Phil Babb
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Philip Andrew Babb | ||
| Date of birth | 30 November 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Lambeth, England | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1988–1989 | Newcastle United | ||
| 1989–1990 | Millwall | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1990–1992 | Bradford City | 80 | (14) |
| 1992–1994 | Coventry City | 77 | (3) |
| 1994–2000 | Liverpool | 128 | (1) |
| 2000 | → Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2000–2002 | Sporting CP | 37 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Sunderland | 48 | (0) |
| Total | 374 | (18) | |
| National team | |||
| 1994–2002 | Republic of Ireland | 35 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Philip 'Phil' Andrew Babb (born 30 November 1970) is a former professional footballer who played as a central defender.
Active in England and Portugal, he made over 300 professional career appearances, namely spending six Premier League seasons with Liverpool.
Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland at the 1994 World Cup.
Contents |
[edit] Club career
Born in Lambeth, London, Babb came through the youth ranks of Newcastle United and Millwall, before beginning his senior career in 1990 with Bradford City. He moved to Coventry City in July 1992 for a fee of £500,000,[1] where he spent two seasons before moving to Liverpool on 1 September 1994 for £3.6million,[2] which made him the most expensive defender in Britain at the time.[3]
Babb only scored once during six Premier League years at Liverpool, ironically against former club Coventry, in September 1996.[4] After a brief loan spell at Tranmere Rovers, he moved to Portugal with Sporting Clube de Portugal on a free transfer in 2000,[5][6] appearing in 38 official games in his second season - one goal against FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Cup (3–0 away win, 6–2 on aggregate)[7]- as the Lions conquered both the league and the domestic cup.
Babb ended his career at the age of 33 with Sunderland (also two years),[8] suffering top level relegation in 2003, and helping the Black Cats reach the semifinals of the following year's FA Cup.
[edit] International career
Having chosen to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally, Babb earned 35 full caps, including four matches at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.[9] In August 2000, he and Ireland teammate Mark Kennedy were sent home from a training camp "after appearing in court charged with drunken and abusive behaviour and causing criminal damage."[10]
Babb's final game for Ireland was an UEFA Euro 2004 qualifier against Russia played in Moscow, on 7 September 2002: having come into the game in the 85th-minute, his first touch of the ball was diverted behind Irish goalkeeper Shay Given for an own goal. The Republic of Ireland lost the away game 2–4, with all three of manager Mick McCarthy's substitutes (Gary Doherty, Clinton Morrison and Babb) "scoring".[11]
[edit] After football
In 2006, Babb became an investor in Golf Punk magazine, alongside former Sunderland teammates Michael Gray, Jason McAteer, Thomas Sorensen and Stephen Wright, saving the publication from closure.[12] He also worked as a pundit for Sky Sports.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ "Bradford City – Phil Babb". Sporting Heroes. http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=38128. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ "Coventry City – Phil Babb". Sporting Heroes. http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=38129. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ "Player profile". LFC History. http://www.lfchistory.net/Players/Player/Profile/258. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ Phil Shaw (4 September 1996). "Babb returns to haunt Coventry". UK: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/babb-returns-to-haunt-coventry-1361907.html. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
- ^ "Liverpool – Phil Babb". Sporting Heroes. http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=36354. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ "O'Shea makes step up". BBC Sport. 29 August 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/2223947.stm. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ "Ronaldo back in business". BBC Sport. 20 September. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/uefa_cup/1552442.stm. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- ^ "Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database". Neilbrown.newcastlefans. 30 November 1970. http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player/philbabb.htm. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ Phil Babb – FIFA competition record
- ^ Tommy Staniforth (31 August 2000). "Keane faces fitness test". UK: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/keane-faces-fitness-test-696584.html. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
- ^ Opening Euro scare for France; The Age, 18 September 2002
- ^ Paul Kelso (20 December 2006). "Babb bails out Golf Punk". UK: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2006/dec/20/sport.comment1. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
- ^ Jonny Abrams (10 February 2010). "Whatever happened to the following 5 Liverpool players?". Sport.co.uk. http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/33987/Whatever_happened_to_the_following_5_Liverpool_players.aspx. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
[edit] External links
- Phil Babb career stats at Soccerbase
- Stats at ForaDeJogo (Portuguese)
- Phil Babb at National-Football-Teams.com
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- 1970 births
- Living people
- British people of Irish descent
- Republic of Ireland association footballers
- Association football defenders
- Premier League players
- The Football League players
- Newcastle United F.C. players
- Millwall F.C. players
- Bradford City A.F.C. players
- Coventry City F.C. players
- Liverpool F.C. players
- Tranmere Rovers F.C. players
- Sunderland A.F.C. players
- Primeira Liga players
- Sporting Clube de Portugal footballers
- Republic of Ireland international footballers
- 1994 FIFA World Cup players
- Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Portugal
