Philip Matthew Whitehead (born 17 December 1969) is an English former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
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 is mainly remembered for his playing days with
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 ...
and
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
. At Reading he made some important penalty saves, including one against
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 ...
's
Richard Hughes in a 2–1 win and one against
Cambridge United's
Tom Youngs
Thomas Nicholas Youngs (born 28 January 1987) is a retired rugby union player who played as a hooker for Leicester Tigers and England. Between 2012–2015 he won 28 caps for , including selection for the 2015 Rugby World Cup and was select ...
in a 2–2 draw. He also saved a crucial
Scott Minto
Scott Christopher Minto (born 6 August 1971) is an English former professional footballer and sports television pundit.
As a player he was as a left back who played in the Premier League for Chelsea and West Ham United and in Portugal for Benf ...
penalty during a shootout as Reading knocked
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 ...
side
West Ham United out of the
2001–02 League Cup.
His career ended after he suffered a major injury playing for
Tamworth during 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 ...
fourth qualifying round replay, although he attempted a short-lived comeback when he made one more appearance for Tamworth in an
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
replay against
Aldershot Town. He served
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
as part-time goalkeeping coach during the
2004–05 season.
Career statistics
Club
References
External links
*
1969 births
Living people
Footballers from Halifax, West Yorkshire
English men's footballers
Halifax Town A.F.C. players
Barnsley F.C. players
Scunthorpe United F.C. players
Bradford City A.F.C. players
Oxford United F.C. players
West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
Reading F.C. players
Tranmere Rovers F.C. players
York City F.C. players
Tamworth F.C. players
Men's association football goalkeepers
Brentford F.C. non-playing staff
{{England-footy-goalkeeper-stub