Kevin Kyle

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…

Throughout 2000, Kyle was first called up to the Scotland under−21 squad but he did play two times. In late–2002, Kyle returned to play for the Scotland under-21 squad, including scoring against Iceland under-21. On 1 April 2003, he scored his second goal for Scotland under-21, in a 2–1 loss against Lithuania under-21. A week after playing for the senior team against New Zealand, Kyle was demoted to play for the under-21 side. On 7 June 2003, he started the whole game, in a 2–2 draw against Germany under-21. Kyle went on to make fourteen appearances and scoring six goals for Scotland under-21. In April 2002, Kyle was called up to the Scotland B for the first time by manager Berti Vogts. On 1 May 2002, he made his debut for Scotland B, starting a match and played 45 minutes before being substituted at half–time, in a 2–0 win against Dundee United. On 17 December 2002, Kyle scored his first goal for the Scotland B team, in a 3–3 draw against Germany B team. On 20 May 2003, he scored his second goal for Scotland B team, in a 2–1 win against Northern Ireland B team. On 9 May 2002, Kyle was called up to the Scotland for the first time for the match against a Hong Kong League XI during the HKSAR Reunification Cup. He made his national team debut, coming on as a 66th-minute substitute, in a 4–1 loss against South Korea on 16 May 2002. On 23 May 2002, Kyle scored his first goal for Scotland, in a 1–0 win against a Hong Kong League XI during the HKSAR Reunification Cup. Despite…

Following his retirement from professional football, Kyle worked in the Shetland Islands for two years, doing 18-day stints of 12-hour shifts as a room-keeper on the MS Regina Baltica cruiseferry. "Life was pretty shit," he said. At a Clyde F.C. training camp, he met Simon Ferry, who asked him if he'd like to come on his Keeping the Ball on the Ground podcast. Kevin entered the BDO Scottish Open darts tournament in 2016, reaching the last 256. He beat Lakeside semi-finalist Richard Veenstra, who was ninth seed in the tournament, on the way. He was previously worked as a pundit for the BDO Scottish Open darts tournament.

Media career

In 2018, Kyle was interviewed by Simon Ferry on the YouTube channel Open Goal. "I did the interview and I thought, 'This could be quite good.' I don't know how to filter things and just say things how it is." After returning to the channel for a few appearances, Kyle became a permanent fixture on the channel, regularly featuring on the channel's podcast with Ferry and Paul Slane, as well as Andy Halliday later on. The show has gained a large cult following, and Open Goal was awarded 'Best Podcast' at the 2019 Football Blogging Awards.

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.