Kyle playing for Hearts |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kevin Alistair Kyle | ||
| Date of birth | 7 June 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Stranraer, Scotland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||
| Playing position | Centre forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Hearts | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2000–2006 | Sunderland | 93 | (13) |
| 2000 | → Huddersfield Town (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | → Darlington (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 2001 | → Rochdale (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2006–2009 | Coventry City | 44 | (5) |
| 2008 | → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2008 | → Hartlepool United (loan) | 15 | (5) |
| 2009–2010 | Kilmarnock | 43 | (16) |
| 2010– | Heart of Midlothian | 19 | (7) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2003 | Scotland Under -21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2002–2010 | Scotland | 10 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 December 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Kevin Alistair Kyle (born 7 June 1981 in Stranraer, Scotland) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a centre forward for Scottish Premier League side Hearts. Kyle has represented Scotland 10 times at full international level.
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Kyle grew up in Stranraer[1] where as well as playing for his school team and local amateur sides he was selected to play for Dumfries and Galloway region. Also in the same Dumfries and Galloway team was fellow Stranraer boy Allan Jenkins.
Kyle began his career as a youth at Ayr United before joining Sunderland in 1998,[2] where he was a prolific scorer for their reserves. However, he was unable to force his way into a first team that boasted the striking talent of Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn. Instead, he gained first team experience on loan with Huddersfield, Darlington and Rochdale.[3] It was on loan at Darlington that Kyle scored his first career goals, notching against Sudbury in the FA Cup[4] and Mansfield Town in the league.[5]
After finally breaking into the Sunderland first team in the 2003–04 season he ended up as their joint top goalscorer with 16 goals to help them to the play-offs.[6] However, he missed most of the following season owing to a hip injury[7] and his recovery was aided by visits to Bayern Munich doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfarth.[8] He returned to first team action in February 2006, scoring his first and only Premier League goal in March 2006, away to Manchester City,[9] in a season that saw Sunderland relegated on a then-record low points tally (subsequently beaten by Derby County)
Kyle then joined Coventry City on 25 August 2006 for £600,000,[10] but only went on to score 3 goals during the campaign. He scored just two more. Out of favour with the Sky Blues and their fans,[11] he went on loan to fellow Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers[12] during the latter half of the 2007–08 season. He made 13 appearances, 9 as substitute, scoring once against Crystal Palace,[13] as the club could not even make the play-offs this move was not made permanent as Kyle said he would rather return to Coventry in the summer. After failing to feature at all during the opening stages of the next season for his parent club, he joined Hartlepool United on a month's loan on 1 October 2008.[14] The loan was later extended until the end of the year,[15] and Kyle scored 5 goals in 15 starts.[16]
On 27 January 2009, Coventry announced that they had reached an agreement with Kyle over the remaining six months of his contract, and he had left the club by mutual consent.[17] Two days later, he signed for Kilmarnock on an 18-month contract.[18] On 31 Janiary 2000 he scored a headed goal on his debut for Kilmarnock against St Mirren and this goal was also the first at the new St Mirren Park.[19] On 11 April he scored all three goals, his first ever professional hat-trick, in a 3–0 victory against Falkirk for which he received a standing ovation when he was substituted.[20] Kyle was praised for his part in keeping Killie in in the SPL that season.[21] In the games following the 2008/2009 season Scottish Premier League split, Kyle scored all of Kilmarnock's goals in a draw with Falkirk and victories against St Mirren and Inverness Caledonian Thistle thus helping the team secure 8th place and SPL survival. He scored 8 goals in total that season.[22]
Kyle was made Kilmarnock club captain for the 2009–10 season.[23] He started where he left off by scoring twice in the opening day 3–0 home victory over Hamilton[24] and his good form won him a recall to the Scotland squad after an absence of five years.[25] In the CIS Cup game against Morton (in which he also scored) he suffered a knee injury, sidelining him for 3 weeks and causing him to miss the final two World Cup qualifiers against Macedonia and Holland on 5 and 10 September 2009.[26] In January 2010 he relinquished the club captaincy[27] following his involvement in the events that ultimately led to the departure of manager Jim Jefferies.[28]
Kyle became unhappy at Kilmarnock and went on trial with Russian Side Spartak Nalchik with a view to join them at the end of the season when his current deal expired but rejected a move.[29] Whilst playing in a trial match there he picked up a injury,[30] angering manager Calderwood as he missed key games for the club.[31]
Kyle signed a two year contract with Hearts on 3 June 2010, which reunited him with Jim Jefferies,[32] making his debut on 14 August 2010 against St. Johnstone as a 66th minute substitute.[33] With his first goal for the club coming the following week against Hamilton in Hearts 4-0 win.[34] He took over taking penalty kicks at the club and scored six goals out of six from the spot,[35] plus another four from open play, in the 2010– 11 season. He scored a late winner in the Edinburgh derby against Hibernian on 1 January 2011.[36] The remainder of his 2010–11 season was blighted by a hip injury, as Kyle made his last appearance of the season on 11 January.[37][38]
The injury continued to trouble Kyle in the 2011–12 season.[39] After several setbacks Kyle admitted that he fears this could be the end of his footballing career.[40]
Kyle has represented Scotland at under 21[41] and at full international level making ten appearances scoring once.[42] His last call up was for a friendly against the Faroe Islands in November 2010.[43]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Sunderland | 2000-01 season | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2001-02 season | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2002-03 season | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | |
| 2003-04 season | 46 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 16 | |
| 2004-05 season | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2005-06 season | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
| 2006-07 season | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Huddersfield Town | 2000-01 season | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Darlington | 2000-01 season | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| Rochdale | 2000-01 season | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Coventry | 2006-07 season | 31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 3 |
| 2007-08 season | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | |
| Wolves | 2007-08 season | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| Hartlepool | 2008-09 season | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 5 |
| Kilmarnock | 2008-09 season | 11 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8 |
| 2009-10 season | 32 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 10 | |
| Hearts | 2010-11 season | 19 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 10 |
| 2011-12 season | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 241 | 48 | 20 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 272 | 60 | |
In 2007 Kyle was banned for from driving for 6 months for driving offences[46] and given a community service order for being part of a street fight in Stranraer.[47] He revealed he has a gambling addiction,[48] and publicly fronted a campaign by PFA Scotland to help players with gambling addiction's. [49][50]
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