Tommy Burns (footballer)

Football player infobox


playername = Tommy Burns
fullname = Thomas Burns
dateofbirth = 16 December 1956
cityofbirth = Glasgow
countryofbirth = Scotland
cityofdeath = Glasgow
countryofdeath = Scotland
dateofdeath = death date and age|2008|5|15|1956|12|16|df=y
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs = Maryhill
years = 1975–1989
1989–1994
clubs = Celtic
Kilmarnock
Total
caps(goals) = 352 0(52)
151 0(16)
503 0(68)
nationalyears = 1981–1988
nationalteam = Scotland
nationalcaps(goals) = 008 00(0)
manageryears = 1992–1994
1994–1997
1998–1999
managerclubs = Kilmarnock
Celtic
Reading

Thomas "Tommy" Burns (16 December 1956 – 15 May 2008) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. He was also a Scotland international, winning eight caps while a Celtic player. In 2006 he was diagnosed with skin cancer which, despite a brief recovery, he succumbed to on May 15, 2008.

Career

Although he started out as a goalkeeper for non-league side Benburb F.C., Burns eventually became a midfielder, and was signed by Celtic in 1973 from his second club Maryhill, a junior team from Glasgow. He made his debut against Dundee United on 19 April, 1975, and he was a vital part of the side which won the league and cup double in the club's centenary season, 1988. In total, he made 352 league appearances and scored 52 goals.

The following year, Burns moved to Kilmarnock, where he became player-manager in 1992, winning the club promotion to the Scottish Premier Division in season 1992-93.

Burns moved to become manager at Celtic at the start of season 1994-95, in acrimonious circumstances as he was still under contract to Kilmarnock as both player and manager. Kilmarnock refused to release him from his contract and the Scottish Football Association subsequently fined Celtic £100,000 for 'tapping', or speaking to Burns without obtaining Kilmarnock's permission. Kilmarnock were also permitted to retain his playing registration, effectively ending his professional career as a player.

At Celtic, his team grew a reputation for playing attractive and attacking football and they won the Scottish Cup in 1995; [Reid, Harry (2005), "The Final Whistle", Birlinn, 182, ISBN 1-84158-362-6] but Celtic proved unable to break the domination of Old Firm rivals Rangers. Burns was sacked from Celtic in 1997 and went on to work under Kenny Dalglish at Newcastle United.

On 25 March 1998, he was appointed manager of Reading, who were struggling in Division One in what was their final season at Elm Park before the relocation to Madejski Stadium. He remained in this position until 16 September 1999, when he was dismissed following Reading's failure to win promotion from Division Two. [http://www.soccerbase.com/manager_history.sd?teamid=2125]

He became assistant manager of the Scottish national team under Berti Vogts in 2002 and retained the position under Walter Smith. In between, he managed Scotland for one match, a 4-1 friendly defeat to Sweden.cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/4012725.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|title=Scotland 1-4 Sweden|date=2004-11-17|accessdate=2008-05-15] He returned to Celtic for a third time when Martin O'Neill placed him in charge of youth development. Upon the arrival of Gordon Strachan as manager in 2005, Burns was appointed First Team Coach, a role he combined with his Youth Development post.

On 18 January 2007, Burns announced through Celtic's official website that he was severing all ties with the Scottish national team to concentrate on his role at the club. It was reported that Burns had found out that he was not a potential candidate for the job of national team coach. [ [http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=96592007 Burns quits national set-up] , "The Scotsman"] .

Illness and death

On 29 March, 2006, Celtic confirmed Burns had begun treatment for melanoma skin cancer. [cite news | title=Burns undergoes cancer treatment | date=29 March 2006 | publisher=BBC | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/4859106.stm] On 10 March 2008, Celtic announced that Burns was facing another skin cancer scare, and would be undergoing further treatment for the disease. [cite news | title=Burns facing fresh cancer battle | date=10 March 2008 | publisher=BBC | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/7288829.stm] On 15 May 2008, Burns died at home.cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/7402185.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|title= Celtic's Burns succumbs to cancer|date=2008-05-15|accessdate=2008-05-15] The funeral was held at Glasgow's St Mary's Church on 20 May 2008.

Tributes

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan was among those those who paid tribute to Burns. A visibly emotional Strachan said "being Tommy's mate was the best part of joining Celtic" and that "There weren't many better than him. But, as a person, he was top of the league when it comes to being a man."cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/7402752.stm|publisher=BBC Sport|title=Strachan leads tributes to Burns|date=2008-05-15|accessdate=2008-05-16] Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell said "If you define a Celtic man, it would certainly be Tommy Burns. He was a wonderful human being." Club captain Stephen McManus said "He was courageous and he was probably as brave a man as you'll ever meet." Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist, who had worked with Burns in his role for the Scotland national team, said "I have met a lot of good people through football but Tam was the very best." [cite news|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/2008/05/16/rangers-legend-ally-mccoist-celtic-s-tommy-burns-was-the-best-person-i-ve-ever-met-86908-20419409/|title=Ally McCoist: Celtic's Tommy Burns was the best person I've ever met.|date=2008-05-16|accessdate=2008-05-16] On 16 May, Rangers manager Walter Smith and McCoist arrived at Celtic Park to lay a wreath in memory of Burns, and then spent half an hour in the stadium, speaking with Celtic officials, then another half hour outside speaking to fans. Smith and McCoist also served as pallbearers at Burns' funeral. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7409117.stm Thousands bid farewell to Burns] , BBC News.]

Playing honours

Celtic

*Winners
**Scottish Premier Division (6): 1976–77, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1985–86, 1987–88
**Scottish Cup (4): 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989
**Scottish League Cup (1): 1982–83

Managerial honours

Kilmarnock

*Promotion from Scottish First Division (1): 1992–93

Celtic

*Winners
**Scottish Cup (1): 1995

*Runners-up"'
**Scottish Premier Division (2): 1995–96, 1996–97
**Scottish League Cup (1): 1994–95

References

External links

* [http://www.londonhearts.com/scotland/players/thomasburns.html Scotland career profile at www.londonhearts.com]
* [http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/player_details.cfm?playerid=284&CFID=271792&CFTOKEN=75084833 Profile at www.scottishfa.co.uk]
* [http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/tribute/burns/2817308 Tommy Burns - Obituary and public tribute]