4 Dec 1999: Kevin Phillips of Sunderland scores his first against Chelsea during the FA Carling Premiership match at the Stadium of Light in Sunde...

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He beat Alan Shearer to win the Premier League Golden Boot with 30 goals but never scored once for his country

Lee Connor

Sat 30 November 2024 7:30, UK Updated Fri 20 December 2024 13:07, UK

Winning the Premier League Golden Boot is something only a select number of players can say they’ve accomplished, such is the difficulty of the greatest league in the world.

The Premier League has seen all-time greats like Thierry Henry, Mo Salah and Harry Kane take the gong, while early winners like Andy Cole and Alan Shearer remain high up – and in Shearer’s case, top – of the all-time goal-scorer charts.

Still, while there are huge names who win the prize – including Cristiano Ronaldo – there are certain players who are forgotten about a bit more.

• READ MORE: How Arsenal now feel about signing Viktor Gyokeres after he failed to score against them for Sporting Lisbon

Furthermore, there are players who might tear up the Premier League, but when it comes to international football, simply don’t do the business.

And one particular player, Sunderland hero Kevin Phillips, very much fits that bill.

How Kevin Phillips won the Premier League Golden Boot but never scored for England

We have to go all the way back to the 1999/2000 season for this one, but Kevin Phillips will have his name enshrined in Premier League folklore for years to come.

Phillips was part of the Sunderland team that enjoyed a remarkable campaign under Peter Reid as they returned to the Premier League after storming to the Division One title with 105 points.

Sunderland ended up finishing the 1999/2000 season in 7th place as they made their mark on England’s top-flight once more.

However, while Sunderland were impressive and the likes of Steve Bould, Nicky Summerbee, and Niall Quinn were excellent, it was the performances and goals of Phillips that stood out.

Phillips smashed in 30 Premier League goals. His partnership with Quinn was one of the last great ‘big man, little man’ partnerships the league has seen.

Coincidentally, Phillips beat another hero of the northeast, Alan Shearer, to the Golden Boot. Shearer could only muster 23 goals that year, with Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole trailing behind him.

However, while Shearer translated his goals to the international stage, Phillips could not do the same.

Kevin Phillips’ not so memorable England record

Unfortunately for Phillips, he was around at a time when England were not short of top strikers.

The likes of Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham, Emile Heskey and the aforementioned Shearer were all in the England plans.

But Phillips cannot complain about a lack of chances. Indeed, the Sunderland ace was given eight caps for the Three Lions, in which he started four times.

Unfortunately for Phillips, he never got on the scoresheet – or completed 90 minutes – and he eventually drifted away from contention as Sven Goran Eriksson took England in another direction.

Kevin Phillips in esteemed company as part of Premier League 30-goal club

Of course, Phillips will look back on his career as a whole and be proud. And while that England goal never came, he is still in good company in winning the Golden Boot.

Further still, Phillips is also one of a few players to hit 30 Premier League goals in a season. Indeed, that is an achievement yet to be managed by current superstar names like Alexander Isak and Ollie Watkins.

For Kevin Phillips, then, being among such a group of players means he can count himself among a list of less than ten to achieve such a feat.

And in terms of legendary status up in Sunderland, few come close to ‘Super Kev’.