Blackburn FC mourns Tony Parks

Tony Parks, former player and coach of Blackburn Rovers Football Club, has died at the age of 76, after a busy career in which his name was associated with the English club for 34 years.

Parks' daughter, Natalie, announced the news of his death yesterday, Wednesday, after a struggle with Alzheimer's disease, which he was diagnosed with in 2020.

The deceased is considered one of Blackburn's legends, as he played more than 400 matches as a midfielder, before moving on to work as an assistant coach under the leadership of 16 different coaches, including Kenny Dalglish during the historic season that witnessed the team winning the English Premier League title in 1994/1995.

Parks began his journey with Blackburn in 1970, coming from the Paxton team, and contributed to the club winning the third division title in the 1974/1975 season, before retiring from playing in 1982 after scoring 46 goals in 409 matches.

Blackburn described his late player as “a tireless fighting midfielder, ready to play tough, non-showy roles, and he also had the striker’s look to score decisive goals.”

In addition to his career as a player and assistant coach, Parks assumed the position of interim coach of Blackburn in six different periods, the most notable of which was in the 1996/1997 season when he succeeded in saving them from relegation and establishing themselves in the Premier League.

Parks left Blackburn in 2004, and later moved to work as a scout for Leicester City, then as assistant coach Simon Grayson at Blackpool.