| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kenneth Burns[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1953-09-23)23 September 1953 (age 72)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow,[1] Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position | |||
| Youth career | |||
| Glasgow Amateurs | |||
| 1969–1971 | Rangers | ||
| 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 | ||
| Total | 592 | (122) | |
| International career | |||
| 1974–1976 | Scotland U23[3] | 2 | (0) |
| 1974–1981 | Scotland | 20 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Kenneth Burns (born 23 September 1953) is a formerScotland internationalfootballer. The peak of his playing career wasNottingham Forest, with whom he won the1977–78 Football League title and theFWA Player of the Year award. He also won twoEuropean Cups and twoFootball League Cups.
Burns was born inGlasgow and started his career withRangers as an apprentice, but did not play a senior match for the club.
On being released in 1971, aged 17, he signed forBirmingham City. He arrived at the club as adefender, but was converted tostriker afterBob Latchford left in 1974,[4] and won the club's Player of the Year award that same year.[5] He earned the first of his 20 internationalcaps in that role soon afterwards.[6]
After joining Nottingham Forest for £150,000 in 1977, he was converted back into a central defender byBrian Clough andPeter Taylor. He was one of three signings Forest made along withArchie Gemmill andPeter Shilton to add to thepromotion-winning squad of the previous season.[7] Burns was bothFWA Footballer of the Year and Forest's player of the year in1977–78 in his defensive role as Forest won the First Division title that season, in their first year after returning to the top flight.[8] They also won that season'sFootball League Cup with a 1–0 replay victory over Liverpool; Burns collected the trophy as captain deputising for the injuredJohn McGovern.[9] Burns was injured for thefinal when Forest retained the League Cup the following season.[10]
He was an influential figure in the side's European Cup campaigns over the next three seasons, his defensive partnership withLarry Lloyd instrumental to Forest's victory in the1979 and1980 tournaments.[citation needed] He also scored in the second leg of the1979 UEFA Super Cup final victory againstBarcelona.[11] At one time he was renowned for his 'wild man' image[7] and while maintaining an aggressive nature, he also possessed a shrewd football brain and was always likely to score vital goals.[citation needed]
He was Forest's player of the year a second time in1980–81, his last season at theCity Ground.
Leeds United paid Forest a £400,000 fee for Burns. He stayed with theYorkshire side until 1984, and he was the club player of the year in1982–83. Burns spent 1984–85 atDerby County, also playing a small number of games on loan atNotts County. His last season in the Football League was in 1985–86 atBarnsley, before a spell atElfsborg in Sweden.
He went on to represent a string ofnon-league clubs as player orplayer-coach, finishing up as assistant manager ofTelford United in 1993.[4][12]
Nottingham Forest
Individual
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