Paul Parker

Parker started his career with Fulham before joining QPR, where he made his name as a nippy and incisive centre back, even though he lacked the height normally associated with his position. During this period, Parker was sold by QPR to Manchester United for £2 million on 8 August 1991, and he made his debut (now as a specialist right back) against Notts County the same month. Parker's five-year career at Old Trafford began well enough but was eventually blighted frequently by injury and as the club began to dominate the English game under Alex Ferguson, Parker struggled to maintain his fitness. He won a League Cup winners medal in 1992, a Premiership title medal a year later, and another Premiership title medal and the FA Cup a further year on. The last two years though saw Parker's inability to stay fit coupled with the emergence of Gary Neville, who ultimately replaced Parker at right back for both club and country. Parker missed most of the 1994–95 season through injury, and despite regaining his fitness for the 1995–96, he could not displace Neville and was freed at the end of the campaign. Although United won a second double, he did not play in enough Premier League games for a title medal, and did not feature in the FA Cup Final squad. Parker then signed for Derby County, who had just been promoted to the Premier League, but could not win a regular first team place and signed for Sheffield United in November 1996. A brief spell back at Fulham, in their Division Three…

His prowess was noticed by England coach Bobby Robson who, establishing he could also play at right back, gave him his international debut against Albania in 1989. He had already appeared three times for the England B side, but was racially abused by England's own fans in a 2–0 win over the Iceland B side in Iceland on 19 May 1989. Parker continued to play centrally for his club while deputising for the first-choice Gary Stevens on the right side of defence for country. He was selected as Stevens' back-up for the 1990 World Cup in Italy but, with Stevens putting in a disappointing display in the opening 1–1 draw with the Republic of Ireland, Parker was put in the team, just five caps into his career. He stayed there, playing comfortably behind Chris Waddle as England progressed through their group and as far as the semi-finals, where they met West Germany. In the warm-up before the semi-final, Parker said in a 2022 interview with EnglandFootball.org that he "felt numb" because he was "too nervous to feel nervous." During the match, two incidents would define Parker's career. With the score at 0–0, the Germans won a free kick just outside the England penalty area early in the second half and as the ball was tapped to Andreas Brehme, Parker sprinted from the defensive wall to try to block the shot. Instead, it clipped off him at such an angle that the ball looped high into the air and swirled round and over goalkeeper Peter Shilton and into the net. The goal was credited to…

After retiring from playing, Parker became director of football at Ashford Town, before departing, alongside manager George Wakeling, in January 2000. Later that year, Parker joined Chelmsford City's coaching staff. Following Gary Bellamy's departure to Dover Athletic, he became manager of Chelmsford in June 2001. On 18 August 2001, Parker managed his first game for Chelmsford, resulting in a 1–1 draw away to Bath City. In May 2003, after Parker's relationship with Chelmsford chairman Peter Wright broke down, he left the club. He later managed Welling United and was assistant manager at Folkestone Invicta. In 2009, Parker was named as a coaching consultant and game development officer for Football Federation Northern Territory in Australia.

Managerial statistics

He attended Sanders Draper School in Hornchurch.