Paul Parry

Last updated

Paul Parry
Parry, Paul.jpg
Personal information
Full name Paul Ian Parry
Date of birth (1980-08-19) 19 August 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth Chepstow, Wales
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
Chepstow Town
Youth career
1995–1997 Bristol City
1997–1998 Hereford United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1998–2004 Hereford United 150 (29)
2004–2009 Cardiff City 192 (24)
2009–2012 Preston North End 80 (6)
2012–2014 Shrewsbury Town 70 (11)
Total492(70)
International career
2004–2008 Wales 12 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paul Ian Parry (born 19 August 1980) is a Welsh former footballer who is currently the assistant manager alongside Marc Ingles in the Ardal South East side Chepstow Town. He is a former Wales international, and played for Hereford United, Cardiff City, Preston North End and Shrewsbury Town during a 16-year professional career.

Contents

Personal life

Parry was born in Chepstow. As a youngster he attended Chepstow Comprehensive School.

Parry suffers from a severe fear of flying (aviophobia) which, like other footballers such as Dennis Bergkamp, has caused problems during his career due to his inability to sometimes travel with the Wales team to far-away countries. He manages to overcome by taking tablets. It has also caused problems in his club career when his teams have travelled to opposite ends of Great Britain. He has often managed to get around the problem by travelling the long distances by car. [1]

He currently runs a property management company called Parry Property LTD, with his wife, Samantha. [2]

Club career

Hereford United

Parry started his career at Bristol City where he spent two years as a schoolboy, before joining Hereford United as a YTS trainee. [3] He made his league debut for Hereford on 7 November 1998, coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 defeat away to Leek Town. His profile was raised after an excellent FA Cup performance against Leicester City in the 1999/00 season. In this match, Parry so nearly scored the winning goal when he dribbled half the length of the pitch and hit the post when one-on-one with goalkeeper Tim Flowers. [4]

He was Hereford's leading goalscorer in the 2002–03 season. On 19 December 2003, under the watchful eye of Cardiff City manager Lennie Lawrence, Parry scored a hat-trick for Hereford in a 7–1 rout over Forest Green. Soon after, Cardiff signed him for an initial fee of £75,000, [5] which would increase depending on appearances. Parry's final appearance for Hereford saw him score the winning goal in added time against Stevenage Borough. [6]

Cardiff City

He quickly became a firm favourite with the Bluebirds fans under manager Lennie Lawrence. During this time Parry came close to leaving after the club revealed that it had large financial problems. [7] He was linked with a move to Yeovil Town, [8] who had tracked Parry from his days at Hereford United, [9] but he eventually managed to avoid the cull of players, which included club captain Graham Kavanagh and star players Jobi McAnuff and Peter Thorne. He had continued to improve under new manager Dave Jones where, at the time of Parry's departure, was the longest serving first team player at the club and was a huge favourite with the Bluebirds fans.

2007–08

Parry began the 2007/08 season in fine form, forcing summer signing Trevor Sinclair out of the team with his impressive displays. His continuing good form also found him finding the net more often for Cardiff with goals against Queens Park Rangers, Burnley, Ipswich Town and Sheffield United leaving him as the Bluebirds joint top scorer by late December. His good form in the season and Cardiff's financial trouble saw several other Championship sides enquire about him, Norwich City even having a £750,000 offer rejected, but Parry stated that he did not wish to leave Cardiff. [10] January saw Parry return to the club he started his playing career at, Hereford United, when the two sides met in the fourth round of the FA Cup, with Cardiff winning 2–1.

Towards the end of the season, with a lack of strikers at the club, Parry was used primarily as a striker, playing alongside either Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Steve Thompson, and he would go on to finish the season as the club's joint top scorer, along with Joe Ledley, with 11 goals in all competitions. In April he suffered a hamstring injury during a 0–0 draw against West Bromwich Albion and he was forced to miss the remaining league games of the season as well as the FA Cup semi-final win over Barnsley. The injury meant he was forced into a long wait over his chances of appearing in the final, [11] but he did eventually manage to return in time and played all 90 minutes in a 1–0 defeat to Portsmouth.

2008–09

After stating his intent to be a regular as a forward for the club, [12] Parry opened his goalscoring account early in the 2008–09 season, scoring both goals in a 2–1 win over AFC Bournemouth in the first round of the League Cup, the team's second game of the season on 12 August. [13] However Parry soon reverted to playing as a winger due to the partnership of Ross McCormack and Jay Bothroyd and was forced to wait until 4 October before scoring his first league goal of the season in a 1–1 draw with Blackpool. [14] In February 2009, Parry made his 200th appearance in all competitions for Cardiff when he played in a 4–0 defeat to Arsenal in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Preston North End

On 3 August 2009, Parry joined Championship rivals Preston North End for a fee of around £300,000. [15] [16] He made his debut against Bristol City in a 2–2 draw at Deepdale and scored his first goal for the Lilywhites in his fourth appearance during a 3–0 victory over Barnsley on 18 August. After being a reserve for most of the 2010/11 season, Parry regained his first team place, at the start of the new campaign in League 1, in PNE team at left-back putting in some brilliant performances.

Shrewsbury Town

On 9 July 2012, Parry signed for League One club Shrewsbury Town having turned down a new offer from Preston North End. He made his debut for the club in the League Cup, in a 4–0 defeat against Yorkshire side Leeds United at Elland Road. Parry scored his first goal for the club on 14 August 2012, in a 1–0 win at home against Preston North End. Parry finished the 2012–2013 season with 6 goals in 34 appearances. Following Shrewsbury's relegation the following season, Parry was released at the end of his contract. [17]

Risca United

In January 2022, he came out of retirement to sign for Cymru South side Risca United. [18]

International career

Parry made his international debut for Wales on 18 February 2004, coming on as a substitute in the 4–0 win over Scotland. It capped a remarkable rise for the midfielder who, at the time, had only made five appearances since joining Cardiff and had been playing Conference football six weeks earlier. [19] He scored his first international goal in the 1–0 win over Canada on 30 May 2004.

In August 2007, Parry was called up to the Wales squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Germany and Slovakia but pulled out of the squad for personal reasons, which were later revealed to be due to going through a stressful divorce and custody battle. [20] His decision was branded "silly" by former Cardiff player Jason Perry. [21] However, on 15 January 2008 Parry stated that he would return to play for Wales if he was called upon by Toshack. [22] Parry returned to international football to win one more cap in a friendly match against Georgia before causing another shock by announcing his retirement from internationals at the age of 28, [23] later stating that he felt like a "spare part" in the Wales team after being overlooked during a 2010 World Cup qualifying match against Azerbaijan. [24] [25]

During his time at Hereford Parry also played for the Wales semi-professional team. [26]

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
130 May 2004 Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, WalesFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1–01–0 Friendly

Honours

Cardiff City
2007–08

Playing style

Parry's main position is as a winger on either the left or right side. However, he can also play as a striker, which he did on several occasions for Cardiff City. He likes to cut inside and have a shot on goal.

At the start of the 2011–12 season, Parry was mainly deployed as a left-back for Preston North End. Parry was initially selected because of a lack of full-backs, but he made the position his own during the course of the season.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrewsbury Town F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Ledley</span> Welsh footballer

Joseph Christopher Ledley is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byron Anthony</span> Welsh footballer

Byron Joseph Anthony is a Welsh former professional footballer who is currently academy manager at Bristol Rovers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Parkin</span> English footballer

Jonathan Parkin is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leo Fortune-West</span> English association football player and manager

Leopold Paul Osborne Fortune-West is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played in the Football League for Gillingham, Leyton Orient, Lincoln City, Rotherham United, Brentford, Cardiff City, Doncaster Rovers, Torquay United and Shrewsbury Town.

Lionel Glenn Robert Ainsworth is an English footballer who plays for Aveley as a right winger. He has previously played for multiple Football League and non-league clubs as well as in the Scottish Premiership. He was capped at youth level by England, featuring for England U19 after joining the Derby senior squad.

Ryan Green is a Welsh footballer who plays as a defender for Hellenic League Premier Division club Westfields. He earned two international caps for Wales in 1998, breaking Ryan Giggs's record as their youngest player, a record which has since been surpassed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Fleetwood</span> Footballer (born 1986)

Stuart Keith Wakley Fleetwood is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is currently head coach at Southern League Premier Division South club Swindon Supermarine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leighton James</span> Welsh footballer (1953–2024)

Leighton James was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a winger. He played almost 400 times for Burnley F.C. in three different spells at the club, being tenth on the club's most appearance list. He was widely regarded as one of Swansea City's finest ever players and his goal for Swansea against Preston North End in the final game of the season in 1981 helped Swansea get promoted to the Football League First Division for the first time in their history. In 1977, he scored a penalty for Wales in a 1-0 win against England, their only victory against England at Wembley. John Toshack described him as "one of the finest wingers that British football has ever produced and we were very very lucky at the fact he was a Welshman".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Morison</span> English association football player and manager

Steven William Morison is a football manager and former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the manager of National League club Sutton United.

Simon Davey is a Welsh former professional footballer and football manager. He is now Head Director of a youth club in America called Southern Soccer Academy. He played for Swansea City, Carlisle United and Preston North End and had a short loan spell with Darlington, making a total of 271 appearances in the Football League. After retiring as a player, he spent eight years as a coach at Preston, before going on to manage Barnsley, Darlington and, until October 2010, Hereford United.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Gerrard</span> Footballer (born 1986)

Anthony Gerrard is a former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He made over 500 professional appearances in a career spent mainly in the English Football League, notably at Walsall where he won the 2006-07 League Two title and at Cardiff City where he was on the losing side as he faced his cousin Steven Gerrard's Liverpool side in the 2012 Football League Cup Final. He began his career at the Everton Academy but failed to break into their senior side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Green (footballer)</span> English footballer

Matthew James Green is an English footballer who most recently played as a striker for National League South club Eastbourne Borough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Ramsey</span> Welsh footballer (born 1990)

Aaron James Ramsey is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Cardiff City and captains the Wales national team. Ramsey mainly plays as a box-to-box midfielder, but has also been deployed on the left and right wings.

Gary Lee Madine is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker.

During the 2007–08 season Cardiff City played in the Football League Championship. It was the team's fifth consecutive season in the second tier since being promoted from the third tier. The season was the first full year in charge for chairman Peter Ridsdale after taking over from Sam Hammam the previous year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 FA Cup final</span> Association football championship match between Cardiff City and Portsmouth, held in 2008

The 2008 FA Cup final was an association football match between Cardiff City and Portsmouth held at Wembley Stadium, London, on 17 May 2008. The final was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the 2007–08 Football Association Challenge Cup, organised by The Football Association. It was the 127th FA Cup Final and the second to be held at the new Wembley Stadium following its redevelopment. Portsmouth won the match by a single goal, scored by Nwankwo Kanu in the 37th minute.

The 2008–09 season was Cardiff City's sixth consecutive year playing in the Football League Championship and their 82nd season playing in The Football League. It was also the club's final season playing at Ninian Park, their home ground since they had entered The Football League in 1920.

Marley Joseph Watkins is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock. He has attained two caps for the Wales national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Wildig</span> English footballer

Aaron Keith Wildig is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League Two club Newport County.

References

  1. "Parry vows to conquer flying fear". BBC Sport. 8 November 2005. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
  2. "Shrewsbury Town star Paul Parry and wife kicking off a new business". Shropshire Star . 12 March 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  3. "Parry sights on move to big time". Hereford Times . 14 December 1999. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
  4. Keating, Frank (13 December 1999). "Parry leaves big-timers quivering". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
  5. "Parry completes Cardiff move". BBC Sport. 9 January 2004. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
  6. "Hereford 1–0 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 3 January 2004. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
  7. "Hammam offers apology to Cardiff". BBC Sport. 6 March 2005. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
  8. "Winger Parry linked with Yeovil". BBC Sport. 30 June 2006. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
  9. "Bulls play down Parry rumours". BBC Sport. 23 September 2003. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  10. "Parry vows to stay at City and carry on good work". South Wales Echo. 10 January 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
  11. "Revitalised Parry out to make cup final mark". South Wales Echo. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
  12. "Paul Parry up front with his desire to lead attack". South Wales Echo. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  13. "Bournemouth 1–2 Cardiff". BBC Sport. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  14. "Blackpool 1–1 Cardiff". BBC Sport. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  15. "Parry completes move to Preston". BBC News. 3 August 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  16. "Cardiff winger Parry takes tome over Preston decision". South Wales Echo. 29 July 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  17. "The Retained and Released List". Shrewsweb. 13 May 2014.
  18. @CymruLeagues (25 January 2022). "Done deal ✅Another former @Cymru international makes the switch to the #JDCymruLeagues as Paul Parry joins @RiscaUtd! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  19. "Parry caps amazing rise". BBC Sport. 19 February 2004. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
  20. "Parry: Divorce stress cost me Welsh place". Western Mail. 31 July 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  21. "Parry's Wales pull-out criticised". BBC Sport. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
  22. "Parry outlines Wales desire". Southwalesargus.co.uk. 14 January 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
  23. "Parry in shock Wales retirement". BBC Sport. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  24. "Parry:"I felt like a spare part in Wales camp". South Wales Echo. 9 September 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  25. "Parry 'just made up the numbers'". BBC Sport. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  26. "Wales lose semi-pro crown". BBC Sport. 23 May 2003. Retrieved 7 November 2007.