Nicholas John Burton (born 10 February 1975, in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

) is an English former professional footballer. He played as a central defender and played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

. Burton began his career as an apprentice at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, but on failing to win a professional contract at

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect A ...

, he joined

in February 1993. He scored on his league debut on 31 August 1993 as Torquay drew 1–1 at home to

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

. He played only 16 times in the league for Torquay, scoring once more, in the 4–1 defeat away to

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

in January 1994, before being released in 1995 joining

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

. He moved to

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area i ...

on a free transfer in February 1996, making his debut as a substitute for Jimmy Sugrue in the 1–0 defeat away to Leyton Pennant on 10 February, and quickly became a regular in the Aldershot side. His only goal for the Shots came on 24 September 1996 as Aldershot drew 2–2 away to

Billericay Town Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three o ...

. He began the 1997–98 season as a regular in the centre of the Shots' defence, but lost his place and left to join Hampton & Richmond Borough in December 1997. He helped Hampton to promotion at the end of the season. In the 1999–2000 season he had such a good season that he won almost every one of the various awards given to Hampton players. He missed the start of the following season with a foot injury, but once fit regained his regular place in the Hampton side. In October 2001, even though he was captain of Hampton, he was allowed to join Isthmian League Premier rivals Gravesend & Northfleet on a free transfer as Hampton suffered a cash crisis and released five players. He helped Gravesend to the Isthmian League Premier Division title and with it promotion to the

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

. He left Gravesend in May 2003 to join

Farnborough Town Farnborough Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. Founded in 1967 as Farnborough Town, they are currently members of the , the sixth tier of English football and play at Cherrywood Road. H ...

and was immediately appointed captain by Farnborough manager

Tommy Taylor Thomas Taylor (29 January 1932 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer, who was known for his aerial ability. He was one of the eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster. Career Taylor was born in Smithies, ...

. He played over 50 times in the Conference for Farnborough before moving to

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team co ...

in March 2005 in exchange deal that took Kevin Hemsley in the opposite direction. He was offered a new contract with Crawley at the end of the season, but turned it down due to work commitments. He joined

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

in June 2005, but left to join St Albans City in November 2005. He made his Saints' debut in an

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

win away to

Heybridge Swifts Heybridge Swifts Football Club is a football club based in Heybridge, near Maldon, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Scraley Road. History The club was established in 1880 as Heybridge Football Club. After joining t ...

later that month, but missed the following two matches due his marriage in December 2005. He finally made his

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

debut on 26 December 2005 as Saints won at home to

Bishops Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated popu ...

and appeared on the winning side in each of first six games for the club. He left St Albans in March 2006 and joined

Staines Town Staines Town Football Club was a semi-professional Association football, football club based in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex. History Early days Staines Town FC was founded in 1892 and was known under various names including ''Staines F.C ...

. He rejoined Farnborough in the 2006 close season, playing 36 times in their

side. He left to join Harrow Borough in the 2007 close season, while also working as a sales executive (in 2000 he had been described in the ''Sunday Independent'' as a 'glue salesman by trade'). He moved back to Farnborough in July 2008. In January 2009, Burton signed for Walton Casuals.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Nick Living people 1975 births Sportspeople from Bury St Edmunds Men's association football central defenders English men's footballers Torquay United F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Aldershot Town F.C. players Hampton & Richmond Borough F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Farnborough F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players St Albans City F.C. players Staines Town F.C. players Harrow Borough F.C. players Walton Casuals F.C. players Footballers from Suffolk