David Phillips (Welsh footballer)
Encyclopedia
David Owen Phillips is a former professional and Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...

 international footballer who played as a midfielder for Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

, Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

, Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...

, Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...

, Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

, Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

, Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....

 and Stevenage Borough
Stevenage Borough F.C.
Stevenage Football Club is an English football club based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The club currently participate in League One, the third tier of English football, having won promotion from League Two in the 2010–11 season...

.

Plymouth Argyle & Manchester City

Phillips was also a member of the Plymouth team that reached the semi-final of the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 in 1984, losing 1-0 to 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...

. Whilst at Manchester City he featured several times on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

's Match of the Day
Match of the Day
Match of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...

 programme as a Goal of the Month
Goal of the Month (England)
The Goal of the Month is a monthly segment on BBC's Match of the Day television programme, in honour of the best goal scored each month. The segment has been featured on the programme since the 1970–71 season...

 nominee, scoring a number of spectacular long-range goals.

Coventry City

An early signing by George Curtis
George Curtis (footballer born 1939)
George Curtis is an English former footballer who played in the Football League as a defender for Coventry City and Aston Villa.-Playing career:...

 & John Sillett
John Sillett
John Charles Sillett is a former football player and manager.His father Charlie Sillett was a footballer with Southampton between 1931 and 1938. He is the younger brother of Peter Sillett, also a footballer.Sillett played for Chelsea, Coventry City and Plymouth Argyle...

, Phillips was a useful player to have in any squad due to his versatility, as he could play on either flank both defensively and offensively. He was probably at his peak during the 86/87 FA Cup winning season, where the team spent the entire season in the top ten. As at Manchester City, Phillips was a strong industrious midfielder that could drop back into a defensive position if need be, but it was his long range striking ability which often caught the eye. Memorable goals include a 25 yard strike during a 4-1 defeat of QPR
QPR
QPR usually refers to Queens Park Rangers F.C., an English football club.QPR may also refer to:*Queen + Paul Rodgers, a 2004-2009 musical supergroup*Queen's Park Rangers , a football club playing in the Grenada League...

 in 86/87 and the following season, going to then champions Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

, and scoring a pile-driver, again from outside the box, in a 2-1 win at Goodison Park. His 1987 FA Cup Final
1987 FA Cup Final
The 1987 FA Cup Final took place on 16 May 1987 at Wembley Stadium. It was contested between Coventry City and Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs were appearing in their third final in seven seasons, having won the trophy in 1981 and 1982 and were strong favourites, while unfancied Coventry were appearing...

 appearance typified his time at the Sky Blues, industrious, hard working and fast on the counter attack. His three seasons at Coventry (86-89) coincide with some of the most stable and successful times in the clubs history.

Norwich City & Nottingham Forest

The £550,000 fee that Norwich City paid Coventry for him in 1989 was at the time a club record. He scored within three minutes of his debut for the Canaries in a 2-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

. He was part of the Norwich side that finished third in the inaugural Premiership season 1992-93, but left the club in the summer of 1993 after a contract dispute, joining Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

. He helped Forest win promotion to the Premiership in his first season at the City Ground.

International career

He made a total of 62 international appearances for Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...

 between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s and scored over 60 league goals, making almost 600 appearances in a 20 year playing career from 1981 to 2001.

Sources

  • Canary Citizens by Mark Davage, John Eastwood, Kevin Platt, published by Jarrold Publishing, (2001), ISBN 0-7117-2020-7

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK