Adrian Mark Burrows (born 16 January 1959) is an English retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He began his career as an apprentice with

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

,"Adrian Burrows profile"
Neil Brown. Retrieved 16 September 2010. and progressed through the club's youth system to make his first team debut in 1979. He made 78 league appearances over the next three years, scoring six goals, before moving to

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

. After 88 league appearances in two years he wrote to

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

manager Johnny Hore to ask for a trial."Adrian Burrows profile"
. Plymouth Argyle. Retrieved 16 September 2010. He would spend the next ten years at

Home Park Home Park is a football stadium in Plymouth, England. The ground has been the home of Football League One club Plymouth Argyle since 1901.

, but he lost his place in the team after the arrival of Dave Smith as the club's manager."Adrian Burrows profile"
Greens on Screen. Retrieved 16 September 2010. He spent time on loan with

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

in 1987, making six appearances, but he turned down a permanent transfer because he was settled in Plymouth. He regained his place in the Argyle team and remained an important member of the squad for the next six years. His final appearance for the club came in May 1994 when the club took part in the Second Division play-offs. He was sent off in the second leg against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

and returned to the dressing room, where he broke down in tears. He finished his career in non-league football and became a driving instructor after retiring.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, Adrian 1959 births Living people Footballers from Sutton-in-Ashfield English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Mansfield Town F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Southend United F.C. players English Football League players Saltash United F.C. players