Philip Alexander Gilchrist (born 25 August 1973) is an English former

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 ...

and manager. He played as a defender.

Career

Gilchrist first joined

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

from

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

for £100,000 in February 1995. He soon formed one of the best defensive partnerships ever seen at The Manor Ground, alongside Matt Elliott, and it was this partnership that formed the basis for the promotion winning side of 1995–96. Predominantly left sided, Gilchrist continued to flourish after the sale of Elliott, and moved on to

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, 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 l ...

for £500,000 in 1999. In total he had made 201 starts for the U's in his first spell, scoring eleven goals. Gilchrist was an unused substitute as Leicester won the

2000 Football League Cup Final The 2000 Football League Cup Final was played between Leicester City, in their third final appearance in four years, and First Division side Tranmere Rovers at Wembley Stadium on 27 February 2000. It was the 34th and last League Cup Final to be p ...

. He made 23

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 ...

starts for Leicester, scoring once in a 2–0 win over

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. ...

, before moving on to

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 ...

for £500,000 in March 2001. He made his debut for Albion in a 2–1 win over

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

on 25 March 2001. He was a regular during 2001–02, forming part of a solid defence which notched up a club record 27 clean sheets and helping Albion win promotion to the Premiership. In all, Gilchrist made over 100 appearances for Albion in all competitions. Three years later he joined

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

, initially on a month's loan. Gilchrist made his debut for the Millers in a 1–0 defeat away at

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 ...

on 13 March 2004. The success of his loan spell led to a permanent move. He scored his first and only goal for the club in a 2–1 loss to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

in March 2005. Rotherham released Gilchrist in May 2006. Gilchrist returned to Oxford in June 2006 for his second spell at the club, and was made club captain (with

Barry Quinn Barry Scott Quinn (born 9 May 1979) is an Irish retired footballer. His position was defender. Quinn was signed up by Coventry City in August 1996 as a trainee from Manortown United. He went on to appear seventy-four times for the club. In the ...

as team captain). Gilchrist announced his retirement from football on 6 December 2007. However, in May 2008, he was appointed as assistant-manager at

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 ...

club

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

, where it was shortly after announced he would be registered as a player. In September 2008 it was announced that following the departure of Kim Grant as manager, Gilchrist and Andy Cook were to be placed in temporary charge of Woking. On 23 September 2008, he was confirmed as the permanent manager until the end of the season. However, Woking sacked him on 2 April 2009. Following his departure from Woking, Gilchrist studies at

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

before taking a post-graduate course at

Buckingham university , mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings , established = 1973; as university college1983; as university , type = Private , endowment = , administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support , chanc ...

. He later found employment at

Ratcliffe College Ratcliffe College is a coeducational Catholic independent boarding and day school near the village of Ratcliffe on the Wreake, Leicestershire, approximately from Leicester, England. The college, situated in of parkland on the Fosse Way about ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilchrist, Phil 1973 births Living people Footballers from Stockton-on-Tees English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Nottingham Forest F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Woking F.C. players Quorn F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players National League (English football) players English football managers Woking F.C. managers