How good/bad was Phil Parkinson?

[harry]

Shoving Ray Houghton off the ball to drill in a 25 yarder into the roof of the match against Mark McGhee's Wolves under the floodlights at Elm Park. You literally don't get any better than that as a Reading supporter. Sometimes even now I find myself still celebrating that goal during absent-minded moments. Means I always tend to get a seat to myself on the bus.

THIS THIS THIS AND THIS

The greatest single Parky moment
2nd the flick on for Curo's promotion goal
3rd equal - each and every time that a new manager (having left him out of first few teams picked) finally accepted that the midfield didn't work because it needed someone who would run through brick walls and bleed blue and white hooped blood

To answer OP
He wasn't the most gifted player. But he gave everything every game and today's players would do well to do the same

[Z175]

After tonight's shambles I can't believe anyone could believe our current team are better at passing than Parky! But even if he couldn't pass he was just brilliant. Not having a player like him is the reason we are near the bottom of the league, the atmosphere is crap and the attendances are dwindling.
As mentioned above a lot of the teams he played in had other cult heroes, definitely bigger wages and more foreign imports have created more of a gap to the fans. Fair play to Parjudas for making Parky player coach I guess too.

Memories of that game at Brentford does bring home what a catastrophe relegation back to that level would be.

Anyway if we replay I will support Bradford if Parky sprints out to the East stand like he used to!

[Jackson Corner]

He would run through a brick wall for this club. Never gave less than 100% And would expect the same from team mates and would tell them so! On top of that one of the nicest blokes I have ever meet.

[Whore Jackie]

To sum him up, he was never the best player, but for a long time he was probably the first name on the team sheet.

Nice and succinct. +1 to all those comments on what a nice bloke he was off the pitch too.

Can't really think of an player since he left twelve years ago that's merited such iconic status. Little or Kebe possibly?

[Samrfc01]

To sum him up, he was never the best player, but for a long time he was probably the first name on the team sheet.

Nice and succinct. +1 to all those comments on what a nice bloke he was off the pitch too.

Can't really think of an player since he left twelve years ago that's merited such iconic status. Little or Kebe possibly?

How can you mention Little and Kebe in the same breath as Parkinson!?

The only player that comes close is Murty and apparently he was a right cnut off the pitch.

[M Brook]

Bradford fan here in peace!

Just been have a nosey through your message board and seem quite a reasonable bunch compared to most message boards. Really looking forward to this game now, great chance for either team to get to Wembley. Very rare both teams are very happy with the way the draw came out.

Just wondered why if Parky is such a ledge at your place and he's done such a magnificant job with us why he never really seems to get mentioned when the managers jobs comes up with you lot?

I would be surprised if he ever came back to manage us. The fact is that most managers eventually fail or move on to bigger clubs. If Parky came back, he would either move on to bigger things and be seen as a Judas or eventually fail and lose his 'legend' status.

He's doing fine as it is. If he wants his career path to continue upwards, he is best off steering clear of the MadStad.

[The Rouge]

He once gave me free tickets outside Gigg Lane.

Outside Boundary Park for me

Did he actually give them to you to keep though, or did he just ask you to old'em.

[eddiegrundy]

Parky knocking over Ruud Gullit

http://www.tedm.talktalk.net/scan0331

Parky - the family man

http://www.tedm.talktalk.net/scan0223

[Turnball ACs]

BF Parky was an absolute leg-end. He was at the club for years which is very rare for any player/club these days. Only Murty has been similar in terms of length of service. And you just need to look at the testimonial attendances to see how much he was appreciated: Murty got about 7,000 I think, Parky got over 20,000.

His syle of play was suited to the English lower leagues at the time. Battling, get stuck in attitude, ran his nuts off. All that is sadly lacking in football today (well, top divisions anyway). If his style and approach to the game has rubbed off on Bradford then again he is more suited as a manager to the lower leagues where this style of play can still achieve results (and against the big clubs as evidenced in the cup games - but these are one off games and wouldn't be sustainable week in, week out in the higher divisions).

Never met him but nice to hear what sort of bloke he was off the pitch as well. Same as Dylan Kerr.

Anyway "Parky's gunna get ya, Parky's gunna get ya!"

[TBM]

Parky always used to ruffle my hair, when he went back into the tunnel at Elm Park - i used to sit with my old man at the back in line with the tunnel so always went and stood down there before the games so was a "familiar face" - along with Craig Maskell he was my favourite player during the Elm Park days.

Hands up if you also went to his testimonial at the MadStad?

[Royalcop]

Hands up if you also went to his testimonial at the MadStad?

Yep, my main memory being Rougier doing multiple step-overs against a 'bamboozled' Gazza who then went running down the touchline in the opposite direction.

Favourite memory of Parky (other than the assist for Curo's Brentford equaliser) is him completely bossing a Man U side containing Giggs, Keane, Butt and Cantona for the first 45 minutes of our 3rd round game in 96 and coming very close to scoring too.

[BR2]

Agree with most of what has been posted already and particularly with the poster who said that the legend status is in a great part due to his length of time with us.
I did post elsewhere under the BFTG thread that this current side badly needs a Parky, Gooding or a Hurlock.
Bearing in mind that RFC has spent most of it's time in the lower divisiions Parky could be described as one of our greats even if he might have struggled at the top level where I do believe that another of our greats, Mick Gooding,would have succeeded.
Very pleased for how he has got his managerial career back on track and if we are to go out of the FA Cup at the next stage it couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.

[Forbury Lion]

I did post elsewhere under the BFTG thread that this current side badly needs a Parky, Gooding or a Hurlock.

Alex Pearce fits the bill, however we're playing in a higher division / division with better players than the Parky days so he'll struggle to get the same recognition.

[RoyallyFcuked]

I'm also a fairly young fan so can't really remember him. My first RFC game was in March 2001 and Parky retired in 2002, however after looking up the games I went to, I actually saw him play 3 times. I can only remember a couple of odd little bits of those games and can't remember actually seeing him, but at least I can say I saw him play

He spent over 10 years with the club and captained the side that took us to possibly the most important promotion in our history (back to the 2nd tier in 2002) and was member of the side that missed out on the Premier League in 1995.

This, and what others have said and told me about him, is enough to be a club legend in my book.

[SCIAG]

BF Parky was an absolute leg-end. He was at the club for years which is very rare for any player/club these days. Only Murty has been similar in terms of length of service. And you just need to look at the testimonial attendances to see how much he was appreciated: Murty got about 7,000 I think, Parky got over 20,000.

Murty's testimonial offered fans the chance to see several players who had only just left the club, plus Scott Howie, John Polston, Sammy Igoe, Graham Stack, and Barry Hunter.

Contrastingly, Parky managed to recruit Gazza, Stuart Pearce and John Barnes, as well as Trevor Senior, Martin Hicks and Stuart Beavon.

To sum him up, he was never the best player, but for a long time he was probably the first name on the team sheet.

Nice and succinct. +1 to all those comments on what a nice bloke he was off the pitch too.

Can't really think of an player since he left twelve years ago that's merited such iconic status. Little or Kebe possibly?

How can you mention Little and Kebe in the same breath as Parkinson!?

The only player that comes close is Murty and apparently he was a right cnut off the pitch.

I met Murts a few times and he seemed to be a perfectly nice chap. So many of his ex-colleagues showed up to his testimonial, and aside from Kitson, only Sonko snubbed him from the 106 side (Convey also didn't show, but he was playing for San Jose Earthquakes at the time), which I don't think would happen if he was as widely detested as Kitson claimed.

[melonhead]

he was 67 % good

and 33 % bad

[TBM]

He was also like a crab

All he ever did was go sideways, the whole game

[floyd__streete]

^ Oliver Norwood is a sideways player and he doesn't even offer the benefit to the team of being strong in the tackle.

[floyd__streete]

....and tbh I have been wondering with each passing game whether we should have approached Bradford to secure Parky's services rather than plumped for Steve Clarke

[Dr_Hfuhruhurr]

How can you mention Little and Kebe in the same breath as Parkinson!?

The only player that comes close is Murty and apparently he was a right cnut off the pitch.

Glen Little would be in my top 3, but Id baulk at calling him a 'legend'. He was, quite frankly, the most likeable player we've ever fielded. Id call him cult, rather than legend, especially as he seems more popular now, than he ever was when he was actually playing for us. I remember him on "Generic Sky Football Show #8" and he was a right laugh; a mile away from Murty's painful autocue reading sessions on MOTD2. Never shared any love for Murty - I think he's a legend merely in the eyes of those too young to remember anybody better. Kebe - whatever. I think he's more a running joke on here, rather than a legend, and it doesn't take much to become a running joke on here. For every game I've seen him play well, I've seen him next game completely disinterested - an accusation i would never throw at Parkinson or Little. Parky played under Burns - LOL at Kebe doing that - he'd disappear with a mystery injury whilst his agent worked out a move elsewhere. Legend. LOL.

The other thing about Glen Little is that we share our love for him with Burnley, just as we share Robin Friday with Cardiff - Parkinson is all ours. And, yes, just to reiterate - we had a testimonial for him and people came to it.

(PS. The other player in my Top 3 would be Forster)