Stephen John Parkin (born 7 November 1965) is an English football manager and former player who played as a defender. As of 2021, he serves as the assistant manager at Wrexham. He played for Mansfield Town, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion and has been manager of Barnsley, Mansfield Town and Rochdale (two spells).[1][2]

Steve Parkin
Personal information
Full name Stephen John Parkin[1]
Date of birth (1965-11-07) 7 November 1965 (age 59)[1]
Place of birth Mansfield, England[1]
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
Wrexham (assistant manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1989 Stoke City 113 (5)
1989–1992 West Bromwich Albion 48 (2)
1992–1999 Mansfield Town 77 (3)
Total 238 (10)
International career
1983 England U17 4 (0)
1984 England Youth 2 (0)
1987–1988 England U21 2 (0)
Managerial career
1996–1999 Mansfield Town
1999–2001 Rochdale
2001–2002 Barnsley
2003–2006 Rochdale
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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Parkin was born in Mansfield and began his career with Stoke City, captaining the youth team to the final of the FA Youth Cup in 1984 where they lost out to Everton.[1] He made his senior debut against Nottingham Forest in 1982–83 and was part of the defence which kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 victory.[1] He played 16 games in 1984–85 in which was an awful season for Stoke as they suffered an embarrassing relegation, going down with a then record low points tally of 17. Parkin played 18 games in 1985–86 under new manager Mick Mills and fully established himself in the side in 1986–87 making 46 appearances as Stoke missed out on the play-offs by six points.[1]

He played in 50 matches in 1987–88 before a groin injury restricted him to only four appearances in 1988–89.[1] Parkin then moved on to West Bromwich Albion where he spent three seasons making 54 appearances scoring twice. He joined his home-town club Mansfield Town in July 1992 and was a player at Field Mill for four seasons making 96 appearances scoring four goals before retiring to become manager of the club.[1]

Managerial career

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Mansfield Town

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Parkin started his managerial career at Mansfield Town at the start of the 1996–97 season after Andy King was sacked. Parkin, only 30 at the time, and club captain, took over as a caretaker manager, but went to last three seasons with the Stags, missing out closely on the play-offs in two of his three seasons. Parkin left Mansfield after his position became untenable due to a transfer embargo on the Nottinghamshire club, and joined Rochdale in the summer before the 1999–2000 season.

Rochdale

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Parkin's first spell at Rochdale was a great success, and he lifted the Lancashire club from the depths of the league to an 8th-place finish in his first season. The team's success paved the way for big money signings like Paul Connor and Clive Platt.

Barnsley

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On 9 November 2001 Parkin left Spotland and joined Barnsley. Parkin's spell at Barnsley was not a productive or a successful one. Barnsley were in the relegation place at the time of his take over in Division One and with a small transfer budget, Parkin could not improve their position and Barnsley were relegated in April 2002. With debt-ridden Barnsley struggling to stave off a second successive relegation, on 15 October 2002, the club went into administration and Parkin along with his assistant Tony Ford both lost their jobs.[3]

Parkin did not find a managerial position for 14 months after his departure from Barnsley, although he expressed an interest in taking over at Colchester United.[4] He became assistant manager at Notts County shortly after his sacking.[5]

Return to Rochdale

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In December 2003, Parkin went back to his former job at Rochdale, where Ford had already been re-employed as assistant-manager to Parkin's predecessor Alan Buckley.[6] His first duty was to save Rochdale from relegation that season, which he did with a few games to spare, adding talent such as Grant Holt to the ranks, although Rochdale's final position was lower than when he took over. His second season saw Dale nearly reach the play-offs, but stumble late in the season. In the 2005–06 season, Parkin guided the club to what many saw as a backward step, only narrowly avoiding relegation.

Both Parkin and Dale were under an increasingly significant amount of pressure following a poor start to the 2006–07 season, which saw Rochdale gain only six points from eight matches. During the course of the season Dale lost arguably one of their best players of recent years, Rickie Lambert, an attacking midfielder/striker who was sold to Bristol Rovers for £200,000 on transfer deadline day in August 2006. Parkin's position became untenable and he was sacked shortly before Christmas.[7]

Coaching career

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In January 2007 he was installed as the first-team coach for Championship side Hull City, working alongside Phil Brown and Brian Horton. On 15 March 2010 he took over as joint caretaker manager with Brian Horton after Phil Brown was put on gardening leave.[8] In June 2010 Nigel Pearson was appointed at the full-time successor to Phil Brown, and opted to bring his own backroom staff with him from his previous position at Leicester City, bringing to an end Parkin's association with the club.[9]

On 6 October 2010, it was announced that Parkin would be swapping the north for the south bank of the Humber, joining newly appointed manager Ian Baraclough at Scunthorpe United.[10][11] Parkin joined Bradford City as assistant manager to Phil Parkinson on 22 September 2011.[12]

On 10 June 2016, he linked up with Parkinson once again as the Assistant Manager of Bolton Wanderers, signing a two-year contract at the Macron Stadium.[13] On 2 November 2019 Parkin once again followed Parkinson, and became Sunderland's Assistant Manager.[14] But on 28 November 2020, Sunderland “parted ways” with their then manager Phil Parkinson, as Parkin also departed. [15] On 1 July 2021, Parkin again followed Parkinson to National League side Wrexham.[16]

Career statistics

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As a player

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Source:[17]

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stoke City 1982–83 First Division 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
1983–84 First Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
1984–85 First Division 13 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 16 1
1985–86 Second Division 12 1 0 0 3 0 3 0 18 1
1986–87 Second Division 38 0 5 0 2 0 1 0 46 0
1987–88 Second Division 43 3 2 0 3 0 2 0 50 3
1988–89 Second Division 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Total 113 5 9 0 9 0 6 0 137 5
West Bromwich Albion 1989–90 Second Division 14 1 0 0 3 0 1 0 18 1
1990–91 Second Division 25 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 26 1
1991–92 Third Division 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 10 0
Total 48 2 0 0 3 0 3 0 54 2
Mansfield Town 1992–93 Second Division 16 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 19 0
1993–94 Third Division 23 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 27 1
1994–95 Third Division 22 1 2 0 2 0 2 0 28 1
1995–96 Third Division 26 1 2 1 2 0 1 0 31 2
Total 77 3 6 1 6 0 7 0 96 4
Career Total 238 10 15 1 18 0 13 0 284 11
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy, Football League play-offs and Full Members Cup.

As a manager

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Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Mansfield Town 1 October 1996 2 June 1999 143 54 41 48 037.76
Rochdale 16 June 1999 9 November 2001 127 51 39 37 040.16
Barnsley 9 November 2001 15 October 2002 44 12 14 18 027.27
Rochdale 31 December 2003 16 December 2006 152 44 51 57 028.95
Total 466 161 145 160 034.55

Honours

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Stoke City

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lowe, Simon (2000). Stoke City The Modern Era – A Complete Record. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-39-2.
  2. ^ Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  3. ^ "Barnsley sack Parkin". BBC Sport. 15 October 2002. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  4. ^ "Parkin eyes Colchester job". BBC News. 31 January 2003.
  5. ^ "Parkin departs for Rochdale". nottscounty-mad.co.uk. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Parkin gets Rochdale job". BBC Sport. 31 December 2003. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  7. ^ "Rochdale boss Parkin leaves club". BBC Sport. 17 December 2006. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  8. ^ "Hull City relieve manager Phil Brown of his duties". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
  9. ^ "Hull City name Nigel Pearson as new manager". BBC Sport. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  10. ^ "Parkin is a great addition – Baraclough". London: Telegraph.co.uk. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  11. ^ "Parkin joins as first-team coach". Iron-Bru.net. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  12. ^ "Bradford City appoint Steve Parkin as assistant manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  13. ^ "Phil Parkinson appointed Bolton Wanderers manager". Bolton Wanderers FC. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  14. ^ "Club Statement: Lee Butler".
  15. ^ "Parkinson leaves Sunderland AFC". 29 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Phil Parkinson takes charge at Wrexham AFC". www.wrexhamafc.co.uk. 1 July 2021.
  17. ^ Steve Parkin at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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Association 1
games 3
games 3
HOME 2
Intern 1
languages 1
mac 1
Note 1
os 12