Kevin Alastair Kyle (born 7 June 1981) is a Scottish former footballer and media personality who played as a centre forward. He played for eleven senior clubs in his career. Kyle gained ten full Scotland international caps and scored one goal.
After starting as a youngster at Ayr United, Kyle began his professional career with Sunderland, where he had been in the youth team. Kyle remained at the Stadium of Light for six years, making 91 appearances in the Football League, scoring 17 goals. He also made his debut for both the Scotland under−21s and its senior team during his time in the North East, as well as gaining promotion to the Premier League in 2004–05. In 2006, he moved to Coventry City, for whom he made 44 league appearances and scored five goals.
In 2009, Kyle signed for Kilmarnock, marking his professional debut in his homeland. After a year in East Ayrshire, during which he scored 16 goals, Kyle signed for Hearts in 2010. In two years at Tynecastle, Kyle scored seven goals in his 19 league appearances. In 2012, Kyle joined Rangers, where he made eight league appearances and scored three goals, and won the Third Division title as the club began its climb back to top tier. Kyle finished his career back at Ayr United in 2013, aged 32, and retired the following year.
Early life Born and raised in Stranraer, Scotland, Kyle began playing football when he was two years old. Kyle then played for his school team and local amateur sides he was selected to play for Dumfries and Galloway region. Also in the same Dumfries and Galloway team was fellow Stranraer boy Allan Jenkins.
His father was a referee in Scotland and he has an older brother, Mark.
Club career Sunderland Kyle began his career as a youth at Ayr United while working as a baggage handler for Stranraer harbour. One day, he received an invitation for a trial at Sunderland. The trial was successful and Kyle joined the Black Cats in 1998. He spent two seasons as a prolific scorer for their reserves before being called up to the first team in Sunderland's pre–season tour in the 2000–01 season. Upon returning from a loan spell at Huddersfield Town, Kyle signed a four–year contract with the club.
Following his return from his loan spells at Huddersfield Town, Darlington and Rochdale throughout the 2000–01 season, Kyle was expected to be used in the first team. However, he was unable to force his way into a first team that boasted the striking talent of Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn. On 28 April 2001, Kyle made his debut for Sunderland, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 win against Southampton. He made two more appearances for the club later in the 2000–01 season, both as a substitute.
At the start of the 2001–02 season, Kyle continued to play for Sunderland's reserve team and scoring goals in the pre-season. He ended up staying at the club throughout the summer transfer window after being linked with a loan move, as Peter Reid wanted him to stay "for an emergency first team call up". On 12 September 2001, he made his first appearance of the season, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute, in a 4–2 loss against Sheffield Wednesday in second round of the League Cup. Kyle continued to fight for his place in the first team but it was difficult for him to come by, with his playing time, coming from the substitute bench. On 22 December 2001, he made his first league appearance of the season, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 win against Everton. At the end of the 2001–02 season, Kyle made eight appearances in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2002–03 season, Kyle was linked with a move to Scottish Premier League side Rangers, with manager Alex McLeish keen on signing him, but manager Reid rejected the bid and he ended up staying at Sunderland. Kyle made his first appearance of the 2002–03 season, starting a match and played 63 minutes before being substituted, in a 1–0 loss against Everton on 24 August 2002. He continued to fight for his place in the first team but it was difficult for him to come by, with his playing time, coming from the substitute bench. On 6 November 2002, Kyle scored his first goal for the club, in a 3–2 loss against Arsenal in the third round of the League Cup. After the match, manager Howard Wilkinson praised his performance, saying: "When I arrived Kevin was very pessimistic about his prospects here. But he did very well against a decent Arsenal defence and showed what a handful he is. He is definitely in my plans and I have told him that." However, Kyle spent the early 2003 with the international commitment at Scotland under-21. On 13 February 2003, he then signed a three–year contract with Sunderland, keeping him until 2026. Following his return, Kyle received a handful of first team football towards the end of the season, as the club was relegated to the Football League First Division, finishing at the bottom of the Premier League. During his run-ins in the first team, he was known "for terrorising one of the best defences, causing them all sorts of problems", due to his "physical approach". At the end of the 2002–03 season, Kyle made twenty–two appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
The 2003–04 season was Kyle's breakthrough into the Sunderland first team and was given a number nine shirt. He almost missed the start of the season after suffering a knee injury during a friendly match against York City on 16 July 2003. But Kyle was given all clear and returned to the first team. In the opening game of the season against Nottingham Forest, his performance came under criticism for missing a number of targets that saw the club loss 2–0, prompting Kyle to apologise after the match. In a follow–up match against Mansfield Town in the first round of the League Cup, he scored an own-goal to give the opposition team to score an equaliser, but he scored the winning goal, in a 2–1 win. Kyle then established himself in the first team, forming a striking partnership with Marcus Stewart. He scored on 13 September 2003 and 16 September 2003 against Crystal Palace and Stoke City respectively. On 23 September 2003, Kyle scored twice, in a 4–2 loss against Huddersfield Town in the second round of the League Cup. He, once again, on 30 September 2003 and 4 October 2003 against Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday respectively. However, Kyle went on a seven match streak without scoring. After missing one match due to a hip injury while on international duty with Scotland under-21, he scored on his return from injury, in a 1–1 draw against Burnley on 29 November 2003. In a match against Wimbledon on 20 December 2003, Kyle received a red card for a second bookable offence in the last minute of the game, in a 2–1 win. In a follow–up match against Bradford City, he scored the third goal of the game, in a 3–0 win. On 13 February 2004, Kyle scored his tenth goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Birmingham City in the fifth round of the FA Cup. In a match against Walsall on 3 March 2004, he played with a dead leg but scored Sunderland's second goal of the game and set up a goal for Stewart, in a 3–1 win. On 13 March 2004, Kyle scored his twelfth goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against West Ham United. After missing one match due to an illness, he made his return to the starting line–up, in a 2–1 win against Wimbledon on 6 April 2004. In a follow–up match against Sheffield United, Kyle scored his thirteenth goal of the season, in a 2–1 win. On the last game of the season, he scored the winning goal for the club, in a 2–1 win against Burnley. Having reached his target of trying to help Sunderland reach the play-offs, Kyle scored in both legs against Crystal Palace, as the club, however, lost 5–4 on penalties following a 4–4 on aggregate. At the end of the 2003–04 season, he made fifty–three appearances and scoring sixteen goals in all competitions, becoming their joint top goalscorer alongside Stewart with 16 goals.
At the start of the 2004–05 season, Kyle appeared in the first seven matches in the first month to the season. He scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against Chester City in the first round of the League Cup. However, during the pre–season, Kyle suffered a hip injury, but he recovered in time for the first game of the 2004–05 season. Following the operation on his injury, Kyle was eventually out for the rest of the 2004–05 season. He described the recovery as the most frustrating time of his professional football career. While recovering, Kyle revealed that he was in talks with Sunderland over a new contract. But on 6 April 2005, Kyle returned to the club's reserve team in a match against Aston Villa's reserve team, where he scored five goals. During his absent, Sunderland were promoted to the Premier League after a three–year absence. Despite this, Kyle finished the 2004–05 season, making seven appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
Despite optimism of making a return to the first team at the 2005–06 season, Kyle, however, continued to recover from his hip injury throughout the first half of the season. Following an operation on his hip, his recovery was aided by visits to Bayern Munich doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt and American hip surgeon Marc Phillipon. There were suggestions that Kyle may retire from professional football. On 10 January 2006, he made his return from injury for Sunderland's reserve team, where he played 45 minutes against Middlesbrough's reserve team. On 28 January 2006, Kyle made his first appearance for the club in seventeen months, starting a match and played 61 minutes before being substituted, in a 2–1 loss against Brentford in the fourth round of the FA Cup. After the match, he said about his return: "The hip is alright. There was no problem on that score - the only problem was trying to get a performance out of it. It didn't exactly go according to plan, but what do you expect? After 17 months out I can hardly expect to click straight back into the kind of form I would like. It's going to take games, it's going to take training and it's going to take time. I'll get there, but this wasn't a great day for either myself or for anyone in the team. I let myself down and the team let everybody down as well." Three days later, on 31 January 2006, Kyle made his first Premier League appearance in three years for Sunderland, coming on as a 32nd-minute substitute, in a 3–0 loss against Middlesbrough. After previously stating his determination to score goals, he scored his first and only Premier League goal, in an away defeat to Manchester City on 6 March 2006. Since returning to first team action from injury, Kyle became involved in the first team, alternating between the starting eleven and substitute bench. However, Kyle suffered an injury when he scalded himself with boiling water in an accident at home and missed two matches as a result. On 17 April 2006, Kyle made his return from injury, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute, in a 4–1 loss against rivals, Newcastle United. In a follow–up match against Portsmouth on 22 April 2006, he was at fault by hand-balling that resulted in a penalty and successfully converted, as the club loss 2–1. Sunderland was eventually relegated on a then-record low points tally. At the end of the 2005–06 season, Kyle made fourteen appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
With his contract expiring at the end of the 2005–06 season, Sunderland opted to take up their option of a contract extension that would ensure Kyle remained under contract for the 2006–07 season. Amid to his future at the club, he was offered a new contract by Sunderland. By the time Kyle left the club, he made two appearances for the side, both league matches despite suffering a foot injury that kept him out for two matches.
During his time at Sunderland, Kyle was highly regarded by the club's supporters.
Loan spells from Sunderland