Date / Year of birth: 21st April 1943

Position: Striker / Winger

Season of first appearance: 1966/67

Season of last appearance: 1970/71

Also played for: Crystal Palace (0), Hayes, Millwall (0), Sutton United, Gillingham (0), Gravesend & Northfleet, Dartford, Cambridge United, Arcadia Shepherds (South Africa), Chelmsford City, Southern Suburbs (South Africa), Romford and Catford Wanderers

Talented Greenwich-born prolific goalscorer blessed with great speed who played in the same youth side as future Chelsea legend Ron Harris before being signed by Crystal Palace having been spotted by the Eagles during his schooldays. Phil played for Palace's Colts side before picking up a knee injury which effectively ended his spell at Selhurst Park.

He joined Hayes for the 1960/61 season and scored three times in ten appearances for the club during the campaign. Phil also turned out for Millwall's youth team in some midweek games whilst on Hayes' books.

He then had a short spell at Sutton United and played for Gillingham's reserves during the 1961/62 and 1962/63 seasons. During the 1961/62 campaign he elected not to give evidence to a Football League enquiry into match fixing and for a while Phil was banned from playing in Football League matches at a time when he was on the fringes of the Gills' first team.

Phil then joined Gravesend & Northfleet in July 1963 and scored on his Southern League debut for them. He went on to score five goals in 30 appearances during 1963/64.

In the summer of 1964 he moved on to Dartford and was their top scorer for the 1964/65 season, finding the net 35 times. Phil then had a spell at Cambridge United, scoring for them home and away against Margate during the 1965/66 season. One of the goals was described as "nonchalant" by the local press.

Phil left United to join Margate in September 1966, electing to move to Hartsdown Park despite interest from Football League clubs, and at the time he was working as a teacher in a Bromley school. Phil made his debut for Margate in a 2-0 win over Merthyr Tydfil in the Southern League at Hartsdown Park on 12.9.66 and quickly became a huge favourite by scoring in each of his next four appearances for the club. On 24.9.66 Phil got two goals and made two more as Margate thrashed his old club Dartford 5-0 and he continued to show what the local press described as "sparkling form" throughout the remainder of the 1966/67 season as Margate won promotion from the Southern League Division One by finishing as runners-up.

Phil scored 38 goals in 55 appearances and on 3.11.66 he bagged a hat-trick in a 6-1 win at Deal. Then on 12.11.66 he gained a standing ovation from the Hartsdown Park crowd after what the Thanet Times described as "brilliant, inspiring play" in an 8-0 win over Tunbridge Wells.

On 14.1.67 Phil found the net with a scorching 25-yarder in a 4-1 win at Wisbech and on 27.3.67 he scored with a long-range left-footed effort in a 4-0 home win over Tonbridge. Phil then notched up four goals in a 5-0 win over Gravesend & Northfleet at Hartsdown Park on 10.4.67 and his tally included a superb solo effort as he beat two players before firing home.

Phil also created many goals, especially for centre-forward Dennis Randall, during the season and the local press were fulsome in their plaudits for him. Phil was variously described as "sprightly", "nonchalant" and "irrepressible". His "quicksilver opportunism" was also praised and Phil was said to have "a most astute footballing brain under his dominant dark thatch" - a reference to Phil's hair which also led to him being described as "swarthy".

The 1967/68 season was another good one for Phil as he scored 36 goals in 70 appearances, mostly playing on the right wing but also having spells up front as an inside or centre-forward. His goals included three hat-tricks and numerous excellent strikes. On 13.12.67 Phil scored twice in a 3-1 win at Yeovil in the FA Cup 1st Round and he also played in the 2nd Round as Margate lost 4-0 at home to Peterborough on 6.1.68.

Phil again attracted a lot of attention from the local press during the campaign and he was variously said to be "as cool as Miles Davis", "almost in a class of his own" and a "hawk-eyed opportunist". However he was also criticised at times, once for "an overdose of chatter" on the pitch. The article continued "one day that wagging tongue will lead him into trouble with a capital 'T'" and on another occasion Phil was described as "a Jekyll and Hyde in football boots" - a reference to what the local press felt was his tendency towards inconsistency during the campaign.

On 6.4.68 Phil featured in the 1st Leg of the Southern League Cup Final - a 1-1 draw with Ramsgate at Hartsdown Park - but he was then dropped for the 2nd Leg at Southwood on 13.4.68 which finished 0-0. The local paper said his demotion was a "stunning shock".

On 3.5.68 Phil found the net with a brilliant overhead kick during a 9-2 home win over Gravesend & Northfleet but the local paper said that he was "tantalisingly indifferent" during a 0-0 draw with visitors Poole on 4.5.68. Phil then scored a superb solo goal in a 3-1 win over Weymouth at Hartsdown Park on 9.5.68, beating four players in a run from the halfway line before firing home. On 16.5.68 he was in the Margate team that secured the Southern League Cup by beating Ramsgate 3-1 in the replay at Hartsdown Park and at the end of the season Phil was briefly transfer listed.

After missing the first month of the 1968/69 campaign through injury Phil embarked on another prolific season. He scored 32 goals in 55 appearances and in doing so became only the third Margate player to score over 100 post-war goals for the club. Phil usually played on the right wing and on 5.10.68 he set up four goals for Gordon Burden during a 6-0 win at Sheppey in the FA Cup. On 16.11.68 Phil was in the side that lost 3-1 at Northampton in the FA Cup 1st Round.

He scored a brilliant hat-trick in a 5-1 home win over Dover on 28.12.68 and one of Phil's goals came from a stunning overhead kick. He also fired in a 25-yarder in a 1-1 draw at Ramsgate on 25.2.69 and the local paper said that after scoring Phil "raised his right arm in triumph like a Roman gladiator acclaiming the arena's roar for a kill of the highest order".

On 8.3.69 he scored a superb solo goal in a 2-1 win over visitors Hillingdon, beating two players before lashing home from 18 yards, and on 17.3.69 Phil again found the net with an overhead kick as Margate beat Folkestone 4-0 in Kent Floodlight Cup tie at Hartsdown Park. The Isle Of Thanet Gazette described his double in a 2-0 home win over Barnet on 5.4.69 as "two flashes of genius" and Phil had once again caught the attention of the local press throughout the campaign. He was variously described as being an "ace goal poacher", "a dancing menace" and "the prince of opportunism" during the season. However he was also referred to as "a man with so many critics" at one stage and the Isle of Thanet Gazette said that "when things are going right for him and he has his turbulent temper under control, he is one of the most dangerous goalscorers in the Southern League". Phil also produced displays described by the paper as "scintillating" and "superb".

His last goal of the 1968/69 campaign came in the 2nd Leg of the Kent Senior Cup Final against Folkestone at Hartsdown Park on 8.5.69. Margate won 2-0 but lost 4-2 on aggregate. Later that month Phil left the club to join South African outfit Arcadia Shepherds for a fee of £500 and Margate spent the money on the signing of Bill Swain from Dover.

Phil scored twice on his debut for Arcadia and in one of his early matches for the club he faced an opposition side that featured Leeds loanees Johnny Giles and Peter Lorimer.

On his return to the UK at the end of the South African season Phil joined Chelmsford and he spent six months there during 1969/70, making 33 appearances and scoring 11 goals, before returning to Arcadia. He then made a brief return to Margate during the 1970/71 campaign - it was the close season in South Africa.

Phil made his popular comeback in a 3-1 Kent Floodlight Cup win over Gravesend & Northfleet at Hartsdown Park on 12.10.70 but it was to be his final appearance. Arcadia didn't want him to get injured playing for Margate and stopped him playing again. However Phil went out in the best possible way, scoring what the local press referred to as an "inevitable" goal. He was also said to have "dazzled" and the Isle of Thanet Gazette referred to Phil as a "professional entertainer" and "goalscoring enigma". He was said to have "drifted back into Margate's side...as if he had never been away."

Towards the end of 1972 Phil joined Romford after another spell in South Africa. By that time his South African club was Southern Suburbs and Phil had scored seven goals during the 1972 season there, making him the club's top scorer. He'd previously scored a total of 36 goals for Arcadia during the 1969 (11), 1970 (15) and 1971 (ten) seasons.

Phil spent the remainder of the 1972/73 campaign and the whole of 1973/74 with Romford. He then played for amateur club Catford Wanderers before retiring to concentrate on his teaching career.

At the age of 35 Phil took up rugby and played for Old Beccehamians where curiously he made his only first XV appearance in a game against Thanet Wanderers at St.Peters Recreation Ground. He also ran for Herne Hill Athletics Club and played squash to a high standard, eventually forming part of Kent's Over-55's squad. Phil kept in touch with football by coaching the Bromley district schools team for many years.

In January 2003 an article in the Thanet Extra newspaper said that Phil was hoping to get in contact with some of his old Margate colleagues, the piece was written by veteran journalist Dave Cooper who was a friend of Phil's and described him as "a charismatic goal-poacher". The article also mentioned that Phil was working as a supply teacher in South Africa, although he had a home in Bromley. He was quoted as saying that Almer Hall was the best manager he ever played for. Phil also said "my days at Margate were the happiest of my footballing career because we had a superb camaraderie and the whole club was extremely well run."

In 2012 Phil was living in Chislehurst in the London Borough of Bromley and having retired from teaching he was involved with property development. He played golf regularly at the Boughton club near Faversham and had a nine-year old son who was showing promise at several sports. Phil also had a daughter who was in her 30's at that time.

On 12.4.14 he was one of the many former Margate players who attended the club's 'Legends Day' at Hartsdown Park.

A relative of Phil's, also called Phil Amato, played for Charlton and managed Carshalton during the 1970's.