Martin John "Buster" Phillips (born 13 March 1976) is an English former professional footballer.

Life and career

Phillips was born in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

and began his football career as a trainee with his local side

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

, turning professional in July 1994. He soon attracted the attention of higher division clubs and moved to

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

in November 1995 for a fee of £500,000. This remained Exeter's record sale until they sold

Matt Grimes Matthew Jacob Grimes (born 15 July 1995) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Welsh club Swansea City A.F.C., Swansea City. He began his career at Exeter City F.C., Exeter City, where he made ...

for around £1.75 million in 2015. Upon signing Phillips, City manager Alan Ball predicted "Buster will be the first British £10 million pound player." He struggled to establish himself at Maine Road and was loaned to

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

in January 1998 and back to Exeter City in March 1998. He left Maine Road in August 1998, moving to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

for a fee of £100,000. Again he struggled to establish himself and spent a month on loan to

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

in February 1999. In August 2000 he returned to

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, joining

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

in August 2000 for a fee of just £25,000. He was released at the end of the 2003–04 season, after spending much of the season struggling with injuries. He joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

on a free transfer in July 2004, becoming one of a growing band of former Plymouth players signed by

Leroy Rosenior Leroy De Graft Rosenior (born 24 August 1964) is a football coach and pundit. He is a former footballer whose clubs included Fulham, Queens Park Rangers (for whom he appeared as a substitute in the 1986 League Cup Final), Bristol City and Wes ...

, others including Craig Taylor,

Brian McGlinchey Brian Kevin McGlinchey (born 26 October 1977) is a Northern Irish former football defender. He made a total of 195 competitive appearances in an eleven-year career as a professional player before he was forced to retire in 2006, aged 28, due to ...

Martin Gritton Martin Francis Gritton (born 1 June 1978) is a Scottish former professional footballer and sports co-commentator primarily for BBC Radio Devon. As a player he was a striker from 1998 to 2012. He was a journeyman player and has previously playe ...

and Matthew Villis. In November 2006, the BBC linked him with a possible move back to Exeter City, by now a

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side, but the move fell through and Phillips remained at

Plainmoor Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of E ...

. He failed to appear again for Torquay and in May 2007 he was forced to retire due to suffering

chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or ME/CFS, is a complex, debilitating, long-term medical condition. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Distinguishing core symptoms are ...

.Torquay's Phillips hangs up boots
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Honours

;Plymouth Argyle: * 2001-02

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...

Champions * 2003-04 Division Two Champions

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Martin 1976 births Living people People with chronic fatigue syndrome Sportspeople from Exeter Footballers from Devon English footballers Exeter City F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Premier League players Association football midfielders