.jpg) Parkinson in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Philip John Parkinson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1967-12-01)1 December 1967 (age 57)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Chorley, Lancashire, England[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder[1] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Wrexham (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Southampton | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–1988 | Southampton | 0 | (0) |
| 1988–1992 | Bury | 145 | (5) |
| 1992–2003 | Reading | 361 | (20) |
| Total | 506 | (25) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2003–2006 | Colchester United | ||
| 2006 | Hull City | ||
| 2008–2011 | Charlton Athletic | ||
| 2011–2016 | Bradford City | ||
| 2016–2019 | Bolton Wanderers | ||
| 2019–2020 | Sunderland | ||
| 2021– | Wrexham | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Philip John Parkinson (born 1 December 1967) is an English professionalfootball manager and formermidfielder. He is the manager ofEFL Championship clubWrexham.
Parkinson acquired aSocial Science degree early into his career as a manager[3] and is the only manager to take an English fourth-tier league club to the final of a major cup competition atWembley Stadium, leadingBradford City ofLeague Two to the2013 League Cup final. During his career, he has achieved promotion six times: withColchester to theChampionship in 2006, withBradford toLeague One in 2013, withBolton Wanderers to theChampionship in 2017, and withWrexham toLeague Two in 2023,League One in 2024 and theChampionship in 2025.
Parkinson was born inChorley, England, and grew up there until the age of ten, when he moved with his parents and two siblings toStockton-on-Tees, where he attendedOur Lady and St Bede RC School.[4]
Parkinson, a formerSouthampton trainee,[5] signed for Third Division sideBury for £12,000 in March 1988[6], making hisFootball League debut shortly after. He later joinedReading for £50,000 in July 1992.[7]
Parkinson was named player of the season for two consecutive years (1997–98 and1998–99) and was also a key member of the1993–94Football League Second Division championship-winning team. He captained the team to promotion from the Second Division in2001–02 and soon after promotion success, Parkinson celebrated histestimonial year with a memorable night atMadejski Stadium, where 20,000 fans watched former Reading teammates such asShaka Hislop,Michael Gilkes andJeff Hopkins take on an England XI including the likes ofPaul Gascoigne,John Barnes andChris Waddle.[8] Parkinson's final competitive appearance for Reading was aLeague Cup defeat againstCambridge United on 10 September 2002.[9][10]
Although Parkinson rarely featured on the field in his final season as Reading returned to theFirst Division, he remained a well-respected member of the squad until his departure toLayer Road.
In a 2005 poll to compile the Royals' best-ever XI, Parkinson was voted the best central midfielder with 60.3% of the vote.[11]
Parkinson left Reading early in 2003 after 11 seasons to take his first steps in management withEFL League One clubColchester United. Despite showing promising signs as he steered the U's to safety upon arrival in February 2003, the2003–04 season started poorly as Colchester slipped to three straight league defeats, only softened by a victory in the League Cup. Colchester's form improved and a strongFA Cup run, LDV run and a good finish to the season left optimism for U's supporters.[citation needed]
The2005–06 season saw them finish in second place, thereby gaining an unlikely promotion to theChampionship, despite having the lowest average attendance of the division. However, he resigned in June 2006 with a year left to run on his contract.[12]
Parkinson was confirmed as the new manager of Championship clubHull City in late June 2006,[13] following the departure ofPeter Taylor. Hull agreed to pay Colchester £400,000 compensation. When he led Hull against his old club, however, he was embarrassed as his former club romped home 5–1.[14] After another defeat in the next match at home toSouthampton 4–2, he left by "mutual consent" in early December, leaving Hull in the relegation zone.[15]
Parkinson then joined Championship clubCharlton Athletic in January 2007 as assistant manager toAlan Pardew, having previously worked together at Reading. He was close to a return to management withHuddersfield Town in April 2007, but made a last-minute decision to remain with Charlton.[16] Parkinson later extended his contract with Charlton until 2010.[17] Following Pardew's departure in November 2008, he was appointed caretaker manager[18] and given the job permanently on New Year's Eve 2008, despite failing to win any of his eight matches in caretaker charge.[19] Under his management, Charlton were relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time in nearly 30 years.
In League One, Charlton started off very well, winning their first six league matches, but that run was brought to an end after a 1–1 draw at home to Southampton, Parkinson's ex-manager Alan Pardew's side. Charlton continued to do well and were in the top two until the new year where Norwich overtook them and they then never returned to the top two, finishing fourth in the league. In the play-offs, they had to playSwindon Town over the two legs and lost the first one 2–1 at the County Ground. In the second, however, they turned it around and led 2–0 but Swindon fought back and it finished 3–3 on aggregate. Swindon then continued and won on penalties 5–4 to condemn Parkinson and his men to another season in League One. Having not won a league game since November, Parkinson was sacked on 4 January 2011, the day after his side's 4–2 loss at home to Swindon.[20][21]
Parkinson was appointed manager ofEFL League Two clubBradford City on 28 August 2011.[22] He won the League Two Manager of the Month award for December 2011 after victories over promotion candidatesShrewsbury Town andCrewe Alexandra. Parkinson also enjoyed a promising run in theJohnstones Paint Trophy with the Bantams taking them to the Northern division semi-finals with victories over Yorkshire rivalsSheffield Wednesday andSheffield United as well as an away victory against local rivals Huddersfield Town on penalties, before their run ended with a defeat to Oldham Athletic. He led Bradford to safety finishing 18th in League Two, then stating that he wanted a promotion push for next season.
On 11 December 2012, Parkinson's Bradford side progressed to the semi-final of theLeague Cup following an historic victory overPremier League clubArsenal after a penalty shoot-out.[23]
Parkinson then led Bradford to another historic victory in the first leg of theLeague Cup semi-finals at Valley Parade, defeating Premier LeagueAston Villa 3–1 in front of 23,245 fans.[24] Despite a 2–1 defeat in the second leg atVilla Park, Bradford won the tie 4–3 on aggregate to progress to the2013 League Cup Final atWembley Stadium.[25] In the final, Bradford lost 5–0 to Premier LeagueSwansea City.[26][27] After the match, Parkinson criticised refereeKevin Friend for sendingMatt Duke off, which resulted in a penalty and described the match as "harsh".[28]
His role in taking Bradford City to the League Cup final resulted in him being rewarded with the Outstanding Managerial Achievement award. In a statement, Parkinson said, "I'm very honoured to receive this award. My name might be on it but it is a team award – not just the team on the pitch but the team off it as well."[29] A strong run of form towards the end of the season secured City a playoff place. After a win over two legs againstBurton Albion, Bradford City were promoted to League One after beatingNorthampton Town, 3–0.[30] After the match, reflecting on all that Parkinson and the rest of the team had achieved during this remarkable season, he said it was beyond his wildest dreams.[31] Shortly after, Parkinson signed a new three-year deal with the club, along with coachesSteve Parkin and Nick Allamby.[32]
Parkinson would follow up the groundbreaking 2012–13 cup upsets with a historic4–2 victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge on 24 January 2015.[33] Bradford City went 2–0 down in the first half, but fought back in stunning fashion to record whatRobbie Fowler called the "greatestFA Cup upset of all time".[34] Fans of Bradford City have gone on to call him the real "special one" following the win atStamford Bridge. Bradford are still the only team, at any level, to have ever overcome a 2–0 deficit at Stamford Bridge and win during the reign ofJosé Mourinho. Mourinho entered the Bradford dressing room after the game and shook the hand of every player as a sign of his respect.[35]
Bradford City followed up their historic victory against Chelsea with a 2–0 win in the fifth round at home toSunderland on 15 February 2015. Their cup run ended in the quarter-final with a 3–0 defeat to Championship sideReading on 16 March.[36]
Bradford reached the League One play-offs in the 2015–16 season under Parkinson's management, but exited at the semi-finals after being beaten 4–2 on aggregate over two legs byMillwall.[37]
Parkinson was the fifth-longest-serving manager in English league football at the conclusion of the 2015–16 season, having been with Bradford for four years and 286 days. His time in charge of the club came to an end in June 2016, however, as Parkinson left Bradford to joinBolton Wanderers, who had recently been relegated into League One.[38]
On 10 June 2016, both Parkinson and assistant managerSteve Parkin signed two-year deals to join Bradford's fellow League One side Bolton, thus ending Wanderers' three-month search for a replacement forNeil Lennon.[38][39] Parkinson led Bolton to an unbeaten first month of the season, topping the table and winning League One's August Manager of the Month award. This was Bolton's best start to a season in 82 years.[40] After failing to win any games in September,[41] Parkinson was named manager of the month again for October – his second in the first three months of the season.[42] Parkinson won the award for the third time that season in March 2017, with Bolton seven points clear of third place.[43]
Bolton ended the season with a 3–0 win againstPeterborough United which was enough to seal promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt as runners up. Bolton finished on 86 points, four points ahead ofScunthorpe United in third.[44] Promotion was achieved in spite of the club being under a transfer embargo imposed by the EFL, with Bolton limited to free transfers and short-term loan deals, whilst remaining under a pre-determined wage cap.[45]
Parkinson's newly promoted Bolton side struggled at the beginning of the2017–18 season, only earning their first win of the season againstSheffield Wednesday in mid-October, as the club languished at the foot of the Championship table with just five points from 12 games, six points adrift of safety.[46] Parkinson's side would subsequently embark on a six-game unbeaten run following the win, however the club remained inside the relegation zone at its conclusion, having drawn five of the six games.[47] Such was the poor start to the season, it took Parkinson's reinvigorated Bolton side until early December to emerge from the relegation zone, after beatingBarnsley 3–1 at home.[48] Bolton earned their first away victory of the season on 30 December 2017, with a 1–0 win at high-flyingSheffield United,[49] followed by a 1–0 win againstHull City on New Year's Day, to emerge from the relegation zone.[50] Bolton's improved results coincided withGary Madine hitting form, with the striker scoring the goals in both victories to bring his tally for the season up to nine goals.[51] They narrowly avoided relegation by winning the last match of the season.[52]
In the 2018–19 season, Bolton were in financial straits and looking for a new owner. They were unable to pay players towards the end of the season and were relegated to League One. In May, the club enteredadministration due to unpaid taxes, incurring a 12-point penalty for the 2019–20 season.[53] By the start of that season, Bolton had not yet found a buyer and were reduced to fielding junior players. On 10 August, they fielded their youngest ever side, with an average age of 19, againstCoventry City.[54] Parkinson postponed their following game againstDoncaster Rovers, expressing concern about the welfare of the youth players, and resigned the following day, on 21 August 2019.[55]
On 17 October 2019, Parkinson was unveiled as theSunderland manager on a two-and-a-half-year contract.[56] That season was cut short by theCOVID-19 pandemic. The following season, he parted company with Sunderland on 29 November 2020.[57]
On 1 July 2021, Parkinson was appointed manager ofNational League sideWrexham on a 12-month rolling contract.[58] Parkinson was awarded the National League Manager of the Month award for March 2022 after leading the team to four wins and a draw.[59][60] This award came two days after Wrexham had defeated league leadersStockport County 2–0 in theFA Trophy semi-final to win a place in thefinal at Wembley againstBromley.[61] In the final, Wrexham would finish as runners-up to Bromley.[62] In the league, they finished second behindStockport County before losing 5–4 at home toGrimsby Town in the play-off semi-finals.[63] In the following season, Wrexham, under Parkinson, achieved promotion toLeague Two as National League champions in the2022–23 season. This marked a return for Wrexham to theEnglish Football League after a 15-year absence.[64] Wrexham would ultimately accrue 111 points in total, four points clear ofNotts County in second place.[65] The 111 league points total set a record for the top five divisions of English league football. In their2023–24 League Two campaign, they would achieve a second successive promotion in second place behind Stockport County.[66]
Wrexham's impressive form carried over into the2024–25 season in League One, an unbeaten four games to start the season seeing Parkinson named League One Manager of the Month for August 2024.[67] On 4 January 2025, Parkinson coached his 1,000th game as Wrexham beatPeterborough United 1–0.[68] He was named manager of the month once again for March 2025 following sixteen points from seven matches.[69] The team finished the season in second with 92 points, setting a team record for score in the EFL.[70] Parkinson had managed the team through three successive promotions, a first in the upper divisions of both English and Welsh football.[71]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Colchester United | 25 February 2003 | 14 June 2006 | 187 | 79 | 54 | 54 | 042.25 | [72] |
| Hull City | 29 June 2006 | 4 December 2006 | 24 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 020.83 | [72] |
| Charlton Athletic | 22 November 2008 | 4 January 2011 | 114 | 44 | 37 | 33 | 038.60 | [18][72] |
| Bradford City | 28 August 2011 | 10 June 2016 | 274 | 101 | 86 | 87 | 036.86 | [22][72] |
| Bolton Wanderers | 10 June 2016 | 21 August 2019 | 157 | 49 | 34 | 74 | 031.21 | [72] |
| Sunderland | 17 October 2019 | 29 November 2020 | 48 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 039.58 | [56][72] |
| Wrexham | 1 July 2021 | Present | 241 | 143 | 56 | 42 | 059.34 | [72][a] |
| Total | 1,045 | 440 | 288 | 317 | 042.11 | — | ||
Reading
Individual
Colchester
Bradford City
Bolton Wanderers
Wrexham
Individual
