Biography
Phil Jevons was a highly rated striker who joined Hull City in September 2002 on a season-long loan from Grimsby Town, who at the time were two divisions above the Tigers in the second tier. The loan was brokered with a view to a permanent move after a suggestion that Jevons had fallen out with the Grimsby management. The Mariners’ loss rapidly became the Tigers’ gain as Jevons took five games to settle, then scored three goals in four games during October 2002. The third of those goals was scored in Peter Taylor’s first game in charge at Boothferry Park, but as Taylor set about rebuilding the squad Jevons appeared to lose his way and was set aside in favour of the talent of Jamie Forrester and the familial attractions of Danny Webb. Phil made only 6 substitute appearances in the last 22 games of the season and returned to Grimsby in the 2003 close season.
Philip Jevons was born in Liverpool and attended Gateacre School on the eastern fringes of the city, scoring goals aplenty for his school and city representative teams as a teenager, as well as spending two years with Liverpool’s Centre of Excellence before being discarded at the age of 14. He was immediately handed the chance to switch city rivalries and scored prolifically for Everton’s youth team, earning a place in the Toffees’ YTS setup in November 1995. He continued to score regularly for the Everton Under-17 and Reserves side, forging a potent partnership with strike partner Danny Cadamarteri and receiving regular rave reviews. Jevons had been an unused substitute for the Everton first team in October 1997, shortly after signing his first professional contract, and helped Everton lift the FA Youth Cup title in May 1998. scoring four goals during the campaign including one in the first leg of the Final against Blackburn Rovers. Phil had to wait until March 1999 for his first team debut, replacing Nick Barmby during a 2-1 Premier League win at Blackburn Rovers. Over the next two seasons he took his Everton tally to 9 senior appearances.
In July 2001 Phil was lured by the near-irresistible temptations and bright lights of League Division 1 side Grimsby Town, who were struggling to consolidate their place in the division. Phil was a first team regular for the first time in his career during the 2001/02 season but his haul of eight league goals was perhaps considered a little modest for a £150,000 top flight signing. He remained on Grimsby’s books during the 2002/03 season but spent most of it on loan at Hull City, as chronicled above. Jevons returned to Blundell Park for the 2003/04 season and was top league goalscorer for the League Division 2 side with twelve strikes including four goals in a February 2004 demolition of Barnsley. Despite these goals the Mariners were relegated to League Two and Jevons was once more on the move.
In July 2004 Phil joined League Two side Yeovil Town for their second season in the Football League. Yeovil were crowned League champions that season and won promotion to League One, while Jevons was the Division’s top scorer as he banged in 29 goals across all competitions including three hattricks against Oxford United, Chester City and Bristol Rovers. His form continued into the next season, despite being in a higher division he scored a further 16 goals as Yeovil consolidated in mid-table. In the summer of 2006 these scoring exploits attracted the attention of League One side Bristol City, who had just lured manager Gary Johnson from Yeovil, and Jevons followed his boss to Ashton Gate – Jevons’ 95 senior appearances for Yeovil delivered 45 goals.
His fine form continued at Ashton Gate as he scored 17 goals in the 2006/07 season, including a December 2006 FA Cup hattrick against Gillingham, as Bristol City finished League One runners-up and were promoted to the Championship. He remained at Bristol City for the start of the next season in the higher division but in the opening weeks he was rarely chosen for the first team, taking his Ashton Gate tally to 19 goals in 55 appearances.
In November 2007 he moved to League One side Huddersfield Town, initially on loan then made the transfer permanent in January 2008. For two seasons he struggled with injuries and failed to make an impression, often being used as a substitute, but still contributed 11 goals in 50 appearances for the Terriers. In March 2009, at the end of his second season at Huddersfield, Jevons spent two months on loan at League Two side Bury, scoring two goals in 9 appearances that included both legs of the play-off semi-final against Shrewsbury Town.
Jevons’ third season on the Terriers’ books was spent on loan at League Two side Morecambe, and a return to the lower division worked well for Jevons as he started practically every game and scored 19 goals in 44 appearances. In July 2010 he made the permanent move to Morecambe and spent two further seasons on the Lancashire coast, leaving the club in June 2012 when his contract expired having scored a further 14 times in 71 appearances. This drew his senior career to a close, he scored a total of 134 goals in 429 appearances, exactly 100 of which were as substitute.
For two seasons Jevons dropped into the non-league scene, playing for Hyde and Stockport County and scoring regularly. He combined his non-league duties with taking his coaching badges and when he stopped playing professionally in September 2012 Jevons was appointed an academy coach at Everton’s Finch Farm training complex. In September 2021 he moved to Sunderland, at the time managed by his former Yeovil and Bristol City team-mate Lee Johnson, where he was appointed first team coach and given extra responsibility to help young players transition from the academy to the first team squad. When Johnson was dismissed by the Black Cats in January 2022 Jevons took temporary charge of the first team while a replacement was recruited – Alex Neil was that replacement and he released Jevons in the 2022 close season.
After a few months to gather his thoughts Jevons returned to the senior game in December 2022 when he was appointed first team coach at League Two side Rochdale. He left that role in September 2023 to reunite with Lee Johnson, who had been appointed manager at League One side Fleetwood Town. Jevons was appointed first team coach at Fleetwood but when Johnson was dismissed in December 2023 after just three months in charge, Jevons followed him out of the door. In May 2024 Phil was appointed assistant manager at Northern Premier League side Warrington Rylands.
During his youth team days at Everton Jevons was selected for the England under-16s and played four times in 1996 alongside future England star Michael Owen against Ireland (scoring once), Spain, Turkey and Israel.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 1 August 1979, Liverpool
Hull City First Game: 7 September 2002, Cambridge United A (League Division 3), 23 years, 37 days old
Hull City Final Game: 21 April 2003, Darlington A (League Division 3), 23 years, 263 days old
Clubs
Everton (1996-2001), Grimsby Town (2001-2004), Hull City (2002-2003, loan), Yeovil Town (2004-2006), Bristol City (2006-2008), Huddersfield Town (2007-2008, loan), Huddersfield Town (2008-2010), Bury (2009, loan), Morecambe (2009-2010, loan), Morecambe (2010-2012), Hyde (2012-2013), Stockport County (2013-2014)
Hull City Record
Career: 26 apps, 3 goals
Phil Jevons| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002/03 | 13 (11) | 3 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – |