Chris Burke (footballer)

Chris Burke

With Birmingham City in 2011 pre-season
Personal information
Full name	Christopher Robert Burke [1]
Date of birth	(1983-12-02) 2 December 1983 (age 40) [1]
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	Kilmarnock (reserve team coach)
Youth career
1993–2000	Celtic Boys Club
2000–2002	Rangers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2009	Rangers	96	(11)
2009–2011	Cardiff City	102	(15)
2011–2014	Birmingham City	131	(25)
2014–2016	Nottingham Forest	50	(6)
2016	→ Rotherham United (loan)	5	(2)
2016–2017	Ross County	6	(1)
2017–2022	Kilmarnock	147	(21)
Total		537	(81)
International career
2004–2005	Scotland U21 [2]	2	(0)
2009	Scotland B [3]	1	(0)
2006–2014	Scotland	7	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Christopher Robert Burke (born 2 December 1983) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who is currently a reserve team coach at Kilmarnock. He primarily played as a right-winger, but also played on the left wing.

Burke began his career with Scottish Premier League club Rangers, playing in 131 games, but without establishing himself as a regular first team player. He then played 118 matches over two-and-a-half seasons at Championship club Cardiff City, followed by 155 matches over three seasons at the same level for Birmingham City. He then made 50 league appearances over two seasons for Nottingham Forest. He left Forest after a brief loan spell with Rotherham United. Burke returned to Scottish football in September 2016, signing for Ross County. After one season there he signed for Kilmarnock, where he made nearly 150 league appearances across five seasons.

Burke was capped by Scotland seven times at full international level, and scored two goals on his Scotland debut, a Kirin Cup match against Bulgaria in 2006. In addition to this, he has also appeared once for the Scotland B team, and twice for the Scotland under-21 team.

Club career

Rangers

Born in Glasgow and brought up in the city's Gorbals district, ^[4] Burke is a product of Rangers' youth system having joined on 5 July 2000, but he had previously played for Celtic Boys Club. ^[5] He first broke into the Rangers first team in the 2001–02 season and scored on his début against Kilmarnock on 20 March 2002. ^[6] He became a regular player in the Rangers squad and was involved in the club's 2003–04 Champions League campaign. In the opening game of the 2004–05 season at Aberdeen, Burke fainted on the pitch ^[7] and was out of action for almost the whole season with a mysterious virus. ^{[8] [4]}

However, he came back strongly and played in most Rangers games in 2005–06, including vital Champions League games against Internazionale, Porto and Villarreal. ^{[9] [10]} He was voted as both Supporters' and Players' Player of the Year, while also picking up an accolade from John Greig. ^[11] Burke was injured against Celtic on 23 September 2006, damaging ligaments in his left shoulder in a challenge with Aiden McGeady. The injury required an operation and Burke was ruled out of action for an estimated three months. ^[12]

On 25 January 2007, Burke signed a new contract with Rangers keeping him at the club until 2009. ^[13] After being frozen out of the first team squad for the first half of the 2007–08 season, Burke returned to replace the injured Nacho Novo and DaMarcus Beasley, keeping his place in the side until April 2008, when he himself was injured in a Scottish Cup match against St Johnstone. ^[14]

Cardiff City

Playing for Cardiff City, 2010

After making just two appearances for Rangers during the first half of the 2008–09 season, Burke left the club on 9 January to sign for Football League Championship side Cardiff City on a free transfer, linking up with former Rangers teammates Gavin Rae and Ross McCormack. ^{[15] [16]} He made his debut on 17 January when he replaced Peter Whittingham after 45 minutes of a 1–1 draw with Birmingham City, and scored his first goal for the club on 21 April during a 2–2 draw with Charlton Athletic. ^{[17] [18]}

Burke scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season on 16 September, in a 1–0 win over Reading at the Madejski Stadium. ^{[19] [20]} His second, two weeks later, came in a 6–1 thrashing of Derby County at the Cardiff City Stadium. In December, he scored in three consecutive matches, including winning goals against Preston North End and Middlesbrough, ^[19] and on 27 March 2010, Burke reached ten goals in all competitions with a goal against Crystal Palace, leading manager Dave Jones to describe him as being "an integral part of what we do". ^[21] On 23 May 2011, Burke left Cardiff City after failing to agree a new contract.

Birmingham City

Training with Birmingham City, 2011

On 8 June 2011, Burke signed a pre-contract agreement with fellow Championship club Birmingham City. He joined the club formally on a two-year deal on 1 July, having left Cardiff on a free transfer under the Bosman ruling. ^[22] He made his Birmingham debut on the opening day of the season in a 2–1 defeat to Derby County, and came close to equalising in the second half when his shot after a fine solo run beat the goalkeeper but rebounded back into play off the post. ^[23] Burke was part of the starting eleven in Birmingham's first match in major European competition for nearly 50 years, the Europa League play-off round first leg against Portuguese club Nacional, which finished goalless. ^[24] He featured in 61 of the club's 62 competitive games as they reached the play-offs, scoring 14 goals and making 19 assists, ^[25] and won the club's Player of the Year award, as well as the Players' and Junior Blues' Player of the Year awards. ^[26]

At the end of the 2012–13 season, the club took up their option to extend Burke's contract for a further year. ^[27] He left the club when that contract expired. ^[28]

Nottingham Forest

Burke signed a two-year deal with Championship club Nottingham Forest on 29 July 2014. ^[29] He scored on his debut, curling the second goal in from the edge of the box in the 30th minute of a 2–0 win over Blackpool in Forest's first game of the season, ^[30] and started Forest's first eight league games of the new season. ^[31] His second goal, in new manager Dougie Freedman's first home match in charge, was Forest's second in a 3–0 win over Wigan Athletic in February 2015, ^[32] and he also scored in his next two appearances, against Lancashire clubs Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers. ^[31]

Rotherham United loan

Burke joined fellow Championship club Rotherham United on 22 January 2016 on loan until the end of the season. ^[33] He made his debut the following day against Cardiff City, ^[34] and scored his first goal for the club a week later in a 4–1 defeat against Charlton Athletic. ^[35]

On his return to Nottingham Forest, Burke was released at the end of his contract. ^[36]

Ross County

In September 2016, Burke signed a contract to the end of the 2016–17 season with Scottish Premiership club Ross County. ^[37] His time there was again hampered by the effects of a virus. ^[4]

Kilmarnock

Burke signed a one-year contract with Kilmarnock in July 2017. ^[38] On 25 October he scored a stoppage-time goal to earn his side a point in a league match away to former club Rangers. ^[39] He signed a further one-year contract with Kilmarnock on 22 June 2018. ^[40] His second goal for the club came eleven months after his first: a "brilliant long-range howitzer" to level the scores in a home league fixture against Celtic on 23 September 2018, which Kilmarnock won 2–1. ^[41] He scored against Rangers again on the final day of the 2018–19 Scottish Premiership season, as Killie secured third place, their highest position in over 50 years. ^[42]

Burke left Kilmarnock after the 2021–22 season, in which the club won promotion back to the Scottish Premiership, but then returned as a reserve team coach. ^[43]

International career

Burke won his first Scotland cap on 11 May 2006 as a substitute against Bulgaria in the Kirin Cup and scored twice in a 5–1 victory. ^[44]

After six years without international recognition, Burke was named in Gordon Strachan's first squad in January 2013. According to Strachan, "Chris was fantastic in the Europa League at a good level, he has a maturity about his play now. In the international set-up you need to be able to beat people by passing or eliminating people by going past them. He can certainly do the second part and is getting better at the first. International defences are so good, you need people like that." ^[45]

Other ventures

Along with Curtis Davies and Gavin Rae, Burke co-founded and was a director of the clothing company Seven One Zero, ^[46] which was voluntarily dissolved in 2018. ^[47]

Career statistics

Club

As of end of 2021–22 season

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rangers	2001–02 [48]	Scottish Premier League	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		2	1
	2002–03 [49]	Scottish Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2003–04 [50]	Scottish Premier League	20	3	1	0	2	1	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		26	4
	2004–05 [51]	Scottish Premier League	12	0	0	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 2]	0	—		16	0
	2005–06 [52]	Scottish Premier League	27	3	2	0	0	0	6 [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		35	3
	2006–07 [53]	Scottish Premier League	22	2	1	0	1	0	5 [lower-alpha 2]	0	—		29	2
	2007–08 [54]	Scottish Premier League	11	2	5	2	3	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	—		21	4
	2008–09 [17]	Scottish Premier League	2	0	—		0	0	0	0	—		2	0
	Total		96	11	9	2	7	1	19	0	0	0	131	14
Cardiff City	2008–09 [17]	Championship	14	1	2	0	—		—		—		16	1
	2009–10 [19]	Championship	44	9	3	1	2	0	—		3 [lower-alpha 3]	0	52	10
	2010–11 [55]	Championship	44	5	2	0	2	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	50	5
	Total		102	15	7	1	4	0	0	0	5	0	118	16
Birmingham City	2011–12 [56]	Championship	46	13	4	0	1	0	8 [lower-alpha 4]	1	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	61	14
	2012–13 [57]	Championship	41	8	2	0	2	0	—		—		45	8
	2013–14 [58]	Championship	44	4	2	2	3	0	—		—		49	6
	Total		131	25	8	2	6	0	8	1	2	0	155	28
Nottingham Forest	2014–15 [31]	Championship	41	6	1	0	2	0	—		—		44	6
	2015–16 [34]	Championship	9	0	0	0	1	0	—		—		10	0
	Total		50	6	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	54	6
Rotherham United (loan)	2015–16 [34]	Championship	5	2	—		—		—		—		5	2
Ross County	2016–17 [59]	Scottish Premiership	6	1	0	0	0	0	—		—		6	1
Kilmarnock	2017–18 [60]	Scottish Premiership	20	1	1	0	4	1	—		—		25	2
	2018–19 [61]	Scottish Premiership	35	5	3	1	4	0	—		—		42	6
	2019–20 [62]	Scottish Premiership	26	5	2	0	2	0	2 [lower-alpha 4]	0	—		32	5
	2020–21 [63]	Scottish Premiership	37	9	3	0	1	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 5]	0	43	9
	2021–22 [64]	Scottish Championship	29	1	2	0	5	1	—		2 [lower-alpha 6]	0	38	2
	Total		147	21	11	1	16	2	2	0	4	0	180	24
Career total			537	81	36	6	36	3	29	1	11	0	649	91

1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
2. Appearances in UEFA Cup
3. Appearances in Football League Championship play-offs
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearances in Scottish Premiership play-offs
6. Appearances in Scottish Challenge Cup

International appearances

As of 29 October 2018

^[65]

International statistics

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Scotland	2006	2	2
	2007	—
	2008	—
	2009	—
	2010	—
	2011	—
	2012	—
	2013	4	0
	2014	1	0
Total		7	2

International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref
1.	11 May 2006	Kobe, Japan	Bulgaria	4–1	5–1	Kirin Cup	[44]
2.	11 May 2006	Kobe, Japan	Bulgaria	5–1	5–1	Kirin Cup	[44]

Honours

Rangers

• Scottish Premier League: 2004–05
• Scottish League Cup: 2007–08 ^[66]

Scotland

• Kirin Cup: 2006

References

1. "Chris Burke". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
2. "Profiles: Chris Burke: U21 Squad Matches". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
3. "Profiles: Chris Burke: B Squad Matches". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
4. Speirs, Graham (8 December 2018). "Chris Burke: I gave up a part of the life I wanted to have my career" . The Times. London. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
5. Thomson, David (October 2004). The Bell's Scottish Football Review 2004/05. CRE8. ISBN   0-9548556-0-4.
6. "Rangers trounce Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 20 March 2002. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
7. "Aberdeen 0–0 Rangers". BBC Sport. 7 August 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
8. "Virus rules out Burke". BBC Sport. 25 August 2004. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
9. Porto 1-1 Rangers, BBC Sport, 23 November 2005
10. Rangers 2 - 2 Villarreal, The Guardian, 22 February 2006
11. "B team make their case Boyd and Burke add lustre and goals to impressive Scotland". The Herald. Glasgow. 12 May 2006. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
12. "Rangers reeling over Burke injury". BBC Sport. 27 September 2006. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
13. Pearson, James (25 January 2007). "Burke pens Gers extension". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
14. Gray, Lisa (1 January 2008). "Future looks bright for Burke". Sportinglife.com. 365 Media Group. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011.
15. Phillips, Terry (9 January 2009). "Chris Burke signs for Cardiff City". Western Mail. Cardiff. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
16. "Burke sees Cardiff as fresh start". BBC Sport. 10 January 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
17. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
18. "Burke is up for the City challenge". WalesOnline. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
    "Charlton 2–2 Cardiff". BBC Sport. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
19. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
20. "Reading 0–1 Cardiff". BBC Sport. 16 September 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
21. "Dave hails 'livewire' Burke". Cardiff City F.C. 29 March 2010. Archived from the original on 1 April 2010.
22. "Blues bag Burke". Birmingham City F.C. 8 June 2011. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011.
23. Jolly, Richard (7 August 2011). "Derby 2 Birmingham 2: Rocket shot piles on misery for trouble-hit Birmingham". Daily Express. London. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
24. Tattum, Colin (19 August 2011). "Nacional 0, Birmingham City 0". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
25. "Birmingham Squad: 2011/2012". ESPN FC. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
26. Tattum, Colin (1 May 2012). "Chris Burke cleans up at annual awards dinner at the ICC in Birmingham". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
27. "Championship: Birmingham extend Chris Burke's contract by 12 months". Sky Sports. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
28. "Farewell to Ziggy and Burke". Birmingham City F.C. 1 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
29. "Chris Burke: Nottingham Forest sign ex-Birmingham winger". BBC Sport. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
30. Phillips, Owen (9 August 2014). "Nottm Forest 2–0 Blackpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
31. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
32. "Nottm Forest 3–0 Wigan". BBC Sport. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
33. "Millers swoop for Burke". Rotherham United F.C. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
34. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
35. "Rotherham United 1–4 Charlton Athletic". BBC Sport. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
36. Richardson, Nick (25 May 2016). "Retained List 2016". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
37. "Ross County sign Scotland winger Chris Burke". BBC Sport. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
38. "Kilmarnock: Chris Burke eager to put career fears behind him". BBC Sport. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
39. "Rangers 1–1 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
40. "Chris Burke: Kilmarnock midfielder signs new one-year deal". BBC Sport. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
41. Lyall, Jamie (23 September 2018). "Kilmarnock 2–1 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
42. Lindsay, Clive (19 May 2019). "Kilmarnock 2–1 Rangers: Steve Clarke's side finish third to qualify for Europe". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
43. Highet, Lochlin (11 July 2022). "Kilmarnock hero Chris Burke re-joins club in new coaching role". Daily Record. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
44. "Scotland 5–1 Bulgaria". BBC Sport. 11 May 2006. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
45. "Strachan names Wallace, Burke, McCormack in first Scotland squad". The Herald. Glasgow. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
46. Marshall, Tyrone (26 November 2016). "Burnley defender taking hands-on role after investment in developing clothing label". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
47. "Seven One Zero Clothing Limited: Filing history". Companies House. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
48. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
49. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
50. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
51. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
52. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
53. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
54. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
55. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
56. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
57. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
58. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
59. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
60. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
61. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
62. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
63. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
64. "Games played by Chris Burke in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
65. "Chris Burke: A Squad". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
66. McGuigan, Thomas (16 March 2008). "Dundee Utd 2–2 Rangers (Rangers win 3–2 on penalties)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 October 2016.

External links

• Chris Burke at Soccerbase
• Chris Burke at the Scottish Football Association