Kevin Phillips (footballer)

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Kevin Phillips
Personal information
Full name	Kevin Mark Phillips
Date of birth	July 25, 1973 (1973-07-25) (age 34)
Place of birth	Hitchin, England
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	West Bromwich Albion
Number	21
Youth clubs
1991	Southampton
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1992–1994 1994–1997 1997–2003 2003–2005 2005–2006 2006–	Baldock Town Watford Sunderland Southampton Aston Villa West Bromwich Albion	00? 00(?) 059 0(24) 209 (115) 064 0(23) 023 00(4) 071 0(38)
National team2
1998 1999–2000	England B England	001 00(0) 008 00(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:31, 14 May 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 18:44, 5 July 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Kevin Mark Phillips (born July 25, 1973 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire) is an English footballer who currently plays for West Bromwich Albion. He holds the Sunderland record for most post-war goals, breaking a record previously set by Gary Rowell. He was also Premier League top scorer in the 1999-2000 season with 30 goals for Sunderland: he then went on to win the Golden Boot for the whole of Europe in that season. He has also had spells at Watford, Southampton and Aston Villa. His favoured position is centre forward alongside a target man; the basis for his success at Sunderland, although he has found success alongside a variety of forwards during his career. The shaven-headed striker is famous for his goalscoring exploits but he started his career at non-league Baldock Town as a right-back, after being rejected as a striker for Southampton in his YTS days for lacking the physique of a striker.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Early career

Phillips started his career as a right back. He was released by Southampton F.C. in his youth and was quickly snapped up by one of his local teams, non-league semi-professional Baldock Town FC. There his eye for goal and unique ball control were quickly noticed and he was shifted to striker. His goalscoring turned Baldock into a top-of-the-table side, as well as a huge progression in cup competitions, such as the FA Trophy. His exploits netted him a move into the Football League, to Watford.

[edit] Watford

It was during the 1994-95 season that he caught the eye of manager Glenn Roeder's Watford and on 19 December was purchased for £10,000. Forced into the Watford side due to injuries, he impressed with his goalscoring ability. despite been played as a defender.

He played well during the 1995-96 season, despite playing in a side that struggled overall. Unfortunately a foot injury late in that season kept him out for a year and by the time of his return Watford were mid-table in the Second Division. He agreed terms with George Burley to join Ipswich Town however the club was unable to agree terms on the £250,000 deal.^{[citation needed]} Later he scored four goals relatively quickly, three in a hat-trick against Bristol City but remained goaless for the remainder of the term. At the end of the season he was signed by Sunderland for a fee of £600,000.

[edit] Sunderland

Phillips was close to signing for Ipswich Town in summer 1997 but the move was cancelled after Ipswich refused to pay an extra £50,000 for him. Sunderland stepped in and obtained his services for a basic £350,000, eventually coming to over £600,000 based on appearances and achievements at the club. He was suspended for the first game after a dismissal for his old club Watford.

"Super Kev" went on to develop an effective striking partnership with Irishman Niall Quinn. Phillips' ability as a goal poacher made him a central figure in Sunderland's most successful Premiership campaigns, with one of the highlights of his Sunderland career coming in August 1999 when he scored against rivals Newcastle United to help win 2–1 at St James' Park.

In Phillips' first season at Sunderland, after a slow start in which the team struggled to get results and he struggled with niggling injuries, he enjoyed a purple patch which saw him score in seven consecutive league games, equalling the club record; he also became the first Sunderland player since Brian Clough to score 30 goals in a season. This milestone was reached in a 3–0 win at home to Stoke City in the penultimate game of the Division One season. In total, Phillips hit 35 goals in all competitions, including a four goal haul in the FA Cup 3rd round at Rotherham United and two goals in the play-off campaign. In the build-up for Sunderland's 3rd goal in the 4–4 draw with Charlton Athletic, Phillips pulled up with an injury and missed the remainder of the match, which Sunderland lost 7–6 on penalties. Phillips later described the final as his "most disappointing day in football",^[1] but also as the best match he'd ever played in.^[2]

In the 1998–99 season, Phillips again impressed with his all-round striking ability. He started the season in good form, scoring eight goals in the opening weeks of the season as Sunderland reached the top of the Division One table but in a League Cup tie against Chester City, Phillips sustained a toe injury that would keep him out for nearly four months. His absence was believed to be a huge blow in Sunderland's promotion push but this was detracted when Sunderland thrashed Oxford United 7–0 in the first home match after Phillips' injury. On his return in January 1999, Phillips scored a long-range volley away to Queens Park Rangers but took several weeks to regain his form completely. In April promotion was clinched largely by Phillips, who scored four of Sunderland's five away to Bury at Gigg Lane. This form earned Phillips an international call-up for England and he netted his first cap away to Hungary. Phillips ended the season with 23 goals in 26 league games and 25 in all competitions.

Phillips was predicted to struggle in the top flight; in the run-up to the start of the 1999-2000 Premiership season, Newcastle United fanzine The Mag published a list of reasons why Sunderland would be relegated come the end of the campaign, many of which exemplified the belief expressed by Rodney Marsh that Phillips would 'struggle to get 6 goals'. It transpired that Phillips would become free-scoring in 1999–2000, scoring three against Newcastle United to help Sunderland to a seventh place finish, compared to Newcastle's final standing of eleventh. In response to Marsh's comments, Phillips had scored six goals by mid-September, 20 by mid-January and 30 by the season's end, an excellent return for a striker that was confined to non-league just a few years previously. Phillips netted a double at home to his former club Watford in August, which opened the floodgates. His winner away to Newcastle Utd, a lob over stand-in goalkeeper Tommy Wright from an acute angle, cemented his place at the fore of Sunderland folklore. A month later he scored his first Premiership hat-trick away to Derby County. Perhaps the most memorable goal of the season was the 30-yard half-volley scored at home to Chelsea on 4 December 1999 in a 4–1 win. This was the game that marked Phillips as a striker of proven Premiership class. The 30th goal of the season was scored in the final home game, at home to West Ham United. His 30 FA Premier League goals for Sunderland in the 1999–2000 season earned him the Premiership Golden Boot and European Golden Boot awards (he is currently the only Englishman to have won the latter), and helped his side finish 7th in the table.

The 2000–01 season emphasised the progress that Phillips had made. He still contributed 14 goals as Sunderland finished 7th for the second consecutive season but worked on other aspects of his game such as crossing and making goals, rather than just scoring them. Phillips was now a known quantity and was frequently marked out of games as Sunderland's primary goal source, however an increased input from other areas of the team, particularly from attack-minded midfielder Don Hutchison lessened the impact. Another hat-trick was scored on Boxing Day at Bradford City but as the season wore on, Phillips suffered a lack of form, going two months without a goal until his volley against Charlton Athletic. Niall Quinn at this stage was becoming more injury-prone, possibly a reason for Phillips' lower return.

The last two seasons of Phillips' career at Sunderland were more disappointing, as Sunderland failed to build on their promise from the previous two seasons. The 2001–02 season saw Phillips relinquish his penalty-taking duties, after having three consecutive spot-kicks saved.^[3] Sunderland plummeted to 17th in the table, only surviving thanks to a 1–1 draw with Derby, while Ipswich were beaten 5–0 at Liverpool. Phillips was also becoming disillusioned with the situation and was rumoured to have asked for a transfer mid-season, which was rejected. The 2002–03 season saw Sunderland finish the season in 20th (last) place with a record points low. The mass clearout that followed, as Sunderland struggled to remain out of administration due to high debts caused by a large scale panic buy in August 2002, saw Phillips leave for Southampton in a £3million deal in the 2003 close season. Southampton capitalised on Sunderland's need to vastly reduce the playing staff's wage list, tabling a £3 million bid which was accepted. In his prime at Sunderland, Phillips was valued by the tabloid press at six times that price. On his departure, Phillips revealed that three transfer requests had been turned down, two by Peter Reid and one by Howard Wilkinson.

'Super Kev' was adored by the Sunderland faithful not only for his goals but for his all-round play. Despite being small for a striker, Phillips was a complete player, equally lethal with his right foot, left foot and head. Phillips also possessed a potent shot for someone so small, most notable in his first Premiership season where long-range efforts were scored against Watford, Chelsea, Everton and Sheffield Wednesday. Phillips contributed to the team's play through dropping deep if required and also possessing a quality many modern-day strikers lack — unselfishness. Together with Quinn he created one of the most feared attacking pairs in the country, as shown by 143 goals from the pair in their first three seasons together. Many of those goals were laid on by the other and they gained a terrific understanding in what was the pivotal part of the Sunderland team.

In all, Kevin Phillips made 209 league appearances for Sunderland, scoring 115 goals, an average of more than one goal every two matches.

[edit] Southampton

However Sunderland's Premier League success did not last and after the North East club's relegation from the Premiership he left the Black Cats to join Southampton, the club where his career began as a youth player, in a £3.25 million deal.^[4] His goals in Southampton's brief foray in the UEFA Cup in 2003 cemented his place in the club's history. He netted a spectacular long-range strike on his debut away to Leicester City, which was to win goal of the month. His form was patchy, however and he never reproduced his prolific goalscoring on the South coast. Ultimately, as with Sunderland, his time at Southampton was to be ended by relegation. Phillips wanted to remain in the Premiership and so moved on.

[edit] Aston Villa

He moved from Southampton, who had just been relegated, to Aston Villa for a fee of £1 million on 29 June 2005.^[5] Wearing the number 20 shirt, he scored on his debut for Villa and shared front-man duties with Juan Pablo Ángel and fellow new signing Milan Baroš. After recovering from injury at the start of 2005–06 season he cemented his place in Villa folklore following his winner against bitter rivals Birmingham City. However, a series of short-term injuries meant he was unable to get a regular position in the first team and the arrival of Martin O'Neill hastened his exit to West Bromwich Albion.

[edit] West Bromwich Albion

With Phillips having been in and out of the Aston Villa team during the second half of the 2005–06 season there were gathering rumours of a possible return to Sunderland with the recent takeover and management of the Wearside club by his former strike-partner Niall Quinn. However, West Bromwich Albion eventually signed him for a fee of £700,000.^[6] He later revealed he did not want to move his family out of the area, as he had moved three times in recent years. Phillips notched his 200th career goal in an FA Cup 5th round tie against Middlesbrough^{[citation needed]}. On the final day of the 2006–07 season, Phillips hit a hat-trick in a 7–0 win over Barnsley - his second of the season. He also scored in both legs of the Championship play-off semi-final against Wolves to ensure Albion's progression to the Play-off final at Wembley Stadium, although they lost 1–0 in the final to Derby County.

Phillips' two goals in Albion's 5–1 home victory over Queens Park Rangers on 30 September 2007 earned him a place in the Championship Team of the Week.^[7] Phillips missed six weeks of the season due to a knee injury sustained in early November,^[8] but rediscovered his goalscoring form on his return to win the Powerade Championship Player-of-the-Month award for December.^[9] Phillips again made the Team of the Week when he scored in Albion's 3–1 away win at Hull City in January.^[10] In March 2008 Phillips was named Championship Player of the Year at the fourth annual Football League Awards in London.^[11]. The event sponsored by Four Four Two rated Phillips as the top player in the Football League ahead of Andy Gray of Charlton Athletic and Michael Kightly of Wolverhampton Wanderers.^[12] Albion manager Tony Mowbray has referred to Phillips as "a natural goalscorer with great awareness and vision".^[13] Phillips scored his 200th League goal in a 1–1 draw with Crystal Palace on 13 March 2008.^[14] Fans of West Bromwich Albion chose to dress up as superheroes for the last match of 2007–08 (away to QPR) in honour of Phillips, who is nicknamed "Super Kev".^[15] Albion won the match 2–0 to win promotion to the Premiership as league champions.^[16] Phillips meanwhile picked up Player-of-the-Year awards from both the West Bromwich Albion Supporters Club and from the club itself, after scoring 24 goals from 30 starts and finishing as the Championship's second top goalscorer.^[17][18] He was also named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year, alongside team mates Paul Robinson and Jonathan Greening.^[19]

[edit] International career

Despite his success at club level, Phillips has not been able to score in eight caps for the English national team and he was never given a full ninety minutes for his country. The closest Phillips came to scoring was in a pre-Euro 2000 match against Malta, where he rounded the keeper only to hit the side-netting.^{[citation needed]} Phillips was three times an unused substitute during the group stage of the Euro 2000 finals. His final appearance for England came against the Netherlands.

[edit] Personal life

Phillips is married to Julie who he met over 15 years ago. She appeared on the TV Programme, WAGS Boutique last year. They have 4 children, Millie, twins Toby and Tia, and Alfie.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Kevin Phillips career stats at Soccerbase
• Aston Villa profile
• England profile

Awards
Preceded by Mário Jardel	European Golden Boot 1999 – 2000	Succeeded by Henrik Larsson
Preceded by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Michael Owen Dwight Yorke	Premier League top scorer 1999-2000	Succeeded by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

v • d • e England squad - UEFA Euro 2000 1 Seaman • 2 G. Neville • 3 P. Neville • 4 Campbell • 5 Adams • 6 Keown • 7 Beckham • 8 Scholes • 9 Shearer • 10 Owen • 11 McManaman • 12 Southgate • 13 Martyn • 14 Ince • 15 Barry • 16 Gerrard • 17 Wise • 18 Barmby • 19 Heskey • 20 Phillips • 21 Fowler • 22 Wright • Coach: Keegan