Philip Stephen Gulliver (born 12 September 1982) is an English

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 ...

who played 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

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

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 ...

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town. The cl ...

and

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

. Since 2008 he has played for

Corby Town Corby Town Football Club is a football club based in Corby, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Steel Park. History The club was established in 1948, taking over from Stewarts & Lloyds as the main team ...

. He played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for King's Lynn Town. Until he was released in October 2013

Career

Gulliver was born in

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

, County Durham. He was a trainee at

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

where he was a key member of their reserve side but never made a first team appearance. He made his league debut on 30 November 2002 while on loan at

, in the starting eleven for the Division Two game against

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

which finished 1–1. He also spent a month at

, and finished the season at

, where he helped the Cherries gain

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

from

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 ...

via the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. The following season he had two more loan spells in Division Three, with

and

, before he was released by Boro at the end of the season. He signed for

where he was a first-team regular in central defence in his two seasons with the club. Indeed, he captained the side in his second season, when Rushden were ultimately relegated from

. In July 2006 he apparently signed for

on a free transfer and appeared in the squad photo. A few days later he returned to Rushden, pending clarification of his status: if a player aged under 24 rejects the offer of a new deal, the club he leaves is entitled to compensation. He returned to Hereford after an agreement was reached between the two clubs. He was mostly named on the bench for Hereford's opening matches of the season, but after a change in formation to three centre-backs he was given a run in the team. He was named Hereford's joint Player of the Month for December, but for the last three months of the season he was usually confined to the bench. He rejoined Rushden at the end of the 2007–08 season. In October 2008 he was one of eight players transfer-listed following a number of poor team performances. After a move to his local club,

of the

Southern League Premier Division The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...

, broke down, Gulliver joined league rivals

Oxford City Oxford City Football Club is a semi-professional English association football club based in Marston, Oxford. They currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Marsh Lane. ...

on a short-term deal. He signed for Corby at the end of 2008, and his arrival in a team which had conceded 14 goals in their last five league games prompted a run of 530 minutes without conceding a goal. Appointed captain, Gulliver went on to help the club to promotion to the

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

in his first season.

References

External links

*
League stats
at Neil Brown's site {{DEFAULTSORT:Gulliver, Phil 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Bishop Auckland Footballers from County Durham English footballers Association football defenders Middlesbrough F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Bury F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Oxford City F.C. players Corby Town F.C. players King's Lynn Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players