John Stuart Parsons (born 10 December 1950) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

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 ...

Career

Parsons was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, and began his career at his hometown club

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

, turning professional in 1968. However, he had to wait until February 1971 to make his debut for the club when he scored twice in consecutive substitute appearances against

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

and was handed his first start soon after. Despite being a prolific scorer in the reserve team, Parsons never managed to hold down a regular place in the first team due to the wealth of striking talent in the likes of Brian Clark,

John Toshack John Benjamin Toshack (born 22 March 1949) is a Welsh former professional football player and manager. He began his playing career as a teenager with his hometown club Cardiff City, becoming the youngest player to make an appearance for th ...

and Alan Warboys and, in February 1973, left to join

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

. His time at Bournemouth was severely hampered by injuries and he had made just 8 league appearances when he returned to Wales to sign for Newport County in March 1975. His spell at Newport was his most successful spell in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, spending two seasons as a regular in the side before moving into non-league football.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, John 1950 births Living people Footballers from Cardiff Welsh men's footballers Cardiff City F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Newport County A.F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football forwards