Wolves v Shrewsbury Town FA Cup tie will be a real family affair
Wolves and Shrewsbury lock horns in the FA Cup this weekend, after two previous classic meetings in the competition. And this meeting is also a case of keeping it in the family, as PAUL BERRY discovers.
They may not have played each other all that many times, but there have been many links between Wolves and Shrewsbury through footballing history.
The number of players to have represented both is easily into three figures, from the mercurial Peter Broadbent in the Fifties and Sixties, to, in more recent years, Andy Thompson and Dave Edwards.
In terms of managers, Graham Turner retains legendary status with both. While former promotion-winning Wolves captain Sam Ricketts nearly masterminded an FA Cup shock over his former club when they met in the fourth round seven years ago.
However, familiarity at Saturday lunchtime’s cup tie at Molineux extends well beyond shared histories.
This is more about family. Because Wolves head coach Rob Edwards, who actually ended his playing career with a loan spell at Shrewsbury, is the cousin of Salop first-team coach Sean Parrish.
And Parrish himself spent a decade working at Wolves academy, including with Edwards, and also, for a year at Telford United.
So yes, the links are strong with this one!
“It could be a bit emotional on Saturday, not just because of my times with both clubs but also with being in the opposite dugout to Rob,” says Parrish.
“My mum and his dad are sister and brother – I’m not sure how much they’ll be speaking on the day but whatever happens will be all good banter I’m sure!
“We’re not in contact all the time, football tends to be quite full on, and I’ve lost count of the number of times I said I’d go and see him either at Luton or his other clubs but I haven’t quite made it.
“We share a fair few texts and a call from time to time and we’ll always touch base for advice or when we need each other.
“I’m delighted he’s got the job at Wolves which is what he has always wanted, and it will be great to catch up in person on Saturday.
“It’s just a shame that one of us is going to be disappointed, but there won’t be any nicey-nicey stuff during the game as both of us will be doing our very best for our teams.”
Footballing life has come full circle for Parrish, who began his near 40-year career in the game as a 17-year-old trainee at Shrewsbury, going on to make a couple of first-team appearances having been spotted playing grassroots football back home in Chirk.
Much of his time has been spent in lower leagues or in non-league, but with that has come numerous highlights as a player and coach, not to mention the chance to influence many young talents who have gone on to forge a career. Especially at Wolves.
But back to the playing days first. And those highlights.
Chances are, wherever you are in the world, you are always within earshot of someone who has seen Parrish’s winning goal for Northampton against Cardiff in the Division Three play-off semi-final at Ninian Park in 1997. If you have met him, he won’t let you forget it.
“I mean, a Wrexham boy, going to Cardiff in a big semi-final, and we were down to 10 men at the time,” he purrs.
“And if you haven’t seen it? Well, I picked the ball up on the M4, wherever it was, dribbled it up the pitch and scored from about 40 yards. A very good memory!
“It also meant we got to Wembley which for Northampton was the first time in over 100 years.
“As a Liverpool fan, growing up watching so many FA Cup finals, and playing in the garden pretending I was Kenny Dalglish, that was pretty special as well.”
Northampton completed a Welsh double by overcoming Swansea 1-0 in the final, one of several promotions enjoyed by Parrish as a player.
In 2000/01 he helped Chesterfield to promotion from the old Division Three, and then later, returning to Shropshire to join the reformed AFC Telford, notched the winner in a play-off final against Kendal Town to move into the top division of the Northern Premier League.
During different stages of his career, Parrish was also influenced by several previous or future Wolves personnel.
The later Wolves chief scout George Foster guided him through his first sustained taste of senior football when at Telford, while former Wolves boss Sammy Chung worked with him at Doncaster, after Ian Atkins had signed him in 1994.
