Sam Parkin
Encyclopedia
Samuel "Sam" Parkin is an English
professional footballer who plays for St Johnstone
.
. However he failed to make the breakthrough and was loaned out to Millwall
, Northampton Town
, Wycombe Wanderers
and Oldham Athletic
with varying degrees of success. At Wycombe however, he scored perhaps the most important goal in their history, when he headed in the winner against Wolverhampton Wanderers
during Wycombe's run to the semi-finals of the FA Cup
, however his loan had finished and he returned to Chelsea denying him a chance to play in the quarter or semi finals. He scored one other goal for Wycombe in the Football League Trophy
against Leyton Orient.
, then in the Second Division
. In his three seasons at the County Ground he quickly became one of the most feared goalscorers in the division, scoring 67 goals in 124 league games. He was affectionately nicknamed 'Super Sammy Parkin' by Swindon fans during his time at the club.
on a four year deal for £550,000. Several other clubs, notably Reading
, Brighton
, and Norwich City
had also been interested in signing him. He made his Ipswich debut against Cardiff City
and scored on his second game against QPR
.
In a relatively poor season, Parkin managed to maintain being Town's top scorer for much of the season despite a fairly small goal return. However, towards the end of the season he broke his ankle and was replaced by Nicky Forster
– his intended strike partner at the start of the season and who went on to become top goal scorer. In Ipswich's first game of the new 2006–07 season season, Parkin did not even make the bench, making him Ipswich's sixth choice striker.
for a fee of £340,000. He managed only ten games before injury struck, and was ruled out for the whole season. Luton were relegated to League One.
Parkin was again badly injured early in the 2007–08 season, but scored on his return to the team in late January. Luton, now in administration, suffered a second successive relegation with Parkin scoring a total of 5 goals in 19 league games.
Parkin returned fully recovered in the 2008–09 season
, scoring 3 goals in the first 4 league games. However, as a result of financial restructuring at Luton and Parkin being one of the club's highest earners, any offers from other clubs were to be considered. On 23 October 2008, Parkin joined League One side Leyton Orient on a three-month loan deal, bringing O's manager Martin Ling
's long search for a striker to an end. Following the resignation of Ling and after much criticism from fans, Parkin's loan was terminated, and he returned to Luton on 19 January 2009, having not scored a single goal in his time at Brisbane Road. Parkin played in 18 further games during the season, including as a substitute in Luton's Football League Trophy
final success at Wembley Stadium
, but only managed one goal in that time. Luton were relegated for the third successive season, dropping out of the Football League
, and on 27 May 2009, Parkin was released by Luton after coming to the end of his contract.
on a one-year contract, when signed he was regarded of a late developing rooney yet he failed to impress. He was released by mutual consent on 4 May 2010.
on a two-year contract.
through his Scottish
mother, and made his Scotland debut in a Scotland Future international against Austria
. Unfortunately, he was injured early in the match and was substituted. He has not been picked again and remains eligible to play for England.
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...
professional footballer who plays for St Johnstone
St Johnstone F.C.
St. Johnstone F.C. is a professional football club based in Perth, Scotland. Although it is officially recorded as being formed in 1884, the club did not play its first game until February 1885. The club's home since 1989 has been McDiarmid Park....
.
Chelsea
Parkin started his career at ChelseaChelsea 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...
. However he failed to make the breakthrough and was loaned out to Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
, Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...
, Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, which has been promoted to Football League One after finishing third in Football League Two in the season 2010–11. The club's nicknames are "The Chairboys" and "The Blues", and they play...
and Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...
with varying degrees of success. At Wycombe however, he scored perhaps the most important goal in their history, when he headed in the winner against Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
during Wycombe's run to the semi-finals of 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...
, however his loan had finished and he returned to Chelsea denying him a chance to play in the quarter or semi finals. He scored one other goal for Wycombe in the Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
against Leyton Orient.
Swindon Town
In 2002, Parkin signed for Swindon TownSwindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
, then in the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
. In his three seasons at the County Ground he quickly became one of the most feared goalscorers in the division, scoring 67 goals in 124 league games. He was affectionately nicknamed 'Super Sammy Parkin' by Swindon fans during his time at the club.
Ipswich Town
In the summer of 2005, Parkin was signed by Ipswich TownIpswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
on a four year deal for £550,000. Several other clubs, notably Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
, Brighton
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
, and Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
had also been interested in signing him. He made his Ipswich debut against Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
and scored on his second game against QPR
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...
.
In a relatively poor season, Parkin managed to maintain being Town's top scorer for much of the season despite a fairly small goal return. However, towards the end of the season he broke his ankle and was replaced by Nicky Forster
Nicky Forster
Nicholas Michael "Nicky" Forster is a former professional footballer who has also been player-manager at Brentford, and is now manager of Dover Athletic...
– his intended strike partner at the start of the season and who went on to become top goal scorer. In Ipswich's first game of the new 2006–07 season season, Parkin did not even make the bench, making him Ipswich's sixth choice striker.
Luton Town
On 25 August 2006, Parkin was transferred to Luton TownLuton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
for a fee of £340,000. He managed only ten games before injury struck, and was ruled out for the whole season. Luton were relegated to League One.
Parkin was again badly injured early in the 2007–08 season, but scored on his return to the team in late January. Luton, now in administration, suffered a second successive relegation with Parkin scoring a total of 5 goals in 19 league games.
Parkin returned fully recovered in the 2008–09 season
2008–09 in English football
The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City were all playing in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship last season. Stoke returned to the top flight after a 23-year absence, while...
, scoring 3 goals in the first 4 league games. However, as a result of financial restructuring at Luton and Parkin being one of the club's highest earners, any offers from other clubs were to be considered. On 23 October 2008, Parkin joined League One side Leyton Orient on a three-month loan deal, bringing O's manager Martin Ling
Martin Ling
Martin Ling is an English football manager and former player, who is currently manager of Torquay United in League Two. He played in over 100 Football League matches for Exeter City, Southend United, Swindon Town and Leyton Orient, before moving into management where he led Orient for over five...
's long search for a striker to an end. Following the resignation of Ling and after much criticism from fans, Parkin's loan was terminated, and he returned to Luton on 19 January 2009, having not scored a single goal in his time at Brisbane Road. Parkin played in 18 further games during the season, including as a substitute in Luton's Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
final success at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, but only managed one goal in that time. Luton were relegated for the third successive season, dropping out of the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
, and on 27 May 2009, Parkin was released by Luton after coming to the end of his contract.
Leyton Orient
Often referred to as the worst loanee ever to grace the Brisbane Road turf, making 13 appearances with a return of exactly 0 goals. He would often show up in games for a limited number of minutes, or failing that, disappear completely leading to questions from fans such as; 'Sam Parkin? Was he even playing?'Walsall
On 16 July 2009, Parkin signed for League One side WalsallWalsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
on a one-year contract, when signed he was regarded of a late developing rooney yet he failed to impress. He was released by mutual consent on 4 May 2010.
St. Johnstone
On 15 July 2010, Parkin signed for Scottish Premier League side St JohnstoneSt Johnstone F.C.
St. Johnstone F.C. is a professional football club based in Perth, Scotland. Although it is officially recorded as being formed in 1884, the club did not play its first game until February 1885. The club's home since 1989 has been McDiarmid Park....
on a two-year contract.
International career
Parkin is eligible to play for ScotlandScotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
through his Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
mother, and made his Scotland debut in a Scotland Future international against Austria
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
. Unfortunately, he was injured early in the match and was substituted. He has not been picked again and remains eligible to play for England.
External links
- SAM RELISHING CHANCE TO PROVE HIMSELF St Johnstone FC, 15 July 2010 – Parkin explains career and move to St Johnstone