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Kevin Phillips (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Kevin Mark Phillips is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Blackpool
.
Phillips was the Premier League top scorer in the 1999–2000 season with 30 goals for Sunderland
, a tally which won him the European Golden Shoe. He remains the only Englishman to win the trophy. He also had spells at Watford
, Southampton
, Aston Villa
, West Bromwich Albion, and Birmingham City
in his youth and signed for a non-League semi-professional side Baldock Town
, with whom he was moved to a striker role. He was signed by Watford
on 19 December 1994 for £10,000.
for a fee of a basic £350,000, eventually coming to over £600,000 based on appearances and achievements at the club.
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, the most by any Sunderland player in one season since the Second World War. His tally for the season included a four-goal haul in the third round of the FA Cup at Rotherham United
and two goals in the play-off campaign. In the build-up for Sunderland's third goal in the 4–4 draw with Charlton Athletic
in the play-off final, 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", but also as the best match he had ever played in.
In the 1998–99 season, Phillips scored 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
, he sustained a toe injury that would keep him out for nearly four months. On his return from injury in January 1999, Phillips scored a long-range volley away to Queens Park Rangers
. In April, promotion was clinched with Phillips scoring four of Sunderland's five goals in an away game against Bury at Gigg Lane
. This form earned Phillips an international call-up for England
and he made his debut against Hungary
. Phillips ended the season with 23 goals in 26 league games and 25 goals 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, pundit Rodney Marsh
stated that Phillips would 'struggle to get six goals'. Phillips went on to score six goals by mid-September and was named Premier League Player of the Month
for October. His goal tally was 20 by mid-January and 30 by the season's end. His final tally 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, just missing out on a UEFA Cup
place.
The 2000–01 season saw Phillips score 14 goals and in January 2001 he broke Sunderland's post-war goalscoring record. As the season wore on, Phillips suffered a lack of form, going two months without a goal until his volley against Charlton Athletic
. Again, Sunderland finished seventh and missed out on a UEFA Cup place.
The 2001–02 season saw Phillips relinquish his penalty-taking duties, after having three consecutive spot-kicks saved. Sunderland dropped to 17th in the final table, only avoiding relegation after to a 1–1 draw with Derby
, while Ipswich were beaten 5–0 at Liverpool. The 2002–03 season saw Sunderland finish the season in 20th (last) place with a (then) Premiership record low of 4 wins, 19 points and 21 goals. Southampton capitalised on Sunderland's need to reduce its wage bill by tabling a £3.25 million bid for Phillips. On his departure, he revealed that three transfer requests had been turned down, two by Peter Reid
and one by Reid's successor Howard Wilkinson
.
In all, Kevin Phillips made 209 league appearances for Sunderland, scoring 115 goals, at an average of more than one goal every two matches.
, which was to win Goal of the Month. Scoring 12 league goals that season, Southampton finished 12th, but just before the end of the season manager Gordon Strachan
resigned. New manager Paul Sturrock
was appointed before the end of the campaign but was sacked just after the 2004–05 season
, to be replaced by Steve Wigley
who spent just three months in charge before the arrival of Harry Redknapp
from local rivals Portsmouth
. Phillips had now played under four managers within a year. The club were relegation candidates but despite that Phillips remained among their top goalscorers in his partnership with new signing Peter Crouch
. He managed 10 league goals in 2004–05, but with Southampton losing 2–1 at home to Manchester United
on the last day of the season, the club was relegated after 27 years in the top flight. On 29 June 2005, Phillips departed from Southampton after two years and 22 league goals to join Aston Villa in a £1million deal to prolong his Premier League career.
for a fee of £1 million on 29 June 2005. 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 scored the winner against local rivals Birmingham City
. However, a series of short-term injuries meant he was unable to get a regular position in the first team and he moved to West Bromwich Albion
.
club by his former strike-partner Niall Quinn
. However, West Bromwich Albion eventually signed him for a fee of £700,000. 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
. 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. Phillips missed six weeks of the season due to a knee injury sustained in early November, but rediscovered his goalscoring form on his return to win the Powerade Championship Player-of-the-Month award for December. Phillips again made the Team of the Week when he scored in Albion's 3–1 away win at Hull City
in January. In March 2008 Phillips was named Championship Player of the Year at the fourth annual Football League Awards in London. 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.
Albion manager Tony Mowbray
has referred to Phillips as "a natural goal-scorer with great awareness and vision".
Phillips scored his 200th League goal in a 1–1 draw with Crystal Palace
on 13 March 2008. Fans of West Bromwich Albion chose to dress up as superhero
es for the last match of 2007–08 (away to QPR) in honour of Phillips, who is nicknamed "Super Kev". Albion won the match 2–0 to win promotion to the Premiership as league champions. 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. He was also named in the PFA
Championship Team of the Year, alongside team mates Paul Robinson and Jonathan Greening
.
club Birmingham City, signing a two-year contract on 9 July 2008. He made his debut on the opening day of the 2008–09 season against Sheffield United
, coming on as a substitute to score a stoppage time winner in a 1–0 victory. Phillips continued his scoring run with goals in his next two games, against Southampton and Barnsley.
At the club's end of season awards, he won the top goalscorer award with 13 goals, and he also won the Goal of the Season, for his goal against Reading. Finally he also scored the winning goal to take Birmingham City straight back up into the Premier League a year after they were relegated. The match ended 2–1 against Reading. He scored a late equaliser against Bolton Wanderers on 26 September, only for Lee Chung-Yong
to retake the lead two minutes later. On 7 February 2010, Phillips came on as a substitute when Birmingham were 1–0 down to Wolverhampton Wanderers and scored twice in the last ten minutes of normal time to win the game. He reached the 250th goal of his career against Arsenal
at St Andrew's on 27 March 2010 with a 92nd-minute equaliser.
On 18 June 2010, Phillips signed a one-year contract extension with the Blues. His first winners' medal in a cup competition came when he was an unused substitute as Birmingham defeated favourites Arsenal 2–1 in the 2011 League Cup final
. After Birmingham's relegation to the Championship, Phillips left the club when his contract expired at the end of the season.
. On 14 August, he scored both of Blackpool's goals in their 2–1 Championship
victory over Peterborough United
, on what was his home
debut.
He then went on to score another brace, including a last-minute equaliser in the 2-2 draw away at Brighton. On 5 November, Phillips came off the bench against Millwall
in the 58th minute replacing Keith Southern
and scored the only goal of the game four minutes later.
, although 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. 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
in February 2002.
|1994–95
||rowspan="3"|Watford
||rowspan="2"|First Division
||16||9||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2" rowspan="9"| ||16||9
|-
|1995–96
||27||11||2||0||2||1||31||12
|-
|1996–97
||Second Division
||16||4||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||16||4
|-
|1997–98
||rowspan="6"|Sunderland
||rowspan="2"|First Division
||46*||31*||2||4||colspan="2"|-||48||35
|-
|1998–99
||26||23||1||0||5||2||32||25
|-
|1999–00||rowspan="7"|Premier League||36||30||2||0||colspan="2"|-||38||30
|-
|2000–01
||34||14||4||2||4||2||42||18
|-
|2001–02
||37||11||1||1||1||1||39||13
|-
|2002–03
||32||6||4||3||colspan="2"|-||36||9
|-
|2003–04
||rowspan="2"|Southampton
||34||12||1||0||colspan="2"|-||2||1||37||13
|-
|2004–05
||30||10||4||2||2||1||colspan="2" rowspan="7"| ||36||13
|-
|2005–06
||Aston Villa
||23||4||2||0||2||1||27||5
|-
|2006–07
||rowspan="2"|West Bromwich Albion
||rowspan="3"|Championship
||39* ||19*||3||3||1||0||43||22
|-
|2007–08
||35||22||3||2||colspan="2"|-||38||24
|-
|2008–09
||rowspan="3"|Birmingham City
||36||14||0||0||2||0||38||14
|-
|2009–10||rowspan="2"|Premier League||19||4||4||0||1||0||24||4
|-
|2010–11|||14||1||4||2||2||1||20||4
|-
|2011–12||rowspan="1"|Blackpool
||rowspan="1"|Championship
||10||5||0||0||0||0||0||0||10||5
510||230||37||19||22||9||2||1||570||259
, Hertfordshire
. He is married to Julie. They have four children: Millie, twins Toby and Tia, and Alfie.
West Bromwich Albion
Birmingham City
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
.
Phillips was the Premier League top scorer in the 1999–2000 season with 30 goals for Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
, a tally which won him the European Golden Shoe. He remains the only Englishman to win the trophy. He also had spells at Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
, Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
, Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
, West Bromwich Albion, and Birmingham City
Early career
Phillips started his footballing career as a right back. He was released by SouthamptonSouthampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
in his youth and signed for a non-League semi-professional side Baldock Town
Baldock Town F.C.
Baldock Town F.C. is an English association football club based in Baldock, Hertfordshire. The club existed from 1889 until 2001, when it folded but the name Baldock Town was revived in 2006 when a club previously called simply Baldock changed its name...
, with whom he was moved to a striker role. He was signed by Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
on 19 December 1994 for £10,000.
Watford
Phillips established himself in the squad during the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons, despite playing in a side that struggled overall. A foot injury late in 1996 kept him out for a year, and by the time of his return Watford were mid-table in the Second Division. At the end of the season he was signed by SunderlandSunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
for a fee of a basic £350,000, eventually coming to over £600,000 based on appearances and achievements at the club.
Sunderland
Phillips signed for Sunderland just after their relegation from the Premiership. As the season progressed both his and the team's fortunes improved including one stretch which saw him score in seven consecutive league games, equalling the club record. He also became the first Sunderland player since Brian CloughBrian Clough
Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...
to score 30 goals in a season. This milestone was reached in a 3–0 win at home to Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
in the penultimate game of the Division One season. In total, Phillips hit 35 goals in all competitions, the most by any Sunderland player in one season since the Second World War. His tally for the season included a four-goal haul in the third round of the FA Cup at Rotherham United
Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
and two goals in the play-off campaign. In the build-up for Sunderland's third goal in the 4–4 draw with Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
in the play-off final, 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", but also as the best match he had ever played in.
In the 1998–99 season, Phillips scored eight goals in the opening weeks of the season as Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
reached the top of the Division One table but in a League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
tie against Chester City
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...
, he sustained a toe injury that would keep him out for nearly four months. On his return from injury in January 1999, Phillips scored a long-range volley away to Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
. In April, promotion was clinched with Phillips scoring four of Sunderland's five goals in an away game against Bury at Gigg Lane
Gigg Lane
Gigg Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. Historically within Lancashire, it was built for Bury F.C. in 1885, and has been their home ever since.-History:...
. This form earned Phillips an international call-up for England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
and he made his debut against Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
. Phillips ended the season with 23 goals in 26 league games and 25 goals 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, pundit Rodney Marsh
Rodney Marsh (footballer)
Rodney William Marsh is an English retired footballer. He was named after HMS Rodney by his father, who served on the battleship. He played for Fulham, Queens Park Rangers, Manchester City, the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the England national team. Lately, he has been a pundit and a commentator on the...
stated that Phillips would 'struggle to get six goals'. Phillips went on to score six goals by mid-September and was named Premier League Player of the Month
Premier League Player of the Month
The Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best Premier League player each month of the season. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the League's sponsor, and announced alongside the Manager of the Month on the first or second Friday of the following month...
for October. His goal tally was 20 by mid-January and 30 by the season's end. His final tally season earned him the Premiership Golden Boot and European Golden Boot
European Golden Boot
The European Golden Shoe, formerly known as the European Golden Boot, is an association football award presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of every European national league...
awards (he is currently the only Englishman to have won the latter), and helped his side finish 7th in the table, just missing out on a UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
place.
The 2000–01 season saw Phillips score 14 goals and in January 2001 he broke Sunderland's post-war goalscoring record. As the season wore on, Phillips suffered a lack of form, going two months without a goal until his volley against Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
. Again, Sunderland finished seventh and missed out on a UEFA Cup place.
The 2001–02 season saw Phillips relinquish his penalty-taking duties, after having three consecutive spot-kicks saved. Sunderland dropped to 17th in the final table, only avoiding relegation after to a 1–1 draw with Derby
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
, while Ipswich were beaten 5–0 at Liverpool. The 2002–03 season saw Sunderland finish the season in 20th (last) place with a (then) Premiership record low of 4 wins, 19 points and 21 goals. Southampton capitalised on Sunderland's need to reduce its wage bill by tabling a £3.25 million bid for Phillips. On his departure, he revealed that three transfer requests had been turned down, two by Peter Reid
Peter Reid
Peter Reid is an English football manager, pundit and retired player, who is currently without a club since his departure from Plymouth Argyle.A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career...
and one by Reid's successor Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson is a former English football player and manager, and has recently stepped down as a Non-Executive Director at Sheffield Wednesday after formerly relinquishing the chairman role to Milan Mandaric...
.
In all, Kevin Phillips made 209 league appearances for Sunderland, scoring 115 goals, at an average of more than one goal every two matches.
Southampton
In August 2003, Phillips completed his £3.25 million move to Premier League Southampton. He netted a long-range strike on his debut away to Leicester CityLeicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
, which was to win Goal of the Month. Scoring 12 league goals that season, Southampton finished 12th, but just before the end of the season manager Gordon Strachan
Gordon Strachan
Gordon David Strachan OBE is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is currently without a club, having last managed Middlesbrough. Strachan played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. Prior to Middlesbrough,...
resigned. New manager Paul Sturrock
Paul Sturrock
Paul Whitehead Sturrock is a Scottish football manager who, since July 2010, is the manager of Southend United. Until this appointment, Sturrock had most recently been at English League 1 club Plymouth Argyle in a business support role, having been relieved of his managerial duties, until he quit...
was appointed before the end of the campaign but was sacked just after the 2004–05 season
2004-05 in English football
The 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League...
, to be replaced by Steve Wigley
Steve Wigley
Steve Wigley is an English football coach and former player for Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Birmingham City, Portsmouth and Exeter City. He made 340 appearances in the Football League. He is the former manager of Southampton and the former assistant/caretaker manager for Bristol City...
who spent just three months in charge before the arrival of Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
from local rivals Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
. Phillips had now played under four managers within a year. The club were relegation candidates but despite that Phillips remained among their top goalscorers in his partnership with new signing Peter Crouch
Peter Crouch
Peter James Crouch is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Stoke City and the England national team.Crouch started his career as a trainee with Tottenham Hotspur...
. He managed 10 league goals in 2004–05, but with Southampton losing 2–1 at home to Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
on the last day of the season, the club was relegated after 27 years in the top flight. On 29 June 2005, Phillips departed from Southampton after two years and 22 league goals to join Aston Villa in a £1million deal to prolong his Premier League career.
Aston Villa
Phillips moved from Southampton, who had just been relegated, to Aston VillaAston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
for a fee of £1 million on 29 June 2005. Wearing the number 20 shirt, he scored on his debut for Villa and shared front-man duties with Juan Pablo Ángel
Juan Pablo Ángel
Juan Pablo Ángel Arango is a Colombian footballer. He currently plays for Chivas USA in Major League Soccer.-Atlético Nacional and River Plate:...
and fellow new signing Milan Baroš
Milan Baroš
Milan Baroš is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker for Galatasaray and the Czech national football team.In the 2008–09 season, Baroš scored 20 goals in Turkish Süper Lig, the highest total in the league...
. After recovering from injury at the start of 2005–06 season he scored the winner against local rivals Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
. However, a series of short-term injuries meant he was unable to get a regular position in the first team and he moved to West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
.
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 WearsideWearside
Wearside is an area of north east England, centred on the continuous urban area formed by Sunderland, Seaham and other settlements by the River Wear. Mackems is a nickname used for the people of Wearside....
club by his former strike-partner Niall Quinn
Niall Quinn
Niall John Quinn honorary MBE is a former Irish international footballer, and the ex-chairman of Sunderland AFC. He still works at the club as an overseas manager. He is also heavily involved in the management side of horse racing...
. However, West Bromwich Albion eventually signed him for a fee of £700,000. 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
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
. 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
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
to ensure Albion's progression to the Play-off final at Wembley Stadium, although they lost 1–0 in the final to Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
.
Phillips' two goals in Albion's 5–1 home victory over Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
on 30 September 2007 earned him a place in the Championship Team of the Week. Phillips missed six weeks of the season due to a knee injury sustained in early November, but rediscovered his goalscoring form on his return to win the Powerade Championship Player-of-the-Month award for December. Phillips again made the Team of the Week when he scored in Albion's 3–1 away win at Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
in January. In March 2008 Phillips was named Championship Player of the Year at the fourth annual Football League Awards in London. The event sponsored by Four Four Two rated Phillips as the top player in the Football League ahead of Andy Gray of Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
and Michael Kightly
Michael Kightly
Michael John Kightly is an English footballer who plays as a winger. He is on loan at Championship side Watford from Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers....
of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Albion manager Tony Mowbray
Tony Mowbray
Anthony Mark "Tony" Mowbray is an English former professional football player, who is currently the manager of Middlesbrough...
has referred to Phillips as "a natural goal-scorer with great awareness and vision".
Phillips scored his 200th League goal in a 1–1 draw with Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
on 13 March 2008. Fans of West Bromwich Albion chose to dress up as superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
es for the last match of 2007–08 (away to QPR) in honour of Phillips, who is nicknamed "Super Kev". Albion won the match 2–0 to win promotion to the Premiership as league champions. 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. He was also named in the PFA
Professional Footballers' Association
The Professional Footballers' Association is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales. The world's oldest professional sport trade union, it has 4,000 members....
Championship Team of the Year, alongside team mates Paul Robinson and Jonathan Greening
Jonathan Greening
Jonathan Greening is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Nottingham Forest.He began his career in 1996 with York City, but moved to Manchester United in 1998, with whom he won the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League as a non-playing substitute in the final...
.
Birmingham City
When his contract with West Bromwich Albion expired at the end of the 2007–08 season, the club offered Phillips a one-year deal, with an additional second year if he made 19 or more league appearances. He rejected the offer and joined ChampionshipFootball League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
club Birmingham City, signing a two-year contract on 9 July 2008. He made his debut on the opening day of the 2008–09 season against Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
, coming on as a substitute to score a stoppage time winner in a 1–0 victory. Phillips continued his scoring run with goals in his next two games, against Southampton and Barnsley.
At the club's end of season awards, he won the top goalscorer award with 13 goals, and he also won the Goal of the Season, for his goal against Reading. Finally he also scored the winning goal to take Birmingham City straight back up into the Premier League a year after they were relegated. The match ended 2–1 against Reading. He scored a late equaliser against Bolton Wanderers on 26 September, only for Lee Chung-Yong
Lee Chung-Yong
Lee Chung-Yong is a South Korean footballer who plays for Premier League club Bolton Wanderers and the South Korean national team. His nickname, Blue Dragon, is a transliteration of his given name "Chung-Yong" derived from Hanja, 청용...
to retake the lead two minutes later. On 7 February 2010, Phillips came on as a substitute when Birmingham were 1–0 down to Wolverhampton Wanderers and scored twice in the last ten minutes of normal time to win the game. He reached the 250th goal of his career against Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
at St Andrew's on 27 March 2010 with a 92nd-minute equaliser.
On 18 June 2010, Phillips signed a one-year contract extension with the Blues. His first winners' medal in a cup competition came when he was an unused substitute as Birmingham defeated favourites Arsenal 2–1 in the 2011 League Cup final
2011 Football League Cup Final
The 2011 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 2010–11 Football League Cup, the 51st season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in the Premier League and the Football League. The match was contested by Arsenal and Birmingham City, at Wembley Stadium in...
. After Birmingham's relegation to the Championship, Phillips left the club when his contract expired at the end of the season.
Blackpool
On 10 July 2011, Phillips signed a one-year deal with BlackpoolBlackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
. On 14 August, he scored both of Blackpool's goals in their 2–1 Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
victory over Peterborough United
Peterborough United F.C.
Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...
, on what was his home
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...
debut.
He then went on to score another brace, including a last-minute equaliser in the 2-2 draw away at Brighton. On 5 November, Phillips came off the bench against Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
in the 58th minute replacing Keith Southern
Keith Southern
Keith William Southern is an English professional footballer who plays for Blackpool. He is a central midfielder and is the longest-serving player currently at Bloomfield Road.-Early career: Everton and loan move to Blackpool:...
and scored the only goal of the game four minutes later.
International career
Despite his success at club level, Phillips has not been able to score in eight caps for the English national teamEngland national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
, although he was never given a full ninety minutes for his country. The closest Phillips came to scoring was in a pre-Euro 2000
2000 UEFA European Football Championship
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, or Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Football Championship, which is held every four years and organized by UEFA, association football's governing body in Europe....
match against Malta, where he rounded the keeper only to hit the side-netting. 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
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
in February 2002.
Career statistics
|-|1994–95
The Football League 1994-95
The 1994–1995 season was the 95th completed season of the The Football League. It was the third season of The Football League since the formation of the Premier League...
||rowspan="3"|Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
||rowspan="2"|First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||16||9||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2" rowspan="9"| ||16||9
|-
|1995–96
The Football League 1995-96
The 1995–1996 season was the 96th completed season of the The Football League. It was contested through three divisions, the First Division, Second Division and Third Division.- First Division playoffs :- First Division Table:...
||27||11||2||0||2||1||31||12
|-
|1996–97
The Football League 1996-97
The 1996–1997 season was the 97th completed season of the The Football League.-First Division:Bolton Wanderers returned to the Premiership in superb fashion, hitting 100 goals and taking 98 points...
||Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||16||4||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||16||4
|-
|1997–98
The Football League 1997-98
The 1997–1998 season was the 98th completed season of the The Football League.-First Division:Champions Nottingham Forest and runners-up Middlesbrough won promotion back to the Premiership at the first time of asking. Charlton Athletic won the playoffs to end an eight-year absence from the top...
||rowspan="6"|Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
||rowspan="2"|First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||46*||31*||2||4||colspan="2"|-||48||35
|-
|1998–99
The Football League 1998-99
The 1998–1999 season was the 99th completed season of the The Football League.-First Division:Sunderland were crowned First Division champions with 105 points, then a record, having lost just three games all season, to prove right the many pundits who tipped them for promotion...
||26||23||1||0||5||2||32||25
|-
|1999–00||rowspan="7"|Premier League||36||30||2||0||colspan="2"|-||38||30
|-
|2000–01
FA Premier League 2000-01
The FA Premier League 2000-01 season was the third season running which ended with Manchester United as champions and Arsenal as runners-up. Sir Alex Ferguson became the first manager to win three successive English league titles, although three teams had achieved that feat in the past - but with...
||34||14||4||2||4||2||42||18
|-
|2001–02
FA Premier League 2001-02
The 2001–02 FA Premier League season was the tenth season of the competition. It began with a new sponsor, Barclaycard, and was titled the FA Barclaycard Premiership, replacing the previous sponsor, Carling...
||37||11||1||1||1||1||39||13
|-
|2002–03
FA Premier League 2002-03
The 2002–03 FA Premier League was the eleventh season of the Premier League, the top division in English football. The first matches were played on 17 August 2002 and the last were played on 11 May 2003...
||32||6||4||3||colspan="2"|-||36||9
|-
|2003–04
FA Premier League 2003-04
The 2003–04 FA Premier League season was the twelfth season of the Premier League. In the end, Arsenal went through the season without a single defeat – only the second ever team to do so and were crowned champions once more, at the expense of Chelsea, who had spent heavily throughout the...
||rowspan="2"|Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
||34||12||1||0||colspan="2"|-||2||1||37||13
|-
|2004–05
FA Premier League 2004-05
The 2004–05 season of the FA Premier League began on 14 August 2004 and ended on 15 May 2005. Arsenal were the defending champions after going unbeaten the previous season....
||30||10||4||2||2||1||colspan="2" rowspan="7"| ||36||13
|-
|2005–06
FA Premier League 2005-06
The 2005–06 season of the FA Premier League began on 13 August 2005, and concluded on 7 May 2006. The season saw Chelsea F.C retain their title after defeating Manchester United 3–0 at Stamford Bridge towards the end of April...
||Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
||23||4||2||0||2||1||27||5
|-
|2006–07
The Football League 2006-07
The 2006–2007 season was the 107th completed season of the Football League.-Overview:The Football League was contested through three Divisions in England and Wales. The divisions were the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League Two...
||rowspan="2"|West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
||rowspan="3"|Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||39* ||19*||3||3||1||0||43||22
|-
|2007–08
The Football League 2007-08
The Football League is contested through three divisions in England and Wales. The divisions are the League Championship, League One and League Two. The winner and the runner up of the League Championship will be automatically promoted to the Premier League and they will be joined by the winner of...
||35||22||3||2||colspan="2"|-||38||24
|-
|2008–09
The Football League 2008-09
The Football League 2008–09, titled the Coca-Cola Football League, was the 109th completed season of the Football League. It began in August 2008 and concluded in May 2009, with the promotion play-off finals....
||rowspan="3"|Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
||36||14||0||0||2||0||38||14
|-
|2009–10||rowspan="2"|Premier League||19||4||4||0||1||0||24||4
|-
|2010–11|||14||1||4||2||2||1||20||4
|-
|2011–12||rowspan="1"|Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
||rowspan="1"|Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||10||5||0||0||0||0||0||0||10||5
510||230||37||19||22||9||2||1||570||259
- * These figures include playoff games.
Personal life
Phillips was born in HitchinHitchin
Hitchin is a town in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 30,360.-History:Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people mentioned in a 7th century document, the Tribal Hidage. The tribal name is Brittonic rather than Old English and derives from *siccā, meaning...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. He is married to Julie. They have four children: Millie, twins Toby and Tia, and Alfie.
Club
SunderlandSunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
- Football League Division 1 winner: 1998–99
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
- Football League ChampionshipFootball League ChampionshipThe Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
winner: 2007–08
Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
- Football League ChampionshipFootball League ChampionshipThe Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
: runner-up 2008–09 - Football League CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
: winner 2010–2011
Individual
- Premiership Player of the MonthPremier League Player of the MonthThe Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best Premier League player each month of the season. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the League's sponsor, and announced alongside the Manager of the Month on the first or second Friday of the following month...
: October 1999 - Premiership Golden BootPremier League Golden BootThe Premier League Golden Boot, known for sponsorship reasons as the Barclays Golden Boot, is an annual English association football award given to the top goalscorer at the end of the Premier League season, the top domestic league competition in club football in England, since its creation in 1992...
: 1999–2000 - European Golden BootEuropean Golden BootThe European Golden Shoe, formerly known as the European Golden Boot, is an association football award presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of every European national league...
: 1999–2000 - North East Football Writers' Player of the Year: 2000
- Sunderland Solid Gold XI