Ray Parlour

Raymond Parlour (born 7 March 1973) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder from 1992 to 2007.

Ray Parlour
Parlour pictured in December 2006
Personal information
Full name Raymond Parlour[1]
Date of birth (1973-03-07) 7 March 1973[1]
Place of birth Romford, England
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1989–1992 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–2004 Arsenal 339 (32)
2004–2007 Middlesbrough 46 (0)
2007 Hull City 15 (0)
2012 Wembley 0 (0)
Total 400 (32)
National team
1992–1994 England U21 12 (0)
1998 England B 1 (0)
1999–2000 England 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He spent his career playing for Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Hull City. While at Arsenal he was nicknamed "The Romford Pelé", 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.[2] He is now a pundit on television, as well as on radio stations BBC Radio 5 Live and Talksport. In 2012, he briefly came out of retirement to play for Wembley in the club's FA Cup fixtures.

Club career

Arsenal

Parlour is most famous for his time at Arsenal, where he played for fourteen years. He joined the club as a trainee in 1989 and made his debut for the Gunners against Liverpool on 29 January 1992, conceding a penalty in a 2–0 defeat. During his first few seasons at Highbury he was a relatively insignificant figure, attracting less attention for his football than for such disciplinary problems as a contretemps with a Hong Kong taxi driver while on tour.

He rose to greater prominence in 1994–95, when he took part in Arsenal's European UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final loss to Real Zaragoza (having been an unused substitute in the Gunners' 1–0 triumph over Parma in 1993-1994). But he only achieved his full potential after the arrival of Arsène Wenger as Arsenal's manager in 1996, becoming a regular fixture on the right wing or in central midfield. In 1997–98 Arsenal won the Double, and Parlour was instrumental in his club's achievement: he was man-of-the-match in the Gunners' FA Cup Final win over Newcastle United, setting up Nicolas Anelka for Arsenal's second goal in a 2–0 win. His increasing success in his Gunners shirt did not, however, secure him a place in England's 1998 World Cup squad, coach Glenn Hoddle preferring Spurs' Darren Anderton instead.

In March 2000, he hit a hat-trick in a 4–2 away win at Werder Bremen in a UEFA Cup quarter-final tie, helping to earn his club a place in the competition's final. He was the only Arsenal player successful from the penalty spot in the team's shoot-out defeat by Galatasaray. Seven months later, he contributed another hat-trick to a 5–0 demolition of Newcastle United at Highbury. In April 2001, again at Highbury, he struck a spectacular 30-yard winner as Arsenal beat Valencia 2–1 in the first leg tie of a UEFA Champions League quarter-final. In 2002, another year in which Arsenal won the Double, he opened the scoring in the Gunners' 2–0 FA Cup Final victory over Chelsea, putting his club ahead with a 30-yard strike that Soccer AM's commentator Tim Lovejoy famously failed to anticipate: "Oh, it's all right, it's only Ray Parlour".[3] And in November 2003, he was the stand-in captain who led his team to a renowned 5–1 victory over Internazionale at San Siro.

In total, Parlour played 466 games for the Gunners, scoring 32 games in all competitions. His curriculum vitae with the club includes three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, one League Cup and one European Cup Winners' Cup. As of April 2020, 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 of Patrick Vieira in particular. But many Arsenal fans believe him to have been one of the most underrated players of his generation.[4]

Middlesbrough

In July 2004, Parlour joined Premier League club Middlesbrough on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract at The Riverside.[5] He played 60 games for Boro in two and a half years, and was an unused substitute in Middlesbrough's 4–0 defeat by Sevilla in the 2006 UEFA Cup Final. He was released from his contract on 25 January 2007, returning to his former club for a short period in order to train with them with a view to improving his fitness before finding employment in a new one.

Hull City

On 9 February 2007, Hull City signed Parlour until the end of the 2006–07 season in the hope that his experience would help them to avoid the relegation that was threatening them.[6] With their place in the Championship secured, it was confirmed on 1 June that the club would not be retaining Parlour's services for the following season's campaign.[7]

Wembley

In June 2012, Parlour was one of several retired footballers enlisted by the semi-professional Wembley to assist them in the forthcoming season's competition for the FA Cup. His fellow former internationals Claudio Caniggia, Graeme Le Saux, Martin Keown and Brian McBride joined him as players, David Seaman was recruited as a goalkeeping coach and Terry Venables, formerly the manager of England, served as the club's technical advisor. A television documentary recorded the team's improbable quest for Wembley Stadium glory. In the event, although Wembley's array of famous names succeded in helping them to knock out Langford, the club proved unable to progress beyond a replay against Uxbridge.

International career

Parlour appeared for the England under-21 team on twelve occasions. He made his senior team debut as a substitute in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier against Poland on 27 March 1999; he won ten caps for England altogether, without ever scoring any goals. The closest he came to one was in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Finland on 11 October 2000, when he 'scored' with a 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.[8][9] His final cap came in a friendly against Italy on 15 November 2000. He was called up into the squad several times by Sven-Göran Eriksson, but the Swede never sent him onto a pitch.

Personal life

Parlour and his wife Karen were a couple from their early youth, although they did not get married until 1998. They have three children: Charlotte, Frankie and Georgina. Their separation in 2001 led to a very high profile divorce. In July 2004, they agreed how to divide their existing wealth – Parlour giving Karen two mortgage-free houses and £250,000 – but they were unable to negotiate a mutually satisfactory arrangement over their income. Parlour thought that £120,000 a year would be enough to meet Karen's and their children's needs: Karen wanted more. The ensuing court case concluded in an award that increased Parlour's annual payment to £212,500, but neither party was satisfied with this outcome, and both appealed against the finding. The couple's second round of litigation resulted in Karen's being awarded an income of £440,000 a year to be paid for five years, an amount that the Court of Appeal thought sufficient to allow her to put aside £250,000 a year to add to her capital. The case led media commentators to suggest that the finding heralded a new era in the divorces of wealthy couples, with non-earning spouses being awarded a larger share of their former partner's income than thitherto, and some pundits forecast an increasing use of prenuptial agreements in consequence.[10]

Career statistics

Club

Source:[11]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season Division League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal1991–92First Division6100000061
1992–93Premier League2114140—292
1993–94Premier League272302000322
1994–95Premier League30020509[lower-alpha 1]0460
1995–96Premier League2200040—260
1996–97Premier League30230102[lower-alpha 2]0362
1997–98Premier League34571402[lower-alpha 2]0476
1998–99Premier League35670005[lower-alpha 3]0476
1999–2000Premier League301102012[lower-alpha 4]4455
2000–01Premier League334400010[lower-alpha 5]2476
2001–02Premier League27042108[lower-alpha 5]0402
2002–03Premier League19060003[lower-alpha 6]0280
2003–04Premier League25030306[lower-alpha 7]0370
Total 3392244426057646632
Middlesbrough2004–05Premier League33020006[lower-alpha 2]0410
2005–06Premier League13020004[lower-alpha 2]0190
2006–07Premier League000000—00
Total 4604000100600
Hull City2006–07Championship150———150
Wembley2012–13Combined Counties League—10——10
Career total 4002249426067654232
  1. Seven appearances in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, one in UEFA Super Cup
  2. Appearances in the UEFA Cup
  3. Four appearances in the UEFA Champions League, One in the FA Charity Shield
  4. One appearance and one goal in FA Charity Shield, eight appearances and three goals in the UEFA Cup, four in the UEFA Champions League
  5. Appearances in the UEFA Champions League
  6. Two appearances in the UEFA Champions League, One in the FA Community Shield
  7. Five appearances in the UEFA Champions League, One in the FA Community Shield

International
Source:[12]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
England 199950
200050
Total100

Honours

Arsenal

England U21

Individual

References

General

  • Parlour, Ray; Lawrence, Amy (2016), The Romford Pelé, Century, ISBN 9781780895048

Specific

  1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2003). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004. Queen Anne Press. p. 330. ISBN 1-85291-651-6.
  2. "Ray Parlour profile". BBC Sport. 7 July 2004. Retrieved 17 February 2007.
  3. Hurrey, Adam (25 May 2017), Bradley Walsh vs Tim Lovejoy: 2002 FA Cup final, retrieved 15 April 2019
  4. Parlour & Lawrence 2005, p. 281
  5. "Middlesbrough sign Parlour". BBC Sport. British Broadcast Corporation. 23 July 2004. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  6. "Tigers add Parlour's experience". BBC Football. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  7. "Parlour not offered Hull contract". BBC Football. 1 June 2007. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  8. "Keegan names Euro 2000 squad". BBC Sport. 1 June 2000. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  9. "Euro heartache for midfield duo". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 30 May 2000. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  10. Silverman, Jon (7 July 2004). "Q&A: Karen Parlour divorce case". BBC News. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  11. Ray Parlour at Soccerbase
  12. "Ray Parlour". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  13. "Ray Parlour: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  14. Parlour & Lawrence 2005, p. 279
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