Former Sunderland goalkeeper Lee Burge was born on this day in 1993. The shot-stopper is now at Northampton Town...
Burge came through the ranks at Coventry’s before joining non-league Nuneaton Town. Burge was instrumental in a Nuneaton campaign in which the sided avoided relegation and he returned to Coventry with valuable experience, as so often is the case when keepers drop down the leagues (see Jordan Pickford). The 2014-15 season saw Burge handed the number one shirt and he made his debut in October 2014 after a series of bad performances from their first choice keeper. In the game following his league debut, Burge was red carded after just 39 minutes for a hopeless challenge against a Worcester City player. The resulting penalty was converted and 10 man Coventry suffered their first ever first round FA Cup exit and their first loss to a non league team since 1989. Altogether, he made 140 appearances in all competitions for Coventry before being released. He was in goal for Coventry in the famous 4-5 game against the sky blues at the Stadium of Light.
His bizarre injury in 2018 ranks alongside Rio Ferdinand’s strained knee sustained whilst watching telly, Burge was hit in the head with a stray puck whilst watching local ice hockey team Coventry Blazes. Thankfully Sunderland doesn’t have an ice rink, which might have played a part in his joining SAFC in 2019. He was signed as a replacement for Jon McLaughlin who was arguably the best keeper in the league, so Burge had pretty big gloves to fill on Wearside. Burge proved a solid enough goalkeeper in League One, proving particularly adept at saving penalties. His finest night in a Sunderland shirt must have come when his penalty heroics took us through to the Quarter Finals of the Carabao Cup in the shoot out against QPR.
Under Lee Johnson and then Alex Neil Burge eventually found himself playing second fiddle to Ron-Thorben Hoffman, and then became third choice keeper after the introduction of Anthony Patterson in the team. He struggled with illness, Covid-19 and then heart problems, and when we were promoted via the play-offs it was inevitable that his contract wouldn't be renewed.
Sunderland went to the Championship, and Burge went to League Two with Northampton. While he wasn't a world beater at Sunderland, the transfer raised eyebrows as many fans saw him as a competent League One keeper. That being said, he's playing regularly now so perhaps the lure of consistent game time was enough for Burge to drop down a division...
