Birmingham City looked past Aston Villa and West Brom links to sign proven striker: View | OneFootball

In the summer of 2008, Birmingham City made the somewhat controversial decision to sign ex-England international striker, Kevin Phillips.

Whilst Birmingham City, who had just been relegated to the Championship, pulled off an impressive signing to bring Phillips to St. Andrew's, not every Blues' supporter was overly impressed.

This is because the striker had previously played for Birmingham City's bitter rivals Aston Villa during the 2005/06 season, and he'd also had a spell at fellow Midlands rivals West Brom prior to joining Blues.

Given his links to rival clubs, particularly Aston Villa, it meant that Phillips knew he had to perform well to win over the St Andrew's faithful, but he did exactly that, and his time at St. Andrew's couldn't have got off to a better start.

Birmingham City were promoted to the Premier League ahead of the 2007/08 season, but a poor campaign saw them finish 19th and were relegated at the first attempt.

As the club looked to make an immediate return to the top-flight, manager Alex McLeish pulled off an impressive coup when he brought Kevin Phillips to the club from West Brom. The then 34-year-old reportedly turned down Premier League moves to join Birmingham, showing what an impressive signing it was.

Given his links to rival clubs, it was important for Phillips to start well and win the fans over, and he couldn't have done much more to do so.

With Blues drawing 0-0 at home to Sheffield United on the opening weekend of the season, Phillips came off the bench and scored a stoppage-time winner against the Blades to give his side all three points and set the tone for the season ahead.

Things were to get even better for the striker, and he scored two goals in the club's next two games, taking his tally to three in three, despite being on the bench for the first two games.

Phillips would start just over half of Birmingham City's league games during the 2008/09 season, but he helped fire them to Premier League promotion, scoring 14 times in 36 appearances to help the club finish second.

Being 35-years-old, and with the Blues in the Premier League for the 2009/10 season, Phillips understandably saw less playing time, but he still played an important role as he helped keep the club in the division.

He played 19 Premier League games, just two of them as a starter, but scored four times, a decent strike rate, all things considered, as he helped Birmingham to a very impressive 9th place finish.

However, despite an impressive 2009/10 campaign, Alex McLeish's side struggled during the 2010/11 campaign, and were ultimately relegated despite lifting the League Cup at Wembley.

Phillips made 20 appearances in all competitions during the 10/11 season, scoring four times, but just once in the Premier League.

His contract expired in the summer of 2011 and Phillips departed after a very decent three years considering his age, and he certainly helped win the fans over.

Kevin Phillips continued to perform after leaving Birmingham City despite his age

Despite his age, Kevin Phillips continued to play after leaving Birmingham City, and he actually added two more Championship promotions to his CV.

He joined Blackpool for the 2011/12 season, helping the club reach the play-off final, but they were defeated by West Ham. However, it was an impressive season for the 38-year-old, and he scored 16 Championship goals for the Tangerines, before leaving in January 2013.

A move to Crystal Palace followed, and Phillips helped the club reach the Premier League, scoring the decisive penalty against Watford in the play-off final, an incredible achievement for a player just shy of his 40th birthday.

With Palace now in the Premier League, Phillips actually made four top-flight appearances for the Eagles as a 40-year-old, but with playing time hard to come by, he signed for Leicester City in January 2014 until the end of the season.

He made 12 appearances for the Foxes, scoring twice as they won the Championship title, before retiring just shy of his 41st birthday.

It was a fitting end to Phillips' career, and he's fondly remembered by the majority of his previous clubs, and it's no different at Birmingham City, where he helped the club lift a major trophy and win promotion to the Premier League.