OTD: PHIL PARKINSON BORN

Born on this day in 1967 in Chorley is arguably Sunderland’s worst ever manager, Phil Parkinson. The former Bradford City boss is currently managing Wrexham in the Championship.

Parkinson had seen success with Bradford back in 2012, defeating Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter final in a penalty shootout. The Bantams then beat Premier League side Aston Villa at home 3-1 in the semi final, winning the two-legged tie on aggregate 4-3. Despite losing 5-0 to Swansea City in the final, Parkinson received plaudits for the side’s ground breaking cup run and went on to win promotion from League Two in the same season.

The following season, Parkinson’s men caused more upsets in the FA Cup. They went to Stamford Bridge and no one gave them a chance, especially when they went 2-0 down in the first half! However, Bradford fought back and won the game 4-2, with former Sunderland striker Jon Stead scoring the Bantams’ first goal. Parkinson went on to defeat his future employers Sunderland in the fifth round, thanks to a John O’Shea own goal and another strike from Sunderland flop Stead.

After Bradford, Parkinson joined Bolton Wanderers in 2016. He led the club to the top of the table, unbeaten in the first month of the season and winning League One’s Manager of the Month for August 2016. Bolton sealed automatic promotion in Parkinson’s first season with the club, despite them being under a transfer embargo. These financial difficulties continued in the Championship and it was a huge achievement when Parkinson survived relegation, whereas Sunderland were of course relegated in the same campaign. he eventually resigned in 2019, due to the club's financial difficulties and inability to play their fixtures.

When Parkinson arrived on Wearside in October 2019, he took over from Jack Ross but got off to a losing start away at Wycombe Wanderers. He was clearly nobody’s first choice to be manager and joined the club to a feeling of apathy. However, things quickly turned around as he marked his first home game with a resounding 5-0 win over Tranmere Rovers.

One of Parkinson’s most notable things from his time at Sunderland was his bust-up with Aiden McGeady. Parkinson famously dropped the tricky winger due to his supposed negative impact on the squad. McGeady was made to train with the reserves, before joining Charlton Athletic on loan.

The manager seemed stuck in his ways and was unable to adapt his playing style to suit the squad he had, persisting with a mind-numbing five at the back system that simply wasn’t working. His substitutions were far too ponderous and the signing of Danny Graham raised a number of questions alone.

The club finished eighth in League One, with Parkinson taking the side from pushing for automatic promotion under Ross to missing out of the play-offs altogether. He was eventually relieved of his duties in November 2020, with many suggesting that it was far too late.

Parkinson is now managing Championship side Wrexham, who have been bankrolled by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny. He's been really succesful with Y Dreigiau, although he has often had the biggest budget in the league to work with, and he won back-to-back-to-back promotions from the National League to the Championship between 2023 and 2025. At the time of writing, his side sit just two points outside of the Championship play-off places, so he could end up in the Premier League come the end of the season.