Ben Parker (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Brian Colin "Ben" Parker (born 8 November 1987) is an English footballer who plays for Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

. He is a defender
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 in the left back position though can also play at centre-back who has had loan spells with Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....

 and Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...

. He has also represented England national Side at various age levels.

2006–07 season (Bradford loan spell)

Born in Pontefract
Pontefract
Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Parker started his career with Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

, but made his full debut during the 2006–07 season while on loan at local rivals Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....

. He played for England national team at many age levels. On 5 October 2006, Leeds caretaker manager John Carver
John Carver (footballer)
John William Carver is a former English footballer and current assistant manager of Newcastle United.-Biography:...

 said that if Parker's appearances were being limited at Bradford then the club would rather he came back to Leeds and fought for a first team place there than sitting on the bench at Valley Parade
Valley Parade
Valley Parade, also known as the Coral Windows Stadium through sponsorship rights, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1886, and was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they changed code from rugby football to association...

. Parker's loan spell was extended in late December 2006, indicating new Leeds manager Dennis Wise
Dennis Wise
Dennis Frank Wise is an English former football manager and player, and former Executive Director at Newcastle United....

 wanted him to gain as much experience as possible before plunging him into the new look Leeds side.

2007–08 season

On 18 May 2007, life long Leeds fan, Parker was offered a new contract by Leeds United. This contract was signed on 7 August, once the club's transfer embargo had been lifted. Parker made his full debut for Leeds in the 1–0 win against Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town F.C.
Macclesfield Town Football Club is an English football team. The club was formed in 1874 and is based in the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire. The team play its home games at the 6,355 capacity Moss Rose stadium...

 in the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 on 14 August 2007. Four days later, Parker made his league and home debut as a substitute in the 4–1 win against Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...

.

Having made 15 appearances for Leeds during the 2007–08 season, he was transferred to Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...

 on a month's loan deal in February 2008. He made his Darlington debut on 1 March 2008 in a 3–1 victory against Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

. Parker played seven games for Darlington during March, before extending his loan spell until the end of the season on 27 March 2008, two days before he played against former side Bradford City, which Darlington lost 3–1. On 26 April 2008, he was sent off as Darlington went from leading 2–0 to losing 3–2 to Dagenham & Redbridge
Dagenham & Redbridge F.C.
Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club , informally known as Daggers, is an English association football club based in Dagenham, in the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, East London. It was formed in 1992 after a merger between Redbridge Forest and Dagenham...

. He missed the final game of the season against Peterborough United
Peterborough United F.C.
Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...

 but returned for Darlington's play-off games.

2008–09 season

He returned to Leeds for the 2008–09
2008–09 in English football
The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City were all playing in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship last season. Stoke returned to the top flight after a 23-year absence, while...

 season, and scored his first goal with a 35-yard shot in a 5–2 win in an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 first round replay against Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...

 on 17 November 2008.

He had a strong end to the 2008–09 season, becoming the Whites's first choice left back which linked him with a call-up for the European U21 Football Championships 2009.

He was a major part in Leeds's opening goal in the Play Off Second Leg against Millwall in which he made a blistering 70-yard run to cross for Luciano Becchio
Luciano Becchio
Luciano Héctor Becchio is an Argentine footballer who plays for Leeds United as a striker. Born in Córdoba, Argentina, Becchio began his career at Boca Juniors before moving to Europe on an Italian passport, where he established himself in the Spanish lower leagues.He moved to England in the...

 to fire home from six-yards. However, Leeds lost the tie 2–1 on aggregate.

2009–10 season

On 8 July 2009, Parker signed an extension to his contract with Leeds United which will keep him at Elland Road
Elland Road
Elland Road is an all-seater football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has been the permanent residence of Leeds United A.F.C...

 until the end of the 2011–12 season. Parker assisted a goal for Jermaine Beckford
Jermaine Beckford
Jermaine Paul Alexander Beckford is an English footballer who plays for Leicester City as a striker. He started his career as a trainee at Chelsea...

 in the opening game of the season win against Exeter City
Exeter City F.C.
Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003...

, in the same game Parker suffered a hamstring injury and was substituted. Parker's hamstring injury kept him out for several weeks, he then suffered a setback and was sent to see a specialist. The scan revealed that he needed to have an operation on his hip. After the operation it is estimated that Parker would be out until January/February 2010. During Parker's long spell out, his absence was covered by makeshift left back Andy Hughes
Andrew Hughes (footballer)
Andrew John Hughes is an English footballer, currently playing for Charlton Athletic in League One of the English Football League. Known for his versatility, his main position is as a central midfielder, but he has also played regularly at fullback during his career...

, with Aidy White
Aidan White (footballer)
Aidan 'Aidy' Peter White is an English-born Irish footballer who plays for Leeds United. He made his debut for the club aged 16...

, Shane Lowry
Shane Lowry (footballer)
Shane Thomas Lowry is an Irish-Australian professional football player who currently plays as a centre defender or left fullback for the Australia national football team and Millwall, on loan from Aston Villa...

 and Tony Capaldi
Tony Capaldi
Anthony Charles "Tony" Capaldi is a Norwegian-born Northern Ireland international footballer, who plays as a defender for Oxford United. He is also a long-throw specialist.-Club career:...

 also having short spells in this side when Hughes has been injured. In late December, Parker returned to training with Leeds United, and was looking to get some reserve games under his belt to help regain match fitness.

On 12 January 2010, Parker returned for Leeds in the reserve match against Scunthorpe Reserves, the match was the first game Parker had played since picking up the hamstring injury in the first game of the season. However, his injury flared up again in training after the game, and delayed his recovery even further.

Parker returned to a Leeds squad for the first time since the opening game of the season, after being named on the bench against Swindon Town. After making two substitute appearances, Parker started his second game of the season against Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
.Milton Keynes Dons Football Club is an English professional football club founded in 2004 and based since 2007 at Stadium mk, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire...

 but suffered a calf injury and had to be substituted, ending his season prematurely. Leeds were promoted to the Championship as runners up, and Parker will be hoping to recover from injury and hold his place as Leeds' first choice left back in The Championship.

Parker won a special award at Leeds United's player of the year award. The Special Chairman's Award which was given to Parker by Ken Bates
Ken Bates
Kenneth William Bates is a British businessman and football executive. The current chairman and now owner of Leeds United AFC, Bates was previously chairman and majority shareholder of Chelsea FC from 1982 until 2003....

 after having an injury nightmare of a season.

2010–11 season

Parker's injury ruled him out of all the 2010–11 pre-season. He returned to training in late September 2010, where he has trained with the youth team to gradually step up his fitness, manager Simon Grayson
Simon Grayson
Simon Nicholas Grayson is a retired English footballer and current manager of Leeds United. He is the elder brother of cricketer Paul Grayson....

 revealed in his pre-match press conference against Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

 that Parker should be back for selection for the first team in late October. Parker stepped up his comeback trail by playing for Leeds reserves against Scunthorpe reserves. Parker's comeback had been steady and Leeds have played him in a series of reserve team games to help build his match fitness after so long on the sidelines. On 23 December 2010, Parker was close to full fitness after an injury hit 17 months by playing a run of reserve team fixtures.

On 4 January, after a torrid 18 months with injury, Parker returned to Leeds' starting lineup against Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...

 after a long absence with injury after regular left back George McCartney
George McCartney
George McCartney is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for West Ham United on loan from Sunderland. He began his youth career at Sunderland, moving to West Ham before returning to Sunderland at the start of Roy Keane's time at charge...

 returned to Sunderland from his loan spell. On 8 January, Parker played in Leeds a 1–1 draw against Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

, Leeds were 1–0 up when Robert Snodgrass
Robert Snodgrass
Robert Snodgrass is a Scottish footballer who plays for Leeds United as a winger comfortable playing on either side of the pitch. He can also play as a forward...

 scored a second half penalty, Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 equalised in the 90th minute when Parker gave away a penalty after fouling Theo Walcott
Theo Walcott
Theo James Walcott is an English footballer of Jamaican descent who plays for Arsenal and the England national team. Walcott is a product of the Southampton F.C. Academy. He is a striker who is usually deployed on the right wing as a wide forward to exploit his speed...

, Cesc Fabregas
Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...

 scored the penalty to earn a draw. Parker lost his place when Leeds re-signed George McCartney
George McCartney
George McCartney is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for West Ham United on loan from Sunderland. He began his youth career at Sunderland, moving to West Ham before returning to Sunderland at the start of Roy Keane's time at charge...

, however Parker returned to Leeds' starting lineup for the FA Cup replay against Arsenal. Parker missed the rest of the 2010–11 season through injury although he returned to pre-season training for the 2011–12 season.

2011–12 season

Parker revealed that he was looking to put his injury nightmare behind him, and despite being injured for nearly two years that no left back for Leeds had made the spot their own, leaving Parker with the opportunity to reclaim his left back poisition.

With Parker starting the 2011–12 pre-season as Leeds first choice left back, he played in the first few pre season games, however his injury nightmare returned when he had to be substituted against Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 after a heavy challenge, he was replaced by Hungarian trialist Boldi Bodor. Parker returned to the starting lineup after injury in the pre-season friendly against Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

. Parker made his first start of the season on 9 August against Bradford City in Leeds' 3–2 victory in the League Cup.
After that Parker would miss out on several more games to Injury.

International career

Parker has been capped at most youth levels for the English national side. Parker has also captained many of the age levels he has represented England at.

Honours

Leeds United
  • League One Runners Up (Promoted):2009-10


Personal
  • Leeds United
    Leeds United A.F.C.
    Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

     Contribution To The Community Award 2009–10
    2009–10 in English football
    The 2009–10 season was the 130th season of competitive football in England.The season began on 8 August 2009 for the Championship, League One and League Two and 15 August 2009 for the Premier League...

  • Leeds United
    Leeds United A.F.C.
    Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

     Chairmans Special Award 2008–09
    2008–09 in English football
    The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City were all playing in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship last season. Stoke returned to the top flight after a 23-year absence, while...

     & 2008–09
    2009–10 in English football
    The 2009–10 season was the 130th season of competitive football in England.The season began on 8 August 2009 for the Championship, League One and League Two and 15 August 2009 for the Premier League...


Career statistics

! rowspan=2|Year !! rowspan=2|Club !! rowspan=2|Status !! rowspan=2|Division
! colspan=2|League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...


! colspan=2|FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...


! colspan=2|League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...


! colspan=2|FL Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...


! colspan=2|Play-Offs
Football League Play-Offs
The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is...


! colspan=2|Total
! colspan=2|Discipline> ! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !!
!!
> | 2011/12
2011–12 in English football
The 2011–12 season is the 132nd season of competitive football in England.The season began on 5 August 2011 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier starting eight days later, League Football Conference Starting one day before Premier League starts.The Championship, League One, and League Two...

 > | 2010/11
2010–11 in English football
The 2010–11 season was the 131st season of competitive football in England.The season began on 6 August 2010 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier League and Football Conference both starting eight days later on 14 August 2010. The Championship, League One, and League Two ended on 7 May...

 > | 2009/10
2009–10 in English football
The 2009–10 season was the 130th season of competitive football in England.The season began on 8 August 2009 for the Championship, League One and League Two and 15 August 2009 for the Premier League...

 > | 2008/09
2008–09 in English football
The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City were all playing in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship last season. Stoke returned to the top flight after a 23-year absence, while...

 > | 2007/08 > | 2007/08 > | 2006/07 > ! colspan=4|Leeds United Total
! 38 !! 0 !! 5 !! 1 !! 4 !! 0 !! 3 !! 0 !! 2 !! 0 !! 52 !! 1 !! 2 !! 0> ! colspan=4|Career Total
! 90 !! 0 !! 6 !! 1 !! 4 !! 0 !! 4 !! 0 !! 3 !! 0 !! 107 !! 1 !! 9 !! 1>
Leeds United  Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...


> 0
0 0 0 1 0 - - - ! 1 !! 0
> 0
0
Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...


> 1
0 1 0 0 0 - - - ! 2 !! 0
> 0
0
League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....


> 4
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - ! 4 !! 0
> 0
0
League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....


> 24
0 2 1 2 0 1 0 2 ! 31 !! 1
> 1
0
League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....


> 9
0 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 ! 15 !! 0
> 1
0
Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...

 
Loan  League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....


> 13
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 ! 14 !! 0
> 1
1
Bradford City  Loan  League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....


> 39
0 1 0 0 0 1 0 - ! 41 !! 0
> 6
0

(correct as of 14 August 2010)

External links

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