Paul Parry

Football player infobox
playername = Paul Parry


fullname = Paul Ian Parry
height =
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1980|8|19
cityofbirth = Chepstow
countryofbirth = Wales
currentclub = Cardiff City
clubnumber = 11
position = Winger/Striker
youthyears = 1995–1997
1997–1998
youthclubs = Bristol City
Hereford United
years = 1998–2004
2004–
clubs = Hereford United
Cardiff City
caps(goals) = 150 (29)
160 (23)
nationalyears = 2004-2008
nationalteam = Wales
nationalcaps(goals) = 012 0(1)
pcupdate = 13:14, 4 October 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 11:18 8 September 2008 (UTC)

Paul Ian Parry (born August 19, 1980 in Chepstow) is a former Welsh international football player who currently plays for Football League Championship side Cardiff City. He plays as a left-winger/striker.

Personal life

Parry suffers from a severe fear of flying (aviophobia) which, like other footballers such as Dennis Bergkamp, has caused problems during his career due to his inability to sometimes travel with the Wales team to far-away countries. He manages to overcome by taking tablets. It has also caused problems in his club career when his teams have travelled to opposite ends of Great Britain. He has often managed to get around the problem by travelling the long distances by car. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/cardiff_city/4418428.stm "Parry vows to conquer flying fear"] BBC Sport Retrieved on 7 November, 2007]

As a youngster he attended Chepstow Comprehensive School.

Club career

Parry started his career at Bristol City where he spent two years as a schoolboy, before joining Hereford United as a YTS trainee. [ [http://archive.thisisherefordshire.co.uk/2003/7/17/32975.html Parry sights on move to big time] Hereford Times, 14 December 1999. Retrieved on 17 May 2008.] He made his league debut for Hereford on 7 November 1998, coming on as a substitute in a 3-2 defeat away to Leek Town. His profile was raised after an excellent FA Cup performance against Leicester City in the 1999/00 season. In this match, Parry so nearly scored the winning goal when he dribbled past 5 Leicester players and hit the post when one-on-one with goalkeeper Tim Flowers. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/1999/dec/13/match.hereford Parry leaves big-timers quivering] The Guardian, 13 December 1999. Retrieved on 17 May 2008.]

He was Hereford's leading goalscorer in the 2002-03 season. On December 19, 2003, under the watchful eye of Cardiff City manager Lennie Lawrence, Parry scored a hat-trick for Hereford in a 7-1 rout over Forest Green. Soon after, Cardiff signed him for an initial fee of £75,000 [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/cardiff_city/3375511.stm "Parry completes Cardiff move"] BBC Sport Retrieved on 7 November, 2007] (which would increase depending on appearances). Parry's final appearance for Hereford saw him score the winning goal in added time against Stevenage. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_conf/3349385.stm Hereford 1-0 Stevenage] BBC Sport, 3 January 2004. Retrieved on 17 May 2008.]

He quickly became a firm favourite with the Bluebirds fans under manager Lennie Lawrence. During this time Parry came close to leaving after the club revealed that it had large financial problems. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/cardiff_city/4323627.stm "Hammam offers apology to Cardiff"] BBC Sport Retrieve don 7 November ,2007] He was linked with a move to Yeovil Town [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/cardiff_city/5132442.stm "Winger Parry linked with Yeovil"] BBC Sport Retrieved on 7 November, 2007] but he eventually managed to avoid the cull of players, which included club captain Graham Kavanagh and star players Jobi McAnuff and Peter Thorne, and he has continued to improve under current manager Dave Jones where he is currently the longest serving first team player at the club and is a huge favourite with the Bluebirds fans.

Parry began the 2007/08 season in fine form, forcing summer signing Trevor Sinclair out of the team with his impressive displays. His continuing good form also found him finding the net more often for Cardiff with goals against QPR, Burnley, Ipswich Town and Sheffield United leaving him as the Bluebirds joint top scorer by late December. His good form in the season and Cardiff's financial trouble saw several other Championship sides enquire about him, Norwich City even having a £750,000 offer rejected, but Parry has stated that he does not wish to leave Cardiff. [ [http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/footballnation/football-news/2008/01/10/parry-vows-to-stay-at-city-and-carry-on-good-work-91466-20334948/ "Parry vows to stay at City and carry on good work"] South Wales Echo Retrieved on 15 January, 2008]

In April he suffered a hamstring injury during a 0-0 draw against West Bromwich Albion and he was forced to miss the remaining league games of the season as well as the FA Cup semi-final win over Barnsley. The injury meant he was forced into a long wait over his chances of appearing in the final, [ [http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/footballnation/football-news/2008/05/14/revitalised-parry-out-to-make-cup-final-mark-91466-20907877/ "Revitalised Parry out to make cup final mark"] South Wales Echo Retrieved on 18 May, 2008] but he did eventually manage to return in time and played all 90 minutes in a 1-0 defeat to Portsmouth.

International career

Parry made his international debut for Wales on February 18, 2004, coming on as a substitute in the 4-0 win over Scotland. It capped a remarkable rise for the midfielder who, at the time, had only made five appearances since joining Cardiff and had been playing Conference football six weeks earlier. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/wales/3504065.stm "Parry caps amazing rise"] BBC Sport Retrieved on 7 November, 2007] He scored his first international goal in the 1-0 win over Canada on May 30, 2004.

In August 2007 Parry was called up to the Wales squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Germany and Slovakia but pulled out of the squad for personal reasons, which were later revealed to be due to going through a stressful divorce and custody battle. [ [http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/cardiff-news/2008/07/31/parry-divorce-stress-cost-me-welsh-place-91466-21437820/ "Parry: Divorce stress cost me Welsh place"] Western Mail Retrieved on 5 October, 2008] His decision was branded "silly" by former Cardiff player Jason Perry. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6969962.stm "Parry's Wales pull-out criticised"] BBC Sport Retrieved on 7 November, 2007] However on 15 January, 2008 Parry stated that he would return to play for Wales if he was called upon by Toshack. [ [http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/sport/football/latest/display.var.1963141.0.parry_outlines_wales_desire.php "Parry outlines Wales desire"] Southwalesargus.co.uk Retrieved on 15 January, 2008] Parry returned to international football to win one more cap before causing another shock by announcing his retirement from internationals at the age of 28. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7603887.stm "Parry in shock Wales retirement"] BBC Sport Retrieved on 8 September, 2008]

During his time at Hereford Parry also played for the Wales semi-professional team. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/wales/3044723.stm "Wales lose semi-pro crown"] BBC Sport Retrieved on 7 November, 2007]

Career statistics

Honours

;Cardiff

*

Playing style

Parry's main position is as a winger on either the left or right side. However he can also play as a striker, which he has done on several occasions for Cardiff. He is a very pacy player who often takes defenders on and has a good ability to cut inside and shoot at goal.

Trivia

Paul Parry is rather amusingly called "Porn Darry" in Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 due to the game having to use made up names for the Welsh National team.

References

External links

* [http://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10335~20683,00.html Gavin Rae player profile] at cardiffcityfc.co.uk
*soccerbase|id=16396|name=Paul Parry
* [http://www.icons.com/parry/ Paul Parry Official Website] at Icons.com