Former Blackburn Rovers coach and son of Sheffield Tony Parkes dies aged 76
The Sheffield native was part of Kenny Dalglish’s coaching team which won the Premier League in 1995
Tributes have been paid to Blackburn Rovers icon and son of Sheffield Tony Parkes after his death at the age of 76.
Parkes, who was born in Sheffield on May 5, 1949, was synonymous with Blackburn after playing and working for them for 34 years.
The midfielder, who started his career in non-league with Buxton F.C, joined Rovers in 1970 and played a combined total of 400 matches for the Ewood Park outfit while chipping in with 38 goals, forming part of the team which won promotion from the Third Division on two occasions in 1975 and 1980 respectively.
Parkes retired from football in 1982 but continued to be associated with Blackburn long after his playing days had finished. He joined the coaching staff as assistant manager to fellow South Yorkshireman Bobby Sexton before going on to work under a further 15 managers in 1986 and 2004, including famous names like Kenny Dalglish, Roy Hodgson, Brian Kidd and Graeme Souness.
During his time at Blackburn as a coach, the club experienced a meteoric rise up the football pyramid which was spearheaded by the financial backing of local businessman and owner Jack Walker.
Blackburn won promotion to the top-flight via the play-offs in 1992 to feature in the inaugural Premier League season and within three seasons became the champions of English football for the first time since 1914 with then British record signing Alan Shearer along with names like Tim Sherwood, Tim Flowers and Chris Sutton playing a vital role.
Parkes stood in as assistant coach on six occasions at Blackburn before leaving in 2004. Rovers credited him for steering the club to top-flight safety in 1996-97 after the departure of boss Ray Harford with the team at the bottom of the league at that time.
He also worked as Blackpool’s assistant coach before also becoming caretaker at Bloomfield Road for a brief period in 2008/09. Overall, he managed nearly 100 matches in his career without ever being a manager on a full-time basis.
Blackburn have said there will be a special tribute to Parkes before their final Championship game of the season at home to Leicester on Saturday, 2 May.
Former Blackburn striker and Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer posted on X: "RIP Tony. A great man."
Journalist Henry Winter posted: “Wonderful ma and the embodiment of loyalty who always put others first, Tony Parkes was a great servant of Blackburn Rovers Football Club. A good midfielder, very good and popular coach, and six times caretaker manager. Tony cared. Thoughts with his family and many friends. RIP.”
Chris Sutton said: “Really sad news to hear of Tony Parkes passing. Tony was a great player and coach for Rovers with a wonderful sense of humour. He was Mr Blackburn and will be sorely missed. Thoughts and prayers go out to Natalie and the Parkes family.”