Matt Phillips
Encyclopedia
Matthew "Matt" Phillips (born 13 March 1991) is an English
professional footballer who plays for Blackpool
.
Phillips is a winger and previously played for Wycombe Wanderers
. He has represented England at under-19
and under-20
level.
, Buckinghamshire
, Phillips was with Wycombe Wanderers from the age of eight when he was spotted playing in a five-a-side
tournament.
A month after his seventeenth birthday, he made his first team debut on 26 April 2008 in the 1–0 defeat to Notts County
, the penultimate game of the 2007–08 season as an 82nd minute substitute.
His first start came a week later in the 2–1 win over Bradford City
at Adams Park
, in which he was voted man of the match
by the Wycombe supporters. He made a further substitute appearance in the play-off semi-final home leg, a 1–1 home draw with Stockport County
on 11 May.
Phillips signed his first professional contract in July 2008, a year before the end of his youth team scholarship. His first goal for the Chairboys came on 10 November 2008 in the 4–1 away win over AFC Wimbledon
in the First Round of the 2008–09 FA Cup. His first league goal came on 6 December in the 3–2 away defeat to Aldershot Town
.
Phillips went on to make a massive contribution to the Chairboys promotion from League Two
in the 2008–09 season becoming a regular on either the left or right wing, impressing with his ability to take on defenders and to cut inside. He was also won the clubs two "Young Player of the Year" awards at the end of the season as well as the League Two "Apprentice of the Year".
Phillips was given the number 18 shirt for the 2009–10 season
and continued his good form from the previous season, starting on both flanks.
He made a total of 87 league and cup appearances for Wycombe scoring nine goals.
on 31 August 2010 in an original £350,000 deal that could rise to £700,000. His first game was a Friendly to open the new Zemgele Olympic Centre in Jelgava
, Latvia
against Latvian Higher League side FK Jelgava
on 3 September. Manager Ian Holloway
later revealed that he had been tracking Phillips for "a long time", saying of him, "Young Matty looked really exciting at times. He was skipping past people like they weren't there and now I've got to get him in our shape and working within it. He is definitely one for not only the long-term future but the immediate future. I am getting quite excited about what he might be able to produce."
He scored in his first Reserves game, a 1–1 draw with West Bromwich Albion
at Bloomfield Road
on 15 September in the club's first ever Premier Reserve League
home fixture.
His first team debut came on 25 September in the 2–1 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers
. Phillips came on as a substitute in the 84th minute, making an instant impact, scoring his first ever Premier League goal just seconds later. After the match Ian Holloway praised Phillips saying, "I thought he was terrific. He's only 19 and he's someone who I think will have a good future. He played in a different role and smacked one in like that. Hopefully there is a lot, lot more to come from that boy because he has got some bits and pieces that would grace any level of football." Of his debut and goal Phillips said: "I've dreamt of playing in the Premier League since I was a kid, so to play Premier League football is one thing, but to go out there and make a mark on it is another, so I'm delighted." He made his full-debut against Aston Villa at Villa Park, a performance which led manager Ian Holloway
to describe him as "at times un-markable".
With first team opportunities proving limited Phillips agreed a months loan to Sheffield United
in October 2011, making his début in the Steel City Derby
a few days later. Phillips had a major impact in his month spell, scoring six goals in six appearances for the South Yorkshire
club before returning to Bloomfield Road.
|2007–08||rowspan="4"|Wycombe Wanderers
||rowspan="2"|League Two
||2||0||colspan="4"|-||2||0
|-
|2008–09||37||3||2||1||colspan="2"|-||40||4
|-
|2009–10
||League One
||36||5||2||0||1||0||39||5
|-
|2010–11
||League Two
||3||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0||4||0
|-
|2010–11||Blackpool
||Premier League
||27||1||1||0||0||0||28||1
|-
|2011–12||Blackpool
||Championship
||4||0||0||0||0||0||4||0
|-
|||Sheffield United
(on Loan)*||League 1||6||5||0||0||0||0||5||5
115||14||5||1||2||0||121||15
Notes:
a. One play-off appearance included in 2007–08 totals
b. One Football League Trophy
appearance included in 2009–10 totals
squad for the European Championship Elite Qualifying Round matches against the Republic of Ireland
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
on 28 May, and Ukraine
, after initially being named as a standby. On 26 May he made his debut against Republic of Ireland coming on as a 76th minute substitute for Jacob Mellis
. Two days later he made his full debut and scored his first international goal in his next game against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In July 2010, Phillips was named in England's 18-man squad for the European Under-19 Championship
. He scored a final-minute equaliser against France
to send England through to the semi-finals of the tournament.
In February 2011, Phillips made his debut for the England under-20s
in a 2-1 defeat to France
. In June 2011, he was named in England's 21-man squad for the Under-20 World Cup
. He started all three of England's group stage games and the last-16 game against Nigeria
, which they lost 1-0.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
professional footballer who plays for 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...
.
Phillips is a winger and previously played for Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, which has been promoted to Football League One after finishing third in Football League Two in the season 2010–11. The club's nicknames are "The Chairboys" and "The Blues", and they play...
. He has represented England at under-19
England national under-19 football team
-Other matches:-Latest squad:The following players were named in the squad for the friendly match against Denmark.- Recent call-ups :The following players have also been called up to the England under-19 squad and remain eligible.-Past squads:...
and under-20
England national under-20 football team
- Round of 16 :-Friendlies:-Latest squad:The following players were named in the squad for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup running from 29 July to the 20 August 2011.-Recent call-ups:...
level.
Wycombe Wanderers
Born in AylesburyAylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, Phillips was with Wycombe Wanderers from the age of eight when he was spotted playing in a five-a-side
Five-a-side football
thumb|240px|alt=Men playing football on artificial grass pitch.|Five-a-side game on astroturf pitch.Five-a-side football is a variation of association football in which each team fields five players , rather than the usual eleven on each team. Other differences from football include a smaller...
tournament.
A month after his seventeenth birthday, he made his first team debut on 26 April 2008 in the 1–0 defeat to Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
, the penultimate game of the 2007–08 season as an 82nd minute substitute.
His first start came a week later in the 2–1 win over Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
at Adams Park
Adams Park
Adams Park is a football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. It is the home ground of Wycombe Wanderers F.C. and the Aviva Premiership Rugby Union club London Wasps...
, in which he was voted man of the match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
by the Wycombe supporters. He made a further substitute appearance in the play-off semi-final home leg, a 1–1 home draw with Stockport County
Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
on 11 May.
Phillips signed his first professional contract in July 2008, a year before the end of his youth team scholarship. His first goal for the Chairboys came on 10 November 2008 in the 4–1 away win over AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon is a professional English football club that traces its origins to Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton. Based at Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames, the club are members of Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football....
in the First Round of the 2008–09 FA Cup. His first league goal came on 6 December in the 3–2 away defeat to Aldershot Town
Aldershot Town F.C.
Aldershot Town Football Club is an association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England, founded in the spring of 1992 just after the closure of debt-ridden Fourth Division club Aldershot Football Club...
.
Phillips went on to make a massive contribution to the Chairboys promotion from League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
in the 2008–09 season becoming a regular on either the left or right wing, impressing with his ability to take on defenders and to cut inside. He was also won the clubs two "Young Player of the Year" awards at the end of the season as well as the League Two "Apprentice of the Year".
Phillips was given the number 18 shirt for the 2009–10 season
2009–10 Football League
The Football League 2009–10, called the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons, was the 110th completed season of the Football League. It began in August 2009 and concluded in May 2010, with the promotion play-off finals. The Football League is contested through three Divisions. The...
and continued his good form from the previous season, starting on both flanks.
He made a total of 87 league and cup appearances for Wycombe scoring nine goals.
Blackpool
Phillips signed for Premier League club 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 31 August 2010 in an original £350,000 deal that could rise to £700,000. His first game was a Friendly to open the new Zemgele Olympic Centre in Jelgava
Jelgava
-Sports:The city's main football team, FK Jelgava, plays in the Latvian Higher League and won the 2009/2010 Latvian Football Cup.- Notable people :*August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein - linguist, folklorist, ethnographer...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
against Latvian Higher League side FK Jelgava
FK Jelgava
FK Jelgava is a Latvian football club that is based in Jelgava. Its best results came when the team was named RAF Jelgava.-Automobīlists Jelgava:...
on 3 September. Manager Ian Holloway
Ian Holloway
Ian Scott Holloway is an English football manager and former player. He became the manager of Blackpool in May 2009. Holloway is well-known amongst football fans for his off-the-wall interviews, with a wide selection of quotes and soundbites being printed. Holloway's playing career spanned 18...
later revealed that he had been tracking Phillips for "a long time", saying of him, "Young Matty looked really exciting at times. He was skipping past people like they weren't there and now I've got to get him in our shape and working within it. He is definitely one for not only the long-term future but the immediate future. I am getting quite excited about what he might be able to produce."
He scored in his first Reserves game, a 1–1 draw with 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...
at Bloomfield Road
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...
on 15 September in the club's first ever Premier Reserve League
2010–11 Premier Reserve League
-Final:-Premier Reserve League North Group A:-Premier Reserve League North Group B:-Premier Reserve League South:-Promotion and relegation:*Teams relegated from the Premier Reserve League at the end of this season:* Birmingham City F.C....
home fixture.
His first team debut came on 25 September in the 2–1 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
. Phillips came on as a substitute in the 84th minute, making an instant impact, scoring his first ever Premier League goal just seconds later. After the match Ian Holloway praised Phillips saying, "I thought he was terrific. He's only 19 and he's someone who I think will have a good future. He played in a different role and smacked one in like that. Hopefully there is a lot, lot more to come from that boy because he has got some bits and pieces that would grace any level of football." Of his debut and goal Phillips said: "I've dreamt of playing in the Premier League since I was a kid, so to play Premier League football is one thing, but to go out there and make a mark on it is another, so I'm delighted." He made his full-debut against Aston Villa at Villa Park, a performance which led manager Ian Holloway
Ian Holloway
Ian Scott Holloway is an English football manager and former player. He became the manager of Blackpool in May 2009. Holloway is well-known amongst football fans for his off-the-wall interviews, with a wide selection of quotes and soundbites being printed. Holloway's playing career spanned 18...
to describe him as "at times un-markable".
With first team opportunities proving limited Phillips agreed a months loan to 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...
in October 2011, making his début in the Steel City Derby
Steel City derby
The Steel City Derby is a local derby that takes place between Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday, the two professional football league teams based in the city of Sheffield, England...
a few days later. Phillips had a major impact in his month spell, scoring six goals in six appearances for the South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
club before returning to Bloomfield Road.
Club career statistics
|-|2007–08||rowspan="4"|Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, which has been promoted to Football League One after finishing third in Football League Two in the season 2010–11. The club's nicknames are "The Chairboys" and "The Blues", and they play...
||rowspan="2"|League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||2||0||colspan="4"|-||2||0
|-
|2008–09||37||3||2||1||colspan="2"|-||40||4
|-
|2009–10
2009–10 Football League
The Football League 2009–10, called the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons, was the 110th completed season of the Football League. It began in August 2009 and concluded in May 2010, with the promotion play-off finals. The Football League is contested through three Divisions. The...
||League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||36||5||2||0||1||0||39||5
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Football League
The Football League 2010–11, called the Npower Football League, was the 111th completed season of the Football League. It began in August 2010 and concluded in May 2011, with the promotion play-off finals....
||League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||3||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0||4||0
|-
|2010–11||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...
||Premier League
||27||1||1||0||0||0||28||1
|-
|2011–12||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...
||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...
||4||0||0||0||0||0||4||0
|-
|||Sheffield United
2011–12 Sheffield United F.C. season
Sheffield United Football Club participated in League One, the third level of English football for the first time in 23 years having been relegated from the Championship at the end of the previous season...
(on Loan)*||League 1||6||5||0||0||0||0||5||5
115||14||5||1||2||0||121||15
- Correct up to 29/10/2011
Notes:
a. One play-off appearance included in 2007–08 totals
b. One Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
appearance included in 2009–10 totals
International career
In May 2010, Phillips was called into the England under-19England national under-19 football team
-Other matches:-Latest squad:The following players were named in the squad for the friendly match against Denmark.- Recent call-ups :The following players have also been called up to the England under-19 squad and remain eligible.-Past squads:...
squad for the European Championship Elite Qualifying Round matches against the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team
The Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team, is the national under-19 football team of the Republic of Ireland and is controlled by the Football Association of Ireland and competes in the biennial European Under-19 Football Championship....
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina national under-19 football team
The Bosnia and Herzegovina national under-19 football team is made up by players who are 19 years old or younger and represents Bosnia and Herzegovina in international football matches at this age level.- UEFA U19 Championship Record :...
on 28 May, and Ukraine
Ukraine national under-19 football team
The Ukraine national under-19 football team represents Ukraine in international football at this age level and is controlled by Football Federation of Ukraine, the governing body for football in Ukraine.The current coach is Oleksandr Holovko....
, after initially being named as a standby. On 26 May he made his debut against Republic of Ireland coming on as a 76th minute substitute for Jacob Mellis
Jacob Mellis
Jacob Alexander Mellis is an English footballer currently playing for Chelsea where he usually plays as a midfielder.-Football career:...
. Two days later he made his full debut and scored his first international goal in his next game against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In July 2010, Phillips was named in England's 18-man squad for the European Under-19 Championship
2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship
-Group B:---------------------Bracket:-Semi-finals:-----Final:-Goalscorers:4 goals Daniel Pacheco3 goals Zvonko Pamić Cédric Bakambu Alexandre Lacazette...
. He scored a final-minute equaliser against France
France national under-19 football team
The France national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of France and is controlled by the French Football Federation. The team competes in the annual UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. They were the 2010 champions of the competition having won on home soil...
to send England through to the semi-finals of the tournament.
In February 2011, Phillips made his debut for the England under-20s
England national under-20 football team
- Round of 16 :-Friendlies:-Latest squad:The following players were named in the squad for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup running from 29 July to the 20 August 2011.-Recent call-ups:...
in a 2-1 defeat to France
France national under-20 football team
The France national under-20 football team is the national under-20 football team of France and is controlled by the French Football Federation. The team competes in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years and the Toulon Tournament, which is held every May when football league...
. In June 2011, he was named in England's 21-man squad for the Under-20 World Cup
2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the eighteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. Colombia hosted the tournament between 29 July and 20 August 2011, with matches being played in eight cities...
. He started all three of England's group stage games and the last-16 game against Nigeria
Nigeria national under-20 football team
Nigeria U-20 men's national soccer team, also known as Nigeria Under-20s or nicknamed Flying Eagles, is the youth team for national soccer in Nigeria...
, which they lost 1-0.
Honours
- Wycombe Wanderers
- League TwoFootball League TwoFootball League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
third-place promotion: 2008–09
- League Two
External links
- Matt Phillips player profile at blackpoolfc.co.uk
- Matthew Phillips official website
- ESPN Profile