the semi-final stage of an FA competition again denying him an appearance at Wembley.
His first spell at the club saw him make 151 appearances, scoring 22 goals. In that time the club also had a reserve team which he turned out for regularly and in one game scored a goal direct from kick off!
Following a seemingly acrimonous departure from the club he joined Forest Green Rovers with Adie Mings. He played in a team alongisde the likes of Tony Daley and Stuart Slater and despite them both being wingers his delivery and touch looked better than theirs.
After two seasons he was tempted back to City in a Player / Manager role and was tasked with building a team on a very limited budget and did so with aplomb adding a few experienced local players to several from the youth team that he'd managed at City in his latter years plus a few of his mates from Brockworth.
Improvement came year after year as the club recovered from it's relegation to the Midland Divison of the Southern League but the 2002/03 FA Trophy run was one to remember. Following some tough away games including a 1-0 win at Merthyr Tydfil, high flying Lewes were dispatched at Meadow Park before both Woking and Southport of the Conference were sent packing on their own pitches following draws at home. The defeat at Aylesbury was hard to take but the run overall was something to be very proud of.
With the non-league structure reorganising itself after 2004 Burns needed an eighth placed finish or better to be part of the new Premier Division although despite Redditch topping the table from day one his team took it until the final game of the season when they could've been Champions but a home defeat for his knackered looking team saw up come runners-up.
Times weren't always good though, the calamatous FA Cup defeats at both Street and Christchurch were tough to swallow and he also managed to get himself sent off away at Grantham after just 21 seconds! He resigned after a disappointing defeat against Yate Town and bowed out with a home defeat against big spending Salisbury City at Meadow Park at the start of 2006. His second spell yielded 167 appearances with 19 goals.
Chris carried on playing into his 50's though including a spell in Spain when he emigrated there for a few years.
Club Captain 1997-2000
Club Manager June 2001 - Jan 2006
Son -
Son -
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Clubs:
Brockworth, Sharpness, Cheltenham Town, Portsmouth (90-10), Swansea City (loan 4-0), AFC Bournemouth (14-1), Swansea City (5-0), Northampton Town (66-9), Gloucester City, Forest Green Rovers, Gloucester City, Cinderford Town, UD Horada (Spain), Brockworth Albion, + |
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Appearances & Goals:
| Season |
Apps |
Subs |
Goals |
| 1996/97 |
44 |
1 |
5 |
| 1997/98 |
59 |
- |
10 |
| 1998/99 |
47 |
- |
7 |
| 2001/02 |
35 |
2 |
7 |
| 2002/03 |
45 |
2 |
9 |
| 2003/04 |
35 |
3 |
1 |
| 2004/05 |
25 |
4 |
2 |
| 2005/06 |
15 |
1 |
- |
| Total |
305 |
13 |
41 |
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| Page last updated : 25th July 2024 |
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| Lots of statistical information is courtesy of the great work done by club historian Tim Clark. His book is The Complete Record of Gloucester City AFC 1883–2009. (566 pgs) Tiger Timbo Publications. ISBN 978-0-9557425-1-4. |
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