Jordan Burrow

As Graham Westley continued to rebuild his Stevenage squad after taking control of the side for a third time in 2013, one of his first summer additions was to be Jordan Burrow – a young tall striker who had initially started at Chesterfield, but had most recently been with Morecambe.

Boro’s dramatic fall down the League One table during the second half of the 2012/3 season cost Westley’s predecessor Gary Smith his job and highlighted the very tangible shortage of goals so crucial to success during a season. And if not success, then helps guarantee survival!

Burrow didn’t arrive at the Lamex Stadium with a particular reputation for scoring goals. During his time with Morecambe, he only managed to score a handful of times in 50ish appearances. His only other career goals had come in a loan spell at Boston United during his time at Chesterfield.

If there is one thing you can say about Westley, however, is that he could often bring the best out of players whose statistics didn’t necessarily look too good on paper. The development of Chris Beardsley is just one example of perhaps a less renowned player proving his critics wrong and going on to establish himself as a valuable asset.

At 20 years old when he arrived at Boro’, Burrow had plenty of years left in his career going forward. It may have been a surprise switch to fans of both Morecambe and Stevenage at the time, but it was equally an opportunity for the striker to define his career for the years ahead.