Rob Burch
Burch, for me, was always a villain by proxy. He didn’t do anything wrong, but I was an Alan Marriott fan and I didn’t see a reason for him to be discarded. In truth, Burch was probably a wise pick, a bit bigger, not a lot of experience in terms of football, but an able stopper. He’d been the back up at a number of clubs on loan, and came to City with a point to prove.
2008/09 was the year of the Magnificent Seven, and Burch did his part. 13 clean sheets in a side not known for stoic defending was impressive. 2009/10 was even harder, swapping Jackson for Sutton, we had a porous backline. He still kept ten clean sheets, making it 23 from 100 outings in all competitions.
At the age of 26, he was offered a new deal. He’d played nine senior games before coming to us, and we wanted to keep him for 2010/11. If he’d signed a deal, maybe we wouldn’t have gone down, but he didn’t. He rejected terms, with rumours of bigger clubs interested, before moving to Notts County in League One.
That should have been his springboard, but injuries began to hit. He broke his toe after the opening fixture against Huddersfield, and played just once in two months. He still kept six clean sheets in 19, but was injured again against Hartlepool in January, and missed four more months, albeit three of those having not regained his place in the team. He returned on the final day, only because his stand-in, Stuart Nelson, was injured, and he came on as a late sub.
The following season, 2011/12, he didn’t feature at all. A knee problem ruled him out for the first half of the season, and he appeared on the bench sporadically in March, without getting a game. He was released at the end of the campaign, aged just 28, and retired from football.
He was big, commanded his area well and had good shot-stopping ability. After leaving us for a move up the divisions, he should have had the tools to thrive, but instead, saw his career blighted by injuries.
Do you agree with our list? Have we missed anyone off?
I missed the Tony James days because I was working abroad, which from a supporters view point is disappointing. As for the rest I’m glad I’ve been a part of.