Paul Parker
Encyclopedia
Paul Andrew Parker is a retired English
footballer who played for Queens Park Rangers
, Fulham
and most notably Manchester United
. He was also a crucial player at the 1990 World Cup
with England
.
Parker, a central defender
, started his career with Fulham
before joining QPR, where he made his name as a nippy and incisive defender, even though he lacked the height normally associated with his position. His prowess was noticed by England coach Bobby Robson
who, establishing he could also play at right back, gave him his international debut against Albania
in 1989.
He had already appeared three times for the England B side, but was racially abused by England's own fans in a 2-0 win over the Iceland
B side in Iceland
on 19 May 1989.
Parker continued to play centrally for his club while deputising for the first-choice Gary Stevens
on the right side of defence for country. He was selected as Stevens' back-up for the 1990 World Cup in Italy
but, with Stevens putting in a disappointing display in the opening 1–1 draw with the Republic of Ireland
, Parker was put in the team, just five caps into his career.
He stayed there, playing comfortably behind Chris Waddle
as England progressed through their group and as far as the semi-finals, where they met West Germany
. Here two incidents would define Parker's career.
With the score at 0–0, the Germans won a free kick just outside the England penalty area early in the second half and as the ball was tapped to Andreas Brehme
, Parker sprinted from the defensive wall to try to block the shot. Instead, it clipped off him at such an angle that the ball looped high into the air and swirled round and over goalkeeper Peter Shilton
and into the net. The goal was credited to Brehme, but Parker managed to make amends with fewer than ten minutes to play.
Collecting the ball down the right flank, he looked up and sent a high and dangerous ball towards Gary Lineker
. The German defenders got in each other's way and Lineker found room to score with a far post shot. The game ended 1–1 and England departed on penalties. Stevens was recalled for the meaningless third-place play off match against Italy
and Parker (who came on as a sub in that game) emerged from the tournament as one of England's many successes.
That said, it did not help him curry favour with Robson's replacement as England coach, Graham Taylor
, who chose Arsenal
's Lee Dixon
several times over the next few months, including all bar one of the qualifiers for Euro 92. Parker, Dixon, Stevens and Rob Jones were all injured for the tournament itself in Sweden
, so Taylor had to pick a central defender to play at right back (without the luxury of having another centre-cum-right back like Parker at his disposal) and England were dismissed at the group stage.
During this period, Parker was sold by QPR to Manchester United for £2million on 8 August 1991 http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=6114, and he made his debut (now as a specialist right back) against Notts County
the same month. Unfortunately, Parker's five-year career at Old Trafford was blighted frequently by injury and as the club began to dominate the English game under Alex Ferguson
, Parker struggled to maintain his fitness.
He won a League Cup
winners medal in 1992, a Premiership title medal a year later, and another Premiership title medal and the FA Cup
a further year on. The last two years though saw Parker's inability to stay fit coupled with the emergence of Gary Neville
, who ultimately replaced Parker at right back for both club and country.
Parker missed out on almost 18 months of international football but in October 1993 he was called up by Taylor for a vital qualifier for the 1994 World Cup
against the Netherlands
in Rotterdam
. England lost 2–0 and Parker's hope of reaching a second World Cup were gone.
When Terry Venables
took over as England coach in 1994, he called up Parker for his first game in charge – a 1–0 win over Denmark
at Wembley but then looked at other right backs (including Rob Jones of Liverpool
) before installing Neville as his first choice the following year. Parker's England career, which had reached such a high four years earlier, was over after just 19 appearances.
Parker missed most of the 1994–95 season
through injury, and despite regaining his fitness for the 1995–96
, he could not displace the young and improving Gary Neville
, and was freed at the end of the campaign. Although United won a (then) unique second double, he did not play in enough Premier League games for a title medal, and did not feature in the FA Cup Final squad.
Parker then signed for Derby County
, who had just been promoted to the Premier League, but could not win a regular first team place and signed for Sheffield United
in early November. A brief spell back at Fulham (in their Division Three promotion campaign) followed. Later in the 1996–97 season
, he played several games for Chelsea
during an injury crisis at Stamford Bridge
, although he did not feature in the FA Cup Final
triumph that ended Chelsea's 26-year trophy drought. After ending his professional career he entered the Non-League scene starting with a move to Garry Hill's Heybridge Swifts.
After retiring from playing, he became manager of Chelmsford City
in June 2001. He later managed Welling United F.C.
.
Parker is now employed as an ambassador for the Blue Square Premier League
– the highest division of non-league football.
Paul has ventured into media punditry and was the lead co-commentator with Steve Bower
on Setanta Sports
' live Conference National
coverage. As of 2011, Parker is a pundit on ESPN Star Sports
.
In 2009 he became a coaching consultant and game development officer for Football federation NT.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
footballer who played for Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
, Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
and most notably Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
. He was also a crucial player at the 1990 World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
with England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
.
Parker, a central defender
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
, started his career with Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
before joining QPR, where he made his name as a nippy and incisive defender, even though he lacked the height normally associated with his position. His prowess was noticed by England coach Bobby Robson
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career....
who, establishing he could also play at right back, gave him his international debut against Albania
Albania national football team
The Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
in 1989.
He had already appeared three times for the England B side, but was racially abused by England's own fans in a 2-0 win over the Iceland
Iceland national football team
The Iceland national football team is the national football team of Iceland and is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland. It has never advanced to the finals of any major international competition....
B side in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
on 19 May 1989.
Parker continued to play centrally for his club while deputising for the first-choice Gary Stevens
Gary Stevens
Gary Michael Stevens is a retired English footballer who is best remembered playing in defence for a successful Everton side of the 1980s, as well as for the England national football team....
on the right side of defence for country. He was selected as Stevens' back-up for the 1990 World Cup in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
but, with Stevens putting in a disappointing display in the opening 1–1 draw with the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
, Parker was put in the team, just five caps into his career.
He stayed there, playing comfortably behind Chris Waddle
Chris Waddle
Christopher Roland "Chris" Waddle is a former footballer from England. He played for a number of clubs in the 1980s and 90s, including Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield Wednesday in England, and Olympique de Marseille in France...
as England progressed through their group and as far as the semi-finals, where they met West Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
. Here two incidents would define Parker's career.
With the score at 0–0, the Germans won a free kick just outside the England penalty area early in the second half and as the ball was tapped to Andreas Brehme
Andreas Brehme
Andreas "Andy" Brehme is a German football coach and former football defender. He is best known for scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final against Argentina on a 85th minute penalty kick....
, Parker sprinted from the defensive wall to try to block the shot. Instead, it clipped off him at such an angle that the ball looped high into the air and swirled round and over goalkeeper Peter Shilton
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....
and into the net. The goal was credited to Brehme, but Parker managed to make amends with fewer than ten minutes to play.
Collecting the ball down the right flank, he looked up and sent a high and dangerous ball towards Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...
. The German defenders got in each other's way and Lineker found room to score with a far post shot. The game ended 1–1 and England departed on penalties. Stevens was recalled for the meaningless third-place play off match against Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
and Parker (who came on as a sub in that game) emerged from the tournament as one of England's many successes.
That said, it did not help him curry favour with Robson's replacement as England coach, Graham Taylor
Graham Taylor (football manager)
Graham Taylor OBE is a football pundit, ex-football manager, and a former player. He is best known as the manager of the England national football team, as well as being manager of Watford, a club he took from the Fourth Division to the First in the space of five years, then from bottom of the...
, who chose Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
's Lee Dixon
Lee Dixon
Lee Michael Dixon is a former English professional footballer born in Manchester.He formed part of the Arsenal defence from the late 1980s, through till 2002. He was capped 22 times for England, scoring once....
several times over the next few months, including all bar one of the qualifiers for Euro 92. Parker, Dixon, Stevens and Rob Jones were all injured for the tournament itself in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, so Taylor had to pick a central defender to play at right back (without the luxury of having another centre-cum-right back like Parker at his disposal) and England were dismissed at the group stage.
During this period, Parker was sold by QPR to Manchester United for £2million on 8 August 1991 http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=6114, and he made his debut (now as a specialist right back) against Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
the same month. Unfortunately, Parker's five-year career at Old Trafford was blighted frequently by injury and as the club began to dominate the English game under Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
, Parker struggled to maintain his fitness.
He won a League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
winners medal in 1992, a Premiership title medal a year later, and another Premiership title medal and the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
a further year on. The last two years though saw Parker's inability to stay fit coupled with the emergence of Gary Neville
Gary Neville
Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....
, who ultimately replaced Parker at right back for both club and country.
Parker missed out on almost 18 months of international football but in October 1993 he was called up by Taylor for a vital qualifier for the 1994 World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
against the Netherlands
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
. England lost 2–0 and Parker's hope of reaching a second World Cup were gone.
When Terry Venables
Terry Venables
Terence Frederick "Terry" Venables , often referred to as "El Tel", is a former football player and manager, as well as being a media pundit. During the 1960s and 70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, and gained two caps for England...
took over as England coach in 1994, he called up Parker for his first game in charge – a 1–0 win over Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
at Wembley but then looked at other right backs (including Rob Jones of Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
) before installing Neville as his first choice the following year. Parker's England career, which had reached such a high four years earlier, was over after just 19 appearances.
Parker missed most of the 1994–95 season
1994-95 in English football
-Premiership:Blackburn Rovers ended their 81-year wait for the league title thanks to the strike partnership of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton which scored a total of more than 50 league goals. Manchester United would have made it three league titles in a row if they had been able to turn a 1-1 draw...
through injury, and despite regaining his fitness for the 1995–96
1995-96 in English football
- Premiership :Newcastle United were 12 points clear at the top of Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson's relatively young and inexperienced side overhauled them during the second half of the season to win the title....
, he could not displace the young and improving Gary Neville
Gary Neville
Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....
, and was freed at the end of the campaign. Although United won a (then) unique second double, he did not play in enough Premier League games for a title medal, and did not feature in the FA Cup Final squad.
Parker then signed for Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
, who had just been promoted to the Premier League, but could not win a regular first team place and signed for Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
in early November. A brief spell back at Fulham (in their Division Three promotion campaign) followed. Later in the 1996–97 season
1996-97 in English football
The 1996–1997 season was the 117th season of competitive football in England.Arrival into the league and exit out of the league returns in the fourth tier for the first time after its 3 season absence with only 1 relegation spot.- Premier League :...
, he played several games for Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
during an injury crisis at Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge (stadium)
Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, and is the home of Chelsea Football Club. The stadium is located within the Moore Park Estate also known as Walham Green and is often referred to as simply The Bridge...
, although he did not feature in the FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final 1997
The 1997 FA Cup Final took place on 17 May 1997 at Wembley Stadium and was won by Chelsea with a 2–0 victory over Middlesbrough.Chelsea were attempting to win their first FA Cup final for 27 years, while Middlesbrough were contesting their first ever final...
triumph that ended Chelsea's 26-year trophy drought. After ending his professional career he entered the Non-League scene starting with a move to Garry Hill's Heybridge Swifts.
After retiring from playing, he became manager of Chelmsford City
Chelmsford City F.C.
Chelmsford City F.C. is an English semi-professional football club based in the town of Chelmsford, Essex. The club are currently members of the Conference South and play at the Melbourne Stadium.-Chelmsford:...
in June 2001. He later managed Welling United F.C.
Welling United F.C.
Welling United Football Club are an English football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley. They currently play in the Conference South. The 2010–11 season was not a good one for them as the club had financial problems, nearly going bankrupt but lots of supporters chipped in and...
.
Parker is now employed as an ambassador for the Blue Square Premier League
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
– the highest division of non-league football.
Paul has ventured into media punditry and was the lead co-commentator with Steve Bower
Steve Bower
Steve Bower is an English football commentator, one of the main voices for BBC TV's Match of the Day, culminating in being part of the commentary teams for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa...
on Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
' live Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
coverage. As of 2011, Parker is a pundit on ESPN Star Sports
ESPN Star Sports
ESPN Star Sports is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and News Corporation...
.
In 2009 he became a coaching consultant and game development officer for Football federation NT.