Stuart Parnaby


Stuart Parnaby is an English former professional footballer who played as a right back.
Parnaby graduated from Middlesbrough's Academy. He went on to make more than 100 appearances for Middlesbrough's first team before joining Birmingham City in 2007. After four years with the club, a time disrupted by injury, he was released at the end of the 2010–11 season. After having one year out of the game, Parnaby rejoined Middlesbrough in July 2012.

Club career

Middlesbrough

Parnaby was born in Durham, County Durham. He joined Middlesbrough's Academy when he was 10 and began his senior career for Middlesbrough in September 2000 in a League Cup match against Macclesfield Town. The next month, he was loaned to Halifax Town, during which time he played six games and won the Third Division Player of the Month award before returning to his parent club in December 2000.
Parnaby did not feature in the 2001–02 season, due to long-lasting injuries. Nevertheless, Parnaby signed a contract with the club, keeping him until 2004. After recovering from his long-lasting injuries, Parnaby felt he could make his return in the first team.
The 2002–03 season saw Parnaby sidelined until he made his Premier League debut on 26 October 2002, in a 2–2 draw against Leeds United. Following his debut against Leeds United, Parnaby had a run in the first team before a tear on his hamstring kept him sidelined for weeks. Despite this return, Parnaby went on to make 23 appearances for the club. As a result, Parnaby was awarded the Supporters' Club Young Player of the Year award. Parnaby was also awarded with a new contract with the club, keeping him until June 2007.
In the 2003–04 season, Parnaby was featured for the first four matches. However, during the season, he found himself struggling to feature in the team after a four-month layoff for a knee injury. He made his return as a substitute for Franck Queudrue in a 1–0 home loss against Manchester United on 28 December 2003. However, Parnaby's injuries continued towards the end of the 2003–04 season, as well as, the arrival of Danny Mills. Despite this, Parnaby made 16 appearances for the club. Parnaby was part of Middlesbrough's 2004 League Cup-winning team. Despite not making the squad for the final, he appeared in the earlier rounds. It was Parnaby's shot in the semi-final second leg against Arsenal which was deflected in by José Antonio Reyes to seal the win for Middlesbrough.
In the 2004–05 season, he played in over half Middlesbrough's Premier League matches until it was disrupted when he broken his leg in a training ground accident and was expected to be out of action for around three months. Parnaby made his return on 5 February 2005 in a 1–0 home win over Blackburn Rovers. After getting playing time for 10 matches, Parnaby suffered an injury that kept him out for a week before making his return, coming on as a substitute, in a 1–1 draw against Liverpool on 29 April 2005.
In August 2005, Parnaby suffered a knee injury that resulted in him missing the start of the 2005–06 season. He made his first team return on 2 October 2005, coming on as a substitute, in a 3–2 win over Aston Villa. His return was later short-lived when he suffered a minor knock during a League Cup match against Crystal Palace. After three weeks out, Parnaby made his first team-return on 26 December 2005 in a 2–0 loss against Blackburn Rovers. He scored his first Middlesbrough goal on 17 January 2006, in a 5–2 home win over Nuneaton Borough in the fourth round of the FA Cup. A few weeks later, on 31 January 2006, Parnaby scored his first Premier League goal, in a 3–0 win over Sunderland. He then scored his first European goal on 16 February 2006 in the first leg of last 16 of UEFA Cup, in a 2–1 away win over Stuttgart. However, Parnaby suffered a hamstring injury during a match against Birmingham City and was sidelined for three or weeks. He made his return to on 26 March 2006 against Bolton Wanderers and scored in a 4–3 home win. He played a full part in their progress to the semi-final of the FA Cup and the final of the UEFA Cup, in which he started. Parnaby finished the season with 42 appearance and four goals.
He was first-choice right back at the start of the 2006–07 season, but the form and performances of fellow defenders Andrew Davies and Abel Xavier saw him lose his place in the starting line-up. Parnaby suffered a broken toe after colliding with Paul Dickov during a match against Manchester City on 30 October 2006. He made his return in December 2006 before suffering a knee injury in January 2007. After making his return to the team, Parnaby went on to finish 2006–07 with 21 appearances. At the end of the season, he was released by Middlesbrough.

Birmingham City

Parnaby signed a three-year contract with newly promoted Premier League club Birmingham City on 1 June 2007 on a free transfer. He revealed manager Steve Bruce was the main factor in joining Birmingham, stating he made him feel "10 feet tall". Parnaby made his debut on 12 August 2007 in the opening match of the 2007–08 season, coming on as a substitute for Queudrue in the 51st minute of a 3–2 away loss against Chelsea. Ahead of the match against his former club, Middlesbrough, on 1 September 2007, Parnaby hoped his performance would prove manager Gareth Southgate wrong. As the season progressed, Parnaby struggled with injuries and loss of form, so was unable to dislodge Stephen Kelly from the right-back spot.
In pre-season in preparation for the 2008–09 season, Kelly picked up a groin strain, so manager Alex McLeish picked Parnaby for the first match of the season against Sheffield United in the Championship. After making another appearance, Parnaby stated his intention of establishing himself in the team. Following the return of Kelly, Parnaby expected to compete with Kelly for the right-back position. However, Parnaby's injuries overshadowed his season, including missing the rest of the season. He finished the season 24 appearances as Birmingham were promoted to the Premier League as Championship runners-up.
Parnaby was a substitute in Birmingham's first match after their return to the Premier League, against Portsmouth, replacing Grégory Vignal in a 1–0 home victory on 19 August 2009. A week later on 25 August 2009, Parnaby provided an assist for Lee Carsley, which turned out to be the winning goal in a 2–1 win over Southampton in the second round of the League Cup. Parnaby missed the majority of the 2009–10 season, due to injuries and only making the substitutes' bench.
Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Parnaby signed a one-year contract extension with Birmingham. He regained his fitness over pre-season, which he described as the best summer of his career. He made his first appearance of the season on 21 September 2010, in a 3–1 home win over Milton Keynes Dons in the third round of League Cup. Parnaby scored his first goal for Birmingham on 29 January 2011 in a 3–2 home win against Coventry City in the third round of FA Cup. He was an unused substitute as Birmingham won the 2010–11 League Cup, defeating Arsenal 2–1 at Wembley Stadium in the final. Following the club's relegation at the end of the 2010–11 season, Parnaby left when his contract expired.
After a short trial, Parnaby was reported in late September 2011 to have agreed a contract and passed a medical with former club Birmingham City, but the club made a decision not to proceed. He later had trials with Millwall, Charlton Athletic, Carlisle United and Hull City.

Return to Middlesbrough

Parnaby rejoined Middlesbrough on 2 July 2012 on a two-year contract, with the option of a further year. He made his debut on 25 September as manager Tony Mowbray made eleven changes for the League Cup match away to Preston North End, which Middlesbrough won 3–1. Parnaby struggled with injuries throughout the 2012–13 season, limiting him to 18 appearances.
In the 2013–14 season, Parnaby made his return from injury and made his first start in the opening match of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Leicester City. By the time Parnaby had made two appearance, he suffered an injury at the end of August. Following the end of the 2013–14 season, Parnaby was released by the club.

Hartlepool United

Parnaby signed for League Two club Hartlepool United on 26 June 2014. He made his debut in the opening match of the season, a 1–0 away loss to Stevenage on 9 August 2014. However, Parnaby suffered a knee injury and was sidelined for nine months. At the end of the 2014–15 season, Parnaby was released by the club. He announced his retirement from playing on 10 September 2015.

International career

Parnaby made his debut for the England national under-16 team on 23 June 1998 when starting their 4–1 defeat to the United States, as part of a tour of the US. He started all of the under-16's matches from June 1998 to May 1999, and scored his only goal at this level on 30 March 1999 in a 1–0 win over Turkey in a friendly. Parnaby was part of the team at the 1999 UEFA European Under-16 Championship, and played in all of their four matches as they were eliminated by the Czech Republic in the quarter-final. He finished his under-16 career with 11 caps and one goal from 1998 to 1999.
Parnaby debuted for the under-18s on 8 March 2000 as a starter in a 3–0 defeat to France in a friendly. His only goal at this level came on 11 October 2000 with a 90th-minute winner against Italy in 2001 UEFA European Under-18 Championship qualification. He was a regular starter for the under-18s, making eight appearances and scoring one goal from 2000 to 2001.
Parnaby made his debut for the under-20s on 10 April 2002 when starting a 2–0 defeat to Portugal in a friendly. He played in three of the team's five matches at the 2002 Toulon Tournament, and scored a 46th-minute goal in the second match, a 1–0 victory over Poland on 10 May. He made four appearances and scored one goal for the under-20s in 2002.
Parnaby debuted for the under-21s on 6 September 2002 as a 78th-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw with Yugoslavia in a friendly. He made his first start on 2 June 2003 in a 3–2 win over Serbia and Montenegro in a friendly. He made two further appearances, finishing his under-21 career with four caps from 2002 to 2003.

Coaching career

Seven months after announcing his retirement, Parnaby re-joined Hartlepool as the club's pre-rehabilitation and conditioning coach. He was removed from his position in July 2017.
Parnaby joined Martin Gray's backroom staff at National League North club York City in July 2018 as strength and conditioning coach. When Gray left the club, youth-team manager Sam Collins took over as caretaker manager on 20 August, with Parnaby his assistant. Collins and Parnaby were appointed permanently on 10 October after recording four wins from eight matches. Parnaby left the club on 7 January 2019 shortly after Collins was dismissed as manager with the team 15th in the table.

Personal life

In 2010, Parnaby married his partner of seven years, Paula, in his home city of Durham. In late 2013, Parnaby and his wife were expecting their first child. However, the baby died. Ahead of the match against Brighton & Hove Albion, Middlesbrough's players wore black armbands as a mark of respect. Her death prompted Parnaby to set up an online charity appeal, which raised over £5,000 in two days.
Parnaby has an older brother, who is a golfer and resides in United States.

Career statistics

Honours

Middlesbrough
Birmingham City