Leicester City In 100 Players: Garry Parker

[davieG]

https://www.lcfc.com/news/3251546/leicester-city-in-100-players-garry-parker?lang=en

 

Oxford-born Parker was a classy midfielder with a great passing ability, vision and ability to read a game. He arrived at Filbert Street in February 1995 with a very impressive record.

In May 1983, he made his debut against Manchester United as a 17 year-old for David Pleat’s Luton Town in an old First Division fixture. In 1985, he played in the Luton Town side defeated by Everton in the FA Cup Semi-Final before moving to Hull City, where he spent two years, winning six England Under-21s caps.

In March 1988, he was transferred to Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest for a fee of £260,000. At Forest, he won the League Cup in 1989 and, later that season, played in the FA Cup at Hillsborough on the day of the Hillsborough disaster. He was a League Cup winner again in 1990 and an FA Cup finalist against Tottenham Hotspur in 1991.

In November 1991, he moved to Aston Villa for a fee of £650,000, was selected for the full England squad and was in the Villa side which finished runners-up in the first season of the Premier League.

Garry joined Mark McGhee’s Leicester City in February 1995, although they were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the season. He was made captain at the start of the next season. When McGhee left in December 1995, Martin O’Neill succeeded him, but the team only won three of the next 15 league games.

A late season run of good results saw City scrape into the play-offs. Garry scored the winning goal in the second leg of the semi-final against Stoke City and equalised with a penalty in the Play-Off Final at Wembley in the victory over Crystal Palace. He was Man of the Match at Wembley and was Leicester City’s Player of the Year.

The next season, he was a key member of the City side which finished ninth in the Premier League, won the League Cup and qualified for the UEFA Cup, when he played in both legs of the controversial defeat by Atlético Madrid in September 1997. He joined O’Neill’s coaching staff at Leicester in 1999 and continued as coach under Peter Taylor until Taylor was sacked in September 2001, resulting in Garry briefly becoming caretaker manager for one game.

He left Filbert Street soon afterwards. He became first team coach for Neil Lennon at Celtic, Bolton Wanderers, Hibernian and, most recently, the Cypriot side Omonia Nicosia, where he was assistant manager.

[Otis]

There's a player who could pick out a pass.

[Foxdiamond]

4 minutes ago, Otis said:

There's a player who could pick out a pass.

Great memories of the goal lashed in against Stoke in the play off second leg and of course that penalty at Wembley against Palace 

[Guest Electric Yetis]

7 minutes ago, Otis said:

There's a player who could pick out a pass.

And take a penalty, apart from away to Scarborough.

[Tim1974]

Parker was class. One of my all time favourites.

Lennon, Parker, Izzet and Taylor. What a midfield.

[CrazyKopCorner]

My sort of player. Oozed class and self assurance. We played some our finest football with him pulling the strings under Maghee and O’Neil 

[Guest Col city fan]

One of my fave players cos I love the cultured midfielders who can pick a pass.

Used to love watching Parker

[ParkerPen]

class act, i'm a fan, as you could probably guess...

[Guest Mickyblueeyes]

Fantastic passer of the ball. I remember one at Filbert Street. He was on the half way line and the there was a bit of head tennis. Ball fell to Parker and he played a first timed, volleyed pass and we were through. Vardy would’ve loved that

[Pliskin]

I bloody loved Parker. First player I ever had on my shirt. Moved like a locomotive but had binocular vision.  

[bovril]

Superb player. One of the best dead-ball players I've seen at Leicester. In fact, probably the best. Unstoppable from pens of course but also his free kicks and corners were superb. Look at some of our most iconic goals of that era - Walsh vs Arsenal, Claridge vs Palace and Boro, Grayson vs Wimbledon, and they came from Parker set pieces. 

[Angus Scott]

One of my all time favourite players. I wish we had him now

[ParkerPen]

3 minutes ago, bovril said:

Superb player. One of the best dead-ball players I've seen at Leicester. In fact, probably the best. Unstoppable from pens of course but also his free kicks and corners were superb. Look at some of our most iconic goals of that era - Walsh vs Arsenal, Claridge vs Palace and Boro, Grayson vs Wimbledon, and they came from Parker set pieces. 

i forget whose testimonial , but i remember parker taking a penalty from the spot, bottom corner. the the 18 yard line, bottom corner. then the edge of the 'd', bottom corner !

 

lazy player, because (no disrespect intended in any way) he could afford to be. like Le Tissier, but in a different way of course.

Imagine how good he would have been if he worked hard

[moseeds]

Loved Garry parker. First 'classy' player in my LCFC memory. I think mark draper came before under mcghee? Parker turned a scrappy midfield into a somewhat watchable one.

[Guest Electric Yetis]

7 minutes ago, moseeds said:

Loved Garry parker. First 'classy' player in my LCFC memory. I think mark draper came before under mcghee? Parker turned a scrappy midfield into a somewhat watchable one.

Draper was signed by Little but left under McGhee.

McGhee signed Parker, we had them both at the same time for a short while.

 

The less said about Parker's match in charge vs Leeds the better although he did give Matt Piper his debut.

 

Edited 2 May 2023 by Rain King

[bovril]

20 minutes ago, ParkerPen said:

i forget whose testimonial , but i remember parker taking a penalty from the spot, bottom corner. the the 18 yard line, bottom corner. then the edge of the 'd', bottom corner !

 

lazy player, because (no disrespect intended in any way) he could afford to be. like Le Tissier, but in a different way of course.

Imagine how good he would have been if he worked hard

Was this in 2000? Because I have the same memory from sitting in the double decker. Think it was Zagorakis' last game. Just can't remember whose testimonial it was. 

Edited 2 May 2023 by bovril

[SouthStandUpperTier]

I remember an early game under MON (I think it was a home defeat to Ipswich) where he and Parker had a massive bust-up at halftime, and Parker was said to have thrown his halftime cuppa over MON's suit. Anyone remember this? Suffice to say their relationship improved, as did results.

[ParkerPen]

37 minutes ago, bovril said:

Was this in 2000? Because I have the same memory from sitting in the double decker. Think it was Zagorakis' last game. Just can't remember whose testimonial it was. 

I think so yes, my memory is shit but would have been at the end of Garry's career so the timing is about right

[Trav Le Bleu]

The only player I've ever seen, for any team, get sent off for taking a free kick too quickly 

 

Possibly our best ever set piece taker in terms of delivering a ball for someone else.

[Topman]

I think it was premiership game against Norwich, sitting in the family stand at Filbert Street, Parker scored a great goal which curled right in to the bottom corner. I take Lennon, Parker and Izzet over our current midfield 

[East Langton Fox]

Wasn’t his one game in charge a 6 0 defeat to Arsenal or have I misremembered that?

[Guest Electric Yetis]

1 minute ago, East Langton Fox said:

Wasn’t his one game in charge a 6 0 defeat to Arsenal or have I misremembered that?

Leeds