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Date and Place of Birth 2nd October 1968 - BELFAST
Transfers to and from Burnley from LUTON TOWN - 17th July 2000 to OXFORD UNITED - 10th November 2000 (£150,000)
First and Last Burnley Games BOLTON WANDERERS (a) - 12th August 2000
CRYSTAL PALACE (a) - 26th September 2000 sub: replaced Graham Branch
Other Clubs TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR, BARNSLEY, FULHAM, LUTON TOWN, SUNDERLAND, NANCY, FORTUNA SITTARD, LUTON TOWN ---------------------------------------- OXFORD UNITED |
Burnley Career Stats
| Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Others | Total | |||||
| apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | |
| 2000/01 | 5 | 1 | - | - | 2(1) | - | - | - | 7(1) | 1 |
| Total | 5 | 1 | - | - | 2(1) | - | - | - | 7(1) | 1 |
Profile by Tony Scholes
After winning promotion to what is now the Championship in 2000 we kicked off the new season with an away game at Bolton. A goal down at half time, we looked a different side after the interval and grabbed a draw with a goal from one of the three new signings in the side, striker Phil Gray.
Gray had arrived from Luton and had scored against us when the Hatters won 2-0 at the Turf during that season, but it was to be his only goal in Burnley colours in what was a short stay at Turf Moor.
Gray - nickname Tippy because of his initials PG - had started his career with Tottenham in the 1980s. But he was never able to establish himself in five years at White Hart Lane, playing just nine games for them. During that five years he had short loans with both Barnsley and Fulham.
Despite his lack of first team experience he was signed by Luton in 1991 for £275,000 and he enjoyed two successful years at Kenilworth Road netting 22 goals for the Hatters. His form prompted Sunderland boss Terry Butcher to splash out £800,000 to take him to Roker Park.
He scored 34 goals for Sunderland at just less than one every three games and was there for three years until he was released by Peter Reid in the summer of 1996. That led to a year playing outside of England with Nancy and then Fortuna Sittard until he made a return to Luton in 1997.
Three more years at Kenilworth Road were not particularly successful and when he was released at the end of his contract he took up an offer from Stan Ternent to join the Clarets.
He got off to that goalscoring start and he was quickly called up into the Northern Ireland squad, scoring in his first game back. He became the first Burnley player to play for his country since the mid-80s and the days of Brian Flynn and Billy Hamilton.
Despite that goal at Bolton his form wasn't good. He'd started the season up front with Andy Cooke whilst Andy Payton was forced to warm the subs bench after recovering from a broken toe.
Both Cooke and Gray soon lost their places with Payton and Graham Branch taking over and Gray wasn't too happy with that and believed a lack of first team action could cost him his recently regained international place.
Ternent gave him the chance of first team football, he got rid of him and allowed him to sign for Oxford. From there his career quickly went downhill. He had a loan spell at Boston before they reached the Football League and was eventually released by Oxford.
He moved to Chelmsford, once more playing in claret and blue, and he also played for Stevenage, Maidenhead and Stotford before bringing his playing career to an end.
He made just eight appearances in total for Burnley and there's not much to be said other than him scoring that goal at Bolton. He failed to impress and the manager had more patience with him than the fans who were calling for him to be left out of the side before he was eventually dropped.
Gray had not been a good signing at all, and in truth we were fortunate to have been able to move him on to Oxford so quickly.