Paul Burns
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul Burns | ||
| Date of birth | 18 May 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Irvine, Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Right midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Queen of the South | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2002 | Queen of the South | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002–2011 | Queen of the South | 226 | (25) |
| 2011–2012 | Dunfermline Athletic | 27 | (2) |
| 2012– | Queen of the South | 23 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Paul Burns (born 18 May 1984) is a Scottish professional association footballer who plays for Queen of the South. Burns is primarily a right midfielder.
Early life
Born in the local maternity hospital in Irvine, North Ayrshire, but brought up in Cumnock,[1] he is the grandson of the late Mick Morran, who served Ayrshire Junior side Glenafton Athletic as physiotherapist for thirty-five years.
Burns played for a number of youth teams, including the same Ayr Valspar Boys Club side as Scottish international defender Kirk Broadfoot. It was whilst playing with them that he was spotted by Queen of the South and signed up as a sixteen-year-old.
Career
Queen of the South
Having signed for Queen of the South youth team in 2000, he was promoted to the senior side on 17 June 2002.[2] Burns made his first team debut in a league match against Arbroath on 18 March 2003, three years after joining the Dumfries side. He came on as an 84-minute substitute for Eric Paton.[1][3] His first goal came verses Ross County in a 3–0 League Cup victory on 23 September 2003.[1][4] He became a popular player amongst the fans due to his committed performances and his hard, crowd pleasing tackles.
Early in his spell in Dumfries, Burns was a member of the starting eleven that topped the Scottish First Division, the first time Queens had done so in fifty years, thanks to a 3–2 win over Inverness in October 2003. Burns made his 100th start in a league defeat to Hamilton Academical on 18 August 2007 and was rewarded with a presentation at Palmerston Park before Queens' league match against Livingston a week later.
Burns scored the second goal for Queens in the thrilling 4–3 victory over Aberdeen in the semi final of the 2008 Scottish Cup. This goal along with others from Steve Tosh, Sean O'Connor and John Stewart ensured Queen of the South played in their first Scottish Cup final on 24 May 2008 at Hampden Park.[1][5] Burns played in the final as Queens went down 3–2 to Rangers despite a battling second half performance. Queens finished 2007–08 in fourth place in Scottish football's second flight.[1]
In 2008–09 Burns played in both of Queen of the South's UEFA Cup second round qualification games.[1] In the top of table clash at home against Livingston on 4 October, Burns hit the Queens sixth goal of the day. The 6–1 victory saw Queens go top in the First Division for the first time in five years.
Burns signed a contract extension, which will see him at Queens until 31 May 2011, accumulating a total of 11 years spent at Queen of the South. He made his 200th appearance for the side in a Challenge Cup match Dunfermline Athletic on 18 August 2009[6] with his 200th start coming in the same season against Airdrie United on 12 April 2010. On 4 September 2010 in the 5–0 challenge Cup tie win at Palmerston Park against East Fife Burns scored his first ever hat trick.[1][7] His 250th appearance came during a 0–0 draw away to Stirling Albion on 25 September 2010.[1] He ended the 2010/11 season with a double in the 3–0 home win against Dundee in the last game of the season in what proved to be his final appearance for Queen of the South. He made a total of 273 appearances (239 starts) for the club scoring 34 goals in the process.[8]
Dunfermline Athletic
On 31 May 2011 it was announced that Burns had left Queen of the South and joined Dunfermline Athletic on a Bosman free transfer, signing a two-year contract.[9] He made his debut for the club in a Scottish Premier League match against St. Mirren on 25 July 2011.[10] Burns scored his first goal for the club against Dundee United on 20 August 2011 in which the Pars won 1–0.[11]
Return to Queens
Burns returned to Queens, after negotiating his release from Dunfermline Athletic, on 31 August 2012 signing a one-year deal with the option of another year. Burns is now the only player left at the club who featured in the 2008 Scottish Cup Final.
Career statistics
Correct as of 23 December 2013
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Other[12] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Queen of the South | 2002–03 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2003–04 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 | |
| 2004–05 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 1 | |
| 2005–06 | 33 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 5 | |
| 2006–07 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | 28 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 7 | |
| 2008–09 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 35 | 3 | |
| 2009–10 | 35 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 42 | 7 | |
| 2010–11 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 10 | |
| First Queen's spell | Total | 226 | 25 | 17 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 18 | 5 | 273 | 34 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 2011–12 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 2 |
| 2012–13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Dunfermline Athletic | Total | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 2 |
| Queen of the South | 2012–13 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 2 |
| 2013–14 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Second Queen's spell | Total | 32 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 2 |
| Total Queen's career | Total | 258 | 27 | 21 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 19 | 5 | 313 | 36 |
| Career total | 285 | 29 | 22 | 2 | 17 | 2 | 19 | 5 | 342 | 38 | |
Personal life
In the summer of 2009, Burns became the first footballer in the United Kingdom to contract swine flu. Burns, a boyhood Celtic fan, had caught the illness from his cousin who had been travelling on a Rangers supporters bus from Dunoon to Tannadice Park, Dundee for the last day of the Scottish Premier League season. He was quarantined in his house for five days but made a full recovery.[13] That same summer a second Queens player, Bob Harris, contracted the virus while on holiday in Ibiza.[14]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Burnsy" Queen of the South FC
- ↑ Scottish Football League (October 2004). The Bell's Scottish Football Review 2004/05. CRE8. ISBN 0-9548556-0-4.
- ↑ Queen of Sth 3–0 Arbroath Soccerbase, 18 March 2003
- ↑ "Ross County 0–3 Queen of Sth" Soccerbase, 23 September 2003
- ↑ "Queen of the South 4–3 Aberdeen" BBC Sport. 12 April 2008.
- ↑ "Dunfermline 1–2 Queen of South" BBC Sport. 18 August 2009.
- ↑ "Queen of South 5–0 East Fife" BBC Sport. 4 September 2010.
- ↑ "Queen of the South 3 – 0 Dundee" www.qosfc.com 8th May 2011
- ↑ "Paul Burns signs a two-year deal with Dunfermline". BBC Sport. 31 May 2011.
- ↑ "Dunfermline 0–0 St Mirren". BBC Sport. 25 July 2011.
- ↑ "Dundee Utd 0–1 Dunfermline". BBC Sport. 20 August 2011.
- ↑ Includes UEFA Cup and Scottish Challenge Cup matches.
- ↑ "Gers fans gave me swine flu" The Scottish Sun, 19 June 2009
- ↑ "Footballer struck with swine flu" BBC News, 2 July 2009
External links
- Paul Burns career stats at Soccerbase
- Paul Burns career stats at Soccerbase (Early career due to a Soccerbase naming error)
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