Phil Parkes
Encyclopedia
Philip Benjamin Neil Frederick "Phil" Parkes (born 8 August 1950, Sedgley
, Staffordshire
, England
) is a former football
goalkeeper.
He was a pupil at Dormston School
from September 1961 to December 1965.
Beginning his football career at Walsall
, turning professional in 1968, he made nearly 100 appearances in the Black Country
before moving to London
, signing for Queens Park Rangers
for £15,000 in June 1970. His QPR debut was on Saturday 22 August 1970 in a 3–1 defeat at home to Leicester City.
Parkes was part of the QPR team that reached the last eight of the FA Cup
in 1974 and were League runners-up to Liverpool
in 1976. Many observers consider that side, managed by Dave Sexton
, the finest team never to have won the League. His club career at QPR spanned 344 league appearances (406 in all competitions). He gained his only England
cap during this period, against Portugal
in 1974.
Parkes was sold to West Ham United in 1979 for £
565,000, a world record for a goalkeeper at the time. It is reported that Sexton, who by then was manager of Manchester United
, put in six bids for the player but saw them all turned down. It was only the half million pound bid from West Ham United that QPR chairman Jim Gregory could not resist. Upon John Lyall
's signing of Parkes it was thought that he was a huge risk due to the severity of the condition of his knees but his signing was to pay off as Parkes was to remain first choice keeper for the next ten years. Despite this longevity, however, he only ever gained one piece of silverware, when West Ham beat Arsenal
1–0 to win the 1980 FA Cup Final
.
Parkes appeared as himself in Thunderbolt and Smokey!
in the boys strip Eagle
in 1982, giving a coaching session to a schoolboy striker who was having to play in goal in a cup semi-final due to the regular keeper being injured.
Although Parkes collected just one major trophy during his long playing career, his time at Upton Park
saw him come close to picking up honours more than once later on in the 1980s
. He was on the losing side in the 1981 Football League Cup Final
against Liverpool
, the same year that he collected a Second Division title medal as the Hammers returned to the First Division after three years away. In 1983-84
, the Hammers were in the title race mid season but fell away to finish ninth. They re-emerged as title challengers in 1985-86
and were in the hunt for the title right up to the end of April, finally finishing third. He also helped them reach the League Cup semi-finals in 1988-89
, but it was a disappointing season for the Hammers who were then relegated to the Second Division. Parkes had sat out much of the season despite new signing Allen McKnight
making many mistakes before Parkes was finally reinstated as first choice.
In 1990, he left the Hammers on a free transfer after 11 years and linked up with John Lyall
who had returned to management at Ipswich Town. He played three league games in 1990-91
and moved into coaching.
In 2003, an official West Ham United
members poll for the greatest West Ham XI named him as the team's goalkeeper, beating Ludek Miklosko
to that position. He is considered by QPR supporters to be one of the three best goalkeepers in the club’s history, the others being Reg Allen and David Seaman
.
Parkes had great ability but was unfortunate to only ever win one England cap. He would have won a second soon after his first as, during a game against Wales
in 1976, the manager Don Revie
said Parkes would play the second-half, but at half-time with the score still at 0–0 Revie decided to keep Ray Clemence
on. After the game Parkes went home and said to his wife he would never make himself available for England again.
Sedgley
Sedgley is an urban village within the West Midlands county of England. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Sedgley was formerly an ancient manor composed of several smaller villages, including Gornal, Gospel End, Woodsetton, Ettingshall, Coseley and Brierley...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, 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...
) is a former football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
goalkeeper.
He was a pupil at Dormston School
Dormston School
Dormston School is a secondary school for children located in Sedgley, West Midlands, England. The schools has specialist status as a Mathematics and Computing college....
from September 1961 to December 1965.
Beginning his football career at Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
, turning professional in 1968, he made nearly 100 appearances in the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
before moving to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, signing for Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
for £15,000 in June 1970. His QPR debut was on Saturday 22 August 1970 in a 3–1 defeat at home to Leicester City.
Parkes was part of the QPR team that reached the last eight of the 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...
in 1974 and were League runners-up to Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
in 1976. Many observers consider that side, managed by Dave Sexton
Dave Sexton
David "Dave" Sexton OBE is an English former football manager and player.-Playing career:Son of former professional boxer Archie Sexton, he started his playing career with West Ham United in 1948. Playing mainly at inside-forward, he would finish his career with time at Luton Town, Leyton Orient,...
, the finest team never to have won the League. His club career at QPR spanned 344 league appearances (406 in all competitions). He gained his only England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
cap during this period, against Portugal
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
in 1974.
Parkes was sold to West Ham United in 1979 for £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
565,000, a world record for a goalkeeper at the time. It is reported that Sexton, who by then was manager of Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, put in six bids for the player but saw them all turned down. It was only the half million pound bid from West Ham United that QPR chairman Jim Gregory could not resist. Upon John Lyall
John Lyall
John Angus Lyall was an English footballer and manager of Scottish descent. His mother, Catherine, was from the Isle of Lewis, his father, James, was from Kirriemuir. He was born in Ilford, Essex.- Youth team career :...
's signing of Parkes it was thought that he was a huge risk due to the severity of the condition of his knees but his signing was to pay off as Parkes was to remain first choice keeper for the next ten years. Despite this longevity, however, he only ever gained one piece of silverware, when West Ham beat 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...
1–0 to win the 1980 FA Cup Final
1980 FA Cup Final
The 1980 FA Cup Final was contested by West Ham United and Arsenal at Wembley. West Ham won by a single goal, scored by Trevor Brooking.To date, it is the last time a team from outside the top flight has won the FA Cup...
.
Parkes appeared as himself in Thunderbolt and Smokey!
Thunderbolt and Smokey!
Thunderbolt and Smokey! was a photographic comic series published in the British comic book Eagle, from issue 1 until issue 27 . It was written by Tom Tully, with photography by John Powell...
in the boys strip Eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
in 1982, giving a coaching session to a schoolboy striker who was having to play in goal in a cup semi-final due to the regular keeper being injured.
Although Parkes collected just one major trophy during his long playing career, his time at Upton Park
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...
saw him come close to picking up honours more than once later on in the 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
. He was on the losing side in the 1981 Football League Cup Final
1981 Football League Cup Final
The 1981 Football League Cup Final was played on Saturday 14 March 1981 at Wembley Stadium between Liverpool and West Ham United, with both clubs appearing in their second League Cup finals....
against Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
, the same year that he collected a Second Division title medal as the Hammers returned to the First Division after three years away. In 1983-84
1983-84 in English football
The 1983–84 season was the 104th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Liverpool had a great first season under the management of Joe Fagan as they wrapped up their third successive league title and the 15th in their history...
, the Hammers were in the title race mid season but fell away to finish ninth. They re-emerged as title challengers in 1985-86
1985-86 in English football
The 1985–86 season was the 106th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :The championship crown went to Liverpool for the 16th time in their history at the end of their first season under the management of Kenny Dalglish, but they had to fight off some very stiff competition to...
and were in the hunt for the title right up to the end of April, finally finishing third. He also helped them reach the League Cup semi-finals in 1988-89
1988-89 in English football
The 1988–89 season was the 109th season of competitive football in England.-Hillsborough disaster:On 15 April, a crowd crush at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough killed 94 people and injured more than 300. A 95th Liverpool supporter died in hospital...
, but it was a disappointing season for the Hammers who were then relegated to the Second Division. Parkes had sat out much of the season despite new signing Allen McKnight
Allen McKnight
Allen Darrell McKnight is a Northern Irish former international footballer who played professionally in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, and Hong Kong as a goalkeeper.-Club career:...
making many mistakes before Parkes was finally reinstated as first choice.
In 1990, he left the Hammers on a free transfer after 11 years and linked up with John Lyall
John Lyall
John Angus Lyall was an English footballer and manager of Scottish descent. His mother, Catherine, was from the Isle of Lewis, his father, James, was from Kirriemuir. He was born in Ilford, Essex.- Youth team career :...
who had returned to management at Ipswich Town. He played three league games in 1990-91
1990-91 in English football
The 1990–91 season was the 111th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Arsenal won the league. Runners-up spot was achieved by Liverpool, who had led the table for much of the first half of the season but had been shell-shocked in February by the sudden resignation of manager...
and moved into coaching.
In 2003, an official West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
members poll for the greatest West Ham XI named him as the team's goalkeeper, beating Ludek Miklosko
Ludek Mikloško
Luděk "Ludo" Mikloško is a Czech retired football goalkeeper.-Career:Mikloško started his career in his native Czechoslovakia with Baník Ostrava...
to that position. He is considered by QPR supporters to be one of the three best goalkeepers in the club’s history, the others being Reg Allen and David Seaman
David Seaman
David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...
.
Parkes had great ability but was unfortunate to only ever win one England cap. He would have won a second soon after his first as, during a game against Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
in 1976, the manager Don Revie
Don Revie
Donald George 'Don' Revie, OBE, , was an English footballer who played for Leicester City, Hull City, Sunderland, Manchester City and Leeds United as a deep-lying centre forward. After managing Leeds United he managed England from 1974 until 1977...
said Parkes would play the second-half, but at half-time with the score still at 0–0 Revie decided to keep Ray Clemence
Ray Clemence
Raymond Neal "Ray" Clemence, MBE is one of English and European football's most decorated goalkeepers ever and was part of the Liverpool team of the 1970s.-Scunthorpe United:...
on. After the game Parkes went home and said to his wife he would never make himself available for England again.