The former Hull City forward used dark arts to get his move
Jon Parkin has made a comical admission about his transfer to Hull City(Image: In The Mixer)
Jon Parkin admits he comically faked an injury to push through a move to Hull City. The journeyman striker spent just over a year at what was the KC Stadium.
Parkin, the iconic Football League marksman nicknamed The Beast, bagged over 200 goals across his career, having started in the academy of his hometown Barnsley.
From there, he went on to play in all three EFL divisions and was promoted to the Premier League with Stoke City in 2008, but never made a top-flight appearance for them. He retired in 2019.
In 2006, Parkin moved from League Two’s Macclesfield Town to the Championship’s Hull City. But this transfer may not have happened if it weren’t for a bit of melodrama.
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“To be fair, I’d done well. I scored 26 goals the season before for Macclesfield,” said Parkin, speaking on In The Mixer brought to you by Sky Bet.
“Hull came in for us and Brian Horton the manager pulled me into his office and said: ‘Jon, we’ve had an offer from Hull, but we’re not selling you.’
“I was like, ‘What?’ But it was, ‘We think we can get more money for you.’ I just said, ‘Gaffer, it’s an hour from Barnsley [where I live], I want to go to Hull.’
“But he just said they wanted more money. So I went to tie my shoelace and just went, ‘Oh, no. My back’s gone. I can’t play on Saturday, gaffer. In fact, I don’t think I’ll be able to play for the rest of the season.’
“Brian Horton just went, ‘F**k off.’ Obviously knowing I’m taking the p**s. So we went to see the chairman at Macclesfield. I went across the pitch holding my back.
“I went, ‘Chairman, I’m not going to be able to play Saturday or this season. In fact, I think it’s that bad I’ll never be able to play for the club again.’ They knew what was going on. I got in my car and 15 minutes later I got a phone call from my agent and they’d accepted the bid from Hull.
“I went to Hull but failed my medical because of my knee! So, instead of signing for two and a half years, I signed for 18 months and then scored a few goals to help keep them up.
“Actually, I signed for Macclesfield at 22 and from then on I never passed a medical. Failed every single medical from then on with my knee.”
Parkin was loaned out to Stoke after his first half-season with Hull and left permanently in 2007. He would later play for the likes of Preston North End, Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town before hanging up his boots with York City.
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