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Date and Place of Birth 10th February 1965 - SUNDERLAND
Transfers to and from Burnley from PETERBOROUGH UNITED - 21st January 1994 (£80,000) to CARDIFF CITY - 6th December 1995 (£50,000)
First and Last Burnley Games PLYMOUTH ARGYLE (a) - 22nd January 1994
BRISTOL CITY (h) - 23rd December 1995 sub: replaced Andy Cooke
Other Clubs SHEFFIELD UT, ROTHERHAM UTD (loan), OLDHAM ATHLETIC, PRESTON NORTH END, BOLTON WAND, PETERBOROUGH UTD, CARLISLE UNITED (loan from BURNLEY) ---------------------------------------- CARDIFF CITY, MACCLESFIELD TOWN |
Burnley Career Stats
| Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Others | Total | |||||
| apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | |
| 1993/94 | 19 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 19 | 7 |
| 1994/95 | 7(6) | 1 | - | - | 1(1) | - | - | - | 8(7) | 1 |
| 1995/96 | 7(1) | 1 | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | 10(1) | 1 |
| Total | 33(7) | 9 | - | - | 4(1) | - | - | - | 37(8) | 9 |
Profile by Tony Scholes
He once scored five goals in an FA Cup tie and had them chalked off and he once scored a hat trick only to be jeered by his own supporters. The cup tie came earlier both those jeering fans were Burnley fans and the player in question was Tony Philliskirk.
The Sunderland born Philliskirk was an England Schoolboy international and although he started his career in red and white stripes it wasn't with his home town club. He signed for Sheffield United and broke into the first team early in the 1983/84 season whilst still just 18 years of age.
Partnering Keith Edwards he scored eight goals in that first season as the Blades won promotion to the Second Division, going up after the season had ended when Hull were only able to beat Burnley by two goals.
In the following two seasons he was never a regular and even enjoyed a short loan at Rotherham in 1986, but he did eventually win his place back and was the club's leading scorer in the 1987/88 season which ended in relegation.
He decided it was time to move on and in just a year he was transferred three times, playing for three clubs in the North West. He left Sheffield United for Oldham but then quickly moved on to Preston and then Bolton.
Bolton proved to be just the right place for Philliskirk, who had cost them £50,000, and over the next three years he was their leading goal scorer in two of those seasons. He helped them reach the play offs in both of his first two seasons in the old Third Division but they lost out both times. He scored in both legs of the semi-final in 1991 against Bury but was onthe losing side at Wembley in the final.
His partnership with David Reeves was one of the best in the league and Bolton did finally win promotion in 1992/93. But by then Philliskirk had moved on to Peterborough in a deal worth £85,000.
It was at the Posh where he scored five times in a cup match only to see them all wiped from the records. They came in an astonishing 9-1 win against Kingstonian but during the game the Kingstonian goalkeeper was hit by a coin thrown from the crowd. The FA ordered the game to be replayed behind closed doors. This time Peterborough won 1-0 and he didn't score.
He spent some time out injured at Peterborough and in total was only there for fifteen months before Jimmy Mullen paid £80,000 to bring him to Turf Moor in January 1994 as he strengthened his promotion chasing squad.
He scored at Plymouth on his debut, although we lost 3-2. He went on to score seven goals for us that season including three against Barnet. Mullen brought him off before the end to allow him to take the applause from the crowd. But the Burnley fans hadn't taken to him and he was booed as he headed for the touchline.
His season came to a premature end through injury and he missed out on the play offs and another trip to Wembley. Mind you, given his record in play off games it was perhaps for the best.
Injuries blighted his time at Turf Moor. He suffered another just after the start of the 1994/95 season and he started just seven league games all season. His only goal came on the last day at Bolton with the Clarets already relegated.
He was in the side on the opening day of the next season and scored against Rotherham in arguably his best performance for the Clarets. That was his last goal for Burnley. He had a loan spell with Carlisle and then in December 1995 he was transferred to Cardiff for £50,000.
His goalscoring days were over and he managed only five for Cardiff in over sixty appearances and whilst with the Welsh club he also played for both Halifax and Macclesfield on loan before signing for Oldham in 1998.
During his time at Cardiff he took up refereeing and it was very much on the cards that he would be fast tracked onto the Football League list. He refereed games at a decent level but his plans all changed when he got involved with coaching at Oldham with manager Andy Ritchie offering him the youth coach role.
He did that until 2002 when he was appointed assistant manager to new boss Iain Dowie. When Dowie left he had the chance to go to Crystal Palace with him but turned it down to stay at Boundary Park.
In the 2004/05 season he even stood in as caretaker manager for one game, a 2-1 defeat to Huddersfield, but he has remained and to date is still there as youth coach at a club that nurtured his own son Daniel before selling him to Chelsea at the age of sixteen. He passed his 18th birthday last Friday.
But for dad, he won't be fondly remembered at Burnley by the fans who took an almost instant dislike to him. I don't think Philliskirk himself will have too many fond memories of his two years at Turf Moor.
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