Phil Parkinson appointed Bradford City manager

Phil Parkinson appointed Bradford City manager

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/14692940.stm

Former Charlton Athletic boss Phil Parkinson has been appointed Bradford City manager.

Peter Jackson resigned on Thursday after the League Two side picked up just one point from four games.

Parkinson, who has been out of work since he left Charlton in January, has signed a two-year deal at Valley Parade.

A club statement read: "Parkinson was always the club's number one choice to land the position."

The 43-year-old Parkinson played for Bury and Reading before moving into management with Colchester and then Hull.

Jackson was appointed as permanent manager of Bradford in May, following a three-month period as interim boss.

But the 50-year-old decided to quit following a poor start to the campaign, saying it would give the Yorkshire club the "best possible chance for the rest of the season".

Bradford began life after Jackson by beating Barnet 4-2 on Saturday.



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From BCFC website

http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/page/News/0,,10266~2435136,00.html

Parkinson appointed City boss

Following intense media speculation, Bradford City Football Club is delighted to officially announce the appointment of Phil Parkinson as their new first team manager.

Parkinson was always the club's number one choice to land the position, which has been vacant since the departure of former City captain Peter Jackson four days ago.

The 43 year old, who has signed a two year contract, will start his job with immediate effect.

Colin Cooper, who led City to their first win of the season against Barnet at the weekend while in temporary charge, will prepare the side for Tuesday's Johnstone's Paint Trophy tie with Sheffield Wednesday to enable Parkinson to fully settle into his new role.

After a successful 15 year playing career as a tough-tackling midfielder with Southampton, Bury and Reading, Parkinson took his first steps into management with Colchester United in 2003.

Despite having the lowest average attendance in the division, Parkinson led Colchester to the Championship with a second place finish in the 2005/06 League 1 season.

Parkinson also led Colchester to the F.A Cup 5th round on two seperate occasions during his three years at Layer Road.

His amazing achievements with the U's earned him an exciting opportunity to manage Hull City, with the Tigers reportedly paying Colchester £400,000 for his services.

Unfortunately for Parkinson, his time at Hull didn't work out according to plan and he left the KC Stadium in December 2006.

He wasn't out of work for long, however, as he was quickly appointed as Alan Pardew's assistant at Charlton Athletic around a month later.

After nearly two years in the role at The Valley, Parkinson was appointed caretaker manager following Pardew's departure in November 2008.

Parkinson did enough to impress the Charlton board during the one month he was in temporary charge as he was given the job on a full time basis on New Year's Eve.

With confidence in the squad at a severe low at the time though, he was unfortunately unable to prevent Charlton slipping out of the Championship. His Addicks' side did end the season with only one defeat to their name out of their last eight matches as they left the division with their heads held high.

Parkinson also ensured that their was no relegation hangover in his squad for the following season as Charlton started their 2009/10 League 1 season with six successive wins.

He eventually led Charlton to a 4th place finish at the end of the regular season - only two points off an automatic promotion spot - and therefore a place in Play-Offs.

Despite pushing opponents Swindon Town all the way in both legs of their Play-Offs semi-final, Parkinson's Chalrton eventually suffered the agony of losing out on penalties.

Unfortunately for Parkinson, Charlton were unable to carry their promotion-chasing form into the following season as they suffered a slow start to the 2010/2011 campaign.

Parkinson eventually left The Valley in January 2011.

The Chorley-born coach will now join the Bantams after taking part in some scouting duties in recent months for Arsene Wenger's Arsenal.

Parkinson will be formally introduced to the squad this morning before turning to the main task in hand - helping to push the Bantams up the League 2 table.

The board and staff of Bradford City would like to take this opportunity to wish Phil every success in his new role at the football club and ask all Bradford supporters to give the new management team their full support.





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http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/page/News/0,,10266~2435590,00.html

Parkinson comes highly recommended says Lawn

City joint-chairman Mark Lawn says there were a number of reasons why new City boss Phil Parkinson came out on top in the search for Peter Jackson's replacement.

Lawn admits that Parkinson's name was always prominent in City's thinking when they began looking for a new manager thanks to several glowing recommendations from figures within the game.

He has revealed that the club's board were also won over by Parkinson's high levels of professionalism, motivation and work-rate.

Lawn said: "Phil was recommended to us by a lot of people high up in the football fraternity.

"He has a reputation within the football fraternity of being an extremely hard-worker

"His name also came top of our list when we were having a meeting to discuss Peter Jackson's successor a few nights ago.

"He was the first person that we interviewed as well - he was always top of our list.

"He came across as a very professional man - driven, motivated and he wants to do well.

"I honestly think that if there hadn't of been a change of ownership at Charlton (Athletic) during his time there then he probably would still be there now."

While clearly exciting by the prospect of Parkinson at City's helm, Lawn has urged supporters to give the new manager time to get settled into the job and mould the squad into his image.

Lawn says that City have not written this season off by any means, however, and with Kyel Reid's signature already secured, the joint-chairman has confirmed that Parkinson will be given a budget to bring in more new players.

"I still think that Bradford fans should look at this as a rebuilding season," explained Lawn.

"I think if we can get around the edge of the Play-Off zone then I think that will be a good season for us.

"I think you will see that Phil is going to be bringing in some new players and I think they will be the sort of players that we excite the fans."


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http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/page/News/0,,10266~2435180,00.html

Name: Phil Parkinson

Date of Birth: 01/12/67

Place of Birth: Chorley, Lancashire

Phil Parkinson was officially unveiled as Bradford City's latest first team manager on Monday 29 August 2011.

Below is a brief look at his journey through football before his arrival at Valley Parade:


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