362: John Burridge, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Panini Football 84

Today Richard Allinson takes a look at one of his footballing heroes who is one of a long line of shot stoppers who well and truly demonstrated that experience can outweigh youth. A member of Blackpool’s ‘Hall of Fame’, an Anglo-Italian Cup winner and a pioneer in terms of nutrition and kit it’s something of a shock it’s taken us this long to talk about him. Over to Rich to do the honours.

John ‘Budgie’ Burridge was a childhood hero of mine. Like Burridge, I was absolutely addicted to football. Just by way of an example, Budgie used to take a ball to bed with him at night, whereas I slept in my shin pads and goalkeeper gloves. Also, like me, Budgie had curly hair and played in goal, and so therefore his hero status was never really in doubt. My rationale for idolising Dave Beasant stuck broadly to the same template too. And to think, they were both also on the books at Grimsby Town. They lived my dream. If only I’d had any ability to go with my bouncy hair and number one jersey…

It is said that not all heroes wear capes. Well mine did. In 1982, a Newcastle United side featuring Kevin Keegan, were due to play Burridge’s Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux and prior to the match Budgie had wagered a £100 bet with King Kev that he would play the game in a Superman outfit. It was a seemingly homemade affair, and was completed with what looked like a pair of red underpants and Wolves socks, and it was brilliant. It also shows why Burridge and football at the time in general were so fantastic: A bit of spirit, a bit of a laugh, and not taking things too seriously. The less said about today’s game in comparison the better. 

Another memorable thing about Budgie was his pre-match warm up routine for Crystal Palace. It started off with a few loosening jumps; next came a bit of rocking back and forwards, sort of akin to someone doing the worm but without moving off the spot; next we had some hip shimmying; followed by a walking handstand, a forward roll and some toe touching; we then saw a backwards roll into another walking handstand and a bit more toe touching; next up a wobbly walk, and a couple of forward flips finished off with some bendy heel touches; then there was a lot of one armed press ups and a backflip: and it was all topped off with a light jog. It is wonderful stuff, and certainly beats the time I broke my arm in a warm up when catching a ball. 

In his career, Burridge played 819 games for 29 different clubs over a career that spanned 36 years, with him having made his debut in 1969 and playing his last match in 2005, following a few years in semi-retirement. For context, he made his debut the same year Marvin Gaye released ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’, and played his final game the year that Crazy Frog released ‘Axel F’. Whilst on a nomadic period which took in fourteen clubs in four years, Burridge became, and remains, the oldest player in Premier League history when he turned out for Manchester City aged 43 years, 4 months and 26 days. Unless James Milner is still being functionally effective in ten years' time, I don’t think this is a record that will be broken anytime soon. Burridge’s longevity is undoubtedly down to a love the game, but he also looked after himself too which was somewhat of a novelty in an era where Steve Bould ate nine service station dinners in one journey. Burridge bucked the trend, eschewing fish and chips and a brew as a pre-match meal, he would instead have pasta and water. And they say Arsene Wenger revolutionised the game. 

With such a long career and dedication to the sport, it was always going to be hard for Burridge when he hung up his gloves. An article in the Daily Mail from 2014 tells the story of how, in the build-up to a game against Arsenal, while player-coach at Newcastle United, Burridge began to cry. His manager at the time, Kevin Keegan, asked him what was the matter, to which Burridge replied "I want to play, boss, and I can't.” After a few days of excuses and not going to work, his wife rang Keegan and all of a sudden, a reclusive and suicidal Burridge was admitted to The Priory in 1997, the doctors telling him that he was a manic depressive because he couldn’t play football. Once he had got out, Burridge began a career as a coach, which he still continues at the age of 70 with Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters. 

So John Burridge then, his life and career is that of a man that truly loves the beautiful game. He was an inspiration to me as a child, and he’ll always be my first pick in that “fun” ice-breaker thing of naming your top five dinner guests.