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Garry Parker was brought to the City Ground from Hull City for a fee in
the region of £250,000, but initially struggled to command a regular
place in the Forest starting line-up. With England internationals Neil
Webb and Steve Hodge in possession of the two central midfield spots
Parker found himself out of position out on the left, but he grabbed the
opportunity with both hands. What he may have lacked in speed he more
than made up for with neat passing and a keen eye for goal. The
Oxford-born Parker weighed in with seven League goals but his most
important goal was, without doubt, at Bristol City to clinch Forest a
place in the final of the Littlewoods Cup.
Parker played his part in a
3-1 final win over Luton Town and to cap a memorable season the club
finished third in the League and reached the FA Cup semi-finals. The
big-money move of Neil Webb to Manchester United during the summer of
1989 saw Parker moved infield to his more favoured central role for the
89/90 season. It was not a move greeted with universal approval by the
Forest faithful, as they were anxious to see new-boy John Sheridan given
his chance in the vital playmaker role. Sheridan, however, moved on
without playing a League game and Parker made the position his own over
the next couple of seasons.
Forest retained the Littlewoods Cup in 1990
with a 1-0 win over Oldham Athletic and the following season they were
back at Wembley only to suffer a 2-1 FA Cup Final defeat to Tottenham
Hotspur. The emergence of youngsters Roy Keane and Scot Gemmill in the
Forest midfield saw Parker move onto Midland rivals Aston Villa in
November 1991 for a fee of £650,000. (David Scranage)
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