"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."
Budgie
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Budgie, the autobiography of goalkeeping legend John Burridge, John Blake Publishing, 2010. ISBN: 978-1-84358-289-2
This is a well above average football autobiography.
John Burridge was a character! He played 771 league games in Britain and had 30 clubs. His co-author writes in the introduction: “The charismatic lunatic between the goalposts was a born entertainer, and would always catch the eye with his bizarre blend of gymnastics and unbridled enthusiasm. He insisted on taking time out at the end of each game – win, lose or draw to run to the fans to applaud their contribution, and that common touch earned him respect and admiration”.
There is a larger than life element to John Burridge who was once interviewed for a job with the Iraq FA by Saddam Hussein’s son! Yet in a sense he never ceased to be the starry eyed youngster who played against Manchester United as a teenager – but only after getting George Best and Bobby Charlton’s autographs first!
His contribution to the art of goalkeeping is immense. He was the first in England to do warm ups, stretch and to wear gloves. All those things seem so normal to us by when Budgie first said he wanted to go out on the pitch 45 minutes before the game and stretch, his manager thought he was mad.
The book gives interesting insights into how players were treated in the days before agents ruled. On one occasion Burridge was wanted by Manchester United. Aston Villa offered more and he was sold to Villa; he had no say in the matter.
Then there was his signing on fee negotiations with QPR. Chairman, Jim Gregory, handed him a bag of banknotes. Budgie said he had been promised more. The chairman replied: “‘Take it or leave it,’ he said. ‘Okay then, I’ll leave it.’ So I got up and started to walk towards the door of his office. As soon as I put my hand on the door handle, he said: ‘John, come back.’ He opened the drawer and chucked another bundle of cash the table”.
Janet Burridge, gives an interesting perspective on her husband: “ He twitches, fidgets and relives every moment of a game. He grabs at imaginary shots, sets himself ready to spring for a corner ball and yells warnings to defenders …Once when we were sleeping, he hit me with his elbow. And when I woke him up he couldn’t believe it. He said he was going up for a ball – at least that was his excuse. I’m dreading the day he has to pack it all up – I think he’d sooner have his heart taken out”.
He may sit on the crossbar – as he once did during a game to amuse the crowd – but he does not sit on the fence. He has an opinion on everything. On the sacking of Andy Gray at Sky for a sexist comment, he writes: “I won’t beat around the bush with all the politically-correct crap that brought him down, that’s for sure!” or about the state of the UK “In Britain, you work your balls off to earn a good salary and you get nothing back, but the government lets anyone into the country and gives them a house, free NHS and so on”.
I will give the last word to John Burridge who gives this assessment of himself: “I knew from the age of 15 when I first went into football as a professional that one day I would be a manager or a coach. I also knew I’d be in football until the day I died. I really hope I die on the football field or the training ground – although not just yet! I’m really in love with the game. Football makes me what I am; I’m not a person who’s introvert and keeps myself to myself, football makes me happy”.