Eric Parsons

Eric Parsons
Personnel
Surname	Eric George Parsons
birthday	November 9, 1923
place of birth	Worthing ,  England
date of death	February 7, 2011
Place of death	Worthing ,  England
position	Winger (right)
Juniors
Years	station
	Worthing Boys
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1943-1950	West Ham United	145 (34)
1950-1956	Chelsea FC	158 (37)
1956-1961	Brentford FC	118 (18)
from 1961	Dover FC
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1949	England B	2 ( 01)
1 Only league games are given.

Eric George Parsons (born November 9, 1923 in Worthing ; † February 7, 2011 ibid) was an English football player . The winger , nicknamed "Rabbit" because of his speed, won the English championship with Chelsea in 1955 and was one of two players in the squad who had played all 42 games.

Athletic career

Parsons was a promising athlete and athlete even as a schoolboy, who was then discovered as a football talent by West Ham United at a game of his native Worthing Boys . In 1943 he joined the "Hammers" and after military service that took him to North Africa, Parsons made his debut in January 1947 in a second division game. He quickly won a regular place and in the following two seasons he did not miss a single encounter. In addition to the speed, which earned him the nickname "Rabbit", Parsons showed strengths in a wealth of tricks, game intelligence and diligence, although the last characteristic was rather rare for a winger of his time - they often "waited" on the sidelines to be played - and he supported the full-back placed behind him in winning the ball. West Ham initially moved in the upper second division regions for two years before the team "collapsed" in the 1949/50 season and only barely managed to stay in the league. The signs were then for Parsons farewell, as this was considered too good for a second division relegation candidate, and in December 1950 he moved to London for Chelsea - the transfer fee of 23,000 pounds was considerable at the time and meant a new one for the "Blues" Club record.

The expectation was high in Chelsea and when Parsons initially struggled with form weaknesses, which was also due to a series of knee problems, parts of his new "supporters" expressed themselves openly mocking. He was then tried as a left half-forward, but this change brought no improvement, as did the return to the usual right wing afterwards. It wasn't until coach Billy Birrell was replaced by Ted Drake in 1952 that the tide turned for Parsons. Drake publicly sided with the often scolded and emphasized his strengths. In the 1952/53 season and especially in the following year, Parsons and Chelsea went through a sporting upward trend as a team. The high point of his active career followed in the season 1954/55, in which Parsons fully exploited his potential. He harmonized particularly well with his striker colleague Johnny McNichol , whose precise passes in the back of the opposing full-back gave him the choice as an outside player to close his own goal or to submit to the striker Roy Bentley placed in the middle . On the penultimate day of the season against Sheffield Wednesday , which ended 3-0 and gave Chelsea the English championship prematurely, he scored two goals and was celebrated with chants. In total, he completed all 42 league games in this round (scored eleven times) and he was suddenly considered one of the best English wingers - but he was denied an international appearance in the senior team, mainly due to the well-known competition in the form of Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney was lying. Parsons, who was in his thirties, was still an integral part of the Chelsea team for another year before Drake replaced him with the young talent Peter Brabrook .

In November 1956 he finally moved to West London for free transfer to third division club Brentford . In more than four years he played another 118 league games for Brentford, where he had to take a longer forced break due to a broken leg. From the summer of 1961, he then let his active career outside of professional football in the coastal city of Dover end. After football, Parsons worked as a grocer and then ran a cigarette shop. His death on February 7, 2011 came just under a week after that of Les Stubbs , who had stood by his side in the offensive line of the Chelsea championship of 1955.

Title / Awards

• English Championship (1): 1955
• Charity Shield (1): 1955

Web links

• Statistical data from the Post War English & Scottish Football League AZ Player's Database
• Profile on barryhugmansfootballers.com

Individual evidence

1. ^ "England - International Results B-Team - Details" (RSSSF)
2. ↑ Player Profile: Eric Parsons (stamford-bridge.com)
3. ↑ Eric Parsons: Winger who played a leading role in Chelsea's 1955 title win (The Independent)