David Burnside This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. thisisDevon : Western Morning News Sport : Content Display : Burnside the maverick kept fans entertained

   www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/d - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/6/2004   Last Visited: 4/6/2004

   BURNSIDE THE MAVERICK KEPT FANS ENTERTAINED
   
   09:00 - 06 April 2004
   
   David Burnside came to Plymouth Argyle late in his career, and at a time when the Pilgrims were not a successful team.
   ...
   Burnside, then 21, won with an astonishing total of 495 headers.
   ...
   As a player as well as a circus act, Burnside was very much a maverick. A play-making inside-forward, he was a dribbler and a conjuror with the ball at his feet. The easy pass was not an option he liked, and he was also a frequent goalscorer. He was adept at finding space with well-timed runs, and his passing skills were terrific.
   
   After making his Football League debut for the Baggies in 1957, Burnside spent five years playing First Division football for the West Midlands club. After 127 League games and one England Under-23 cap he moved on to Southampton for a fee of £18,000 in September 1962.
   
   Burnside scored 22 goals in 61 League appearances for the Saints and then joined Crystal Palace (58 games, eight goals) in December 1964. Wolverhampton Wanderers (40 games and five goals after arriving in September 1966) was his next port of call and then, in March 1968, a fee of £7,000 took the experienced 28-year-old to Home Park as one of new manager Billy Bingham's first purchases for the Pilgrims.
   
   Neither Bingham nor Burnside, who made his debut in a 2-0 Second Division win at Hull City, arrived in time to save Argyle from relegation to the Third Division at the end of the 1967-68 season. Burnside played in the last 12 games of the campaign.
   
   The following term, however, saw Burnside prove his worth as a player. After excelling as both inside-forward and deep-lying centre-forward, he was voted 'Player of the Year' by Home Park fans in the 1968-69 campaign, in which he scored nine goals in 42 Third Division games.
   
   With Ellis Stuttard replacing Bingham in the manager's office, Burnside was used more sparingly in the 1969-70 season (15 League games, one goal) but he was a regular once more in 1970-71, mostly as a midfielder. He managed five goals in his 36 Third Division appearances.
   
   Burnside was an important member of the Argyle squad as the Pilgrims drifted along in the middle reaches of the Third Division, but many observers felt that he would have been even more effective if he did not have to cope with a daily commute from his Bristol home.
   
   Burnside's last senior game for the Pilgrims was in May 1971 at Millmoor, where he scored in a 1-1 Third Division draw with Rotherham United. The following term he found himself stuck in the reserves, however, and in December '71 he was transferred to his home-town club Bristol City. His final Argyle tally was 105 League games and 15 goals.
   
   Burnside played just one League game for the Ashton Gate club, though, before going to Colchester United, his last League club. He later moved back to his home in Bristol and became player-manager of Southern League side Bath City.
   
   After his playing days, Burnside became a coach, working for the Football Association as a regional coach in the Westcountry. Later he rejoined Bristol City and becoming a member of their back-room staff.