They are like two Vegas gamblers playing the slots in a desperate bid for gain. On one hand we have Geoff Thompson, the owner of South Shields whose nosebleed rise through football's pyramid system has spectacularly stalled. He has taken a calculated chance on a big name front man who has literally no experience as a manager.
On the other side of the table Kevin Phillips, a much decorated goal plundering centre-forward from Sunderland's glory days and an England international, is risking his considerable reputation by taking a job buried in soccer's seventh tier which is completely foreign territory. While there is a big prize to claim there is also a considerable amount for both to personally lose.
And the stakes have been significantly heightened by the fact that a late coming together towards the end of last season failed to produce the hoped for promotion into the National League North en route to the ultimate target of Football League status. The pressure has also been jacked up in what is a make-or-break season by the fact that South Shields are the only full-time club in their division and as such hot favourites to be crowned champions.
