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Phil Parkinson
Philip John Parkinson (born 1 December 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently manager of National League side Wrexham. Parkinson is the only manager to take an English fourth-tier league club to the final of a major cup competition at Wembley Stadium, leading Bradford City of League Two to the 2013 League Cup final. Playing career Early playing career Parkinson, a former Southampton trainee, made his Football League debut in 1988 with Bury, and later joined Reading for £50,000 in July 1992. Reading Parkinson was named player of the season two years in a row ( 1997–98 and 1998–99) and was also a key member of the 1993–94 Football League Second Division championship-winning team. He captained the team to promotion from the Second Division in 2001–02 and soon after promotion success, Parkinson celebrated his testimonial year with a memorable night at Madejski Stadium, where 20,000 fans watched fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
EFL League Two Play-offs
The EFL League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from fourth to seventh in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are part of the annual English Football League play-offs. , the play-offs comprise two semi-finals, where the team finishing fourth plays the team finishing seventh, and the team finishing fifth plays the team finishing sixth, each conducted as a two-legged tie. The winners of the semi-finals progress to the final which is contested at Wembley Stadium. For the first three years, the play-off final took place over two legs, played at both side's grounds. Aldershot won the first League One play-off final in 1987, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 on aggregate. From 1990, the play-off final was a one-off match, hosted at the original Wembley Stadium, while from 2001 to 2006, the final was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as Wembley was being rebuilt. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
EFL League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football League (EFL) and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system. Football League Two was introduced for the 2004–05 season. It was previously known as the Football League Third Division. Before the advent of the Premier League in 1992, the fourth-highest division was known as the Football League Fourth Division. As of the 2022–23 season, Mansfield Town and Newport County hold the longest tenure in League Two, having promoted to the division in the 2012–13 season. There are currently two former Premier League clubs competing in League 2: Bradford City (1999-2001), and Swindon Town (1993-94). Structure There are 24 clubs in League Two. Each club plays each of the other clubs twice (once at home and once away ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Gascoigne
Paul John Gascoigne (, born 27 May 1967), nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is described by the National Football Museum as "widely recognised as the most naturally talented English footballer of his generation". Born and raised in Gateshead, Gascoigne signed schoolboy terms with Newcastle United, before turning professional with the club in 1984. Three years later, he was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for £2.2 million. He won the FA Cup with Spurs in 1991, before being sold to Italian club Lazio for £5.5 million. In 1995, he was transferred to Rangers for £4.3 million and helped the club to two league titles, a Scottish Cup and a Scottish League Cup. He returned to England in a £3.4 million move to Middlesbrough in 1998. He made his debut in the Premier League in the 1998–99 season, having already featured in the 1998 Football League Cup Final. He switched to Everton in 2000, and later had spells with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeff Hopkins
Jeffrey Hopkins (born 14 April 1964) is a former Welsh international football defender and current Melbourne Victory Women head coach, who most notably played club football for Fulham and Reading in the Football League. Club career Hopkins started his career as a trainee with Fulham, going on to make over 200 first team appearances for the club. This was followed by a four-year spell at Crystal Palace, including a loan to Plymouth Argyle in 1991–92. He spent a few months at Bristol Rovers in 1992, before spending the remaining five years of his Football League career with Reading. While at Reading, he was part of the team that narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League in the 1994–95 season, losing 4–3 after extra time in the playoff final against Bolton Wanderers. After a move to Malaysian football with Selangor where he was made captain, Hopkins moved to Australia in October 1999 as a player-coach with Gippsland Falcons in the National Soccer Leag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Gilkes (footballer)
Michael Earl Glenis McDonald Gilkes (born 20 July 1965) is an English professional football coach and former player who was recently interim manager of Championship club Reading, where he is also the manager of the club's academy. Gilkes played as a left winger from 1984 until 2003, most notably for Reading, and was also a Barbados international. Playing career Gilkes played more than 550 times as a professional and made his name with the Reading side that nearly won promotion to the Premier League in the early 1990s. A fast, tricky winger, he made over 400 appearances in all competitions for the Berkshire club as they went from the old Fourth Division to the very edge of the top flight. They finished second in the new Division One in 1995 (only missing out on automatic promotion due to the streamlining of the FA Premier League from 22 clubs to 20) and reached the playoff final, surrendering a 2–0 lead held until the 75th minute before losing 4–3 in extra time to Bolton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaka Hislop
Neil Shaka Hislop CM (born 22 February 1969) is a retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in England, he played for them at under-21 level before representing Trinidad and Tobago at senior international level. The majority of his career was spent in the top division in England where he was a part of the Newcastle United team which finished second in the Premier League for two successive seasons under Kevin Keegan's first tenure. Before this, he played for Reading where he was on the losing side in the 1st Division play-offs despite finishing second overall (the only occasion on which second place was not an automatic promotion position). He later played for West Ham United on two occasions (receiving an FA Cup Runner-up medal during his second term in 2006) and also for Portsmouth (where he won the 1st Division in 2002/03). Hislop was eligible to play for both England and Trinidad and Tobago. He initially played for the England U-21 team and was on the bench fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madejski Stadium
The Madejski Stadium (currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Reading. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in the EFL Championship. It also provides the finish for the Reading Half Marathon. It is an all-seater bowl stadium with a capacity of 24,161 and is located close to the M4 motorway. The West Stand contains the voco Reading Hotel, formerly known as the Millennium Madejski Hotel. The stadium was opened on 22 August 1998 and replaced Elm Park as Reading's home ground. History In January 1990, the Taylor Report made all-seater stadiums compulsory in the top two divisions of English football for the 1994-95 season. Having played in the second tier of the English league several times before, Reading were champions of Division Two in 1994, and were promoted to Division One. Reading became subject to the Taylor requirements. Converting Elm Park to an all-seater stadium was not practical, so a location in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Testimonial Match
A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for service to the club. These matches are always non-competitive. History The practice started at a time when player compensation, even those at top professional clubs, was at a level that made it difficult to maintain it as a primary form of employment therefore retirement savings might not exist. These matches are generally well-attended and the gesture by the club can give the honoree income that enables a retirement income base or enable the honoree an opportunity to establish themselves in other employment when they finished playing. This is still the main objective of testimonials in Australia, Ireland and some other countries. Clubs typically grant testimonials to players upon reaching ten years of service with a club, although in recent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2001–02 In English Football
The 2001–02 season was the 122nd season of competitive football in England. Events Arsenal cruise to title glory In what had earlier been one of the most closely fought Premiership title races for years, Arsenal won the championship by a seven-point margin. Their crown was won in the penultimate game of the season when they beat defending champions Manchester United 1–0 at Old Trafford. Four days earlier, they had also won the FA Cup with a 2–0 victory over Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Their top scorer, Thierry Henry, was on target 24 times in the league alone. One downside to the season was Arsenal's failure to progress to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Sir Alex puts off his retirement Sir Alex Ferguson announced in February that he would be postponing his retirement as Manchester United manager by at least three more seasons after he signed a new contract as manager. The news came just after United completed an impressive revival in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Football League Second Division
The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier became known as the Football League Second Division. After the rebranding of the Football League in 2003–04, it became known as Football League One. Early history In 1888, Scotsman William McGregor a director of Aston Villa, was the main force between meetings held in London and Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ... involving 12 football clubs, with an eye to a league competition. These 12 clubs would later become the Football League's 12 founder members. The meetings were held in London on 22 March 1888. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1993–94 In English Football
The 1993–94 season was the 114th season of competitive football in England. Overview From the start of this season, the Premier League would be sponsored by Carling, an association which would last for eight years. The Premier League was without a sponsor for the previous season. Events * Manchester United broke the English transfer record before the start of the season by paying relegated Nottingham Forest £3.75million for promising young midfielder Roy Keane. The 22-year-old Irishman was signed by Alex Ferguson as a long-term replacement for Bryan Robson, who at 36 was in the twilight of his illustrious Old Trafford career. * Graham Taylor resigned as England manager after their failure to qualify for the World Cup. He was succeeded by Terry Venables. * Sir Matt Busby died on 20 January at the age of 84. He had been associated with Manchester United since being appointed manager at the end of the Second World War, and remained at the club as a director after calling ti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1998–99 In English Football
The 1998–99 season was the 119th season of competitive football in England. Overview Premier League Manchester United overcame close competition from Arsenal and Chelsea to win their fifth Premiership title in seven seasons. They went on to win the treble of the Premiership title, FA Cup and European Cup, an achievement which gained manager Alex Ferguson a knighthood. Nottingham Forest went down to Division One just one season after winning promotion. They had started the season terribly after manager Dave Bassett was sacked and Dutch striker Pierre van Hooijdonk refused to play after a dispute with the club. Experienced Ron Atkinson was brought in on a temporary contract but could not stave off relegation. Joining Forest in the Premiership drop zone were Blackburn Rovers, who had been Premiership champions just four years earlier, and Charlton Athletic. Southampton avoided relegation on the last day of the season, and their survival also signalled the go-ahead for a new st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
