Andrew John Parkinson (born 27 May 1979) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

and youth team manager of

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

. As a player he was a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

and winger from 1997 to 2015. He played for

where he featured in the

2000 Football League Cup Final The 2000 Football League Cup Final was played between Leicester City, in their third final appearance in four years, and First Division side Tranmere Rovers at Wembley Stadium on 27 February 2000. It was the 34th and last League Cup Final to be p ...

, he went on to play for

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

and

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history ...

before finishing his carree in the

Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 20 ...

with spells at

Aberystwyth Town Aberystwyth Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-Droed Tref Aberystwyth) is a Welsh semi-professional Association football, football team, currently playing in the Cymru Premier, the top tier of football in Wales. They are the only top flight men ...

and

Prestatyn Town Prestatyn Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Prestatyn) is a Wales, Welsh association football, football club based in Prestatyn, Denbighshire who play in the Cymru North. History Early years Records show that football has been play ...

Playing career

Tranmere Rovers

A pacy winger, Parkinson began as a

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

trainee, winning the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

in 1996, but was released shortly after. He signed for

who were managed by former Liverpool striker

John Aldridge John William Aldridge (born 18 September 1958) is a former football player and manager. He was a prolific, record-breaking striker best known for his time with English club Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in M ...

. He was handed his professional debut on 22 October 1997 when he came on as an 81st-minute substitute for John Morrisey in a 2–1 defeat against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

. Parkinson settled into Rovers first team squad with the club plying their trade in the second tier of English football. During 2000 and 2001 he featured in two cup runs, which eventually saw him play a part in the

, where Tranmere lost out to

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

in the final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. He memorably scored twice, including a last minute winner in extra time, to help Tranmere knock

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

out of the

2000–01 Football League Cup The 2000–01 Football League Cup (known as the Worthington Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 41st staging of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs. The competition began on 22 August 2000, and en ...

. He played his final game for the club on 22 March 2003 against

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

before departing

Prenton Park Prenton Park is a large outdoor seated association football stadium in Birkenhead, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers, as well as Liverpool's women and reserves teams. The ground has had several rebuilds, with the most recent o ...

at the end of the 2002–2003 season.

Sheffield United

Parkinson moved to

Neil Warnock Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English former football manager and player. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed sixteen different clubs from the Premier League to ...

in July 2003, making his debut on 9 August 2003 in a 0–0 draw with Gillingham. He struggled to hold down a first team place at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

and was made available for loan. He was then signed by

for two separate loan spells before having his contract terminated by mutual consent at United in May 2004.

Grimsby Town

In July 2004 he became one of

Russell Slade Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English professional association football, football manager, who was most recently managerial consultant of League Two club Stevenage F.C., Stevenage. Having had an extended career at reserve t ...

's first signings as

manager, where he played his first season for The Mariners mainly in attack where he partnered

Michael Reddy Michael Reddy (born 24 March 1980, in Kilkenny) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a forward from 1997 to 2007. He notably played for Sunderland and Grimsby Town. He also appeared as a professional for Kilkenny City ...

. His 9 league goals during the 2004–2005 season were enough for him to make him the club's top scorer. During the 2005–2006 campaign Slade preferred to push Parkinson out to a wide left position on the wing, whilst Reddy was partnered by Gary Jones in attack. He was involved in the club's

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

run where they saw off

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

before beating

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

1–0 where Parkinson's corner was hit in on the half volley by

Jean-Paul Kalala Jean-Paul Kamudimba Kalala (born 16 February 1982), also known as JP Kalala, is a Congolese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder from 1999 to 2012. He started his career in France playing for Nice before moving to Grimsby T ...

. Town were eventually beaten in the third round by

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

, and by the end of the season they had found themselves in a Play-off spot, but lost out in the

Football 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 Lea ...

final to

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

Notts County

Parkinson rejected a fresh contract with Grimsby in the summer of 2006 and opted to return to

where he had previously spent two loan spells during the 2003–2004 season. Parkinson remained at

Meadow Lane Meadow Lane Stadium is a football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 2014 until 2017. It currently h ...

for two seasons, and he was eventually released when his two-year contract expired.

Cambridge United

Parkinson signed for Cambridge United on 2 July 2008 on a free transfer after being released by Notts County at the end of the 2007–08 season and quickly established himself as a fan favourite. In a pre-season fixture against Everton he scored two goals, one of which was a lob over the goalkeeper from the edge of the area on the turn. However, he injured his anterior cruciate ligament in training in the days following his first appearance for Cambridge and was ruled out for the rest of the 2008–09 season. However, he made an exceptional recovery and returned to the first team squad in March 2009 as a substitute in Cambridge's 2–0 home win against Burton Albion. He later paid tribute to the work and skill of Greg Reid, the Cambridge United physio, for the speed and quality of his recovery. Parkinson was part of the Cambridge squad that suffered defeat to Torquay United in the 2009 Conference Premier Play Off Final at Wembley.He had his contract with Cambridge United terminated by mutual consent on 1 February 2010. Parkinson signed for

on 16 February 2010, making his debut the same day against Barrow. Parkinson was released by Gateshead at the end of the 2009–10 season.

Accrington Stanley

He joined

for the 2010/11 season. On 23 May 2011 it was announced that he would be released at the end of June 2011 when his current contract expired.

Aberystwyth Town

In August 2011 after a trial with Barrow AFC, he moved to

Prestatyn Town

In July 2012 he joined

. Where he struck up a great goal scoring partnership with Jason Price as Prestatyn found themselves near the top of the table. At the end of his first season with the north Wales club he helped them lift the Welsh cup for the first time in their history, scoring a free kick in a 3–1 win after extra time against 8-time winners Bangor City.Parkinson made his European debut in July 2013 as Prestatyn defeated Latvians Lepajas Metalurgs in the Europa League 1st qualifying round.

Coaching career

Parkinson was appointed Youth Team manager of

in late 2015. In 2020, Parkinson had a spell as joint caretaker manager of Tranmere until the appointment of Keith Hill.

Honours

;Prestatyn Town

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

Winner: 2012 ; Cambridge United *

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...

Play-off runner up: 2008–09 ;Grimsby Town *

Play-off runner up: 2005–06 ;Liverpool *

Winner: 1996 ;Tranmere Rovers *

Runner-up: 2000

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parkinson, Andy 1979 births Living people English footballers Association football midfielders English Football League players National League (English football) players Liverpool F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Footballers from Liverpool Aberystwyth Town F.C. players Cymru Premier players Prestatyn Town F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. non-playing staff Tranmere Rovers F.C. managers