In this revised and updated paperback edition of Second Time Around, his fly-on-the wall account of life at Sunderland AFC, Kevin Phillips looks back on an exciting 1999/2000 season as the Wearsiders adjust to the high-octane world of the Premiership.
Kevin Phillips’ rise to fame is a remarkable Roy of the Rovers fantasy story. Four years ago he was stacking shelves in Dixons and playing for non-League Baldock Town.
Now, in only his third season with Sunderland, he has broken every club goalscoring record and currently tops the Premiership goalscoring charts, while for England he has shown boss Kevin Keegan that he has the ability to perform at the highest level as well.
His book is an in-depth look into the lifestyle of a high-profile professional footballer at one of the biggest clubs in the country. Tales of chicanery in the dressing room with manager Peter Reid and fellow players Niall Quinn and Michael Gray are mixed with Phillips’ wry observations of life in the ‘fishbowl’ of a football-mad city and the pressure that comes with being a messiah to the fans.
He also writes openly about the anger and frustration surrounding his career-threatening injury and of the times he felt that he might never play professional football again.