Phil Bardsley

Date and Place of Birth 28th June 1985 - SALFORD   Transfers to and from Burnley from MANCHESTER UNITED - 16th March 2006 (loan) returned - 1st May 2006   First and Last Burnley Games STOKE CITY (a) - 18st March 2006   HULL CITY (a) - 15th April 2006 replaced by John McGreal   Other Clubs MANCHESTER UNITED, ROYAL ANTWERP (loan) ---------------------------------------- RANGERS (loan), ASTON VILLA (loan), SHEFFIELD UNITED (loan), SUNDERLAND

Burnley Career Stats

Profile by Tony Scholes

Phil Bardsley's Burnley career was never intended to be a long one, coming in on loan in March 2006, but it was even shorter than expected when an injury at Hull on Easter Saturday brought it to an abrupt end.

The Clarets were in a poor run of form and had lost five successive games when manager Steve Cotterill, just three days after signing a new contract himself, brought the 21-year-old right back in from Manchester United for the rest of the season.

He went straight into the side at Stoke alongside another debutant Andy Gray, who arrived from Sunderland the day after Bardsley had signed, but although he played reasonably well, and the team played better, his first game ended in defeat.

Bardsley was not without league experience and had eight times featured in Premiership games for Manchester United, three of those being starts whilst he'd also had six other starts in cup competitions, including full ninety minutes against both Benfica and Lille in the Champions League.

Just six days after his Burnley debut he had what was arguably his best game for the Clarets in his first Turf Moor game against Norwich. He played very well defensively in a 2-0 win and also found time to set up the second goal for Graham Branch with a superbly flighted cross from the right.

An own goal in the first minute of his next game led to a disappointing performance against Southampton, but other than that he did well until six minutes before half time in his sixth game at Hull when he pulled up with an injury that forced him off the field. He didn't recover for the rest of the season and missed the last three games before returning to Old Trafford.

There were hopes he might be back on a long term loan for the 2006/07 season, but he spent the first half of the season in Scotland on loan at Rangers, and then, after a failed attempt by Roy Keane to take him to Sunderland, he went on a similar loan to Aston Villa and stepped straight into their side.

That's seen him back in claret and blue and he's expected to make that move to Villa Park a permanent one in a £1.5 million deal when the summer transfer window opens this year.

He wasn't with us long enough to establish himself but, the Southampton game apart, he did well for us with that one outstanding performance against Norwich. It was always expected he would carve out a Premiership career for himself, and that now looks as though it is going to be with Villa and not Manchester United.

The move to Villa never materialised and he returned to Old Trafford where he was back in reserve team football. He was one of the players singled out by Sir Alex Ferguson after a dreadful showing in the Carling Cup defeat against Coventry and was then, in October 2007, loaned out again, this time to Sheffield United for three months.

He made sixteen appearances for Sheffield United and manager Bryan Robson wanted to sign him on a permanent basis. However, whilst still at Bramall Lane on loan he signed a three and a half year deal with Sunderland and moved in a £2 million transfer deal on Tuesday 22^nd January 2008.