Players - Phil Babb

Phil Babb
Birthdate: 30 November 1970
Birthplace: Lambeth, London, England
Other clubs: Bradford City (1990-92), Coventry City (1992-94), Tranmere Rovers (loan 2000), Sporting Lisbon (2000-02), Sunderland (2002-04)
Signed from: Coventry City
Signed for LFC: £3.6m, 01.09.1994
International debut: 23.03.1994 vs. Russia
International caps: Ireland 35/0 (25/0 at LFC) - 07.09.2002
Liverpool debut: 17.09.1994
Last appearance: 16.05.1999
Debut goal: 04.09.1996
Last goal: 04.09.1996
Contract expiry: 01.07.2000
Win ratio: 52.35% W:89 D:44 L:37
Honours: League Cup 1995
Total games/goals opposite LFC: 5 / 1
League games / goals / assists: 128 / 1 / 2
Total games / goals / assists: 170 / 1 / 3

Player Profile

After going through the youth system at Millwall without making an appearance, Babb established himself in midfield at third division Bradford from 1990, scoring 14 goals in 80 league appearances and in July 1992 he got his big break when he moved to Premiership Coventry City. He took over the captaincy at the club and was voted Player of the Year at the Sky Blues in the 1993/94 season. Babb became Britain's most expensive defender when he was bought along with John Scales to solve Liverpool's defensive problems after shining brightly for Ireland in the 1994 World Cup. Babb's strengths were his speed, man-marking skills and tackling but his distribution of the ball, positional sense and sometimes alarming carelessness let him down. He became an integral part of Evans' 5-3-2 formation with Scales and Ruddock alongside him in the centre of defence. Babb scored a single goal for Liverpool that came against his former club, Coventry, on 4 September 1996. Babb was a regular in his first two and a half seasons at the club but lost his way somewhat in the otherwise impressive 1996/97 that ended ultimately in disappointment. Mick McCarthy, then Republic of Ireland's coach, tried to analyse what had happened to the previously composed defender at Liverpool: "I don't think that formation suited Babb, who has always looked more comfortable in the middle of a flat back four. It didn't help that other senior players at Liverpool were struggling at the time, and the end product was that Phil began to lose confidence."

Injury disrupted Babb's progress in the following season but he was back in the first 11 from January 1998 onwards. Houllier gave him a chance after he took sole control of the club in the 1998/99 season but he struggled to recapture the form that prompted Roy Evans to sign him for the club. The writing was on the wall for Babb when he was left out of a weekend tournament in Belfast in July 1999 and the arrival of Hyypia and Henchoz in the summer effectively made him a spectator in his last year at the club. He was loaned for one month to John Aldridge's Tranmere in late January and helped Rovers to the League Cup final. He made a surprise move to Sporting Lisbon where he enjoyed a revival of some sorts and enjoyed his football again for two years, winning the League and Cup double in his second season and voted the league's top overseas defender. Sporting offered him a new contract but he and his family wanted a return to England. He opted for Peter Reid's Sunderland in the summer of 2002 but was relegated from the Premiership in his first season and spent one year in the First Division before retiring from the game that had given him so many highs and lows. Since then he has largely been out of the game, except for a spell as manager of Conference South side Hayes & Yeading from the summer of 2013 until February 2015.
Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 128 12 16 14 0 170
1994-1995 34 6 7 0 0 47
1995-1996 28 4 4 4 0 40
1996-1997 22 1 3 5 0 31
1997-1998 19 0 2 1 0 22
1998-1999 25 1 0 4 0 30
1999-2000 0 0 0 0 0 0
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
9 809 Newcastle United
9 746 Wimbledon
8 720 Arsenal
8 720 Southampton
8 720 Blackburn Rovers
8 666 West Ham United
8 654 Chelsea
8 653 Tottenham
8 650 Manchester United
7 630 Middlesbrough
6 540 Aston Villa
6 540 Leeds United
6 516 Sheffield Wednesday
6 501 Leicester City
5 450 Coventry City
5 450 Manchester City
4 360 Derby
4 360 Burnley
4 360 Crystal Palace
4 335 QPR
4 322 Nottingham Forest
3 270 Charlton Athletic
3 265 Sunderland
3 253 Everton
2 180 Bolton Wanderers
2 180 Norwich City
2 180 Ipswich Town
2 180 Spartak Vladi.
2 180 Brøndby
2 180 Birmingham City
2 180 Mypa 47
2 180 Sion
2 153 Kosice
2 51 Celta Vigo
1 90 Barnsley
1 90 Shrewsbury Town
1 90 Port Vale
1 90 Celtic
1 90 Stoke City
1 44 Brann
Total Started/substitutions
164 Started
20 On the bench
6 Substitute
11 Substituted
Total Venue
86 Home
82 Away
2 Neutral
Total Competition
128 Premier League
16 League Cup
12 FA Cup
9 UEFA Cup
5 European Cup Winners Cup
Total W D L Win % Manager
140 76 37 27 54.3% Roy Evans
20 8 4 8 40% Gérard Houllier
10 5 3 2 50% Evans / Houllier
Goals per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 1 0 0 0 0 1
1994-1995 0 0 0 0 0 0
1995-1996 0 0 0 0 0 0
1996-1997 1 0 0 0 0 1
1997-1998 0 0 0 0 0 0
1998-1999 0 0 0 0 0 0
1999-2000 0 0 0 0 0 0
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Total Opponent
1 Coventry City
Total Started/substitutions
1 Started
0 Substitute
Total Competition
1 Premier League
Total Goal minute period
1 61-75 minutes
Total Goal origin
1 Open play
Assists per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 2 1 0 0 0 3
1994-1995 1 0 0 0 0 1
1995-1996 0 0 0 0 0 0
1996-1997 0 0 0 0 0 0
1997-1998 0 0 0 0 0 0
1998-1999 1 1 0 0 0 2
1999-2000 0 0 0 0 0 0
A more detailed look at the player's assists
Total Competition
2 Premier League
1 FA Cup
Total For player
1 Paul Ince
1 Steve McManaman
1 Michael Owen
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 17.09.1994 Manchester United Old Trafford League
50 26.08.1995 Tottenham White Hart Lane League
100 23.10.1996 Charlton Athletic The Valley League Cup
150 04.10.1998 Chelsea Anfield League
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 68 04.09.1996 Coventry City Highfield Road League
Related Articles
Press Association match report

Match report from Press Association on Liverpool - Chelsea on 04.10.1998.

Ferguson wins the battle of the managers

Match report from British Soccer Week on Man Utd - Liverpool on 17.09.1994.

Scales and Babb join Roy Evans

Roy Evans bought Liverpool a pair of central defenders in 1994.

Babb's happy Highfield return

Match report from 04.09.1996 by John Curtis of "Press Association"

Babb a RED - at last!

Article from British Soccer Week 08.09.1994.

Related Quotes

Dominic Matteo, said: "The joke was definitely on the rest of the players. Everyone said that he wouldn't score, but he kept them quiet with that goal."

Babb was surprised by his goal: "The lads are still in shock, in even more shock than me. I still haven't come down yet. It's such an nice feeling to score against your old club."

Babb scored his only goal for LFC against his old side, Coventry on 04.09.1996.

Phil Babb crashed memorably into the post at Anfield vs. Chelsea on 4th of October 1998.

While he was lying there holding his knackers, someone shouted 'Don't rub them Phil, count them'."

Al daas on RAWK forum

Scrapbook
Interview with Babb and Scales from LFC Matchday Magazine 1995/96
Interview with Babb and Scales from LFC Matchday Magazine 1995/96
LFC Magazine interview with Phil Babb after the 1994/95 season
LFC Magazine interview with Phil Babb after the 1994/95 season
Phil Babb on the cover of Shoot! 18 February 1995
Phil Babb on the cover of Shoot! 18 February 1995
Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Bradford City 1990-1991 England Third Division 34 0 37 0
Bradford City 1991-1992 England Third Division 46 4 54 4
Coventry City 1992-1993 England Premier League 34 0 37 0
Coventry City 1993-1994 England Premier League 40 3 44 4
Coventry City 1994-1995 England Premier League 3 0 3 0
Tranmere Rovers 1999-2000 England Second Division 4 0 7 0
Sporting Lisbon 2000-2001 Portugal 1 11 0 12 0
Sporting Lisbon 2001-2002 Portugal 1 27 0 33 1
Sunderland 2002-2003 England Premier League 26 0 30 0
Sunderland 2003-2004 England Premier League 22 0 30 0
Total 247 7 287 9