Footballers who have played league football for both PNE and Ipswich
A-K
965) Wayne Brown
PNE 15 apps; 0 goals
Ipswich 40 apps; 0 goals
PNE debut 28/10/2008 v Watford (H) – Won 2-0
426) Mick Burns
PNE 12 apps; 0 goals
Ipswich 160 apps; 0 goals
PNE debut 17/10/1936 v Stoke (A) – Won 2-0
888) Ricardo Fuller
PNE 58 apps; 27 goals
Ipswich 3 apps; 2 goals
PNE debut 10/08/2002 v Crystal Palace (H) – Lost 1-2
877) David Healy
PNE 139 apps; 44 goals
Ipswich 12 apps; 1 goal
PNE debut 30/12/2000 v Sheffield United (A) – Lost 2-3
668) David Johnston
PNE 24 apps; 3 goals
Ipswich 136 apps; 35 goals
PNE debut 13/10/1984 v Reading (H) – Lost 0-2
Player Profile – Mick Burns
Michael Thomas Burns was born in Leeholme, County Durham on 7 June 1908.
After starting his football career with Chilton Collery he joined First Division Newcastle in September 1927. He was never an automatic choice as first team goalkeeper in the nine seasons at Newcastle and made 10 appearances in 1927/28 whilst an understudy to Willie Watson. His second season for the Magpies saw him make the most appearances in a season with 29, but after that season he played in less than half the matches for the remainder of his Newcastle career. In the 1933/34 season Newcastle were relegated from the First Division but Burns only appeared in 6 matches. In total he made 104 league appearances.
In July 1936 Burns was signed by Preston manager Tommy Muirhead. He was signed as understudy to Harry Holdcroft who had been the Preston goalkeeper for the past four seasons. Burns made his debut on 17 October 1936 in a 2-0 victory at Stoke. He had to wait a further three months before he got his second game, also against the same opposition in the FA Cup Fourth Round as PNE won 5-1 at Deepdale. Burns then kept his place for the next four matches including the Fifth Round win against Exeter.
Holdcroft regained his place for the next 11 matches until injury caused him to miss the Semi Final victory against West Brom. After playing in the last three league of the 1936/37 season he finished the season playing in the most important match of his career in front of almost 93,500 spectators as Preston lost to Sunderland 3-1 at Wembley in the FA Cup Final.
The following season Burns only managed 5 appearances between October and November 1937 as he remained the understudy to Holdcroft and watched from the stands as Preston beat Huddersfield in the 1938 FA Cup Final.
At the end of the season Burns left Preston after making just 12 league appearances, although he only suffered one defeat in the league. Burns then joined Ipswich Town in May 1938. He became first choice goalkeeper in what was their inaugural season in the football league. The first match for Ipswich was a 4-2 home win against Southend as they finished seventh in the 1938/39 season.
During the war years he played matches for Norwich before returning to Portman Road in the 1946/47 season. On the resumption of league football Burns continued to be the first choice goalkeeper making 41 appearances. After being limited to 19 appearances in the 1947/48 season he did not make a first team appearance until the 1950/51 season when he was first choice again with 43 appearances.
He made 12 league appearances in 1950/51 and his 157th and last league game for Ipswich was on 6 October 1951 at the age of 43 in a 2-1 defeat at Exeter and is currently the 16th oldest player to play in the football league. His final match was in January 1952 against Gateshead in the FA Cup.
After leaving football, Burns became a caretaker in a school in Newcastle upon Tyne and passed away in September 1982 aged 74.