Kevin Joseph Campbell (born 4 February 1970) is an English former 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 le ...

, sports television pundit and co-commentator. He was a striker, who featured in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

, Everton and

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

. He also played in the Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

for

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

, and in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

. He was capped four times by

England U21 The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team. This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calen ...

, scoring once and received a call-up to the England B in 1991 where he earned one cap.

Club career

Arsenal

Campbell began his career as a trainee with

, joining the club on schoolboy forms in 1985. He was prolific for Arsenal's Academy, scoring 59 goals in one season. Campbell also won the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

with Arsenal. He went on to make his first-team debut against Everton on 7 May 1988, although the club's forward positions at the time were usually taken by

Paul Merson Paul Charles Merson (born 20 March 1968) is an English former professional footballer, manager, commentator and sports television pundit for Sky Sports. Originally a forward, Merson found success as an attacking midfielder and playmaker later ...

and Alan Smith. Campbell came to prominence during a loan spell at

in 1989 when he scored 9 goals in 16 games. Campbell helped see the club to promotion during that season but didn't play in their victorious playoff final against

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

as his loan spell had just ended. Orient manager Frank Clark wanted to make the move permanent but Arsenal refused to sell. After a poor start to the 1989–90 season he was again loaned out, this time to

. However, in the following season he established himself in the Arsenal team, scoring eight times in ten matches during the run-in to the club's First Division title win. Despite Arsenal signing

Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport. Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...

in September 1991, Campbell continued to feature for Arsenal, although he was often in the shadow of his more prolific partner. Nevertheless, he scored several crucial goals for Arsenal such as equalisers against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

and

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

in Arsenal's victorious 1992–93 campaigns in the

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 ...

and

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

. In the 1993–94 season, he scored 19 goals, his best for the Gunners. He also featured in the victorious

1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1993–94 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by English club Arsenal, who beat defending champions Parma in the final. The tournament would be renamed to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup the following season. Teams Lithuania, Latvia, Es ...

campaign, scoring four goals, including one in the semi-final against

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

. His form for the club waned in 1994–95, and the arrivals of forwards

John Hartson John Hartson (born 5 April 1975) is a Welsh former professional footballer, coach and sports television pundit for S4C, Sky Sports, Premier Sports TV and BT Sport. As a player he was a striker, notably for Scottish club Celtic where his time ...

and

Dennis Bergkamp Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp (; born 10 May 1969) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. Originally a wide midfielder, Bergkamp was moved to main striker and then to second striker, where he remained throughout his playing ...

saw his playing time reduced. In all, Campbell played 224 times for Arsenal, scoring 60 goals.

Nottingham Forest

In the summer of 1995, Campbell was sold to

for an initial fee of £2.5million, where he spent three seasons. He was part of the team that was relegated in 1997, but his 23 goals the following season helped see the Reds win the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

of 1998.

Trabzonspor

However, Campbell controversially left Forest at the end of that season to join Turkish side

for £2.5million, a move which caused Forest teammate

Pierre van Hooijdonk Pierre van Hooijdonk (; born 29 November 1969) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. He had spells with clubs across Europe where he was a prolific goal scorer. Van Hooijdonk was capped 46 times for the Dutch nation ...

to famously go "on strike". His time in

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...

saw him leave the club in seven months after a misunderstood

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

incident which involved club president, Mehmet Ali Yılmaz calling him a "cannibal". Campbell and his teammates also had not been paid, something which he demanded they rectify. To show solidarity with Campbell, the two club captains, Ogün Temizkanoğlu and

Abdullah Ercan Abdullah Ercan (born 8 December 1971 in Istanbul, Turkey) is a retired Turkey national football team, Turkish international Association football, footballer and manager. Coaching career Honours Trabzonspor *Turkish Cup: 1992, 1995 *Turkish S ...

, were at his side during a press conference in which he stated his reasons for leaving the club.

Everton

Everton, who were battling against relegation from the

, signed Campbell on loan in March 1999. His impact on the side was immediate as he scored nine goals in his first eight games. These feats made him Everton's top goalscorer both at home and away from

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

for that season. Campbell thus almost single-handedly saved the club from being relegated from the Premier League. His six goals of which were scored in his first three games earned him Everton's player of the month award for April, making him the first loanee to be bestowed with the title. Campbell's move to Everton was made permanent in the summer of 1999 for a fee of £3million. In the 1999–2000 season, he scored Everton's winning goal in the

Merseyside derby The Merseyside derby is the football matches between Everton and Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it is the longest running top-flight derby in England ...

against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

, which was Everton's last win at Anfield before 2021, when Everton defeated Liverpool 2–0. He ended the season as the club's top scorer, with 12 goals scored altogether. He was Everton's leading goalscorer for the following season, but only scored four times during the 2001–02 league campaign, a season in which Campbell was Everton

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. Campbell was once again the Toffees' top scorer during the subsequent season. After that, injuries limited his appearances for the club and he left in 2005. Campbell is Everton's fourth highest Premier League goal scorer, behind

Romelu Lukaku Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli (; born 13 May 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Inter Milan, on loan from club Chelsea, and the Belgium national team. Lukaku began his senior club career playing for Ander ...

Duncan Ferguson Duncan Cowan Ferguson (born 27 December 1971) is a Scottish former professional footballer. Ferguson was the caretaker manager of Everton in 2019 and 2022. He began his career at Dundee United in 1990, and moved to Rangers in 1993 for what was ...

and

Tim Cahill Timothy Filiga Cahill (; born 6 December 1979) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder but also played as a striker on many occasions. A box-to-box midfielder, Cahill became recognised for "his ag ...

, and their first ever black

West Bromwich Albion

Campbell moved to

in January 2005 on a free transfer and helped the club retain its Premiership status. This endeavour marked the first time that a club that had been at the bottom of the league on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

had gone on to avoid relegation.

Cardiff City

In May 2006, after West Brom were eventually relegated to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

, Campbell was released by the club. He signed for

on a free transfer on 2 August 2006. He scored in an

FAW Premier Cup The FAW Premier Cup (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was a Welsh football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing in English leagues (including six Welsh c ...

quarter-final match away at Carmarthen Town for Cardiff, on 13 February 2007. He also appeared, in February 2007, for City against former club West Brom. He was then released by the club in May 2007 thus bringing to an end his footballing days.

International career

Campbell earned four caps for the England U-21s and one for England B. He holds the record of being the English player who has scored the most goals in the Premier League without earning a senior cap for his country. In September 1992 he was on stand-by for a friendly against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, but this was the nearest he got to being in the senior squad.

Media career

Campbell was featured on the

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

series ''Where are They Now?'' in 2008, when he was the co-owner of security company T1 Protection, specialising in supplying bodyguards to celebrities and other wealthy customers whilst travelling abroad. He also worked with Asia-based

Sony TEN Sony Sports Network, formerly Sony Pictures Sports Network, and also known as Sony TEN, is a group of Indian pay television sports channels owned by Culver Max Entertainment (formerly Sony Pictures Networks India). The original TEN Sports chan ...

as a commentator for their Premier League and Champions League coverage.

Personal life

Campbell ran a record label, 2 Wikid, with the label's first signing being rapper

Mark Morrison Mark Morrison (born 3 May 1972) is a British R&B singer. His single, "Return of the Mack", became a No. 1 or top 10 hit in several European countries in 1996. The song peaked at No. 2 in the United States the following year. Career Mark Mo ...

, who had previously topped the charts with "

Return of the Mack "Return of the Mack" is a song written and recorded by British R&B singer Mark Morrison, released as the third single from his debut album by the same name (1996). It topped the UK Singles Chart a month after its release, then became a Euro ...

" in 1996. But in December 2004, with the artist still signed to 2 Wikid, Campbell was forced to obtain a court injunction against rival label Jet Star, in order to prevent it from releasing Morrison's album '' Innocent Man''. The injunction was lifted shortly afterwards The first single released by 2 Wikid was that of

Panjabi MC Rajinder Singh Rai (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਰਜਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ), better known by his stage name Panjabi MC, is a British Indians, British-Indian recording artist, rapper, producer and DJ. He is best known for the worldwide 2002 ...

's tune "Backstabbers", a remix of Morrison's original song, which had been released in 2004. Campbell is an avid fan of former clubs Everton F.C and

Arsenal F.C Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (inc ...

. His son Tyrese Campbell is also a footballer who plays with

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

Honours

Arsenal Youth *

: 1987–88 Arsenal *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

: 1990–91 *

: 1992–93 *

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

: 1992–93 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

(shared) *

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

: 1993–94 Nottingham Forest *Football League First Division: 1997–98 Individual *

Premier League Player of the Month The Premier League Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League player each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to 10 ...

: April 1999

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Kevin 1970 births Living people Footballers from Lambeth Association football forwards English footballers Black British sportspeople English expatriate footballers England under-21 international footballers England B international footballers Premier League players English Football League players Arsenal F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Everton F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Trabzonspor footballers West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Süper Lig players Expatriate footballers in Turkey FA Cup Final players