 Parlour in 2006 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raymond Parlour[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1973-03-07)7 March 1973 (age 52)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Romford, England | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1989–1992 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–2004 | Arsenal | 339 | (22) |
| 2004–2007 | Middlesbrough | 46 | (0) |
| 2007 | Hull City | 15 | (0) |
| 2012 | Wembley | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 400 | (22) | |
| International career | |||
| 1992–1994 | England U21 | 12 | (0) |
| 1998 | England B | 1 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | England | 10 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Raymond Parlour (born 7 March 1973) is an English former professionalfootballer and sports radio pundit forBBC Radio 5 Live andTalksport.
He was amidfielder from 1992 to 2007, and spent his career playing forArsenal,Middlesbrough andHull City. He totalled 466 games and 32 goals for Arsenal, winning honours including threePremier League titles, fourFA Cup and the1994UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. He played ten games forEngland in 1999 and 2000.
While at Arsenal he was nicknamed "The RomfordPelé", coined by Paul Day, an ironic sobriquet reflecting his combination of solid performance with a humorous, self-deprecating, down to earth personality and an image wholly lacking in glamour. He has been described as an "unsung hero" and praised as a "fans' favourite" for his high work rate and commitment.[3] After retiring, Parlour became a pundit on television and radio. In 2012, he briefly came out of retirement to play forWembley in the club'sFA Cup fixtures.
Parlour is most famous for his time atArsenal, where he played for fifteen years. He joined the club as a trainee in 1985, aged 12, and made his debut for the Gunners againstLiverpool on 29 January 1992, conceding a penalty in a 2–0 defeat.
He rose to greater prominence in1994–95, when he took part in Arsenal's EuropeanUEFA Cup Winners' Cup final loss toReal Zaragoza (having been an unused substitute in the Gunners' 1–0 triumph overParma in1993–94). After the arrival ofArsène Wenger as Arsenal's manager in 1996, he became a regular fixture on the right wing or in central midfield. In1997–98 Arsenal wonthe Double, and Parlour was instrumental in his club's achievement: he was man-of-the-match in the Gunners'FA Cup Final win overNewcastle United, setting upNicolas Anelka for the second goal in a 2–0 win. His increasing success in his Gunners shirt did not, however, secure him a place inEngland's1998 World Cup squad, coachGlenn Hoddle preferring Spurs'Darren Anderton instead.
In March 2000, he hit a hat-trick in a 4–2 away win atWerder Bremen (6–2 aggregate) in theUEFA Cup quarter-finals.[4] He was the only Arsenal player successful from the penalty spot in the team's shoot-out defeat byGalatasaray inthe final.[5] Seven months later, he contributed another hat-trick to a 5–0 win overNewcastle United at Highbury. In April 2001, at the same ground, he struck a 30-yard winner as Arsenal beatValencia 2–1 in the first leg tie of aUEFA Champions League quarter-final.[6] In 2002, another year in which Arsenal won the Double, he opened the scoring in the Gunners' 2–0 FA Cup Final victory overChelsea, putting his club ahead with a 30-yard strike thatSoccer AM's commentatorTim Lovejoy famously failed to anticipate: "Oh, it's all right, it's only Ray Parlour".[7] In November 2003, he was the stand-in captain who led his team to a 5–1 victory overInter Milan at theSan Siro.[8]
In total, Parlour played 466 games for the Gunners, scoring 32 goals in all competitions. Hiscurriculum vitae with the club includes threePremier League titles, four FA Cups, oneLeague Cup and one European Cup Winners' Cup. His record of 333 Premier League appearances for Arsenal has not been surpassed by any other player in the club's history. Even at the peak of his success, though, he was less acclaimed by football journalists than several of his Arsenal contemporaries, spending much of his time at the club in the shadow ofPatrick Vieira in particular. Many Arsenal fans believe him to have been one of the most underrated players of his generation.[9]
In July 2004, Parlour joined fellow Premier League clubMiddlesbrough on afree transfer, signing a three-year contract at theRiverside Stadium.[10] He played 60 games for Boro in two and a half years, and was an unused substitute in their 4–0 defeat bySevilla in the2006 UEFA Cup final.[11] In October 2005, he was ruled out for two months for knee cartilage surgery. He was released from his contract on 25 January 2007, and returned to train at Arsenal.[12]
On 9 February 2007,Hull City signed Parlour until the end of the2006–07 season in the hope that his experience would help them to avoid relegation.[13] With their place in theChampionship secured, it was confirmed on 1 June that the club would not be retaining Parlour's services for the following season's campaign.[14]
In June 2012, Parlour was one of several retired footballers enlisted by the semi-professionalWembley to assist them in the forthcoming season's FA Cup. His fellow former internationalsClaudio Caniggia,Graeme Le Saux,Martin Keown andBrian McBride joined him as players,David Seaman was recruited as a goalkeeping coach andTerry Venables, formerly the manager of England, served as the club's technical advisor. A television documentary recorded the team's improbable quest forWembley Stadium glory. In the event, although Wembley knocked outLangford, the club proved unable to progress beyond a replay againstUxbridge.[15]
Parlour made his debut for theEngland under-21 team on 12 May 1992; he played the whole game as England drew 2–2 withHungary in a friendly.[16] He was a part of the squads that participated in theToulon Tournament in1992 and 1994, England would ultimately win the tournament in 1994 with Parlour playing in the final againstPortugal.[16][17][18] Parlour won thePrix Spécial award for his performances in the tournament.,[18]Overall, he appeared for the U21s on twelve occasions without scoring any goals.[16] On 10 February 1998, he played for theB-team in a 1–0 loss toChile atThe Hawthorns.[19]
He made his senior team debut as a substitute in aUEFA Euro 2000 qualifier againstPoland on 27 March 1999; he won ten caps for England altogether, without ever scoring any goals. The closest he came to one was in a2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier againstFinland on 11 October 2000, when he 'scored' with a spectacular 30-yard strike which hit the crossbar and crossed the goal-line but was incorrectly disallowed by a linesman, the match finishing 0–0. He did not feature in any tournament finals, a knee injury forcing him to withdraw from England's squad for Euro 2000.[20][21] His final cap came in a friendly againstItaly on 15 November 2000. He was called up into the squad several times by new managerSven-Göran Eriksson in 2001, but was never sent onto the pitch.[19]
Parlour's lack of England appearances despite his domestic successes (particularly in comparison to some of his contemporaries) was remarked upon. Parlour and fellow players attributed this to competition in midfield (David Beckham and laterFrank Lampard andSteven Gerrard were usually chosen ahead of Parlour), as well as Parlour's falling out with England managerGlenn Hoddle following Hoddle's usage of a faith healer in the England camp for injured players.[22][23]
Parlour began his career as a pundit withSetanta Sports in 2007.[24] He has since appeared onBBC Radio 5 Live andTalksport.
In 2019 and 2020, Parlour featured in both seasons ofITV showHarry's Heroes, which featured former football managerHarry Redknapp attempting get a squad of former England international footballers back fit and healthy for a game against Germany legends.[25]
Parlour and his wife Karen were a couple from their early youth, although they did not get married until 1998. They have three children. Their separation in 2001 led to a very high-profile divorce.[26]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 1991–92 | First Division | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 1992–93 | Premier League | 21 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 2 | |||
| 1993–94 | Premier League | 27 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 2 | |
| 1994–95 | Premier League | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8[a] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| 1995–96 | Premier League | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 0 | |||
| 1996–97 | Premier League | 30 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 36 | 2 | ||
| 1997–98 | Premier League | 34 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 47 | 6 | ||
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 35 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 47 | 6 | |
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12[f] | 3 | 1[e] | 1 | 45 | 5 | |
| 2000–01 | Premier League | 33 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10[d] | 2 | — | 47 | 6 | ||
| 2001–02 | Premier League | 27 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8[d] | 0 | — | 40 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 19 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 1[g] | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5[d] | 0 | 1[g] | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
| Total | 339 | 22 | 44 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 57 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 466 | 32 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 2004–05 | Premier League | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | — | 41 | 0 | |
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 46 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | 60 | 0 | |||
| Hull City | 2006–07 | Championship | 15 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||||
| Wembley | 2012–13 | Combined Counties League | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 400 | 22 | 49 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 67 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 542 | 32 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1999 | 5 | 0 |
| 2000 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 0 | |
Arsenal
England U21
Individual
General
Specific
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
