Ray Parlour

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Ray Parlour
Personal information
Full name Raymond Parlour
Date of birth 7 March 1973 (1973-03-07) (age 35)
Place of birth    Romford, England
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Youth clubs
1989–1992 Arsenal
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1992–2004
2004–2007
2007		 Arsenal
Middlesbrough
Hull City
Total		 339 (22)
046 0(0)
015 0(0)
400 (22)   
National team
1992–1994
1998
1999–2000		 England U21
England B
England		 012 0(0)
001 0(0)
010 0(0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Raymond "Ray" Parlour (born 7 March 1973 in Romford, London Borough of Havering, England) is a former England international footballer. He spent his career playing for Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Hull City. During his Arsenal career he was nicknamed "The Romford Pelé";[1] although the nickname was given with an ironic sense of humour,[2] on account of his solid performance but unglamorous image. Nonetheless he has been described as an "unsung hero"[3] and praised as a "fans' favourite" for his high-energy performances.[4]

Contents

[edit] Football career

Parlour is most famous for his time at Arsenal, where he played for 14 years. Parlour joined Arsenal as a trainee in 1989, and made his debut for the Gunners against Liverpool on January 29, 1992, where he conceded a penalty in a 2-0 defeat. Parlour continued to be a bit-part player for the next few years, and was more noted for several disciplinary problems (such as a run-in with a Hong Kong taxi driver while on tour). He did however make 12 appearances for the England U21 team during this time.

He properly broke through in 1994–95, and played in Arsenal's European Cup Winners' Cup final loss to Real Zaragoza that season (having been an unused sub in the Gunners' 1–0 triumph over Parma the previous season). However, Parlour only fully developed as a player after the arrival of Arsène Wenger as manager in 1996; he became a regular fixture playing on the right wing or in central midfield for Arsenal; in 1997–98 Arsenal won the Double and Parlour proved instrumental. He was man-of-the-match in the Gunners' FA Cup Final win over Newcastle United that season; he set up Nicolas Anelka for Arsenal's second goal in a 2–0 win. However, he missed out on the 1998 World Cup that summer (England coach Glenn Hoddle preferring Spurs' Darren Anderton instead).

Parlour finally made his England debut as a substitute in a Euro 2000 qualifier against Poland on March 27, 1999. He won ten caps for his country but did not score any goals; the closest he came was in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Finland on October 11, 2000. Parlour 'scored' with a 30-yard strike which hit the crossbar and was incorrectly designated by the linesman not to have gone over the goal-line;[5] the match finished 0-0. Parlour did not feature in any tournament finals; a knee injury forced him to withdraw from England's squad for Euro 2000. His final cap came in a friendly against Italy on November 15, 2000; Parlour was called up into the squad several times by new coach Sven-Göran Eriksson, but he never made it onto the pitch under the Swede.

Parlour continued to enjoy success with Arsenal for another four years (winning another Double in 2002), but generally received little acclaim in the media compared with many of his more illustrious Arsenal team-mates, especially as he was almost constantly living in the shadow of Patrick Vieira for much of his time at the club. He finally claimed his place in the spotlight with a 30-yard strike to open the scoring in the 2002 FA Cup Final against Chelsea, which was famously pre-empted by Soccer AM's Tim Lovejoy with "Never mind, it's only Ray Parlour"; Arsenal won 2-0, with the second goal from Fredrik Ljungberg. In total, with Arsenal, Parlour won three FA Premier League titles, four FA Cups, one League Cup and one European Cup Winners' Cup having played 464 games and scoring 32 goals in all competitions.

Despite his less than glamourous image, Parlour has an uncanny ability to dish out the spectacular. In March 2000, he hit a hattrick in a 4–2 away win at Werder Bremen in a UEFA Cup quarter final tie. Nine months later, he followed it up with another hattrick in a 5–0 demolition of Newcastle United at Highbury. In April 2001, he struck a spectacular 30-yard winner as Arsenal beat Valencia 2–1 in the UEFA Champions' League Quarter Final 1st leg tie at Highbury. Another one of Parlour's finest moments in Arsenal colours came in November 2003, when as stand-in captain, he led Arsenal to a famous 5–1 win against Inter Milan at San Siro. This has led many pundits to believe that he is one of the most underrated players of his generation.

He moved to Middlesbrough in the summer of 2004, although he still remains a fans' favourite at Arsenal. He played 60 games for Boro in two and a half years, and was an unused substitute in Middlesbrough's appearance in the 2006 UEFA Cup final against Sevilla, which they lost 4-0. Parlour was released from his contract on 25 January 2007 and for a brief period trained with old club Arsenal in order to regain fitness with a view to finding a new club.[6]

On February 9, 2007 he signed for Hull City until the end of the 2006-07 season.[7] After helping City avoid relegation, it was confirmed on 1st June that Ray Parlour was not offered a new contract and this meant he was released.[8]

[edit] Divorce

Parlour married his wife Karen in 1998; the couple had three children before separating in 2001. In July 2004, they agreed a divorce settlement which awarded Karen Parlour two houses and a £250,000 lump sum but the issue of maintenance was not agreed. Ray Parlour offered Karen £120,000 p.a. on the basis that this would meet all of her and their children's needs, but she wanted more. Initially the court awarded her £212,500 a year, but both parties were unsatisfied with this and appealed.

The Court of Appeal increased Karen's award to £440,000 p.a. However, this would only be paid for five years to enable her to put aside £250,000 each year to build up her own capital resources. The case brought with it media speculation that future divorce cases would bring people a more equal share in their former partner's future earnings, and a possible increased usage of prenuptial agreements.[9]

[edit] Honours

[edit] Arsenal

[edit] Middlesbrough

[edit] England U21

[edit] References

  1. ^ Fan's Favourite - Ray Parlour. Arsenal Land. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
  2. ^ "Parlour keen to meet his old friends", Independent on Sunday, 2004-08-22. 
  3. ^ Unsung heroes: Ray Parlour. Square Football. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
  4. ^ Ray Parlour profile. BBC Sport. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
  5. ^ England endure scoreless draw with Finland. RTÉ.
  6. ^ Boro release Parlour. SkySports.com.
  7. ^ Tigers add Parlour's experience. BBC Football.
  8. ^ Parlour not offered Hull contract. BBC Football.
  9. ^ Q&A: Karen Parlour divorce case. BBC News.

[edit] External links

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