Chris Burke (footballer)

Rangers

Born in Glasgow, Burke is a product of Rangers' youth system but he had previously played for Celtic Boys Club; he joined Rangers on 5 July 2000. He first broke into the Rangers first team in the 2001–02 season and scored on his début against Kilmarnock on 20 March 2002. He became a regular player in the Rangers squad and was involved in the club's 2003–04 Champions League campaign. In the opening game of the 2004–05 season at Aberdeen, Burke fainted on the pitch and was out of action for almost the whole season with a mysterious virus.

However, he came back strongly and played in most Rangers games in 2005–06, including vital Champions League games against Internazionale, Porto, and Villarreal. Burke was injured against Celtic on 23 September 2006, damaging ligaments in his left shoulder in a challenge with Aiden McGeady. The injury required an operation and Burke was ruled out of action for an estimated three months.

On 25 January 2007, Burke signed a new contract with Rangers keeping him at the club until 2009. After being frozen out of the first team squad for the first half of the 2007–08 season, Burke returned to replace the then injured Nacho Novo and DaMarcus Beasley, keeping his place in the side until April 2008, when he was injured in a Scottish Cup match against St Johnstone.

Cardiff City

After making just two appearances for Rangers during the first half of the 2008–09 season, Burke left the club on 9 January to sign for Football League Championship side Cardiff City on a free transfer, linking up with former Rangers teammates Gavin Rae and Ross McCormack. He made his debut on 17 January when he replaced Peter Whittingham after 45 minutes in a 1–1 draw with Birmingham City, and scored his first goal for the club on 21 April during a 2–2 draw with Charlton Athletic.

On 16 September, Burke scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win over Reading at the Madejski Stadium. On 29 September he scored his second of the season in a 6–1 thrashing of Derby County at the Cardiff City Stadium. His goalscoring form continued, including winning goals in matches against Preston North End and Middlesbrough, and on 8 December he scored his fourth goal of the season in a 2–0 win over West Bromwich Albion, making the 2009–10 season the highest goalscoring year of his career.

On 27 March 2010, Burke reached ten goals in all competitions with a goal against Crystal Palace, leading manager Dave Jones to describe him as being "an integral part of what we do". On 23 May 2011, Burke left Cardiff City after failing to agree a new contract.

Birmingham City

On 8 June 2011, Burke signed a pre-contract agreement with fellow Championship club Birmingham City. He joined the club formally on a two-year deal on 1 July, having left Cardiff on a free transfer under the Bosman ruling. He made his Birmingham debut on the opening day of the season in a 2–1 defeat to Derby County, and came close to equalising in the second half when his shot after a fine solo run beat the goalkeeper but rebounded back into play off the post. Burke was part of the starting eleven in Birmingham's first match in major European competition for nearly 50 years, the Europa League play-off round first leg against Portuguese club Nacional, which finished goalless. He featured in 61 of the club's 62 competitive games as they reached the play-offs, scoring 14 goals and making 19 assists, and won the club's Player of the Year award, as well as the Players' and Junior Blues' Player of the Year awards.

At the end of the 2012–13 season, the club took up their option to extend Burke's contract for a further year. He left the club when that contract expired.

Nottingham Forest

Burke signed a two-year deal with Championship club Nottingham Forest on 29 July 2014. Burke scored on his debut, curling the second goal in from the edge of the box in the 30th minute of a 2–0 win over Blackpool in Forest's first game of the season, and started Forest's first eight league games of the new season. His second goal, in new manager Dougie Freedman's first home match in charge, was Forest's second in a 3–0 win over Wigan Athletic in February 2015, and he also scored in his next two appearances, against Lancashire clubs Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers.

Rotherham United loan

Burke joined fellow Championship club Rotherham United on 22 January 2016 on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut on 23 January 2016 against Cardiff City. He scored his first goal for the club a week later, on 30 January 2016, in a 1–4 defeat against Charlton Athletic.

On his return to Nottingham Forest, Burke was released at the end of his contract.

Ross County

In September 2016, Burke signed a contract to the end of the 2016–17 season with Scottish Premiership club Ross County.

Kilmarnock

Burke signed a one-year contract with Kilmarnock in July 2017.

International career

Burke won his first Scotland cap on 11 May 2006 as a substitute against Bulgaria in the Kirin Cup and scored twice in a 5–1 victory.

After six years without international recognition, Burke was named in Gordon Strachan's first squad in January 2013. According to Strachan, "Chris was fantastic in the Europa League at a good level, he has a maturity about his play now. In the international set-up you need to be able to beat people by passing or eliminating people by going past them. He can certainly do the second part and is getting better at the first. International defences are so good, you need people like that."

International goals

Career statistics

Honours

Rangers

Scotland