Kenneth Burns (born 23 September 1953) is a former Scotland international footballer. The peak of his playing career was Nottingham Forest with whoem he won the 1977-78 Football League title winning the FWA Player of the Year award that same season. He also won two European Cups and two Football League Cups.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kenneth Burns[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 23 September 1953[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow,[1] Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender / Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1971–1977 | Birmingham City | 170 | (45) |
| 1977–1981 | Nottingham Forest | 137 | (13) |
| 1981–1984 | Leeds United | 56 | (2) |
| 1984–1985 | Derby County | 38 | (2) |
| 1984–1985 | → Notts County (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 1985–1986 | Barnsley | 21 | (0) |
| 1986 | IF Elfsborg | 0 | (0) |
| 1986–1988 | Sutton Town | ||
| 1988 | Stafford Rangers | 5 | (0) |
| 1988–1989 | Grantham Town | 18 | (5) |
| 1989 | Gainsborough Trinity | ||
| 1989–1990 | Willenhall Town | 21 | (0) |
| 1990–1993 | Ilkeston Town | 124 | (55) |
| 1993 | Oakham United | ||
| International career | |||
| 1974–1981 | Scotland | 20 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Rangers
Burns was born in Glasgow, and started his career with Rangers as an apprentice.
Birmingham City
He left for Birmingham City aged 17, in 1971. He arrived at the Blues as a defender, but was converted to striker after Bob Latchford left in 1974,[3]. He earned the first of his 20 international caps in that role soon afterwards.[4]
Nottingham Forest
After joining Nottingham Forest for £150,000 in 1977, he was converted back into a central defender by Brian Clough and Peter Taylor. He was one of three signings Forest made along with Archie Gemmill and Peter Shilton to add to the promotion winning squad of the previous season. Burns was both FWA Footballer of the Year and Forest's player of the year in 1977–78 in his defensive role. Forest won the First Division title that season, their first season after being promoted back to the top flight. They also won that season's Football League Cup with a 1-0 replay victory over Liverpool. Burns collected the trophy for Forest as captain deputising for the injured John McGovern.
He was an influential figure in the side's European Cup campaigns over the next three seasons, his defensive partnership with Larry Lloyd instrumental to Forest's victory in the 1979 and 1980 tournaments. He also managed to score in the second leg of the 1979 UEFA Super Cup final victory against Barcelona. At one time he was renowned for his 'wild man' image and while maintaining an aggressive nature, he also possessed a shrewd football brain and was always likely to score vital goals.
He was Forest's player of the year a second time in 1980-81, his last season at the City Ground.
Leeds United
Leeds paid Forest a £400,000 fee for him. He stayed with the Yorkshire side until 1984. He was the club player of the year in 1982-83.
Derby County and Notts County
He spent 1984-85 at Derby County also playing a small number of games at Notts County (on loan).
Barnsley and Elfsborg
His last season in the football league was 1985-86 at Barnsley before a spell at Elfsborg in Sweden.
Non-league career
He went on to represent a string of non-league clubs as player or player-coach, finishing up as assistant manager of Telford United in 1993.[3][5]
Honours
Nottingham Forest
- First Division: 1977–78
- League Cup: 1977–78, 1978–79
- FA Charity Shield: 1978
- European Cup: 1978–79, 1979–80
- European Super Cup: 1979
Individual
References
- ^ a b c "Kenny Burns". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ^ http://www.worldfootball.net/spieler_profil/kenny-burns/
- ^ a b Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
- ^ "Scotland National Teams Player Details: Kenny Burns". SFA. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
- ^ "Kenny Burns profile". Grantham Town F.C. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
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