I felt I had a connection with Sunderland fans the moment I drove up here even though the streets around Roker Park looked like Coronation Street!' Kevin Phillips admits his move to the North East in 1997 was the best decision of his career

"Kevin Phillips surprises fans at Sheepfolds Stables with a live fireside chat, before spending time chatting with fans. The event formed part of LiveScore's partnership with Sunderland, which has included a series of fan engagement activities around matchdays. These activities are designed to create unique opportunities for supporters to interact more directly with the club and its former players. (Image credit: Live Score)"

"Kevin Phillips' first impressions of Sunderland came as a young Watford player in the mid 90s, traveling to the club's old ground Roker Park. Located just a few hundred yards from the North Sea coast, there wasn't much protection from the icy winds off the water in the winter (and sometimes summer!). The presence of a biting, salt-crusted gale meant the air around the stadium was often damp and misty. Combined with cold wind, temperatures inside Roker Park often defied thermometer readings."

"Famously landlocked on all four sides by tight, red-brick Victorian terraced streets, on matchdays back alleys were crowded with fans seeking shortcuts, and corner shops and chippies would do a week's worth of business in three hours. Legendary pre-match spots like The Wheatsheaf, The New Derby, and The Roker Hotel were packed to the rafters and were the genesis of the Roker Roar'."

Kevin Phillips surprised fans at Sheepfolds Stables with a live fireside chat and spent time meeting supporters. The event formed part of LiveScore's partnership with Sunderland and aimed to create direct fan engagement around matchdays. Phillips' first impressions of Sunderland came as a young Watford player in the mid-1990s arriving at Roker Park near the North Sea, where icy, salt-crusted gales often made the air damp and misty and temperatures inside the stadium defied thermometer readings. Roker Park, built in 1929, featured Archibald Leitch's criss-cross lattice steelwork, parts of which are displayed at the Stadium of Light. Tight red-brick terraces, crowded back alleys, and packed pre-match pubs fuelled the famous 'Roker Roar'.

Read at www.fourfourtwo.com