Once upon a 'typical' Scottish grey afternoon, the world witnessed the entrance of one Liam Burt, born on the 1st of February 1999. This twenty-five-year-old cherub of football is a forward. Not just any forward but one that prefers lurking on the left wing. He does this shuffle for the mighty Shelbourne. His stature, a moderately intimidating 5ft 8in (1.73m), complements his weight which is a sturdy yet zippy 11st (70 kg).
Young Burt packed his boots and embarked on the time-honoured Scottish tradition of joining the Premiership's Rangers as a trainee in July of 2014. He managed to scrape up two first-team appearances in the 2015 - 2016 season. The following season? One appearance. One could only hope the lad was keeping the bench warm.
By February 2018, Burt sought the thrill of country life and transferred from the glitz and glamour of the Rangers to the less glamorous Dumbarton in the League One, albeit on loan.
A few months later, in August 2018, our restless hero packed his bags and moved again (either he's not a fan of permanent addresses or has a penchant for new locker rooms). This time the destination was Alloa Athletic, also in the League One. Safe to say, he had an intriguing tour of Scotland's loan system.
By the time August 2019 rolled around, Burt decided it was time to shake things up and initiate a sort of footballing exodus. He made the controversial leap from Rangers to Celtic, in a brave attempt to sample both sides of Glasgow's footballing cuisine. This wasn't the city's infamous 'wee firm', but let's just leave it at that.
Come February 2021, Burt opted to leave the hustle, bustle and dreary Scottish weather for Dublin's milder climes. He crossed the sea to Bohemian FC, waving a bittersweet goodbye to Celtic and the Premiership after one and a half seasons of loyal service. His Celtic career wasn't exactly filled with trophies, but then again, the club isn't exactly renowned for its retention of star-quality. There, he notched up 34 appearances and nine goals in the 2021 season followed by 28 appearances and six goals in the 2022 season. While not exactly a legend in the making, the lad did his bits.
In January 2023, tasting opportunity in the crisp Irish air, Burt made another leap frogging to Shamrock Rovers. His performance was rather shy, blessed with 16 first team appearances and a solitary goal in league matches.
In what seemed to be an annual tradition, Burt kicked off 2024 by taking yet another stroll across Ireland, ending up at Shelbourne. Currently in the 2024 season, Burt has made 28 first-team appearances and blessed the back of the net once.
More recently, he featured in the Conference League Qualifiers 2024 - 2025 for Shelbourne with one start and a cameo substitute appearance. Well, every cloud has a silver lining or in this case, every football career a golden substitute appearance. Let's see what next season brings for Liam Burt, the modern-day football nomad.
