“Regretful Revelation” – Despite scoring 30 goals in the 1999/00 season and winning the European Golden Boot at Sunderland, Kevin Phillips has one significant regret from that campaign. He opens up about his biggest disappointment at Sunderland after unexpectedly impressing the Premier League.
Kevin Phillips is fondly remembered at the Stadium of Light for his remarkable 30-goal season with Sunderland, but he carries one significant regret from that campaign.
After Sunderland secured promotion to the Premier League, they made a remarkable impact. Having won the second tier with 105 points in 1999, few anticipated their success in the top flight. The Black Cats finished seventh in the Premier League with 58 points, largely thanks to Phillips, who scored 30 goals during the 1999/00 season and earned the European Golden Boot.
Phillips has mentioned that he might not have achieved this milestone without Alan Shearer, yet he still laments not qualifying for Europe with Sunderland.
Despite coming close in several seasons, Sunderland has only qualified for Europe once—after their FA Cup victory in 1973, which led to a run in the Cup Winners’ Cup before they were eliminated by Sporting CP. The closest they came to European qualification after that was during the 1999/00 season, when a sixth-place finish would have secured a spot due to Leicester City winning the League Cup.
In April, Sunderland was in sixth place, which would have allowed them to qualify for the Intertoto Cup. However, a mixed run of form at the end of the season saw them finish seventh instead. Reflecting on this, Phillips shared his disappointment on Davy Jones’ Lockeroom four years ago.
“We were gutted at the end of the season not to finish sixth and get into Europe,” he said. “Once we secured our Premier League status, we started believing it was achievable. After such a strong season, we didn’t want to settle. It would have been incredible for me, especially after playing for England and winning the two Golden Boots, to cap it off with European football.”
Phillips also believes that the Premier League underestimated Sunderland.
It’s uncommon for a newly promoted team to avoid relegation battles, let alone compete for European spots. However, Sunderland did just that, finishing just short of their goal. They achieved impressive victories, including a 4-1 win over Chelsea and a memorable 2-1 triumph at St. James’ Park, resulting in a remarkable 10-game unbeaten run from late August to early November.
In a 2020 interview on the All to Play For podcast, Phillips noted that many teams were surprised by Sunderland’s capabilities. “We caught a lot of people off guard. I think the bigger teams underestimated us,” he said. “Our team spirit was exceptional. We had quality on the pitch, and our camaraderie off it was fantastic, especially under Reidy.”
He pointed out that their unique striker pairing—a six-foot-seven and a five-foot-seven player—was also an unexpected challenge for their opponents. “I think many Premier League players hadn’t faced a combination like that before,” he added. “We really took them by surprise.”
