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Bob Paisley used to say that his strategy was that of signing a
promising young player each year and in paying £500, 000 to West
Bromwich Albion for David Burrows, Kenny Dalglish was clearly following
his mentor's instructions. For a player who had just turned 19 and had
played just over fifty games for his club, it was a significant outlay.
Yet the England U21 international was regarded as one of the best
talents in the country and Liverpool's bold move was more than
justified. An injury crisis gave Burrows an early chance and he
virtually became a regular from then on. Tactical naivety occasionally
got the better of him and cost him his place following his introduction.
Typically, however, he made up by working hard to regain his place,
something that he did during the 1989-90 season where Liverpool
reclaimed the title that they had conceded a year earlier to Arsenal.
Throughout that campaign Burrows never fully overcame the competition of
another young left back, Steve Staunton. His versatility, however,
meant that there was usually a spot for him, be it at left back, on the
left side of midfield, as a holding midfielder or even an occasional
outing in the centre of defence. Without ever attaining the same cult
hero status, Burrows was a latter day Joey Jones. A sweet left foot,
fierce tackling and stamina were his main assets. Even so, his main
value was that of being able of performing equally well in a number of
positions rather than excelling in one single role.
He even deputised
for Bruce Grobbelaar when the goalkeeper was sent off during a European
game against Spartak Moscow! Burrows remained a regular even when
Dalglish left in February 1991 and was replaced by Graeme Souness, the
1990-91 campaign proving to be his best in terms of appearances with 35
league outings. Souness somewhat surprisingly let Staunton depart to
Aston Villa in the summer of 1991 and Burrows therefore continued as the
regular left back during the 91/92 campaign, culminating in an
appearance at Wembley as Liverpool comfortably saw off Sunderland 2-0 to
win the F.A. Cup.
David even managed to score his first Liverpool goal
and in memorable style too, coming, as it did, in a 3-1 Merseyside derby
success at Anfield. Yet, there was always the suspicion that the the
manager felt that he could do better and when left-back Julian Dicks
surprisingly joined from West Ham, Burrows went the other way along with
Mike Marsh as part of the £2.5 million deal. It was a sad end to
David's time at Anfield. Although he may not have reached the heights
that many had predicted for him, over the years he had been a consistent
and reliable performer one who had won a League title and an F.A. Cup
- who perhaps deserved a better exit. His career at Upton Park never
amounted to much and Burrows eventually returned to the Midlands where
he joined Coventy City. (Paul Grech)
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