John Burridge – One of a kind | OneFootball

John Burridge was born in Workington in Cumbria and made his debut for his hometown club in 1969.

This would be the start of a career that would see him play for 29 different clubs in the English and Scottish football pyramids.

John was the first goalkeeper to wear latex gloves and introduced them to both Pat Jennings and Peter Shilton.

He was also a tee-totaller, which was highly unusual in the football environment of the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

He was a strong advocate of keeping a healthy diet and was always looking for nutritional ideas on how to fuel and re-fuel the body before and after games.

He began to study sports science and took a particular interest in the dietary habits of African tribesmen.

He wouldn’t eat steaks and fish and chips before games like his peers, but went for a high carb diet, which included the likes of baby food, pasta and potatoes.

John rocked up at St James’ Park to sign for Bald Eagle Jim Smith in 1989, only a few months before his 38th birthday. He would make 67 League appearances for Newcastle United in the following two seasons.

Newcastle got off to a flying start to the 1989/90 season with a 5-2 home victory against Second Division promotion favourites Leeds United.

Story has it that in the reverse fixture at Elland Road, Leeds hardman Vinnie Jones decided to try and intimidate the Newcastle players.

He had left a recreation room door open and was pumping iron as our players entered the building and headed for the away dressing room.

John Burridge clocked the grunting Jones and entered the room and asked him if he could have a go.

In club blazer ‘Budgie’, as he was affectionately known, put an extra 20 kilos on the bar and proceeded to do ten reps with no fuss.

On getting up, John said “That’s how you do it son” to an open mouthed Jones. The Toon players were in hysterics.

We finished third that season and in my own and many others’ opinions, Newcastle United should have went up, after play-off winners Swindon Town were prevented from being promoted due to financial irregularities.

In the first leg play-off semi-final against the mackems, Budgie saved a last minute penalty from Paul Hardyman. After parrying the kick, John then dived on the ball and the on-rushing Hardyman violently booted him in the head.

Hardyman was sent off but not before Budgie had said to him “It’s a pity you never whacked your penalty that hard, ya pr…”

Budgie left in 1991 to go north of the border to Hibernian.

Kevin Keegan brought him back for two further spells as back-up in 1993 and 1994.

John became the oldest player to ever play in the Premier League at 43 years, 4 months and 26 days during the 1994/95 season with Manchester City.

He had a brief spell back at Newcastle United as a coach in 1997 before taking the player manager’s job at Blyth Spartans.

Over the years Budgie has coached with the England national set-up and has plied his skills around the globe.

He is currently the goalkeeping coach of the Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League and also goalkeeping consultant to their youth academy.

John Burridge is undoubtedly one of the greatest characters to ever grace the British game.

He was super strong and fit and would even keep the fans entertained by doing somersaults and acrobatics in his warm ups.

Never has there been a chant truer than “There’s only one John Burridge”…