Stephen McPhee

Stephen McPhee
Personal information
Full name Stephen McPhee
Date of birth 5 June 1981 (1981-06-05) (age 30)
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2001 Coventry City 0 (0)
2001 St. Mirren (loan) 7 (0)
2001–2004 Port Vale 130 (39)
2004–2005 Beira-Mar 31 (5)
2005–2007 Hull City 35 (2)
2008–2010 Blackpool 24 (3)
Total 227 (49)
National team
2001 Scotland under-21s 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Stephen McPhee (born 5 June 1981) is a Scottish former footballer. In a ten year career he has played for clubs in Scotland, England and Portugal. And has been capped for his country at under-21 level. A forward, he scored 55 goals in 249 games in all competitions.

Starting his career at Coventry City, following a loan to St. Mirren in 2001, he signed with Port Vale later in the year. He made his name at Vale, playing the majority of his career appearances at a three year spell at the club. Leaving the club for Beira-Mar of Portugal, in 2005 he made a big money move to Hull City. Two years later he moved on to Blackpool. He retired in 2010 after being dogged with injury problems since his time in Portugal.

Contents

Playing career

Early career

Born in Glasgow, McPhee began his career in England at Coventry City in 2000, but did not make a senior appearance for the "Sky Blues", who were then in the Premier League. In 2001 Coventry sent him on loan to Scottish Premier League club St. Mirren, who had hoped to sign Ronaldinho, but instead settled for the young hopeful McPhee.[1] He played seven games for the "Saints" and won the April 2001 SPL Young Player of the Month Award.[2]

Port Vale

McPhee signed for Port Vale on a free transfer in July 2001 and would soon show himself to be arguably Brian Horton's best signing at the club. He scored on his debut against Notts County and finished the season as the club's top scorer with 14 goals in 51 games, including one in the 2001 Potteries derby. Paul Jewell's Wigan Athletic made a bid for McPhee that was accepted by his club, however the deal fell through as the Scotsman's agent rejected Wigan's contract offer.[3] The 2002–03 season was one largely devoid of goals for the striker, his strike against Oldham Athletic in October ended a run of 21 games without a goal,[4] but only two goals followed in the remaining 34 matches.

In the 2003–04 season he scored 27 goals to help Vale finish seventh in League One, this was the second highest goal tally for a Port Vale player in 66 years. For this feat he was named player of the year at Vale Park,[5] but as the team had not secured promotion McPhee rejected a new contract. A British club would have to negotiate a fee with the "Valiants" before talking to McPhee, however a foreign club would be free to sign him without dealing with Vale.

Rumours linking McPhee with Portuguese side Beira-Mar were denied by the club and chairman Bill Bratt stated "this is news to us".[6] The following week the cash-strapped club rejected a £100,000 bid from Leeds United "out of hand", branding it as an offer "not even worth considering".[7]

Beira-Mar

Later that month his agent negotiated a move to Beira-Mar meaning Vale lost the player for nothing.[8] McPhee said the move not about money, but about "bettering himself"; meanwhile his agent reportedly labelled Port Vale a "two-bob operation".[9]

Beira-Mar were managed at the time by Mick Wadsworth, who was sacked four games after McPhee signed. McPhee was used in various positions and scored five goals in 31 appearances, but despite this Beira-Mar were relegated from the Portuguese top flight in bottom place. Despite the club's poor season his consistent performances attracted interest from other clubs

Hull City

McPhee joined Hull City on 19 May 2005 for a fee widely reported to be £220,000.[10][11][12] However, the club website stated, "The Scottish striker joined the Championship-bound Tigers in a new club record deal with the McPhee fee reported in excess of £400,000 when Stephen was signed from Beira Mar in May 2005."[13]

He suffered a knee injury in only his fourth league appearance for City,[14] and missed the rest of the 2005–06 season and the start of the 2006–07 season. He eventually returned to action in December 2006 away at Plymouth Argyle, which was also manager Phil Brown's first match in charge of the club. He ended up missing most of the rest of the season again through injury.

Blackpool

On 7 January 2008, McPhee moved to Blackpool for an undisclosed fee, penning a two-and-a-half-year contract.[15] The fee was £215,000, with the potential to rise to £300,000, depending on appearances.[16] The next month McPhee was named in the Championship's "Team of the Week", alongside teammate Kaspars Gorkšs.[17] On 4 April 2009, he played his last professional game, replacing Keith Southern 61 minutes into a 1–0 defeat by Plymouth Argyle at Bloomfield Road.

On 26 May 2010, less than a week after Blackpool were promoted to the Premier League, McPhee announced his retirement from football. He had struggled for the previous 18 months with a knee injury, which kept him sidelined for the whole of the previous season.[18]

Post-retirement career

In July 2010, Blackpool manager Ian Holloway offered McPhee a coaching role at the club, an offer that the Scot accepted.[19] He left his post thirteen months later, citing dissatisfaction at his wage level.[20]

Club career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Total
2000–01[21] St. Mirren (loan) Scottish Premier League 7 0 - - 7 0
England League FA Cup League Cup Total
2001–02[22] Port Vale Second Division 44 11 2 0 2 2 51 14
2002–03[23] Port Vale Second Division 40 3 1 0 1 0 45 3
2003–04[24] Port Vale Second Division 46 25 3 1 1 0 51 27
Portugal League Taça de Portugal Taça da Liga Total
2004–05 Beira-Mar Primeira Liga 31 5 - - 31 5
England League FA Cup League Cup Total
2005–06[25] Hull City Championship 4 0 - - 4 0
2006–07[26] Hull City Championship 12 0 2 0 - 14 0
2007–08[27] Hull City Championship 19 2 0 0 3 1 22 3
2007–08[27] Blackpool Championship 19 3 - - 19 3
2008–09[28] Blackpool Championship 5 0 - - 5 0
Total Scotland 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Portugal 31 5 0 0 0 0 31 5
England 189 44 8 1 7 3 211 50
Career total 227 49 8 1 7 3 249 55
Notes

International career

McPhee won his first Scotland under-21 cap in October 2001 against Latvia under-21s.[29]

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ "McPhee joins big-thinking Saints". BBC Sport. 31 March 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/1252504.stm. Retrieved 16 June 2009. 
  2. ^ "McPhee springs to prominence". BBC Sport. 3 May 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/st_mirren/1311849.stm. Retrieved 4 January 2008. 
  3. ^ "McPhee deal hitch". BBC Sport. 9 September 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/2247148.stm. Retrieved 16 June 2009. 
  4. ^ "McPhee targets goal glut". BBC Sport. 14 October 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/port_vale/2326561.stm. Retrieved 16 June 2009. 
  5. ^ "Player of the Year Awards". port-vale.co.uk. 17 November 2004. http://www.port-vale.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10381~521546,00.html. Retrieved 24 October 2011. 
  6. ^ "Vale deny McPhee exit". BBC Sport. 25 May 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/port_vale/3745825.stm. Retrieved 16 June 2009. 
  7. ^ "Vale reject McPhee offer". BBC Sport. 4 June 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/port_vale/3777091.stm. Retrieved 16 June 2009. 
  8. ^ "McPhee moving to Portugal". BBC Sport. 17 June 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/port_vale/3789833.stm. Retrieved 2009-06-16. 
  9. ^ "Leeds target McPhee: It was Leeds or Portugal". leedsutd365.co.uk. 3 July 2004. http://www.leedsutd365.co.uk/pages/singlenewsstories/0407stories/20040703mcphee.shtml. Retrieved 13 November 2010. 
  10. ^ "Tigers bring in McPhee up front". BBC Sport. 19 May 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/4563983.stm. Retrieved 16 June 2009. 
  11. ^ "Wolves back on the case of Ricketts". The Guardian. 20 May 2005. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2005/may/20/newsstory.sport5. Retrieved 16 June 2009. 
  12. ^ Higham, Paul. "Tigers sign McPhee". Sky Sports. http://origin.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11714_2335885,00.html. Retrieved 16 June 2009. 
  13. ^ "Stephen McPhee". Hull City A.F.C.. http://www.hullcityafc.net/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10338~5637,00.html. Retrieved 16 June 2009. 
  14. ^ "McPhee faces long injury absence". BBC Sport. 20 October 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/4361504.stm. Retrieved 13 November 2010. 
  15. ^ "Blackpool seal signing of McPhee". BBC Sport. 7 January 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/blackpool/7175801.stm. Retrieved 16 June 2009. 
  16. ^ Gillatt, Peter (30 November 2009). Blackpool FC on This Day: History, Facts and Figures from Every Day of the Year. Pitch Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-905411-50-2. 
  17. ^ "Coca-Cola Championship Team of the Week" (PDF). The Football League. 25 February 2008. http://www.football-league.premiumtv.co.uk/staticFiles/8f/da/0,,10794~121487,00.pdf. Retrieved 1 March 2008. 
  18. ^ "Blackpool's Stephen McPhee ends career on high note". BBC Sport. 26 May 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/blackpool/8706594.stm. Retrieved 26 May 2010. 
  19. ^ "Ollie Adds McPhee to Coaching set-up" – Blackpool F.C.'s official website
  20. ^ "Coach McPhee walks out in wage row" - Blackpool Gazette, 5 August 2011
  21. ^ "Games played by Steve McPhee in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=22114&season_id=130. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  22. ^ "Games played by Steve McPhee in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=22114&season_id=131. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  23. ^ "Games played by Steve McPhee in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=22114&season_id=132. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  24. ^ "Games played by Steve McPhee in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=22114&season_id=133. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  25. ^ "Games played by Steve McPhee in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=22114&season_id=135. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  26. ^ "Games played by Steve McPhee in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=22114&season_id=136. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  27. ^ a b "Games played by Steve McPhee in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=22114&season_id=137. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  28. ^ "Games played by Steve McPhee in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=22114&season_id=138. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
  29. ^ "Vale hit by McPhee call-up". bbc.co.uk. 26 September 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/port_vale/1565193.stm. Retrieved 4 January 2008. 

External links