Gordon David Phillips (17 January 1946 – 3 September 2018) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who made over 200 appearances in the Football League for Brentford as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He later became a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Playing career

Hayes

After a short spell as a youth with

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, Phillips began his senior career at

Athenian League The Athenian League was an English amateur football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football Museum, Preston). but this nam ...

club Hayes and made his debut at the age of 15 in a victorious

Middlesex Charity Cup The Middlesex Senior Charity Cup is a knock-out system football competition that has been running since 1901. It was presented in 1901 by C.S. Goldmann, Esq. and was first played for in the 1901–02 season, the first winners being Clapton Orie ...

semi-final match in April 1962. He made two further appearances towards the end of the 1961–62 season, but was robbed of the chance to play in the 1962 Middlesex Charity Cup final because of a broken thumb. He made seven appearances during the 1962–63 season, before departing the club at the end of the campaign. While a youth, Phillips was invited to a trial for the

England Youth England national under-18 football team, also known as England under-18s or England U18(s), represents England in association football at under-18 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in Englan ...

team, but failed to win a call-up to a squad.

Brentford

Phillips joined Third Division club Brentford during the 1963 off-season. He had a difficult start to life at Griffin Park, conceding 13 goals in his first two

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...

and

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matches. An injury to Gerry Cakebread and poor performances by his deputy Fred Ryecraft saw manager

Frank Blunstone Frank Blunstone (born 17 October 1934) is an English former footballer who played as an outside left for Crewe Alexandra, Chelsea and the England national team. Playing career After surprisingly rejecting Wolverhampton Wanderers in favour of h ...

hand Phillips his first team debut in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

first round match versus

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at Griffin Park on 16 November 1963. Phillips conceded two goals in the 2–2 draw and it was his only appearance of the 1963–64 season. Phillips was thereafter confined to the reserve team during the majority of his first three seasons with Brentford. Phillips finally made his first team breakthrough in the 1966–67 season, after the club had been relegated to the Fourth Division. He was a virtual ever-present during the season and made 42 appearances. He further improved his appearance tally in the 1967–68 season, making 48 appearances. Faced with improved competition from Chic Brodie, Phillips' appearance-count dropped during the 1968–69 and 1969–70 seasons, to the point that he was placed on the transfer list at his own request in February 1968. He was an ever-present during the 1971–72 season, which saw Brentford promoted back to the Third Division with a third-place finish. 1972–73 proved to be Phillips' last with the Bees and he departed the club at the end of the season, after relegation back to the Fourth Division was confirmed. Phillips made 227 appearances during his 10 years at Griffin Park and was awarded a testimonial versus an ex-Brentford XI in October 1973, which earned him £825. He was inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in May 2017.

Non-League football

After his release from Brentford, Phillips dropped into non-League football and reunited with a number of former Brentford teammates at Southern League Premier Division club Hillingdon Borough during the 1973 off-season. A bottom-place finish saw Hillingdon relegated in Phillips' first season with the club, but promotion straight back to the Premier Division was achieved in the 1974–75 season. He departed the Leas Stadium in 1978 and received a testimonial. Phillips was offered to join a club in

Pretoria, South Africa Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

, but turned the offer down.

Coaching and managerial career

Phillips became goalkeeping coach at Isthmian League Premier Division club

Staines Town Staines Town Football Club was a semi-professional Association football, football club based in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex. History Early days Staines Town FC was founded in 1892 and was known under various names including ''Staines F.C ...

in 1989. He also had a spell as caretaker manager of the club in 1990, alongside Chris Davey and former Brentford teammate

Jackie Graham John Joseph Graham (born 16 July 1946) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager who played as a central midfielder and inside left. He is best remembered for the decade he spent in the Football League with Brentford, for w ...

. Phillips departed the club in 1990 to serve as goalkeeping coach at Brentford under manager Steve Perryman and Perryman's successor Phil Holder. He left in 1992, after the appointment of David Webb as manager.

Personal life

After leaving professional football, Phillips worked for

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...

for over 30 years. He was married to Jacqui and his two sons Kelly and Trent both became footballers for Staines Town, with Trent playing as a goalkeeper. Phillips was a close friend of former Brentford teammate Alan Hawley and both served as the other's

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony and performs the first speech at the wedding. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be ...

. He died of cancer on 3 September 2018.

Career statistics

Honours

Brentford * Football League Fourth Division third-place promotion: 1971–72 Individual * Brentford Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Gordon 1945 births 2018 deaths Footballers from the London Borough of Hillingdon People from Uxbridge English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Brentford F.C. players Hayes F.C. players Hillingdon Borough F.C. players English Football League players Staines Town F.C. managers Southern Football League players Isthmian League managers Brentford F.C. non-playing staff Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom English football managers