Ronald Phillips (30 March 1947 – 18 April 2002) 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 ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Playing career

A left sided

who also played as winger,''Where are they now?'', Chester City v Bolton Wanderers matchday programme, 17 October 1992, p 20 Phillips began his career with

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

. After 145 league appearances and a loan spell with

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

, Phillips joined

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 ...

in 1975 for a two-year spell. Early in 1977–78 Phillips joined

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, where he became part of one of the club's most successful teams. His four-year stint at Sealand Road was largely successful, although Phillips did suffer the indignity of missing an open goal for Chester in a televised match at

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 ...

in December 1978. Phillips left Chester in February 1981 and briefly joined

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

before signing for

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

in the Alliance Premier League. But he suffered a serious leg injury shortly after signing and left him in plaster for six months, effectively ending his playing career at a serious level. After his football career ended Phillips worked for an insurance company and later established a successful newsagents business. Unfortunately he began to suffer from depression, leading to his death from self-inflicted injuries in April 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Ronnie 1947 births 2002 deaths People from Worsley Footballers from Greater Manchester Sportspeople from the City of Salford English men's footballers English Football League players National League (English football) players Men's association football wingers Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Bury F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Chorley F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players