Stuart Parker (born 16 February 1954 in Preston) 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 a current English non-league football manager. He is currently chairman of

A.F.C. Blackpool A.F.C. Blackpool is a football club based in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. The club currently play in the . Based at Jepson Way, they are nicknamed ''The Mechanics'' or ''The Mechs'', and are full members of the Lancashire County Football ...

Playing career

Parker began his career with

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

in 1972, making his debut under Bob Stokoe as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

at Bloomfield Road on 16 September. He made two more appearances, both starts, during the remainder of the 1972–73 season. He sat out the entirety of the domestic season of 1973–74, but appeared for the club in the "Caligaris" International (under-21) Tournament in northern Italy during the summer. He scored two goals in the final, against Napoli, as Blackpool became the first English club to win the tournament. Parker made thirteen league appearances (eight starts, five substitute) in 1974–75. He scored his first goal for the club on 24 September, in a 4–0 home victory over

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 ...

. He scored his only other goal for ''the Tangerines'' in the very next game, four days later, a 3–1 win at Bristol Rovers. His final appearance for the club occurred in a 4–0 defeat at

Manchester United 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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

in the final game of the season, on 26 April. Parker signed for

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...

in January 1984 and on his debut won the only trophy in his career.

Managing career

Parker started his managerial career as Assistant Manager at the top Blackpool Sunday league side Mammas FC who won back to back Lancashire Sunday Trophy titles in the mid nineties before he became manager of Blackpool Mechanics in 2000. In 2005 he was appointed manager of

Squires Gate Squires Gate is a district and an Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in South Shore, Blackpool, South Shore, Blackpool on the The Fylde, Fylde coast in the county of Lancashire, England. It is located at the south ...

, leaving the following year. He returned to Blackpool Mechanics as manager in 2007, with the club being renamed AFC Blackpool the following year. He remained manager until the end of the 2016–17, when he became club chairman.All change at the top for AFC Blackpool
Blackpool Gazette, 14 May 2017

Honours

As a player

** League of Ireland Cup – 1983/84

As a manager

North West Counties Football League First Division The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern S ...

Champions –

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

References

External links

Topscorers Eredivisie, PTT-Telecompetitie, KPN Telecompetitie, KPN Eredivisie, Holland Casino Eredivisie 1956–2003

Profile on Sparta fanzine "In the Winning Mood"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Stuart Living people English men's footballers 1954 births English Football League players National League (English football) players League of Ireland players Eredivisie players Footballers from Preston, Lancashire Men's association football forwards English expatriate men's footballers Blackpool F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Sparta Rotterdam players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players K.V. Mechelen players Bury F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Drogheda United F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Witton Albion F.C. players Runcorn F.C. Halton players Barrow A.F.C. players South Liverpool F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players A.F.C. Blackpool managers Squires Gate F.C. managers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands English expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland English expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong English football managers