Stuart Parker (born 16 February 1954) 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 lea ...

and a current English non-league

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

. He is currently chairman of A.F.C. Blackpool.

Playing career

Parker began his career with

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

in 1972, making his debut under

Bob Stokoe Robert Stokoe (21 September 1930 – 1 February 2004) was an English footballer and manager who was able, almost uniquely, to transcend the traditional north-east animosity between the region's footballing rivals, Newcastle United and Sunderlan ...

as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with

Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...

on 16 September. He made two more appearances, both starts, during the remainder of the

1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

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 Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

, 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 () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

. He scored his only other goal for ''the Tangerines'' in the very next game, four days later, a 3–1 win at

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

. His final appearance for the club occurred in a 4–0 defeat at

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

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

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club is a professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches at Sullivan & Lambe Park. The current club is the ...

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, 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 The League of Ireland Cup, also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', was an annual knockout competition in men's football in Ireland. It was contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited clubs from the lower levels of the Irish footb ...

– 1983/84

As a manager

* A.F.C. Blackpool ** North West Counties Football League First Division Champions –

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

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