Phil Kite

Phil Kite (born 26 October 1962 in Bristol, England) is a former football goalkeeper, goalkeeping coach and physiotherapist. He retired in 2015 from his role as physio at Bristol Rovers, the club he supported as a boy.[1]

Phil Kite
Phil Kite attending to an injured Byron Anthony
Personal information
Full name Philip Kite
Date of birth (1962-10-26) 26 October 1962
Place of birth Bristol, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1979–1980 Bristol Rovers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1984 Bristol Rovers 96 (0)
1984 → Tottenham Hotspur (loan) 0 (0)
1984–1987 Southampton 4 (0)
1986 → Middlesbrough (loan) 2 (0)
1987–1989 Gillingham 70 (0)
1989–1990 A.F.C. Bournemouth 7 (0)
1990–1993 Sheffield United 11 (0)
1991 → Mansfield Town (loan) 11 (0)
1992 → Plymouth Argyle (loan) 2 (0)
1992 → Rotherham United (loan) 1 (0)
1992 → Crewe Alexandra (loan) 5 (0)
1993 → Stockport County (loan) 5 (0)
1993–1994 Cardiff City 18 (0)
1994–1996 Bristol City 6 (0)
Total 238 (0)
National team
1978–1979 England Schoolboys
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

He joined Bristol Rovers as an apprentice goalkeeper in 1979, and signed his first professional contract on his 18th birthday in October 1980. After making 96 league appearances for Rovers, he moved on to Southampton. He went on to make league appearances for thirteen different clubs, but missed a large amount of playing time through injury, and only a two-year spell at Gillingham saw him play regularly as an established first-choice keeper. In 1996, he left Bristol City to re-join his first club, Bristol Rovers, as physio, goalkeeping coach and backup goalkeeper.

Physio career

He began studying towards his physiotherapy qualification in 1991 and completed his studies in 1995. Since re-joining Bristol Rovers he has retired from playing, and relinquished his coaching duties to Steve Book. He worked exclusively as the club's physio until 2015 when he announced his retirement.[1] His final game serving Rovers was the 2015 Conference Premier play-off Final at Wembley Stadium. As a thank you for Kite's 24 years of combined service to Bristol Rovers, he was granted a testimonial to be played against West Bromwich Albion, managed by Kite's good friend and former Rovers player Tony Pulis.[1]

References
  1. "PHIL KITE TESTIMONIAL". Bristol Rovers Official Website. 1 May 2015.
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