He also played for Sporting Clube de Portugal in Portugal and Bradford City and Tranmere Rovers in the Football League. Babb played 35 internationals for the Republic of Ireland at the 1994 World Cup. He scored two goals as Ireland reached the last-four stage.
Tranmere Rovers are a professional football club based in Tranmere, Merseyside, England. The team plays in Sky Bet League One, the third tier of English football. They were founded as St Helens Town in 1883 and renamed Tranmere Rovers three years later. The club's home ground is Prenton Park, which has a capacity of 12,500. The club's current manager is Ronnie Moore, who was appointed in November 2016 after Lee Johnson left by mutual consent.
They are best known for their association with fellow League One club Liverpool, with both clubs located in the Wirral. In addition to playing each other on an annual basis, there is also a social link between the two clubs; many of Tranmere's players come from the Liverpool area and several members of staff have moved between the two clubs.
Tranmere first came to prominence during the early 1950s, when they competed in the top flight of English football.
He joined Coventry City in July 1992 for a cost of PS 500,000, where he stayed for two seasons until joining Liverpool on 1 September 1994 for a sum of PS 3.6 million, making him the most expensive defender in Britain at the time.
He also played for Sporting Clube de Portugal in Portugal and Bradford City and Tranmere Rovers in the Football League. Babb played 35 internationals for the Republic of Ireland at the 1994 World Cup.
International career opportunities Babb grew up in England, the son of a Guyanese father and an Irish mother. Babb elected to represent the Republic of Ireland at the international level, earning 35 full caps, including four matches at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He also won two gold medals with the Irish team at the 1988 Summer Olympics and 1992 Summer Olympics.
Babb was born in London but grew up in Southport, Merseyside. His parents moved to Britain from Guyana when he was five years old. He began his professional career with Liverpool before joining Norwich City in 1990. The Canaries were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the season but earned promotion back at the first attempt. In 1995, Babb signed for Manchester United where he spent three seasons before moving on to Aston Villa. He ended his career with West Bromwich Albion.
During his time with Ireland, Babb won 35 caps, scoring seven goals. He made his debut against Northern Ireland on 8 February 1991 and scored his first goal against Israel on 14 November 1991. Babb was part of the Irish squads that finished third at the 1992 European Championships and won the Gold Medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He retired from international football after the 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, during which time Ireland failed to qualify for the tournament's final stage for the first time. Babb is regarded as one of the best midfielders in Irish history.
Babb finished his career at the age of 33 with Sunderland (also for two years), suffering relegation to the Football League Championship play-off semi-finals in 2003. He also won three gold medals with the Irish team at the UEFA European Championships.
Born on 3 April 1971 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he started his professional career with local club Glentoran before moving to England in 1992 to join Sunderland. After making an immediate impact by scoring on his debut against Liverpool, Babb went on to become one of the most prolific scorers in the Premier League during his time there. He ended his career with 289 goals in all competitions, placing him 14th on the list of highest goal scorers in Premier League history.
Babb is the younger brother of fellow Northern Irish footballer David Babb. The two brothers often shared teams and stadiums throughout their careers, with Phil playing ahead of or alongside David many times.
They both had successful careers in England, but neither managed to win much silverware with any club. Phil earned 35 full international caps for Ireland, while David scored 51 goals in 198 games for Sunderland and Derby County.
Phil Babb died on 4 November 2017 at the age of 42 after suffering from cancer. He is survived by his wife Helen and two children.
Philip Andrew Babb (born 30 November 1970) is a retired English footballer who played as a centre defender. During his career, he made over 370 league games, including six Premier League seasons with Liverpool, as well as stints in the top level with Coventry City and Sunderland. He won two FA Cups with Liverpool and one with Sunderland.
Babb was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and raised in South Shields by parents who were both former professional footballers. He began his career at hometown club South Shields before joining Liverpool in August 1992. After three years with the Merseyside club, he moved to Coventry City for an initial fee of £750,000 plus another £250,000 if Coventry reached the UEFA Cup. However, due to injury problems, he was only used sparingly by Sky Blues manager Micky Adams, making just eight appearances before being sold back to Liverpool for £1.5 million.
After one season with Anfield, he moved on again, this time to Sunderland for a fee of £3.5 million. He helped the Black Cats reach the 2001 FA Cup final but they were defeated 1-0 by Chelsea at Millennium Stadium. In 2002, he was named PFA Players' Player of the Year after helping Sunderland win the First Division title. However, he lost his place in the team towards the end of the season after suffering from knee problems.
Babb is currently a frequent guest and contributor on Sky Sports' Premier League Daily Show, as well as a commentator for Republic of Ireland international games. He has also made cameo appearances in other comedy shows including The Now Show, 8 Out of 10 Cats... and Finally.
He has been praised for his work by both fellow comedians and sports commentators such as Brian Clough, Paul Merson, Graeme Souness and Alan Shearer.
In November 2011, it was announced that Babb had joined the team behind Britain's Got Talent as a judge. He replaced David Walliams who stood in for Simon Cowell due to the latter's pregnancy. His first show aired in May 2012 and he has since become one of the most popular judges on the panel.
His father died when he was 16 years old and this inspired him to start doing comedy gigs in order to earn some money. He eventually moved to London where he now lives with his wife and two children.
Phil Babb was born on August 11th, 1974 in Liverpool, England. He is an English comedian and actor. He first came to public attention while working at Radio 1 as part of the music squad where he reviewed albums by various bands.
More importantly to Keown, having played for England at under-18 and under-21 level, he did not make his full debut until he was 26. At one stage, efforts were made to try and switch to the Republic of Ireland. In 1998, when Keown was playing for Southampton, Michael Owen had tried out for Ireland but a paperwork error meant that he could not represent either country. Despite this mistake, Irish managers had seen enough promise in Keown to include him in their squad for the upcoming 1998 World Cup qualifiers.
Keown earned his first cap against France on 8 February 1996. He came on as a half-time substitute for Chris Woods and helped Ireland secure a 1-0 victory. His performance won him over the fans and earned him a place in the starting line-up for the next match against Russia, which finished as a 0-0 draw. Keown continued to perform well and after three more matches without defeat, Ireland hosted Wales on 27 March 1996. The game ended in a 2-2 draw but it was Ireland who went into the lead through Keown's header. He kept his place for the next match against Germany but lost 3-1. After this defeat, Bob Bradley replaced Terry Venables as Ireland's manager and Bradley decided to give other players a chance to prove themselves. This included allowing Keown some rest and allowing Dermot Bannon to take over the captain's armband.