Phil King

Who is Phil King?

Philip Geoffrey King is an English former professional footballer. He represented England at Under-21 level and in a B international. He was born in Bristol.

King began his career as an apprentice with Exeter City, turning professional in January 1985, and making his league debut the same season. After 27 games for the Grecians, he moved to Torquay United in July 1986 for a fee of £3,000 instantly fitting in as a regular in Stuart Morgan's struggling side. However, in February 1987, after 24 league games in which he scored 3 times, he was sold to Swindon Town for £25,000 with United desperately short of players and with no money to spend, Mark Gardiner and Charlie Henry coming in the opposite direction.

At Swindon, his career really took off, culminating in England Under-21 honours and a £400,000 move to Sheffield Wednesday in November 1989, after 116 games for the Robins. He made his Owls' debut on 4 November and settled well into playing higher level football, although Wednesday were relegated to Division Two at the end of the season. The following season, he played at Wembley in 1991, when Wednesday won the League Cup, beating Manchester United 1-0 in the final, and played his part in Wednesday's instant return to the top flight. After losing his place to Andy Sinton, King went to Notts County on loan in October 1993, and joined his former Wednesday manager Ron Atkinson at Aston Villa for a fee of £250,000 in August 1994.