Woodford United are involved in a tug-of-war with several other Southern League clubs hoping to sign former Byfield Road favourite Aaron Parkinson, writes Mike Tebbitt.
A non-driver, “Parky” still lives in Woodford Halse and led the Reds to the 2006 UCL championship and to a respectable eighth place a year later on stepping up to the SL’s Midlands Division.
Last season the central defender led Leamington to a nar
row miss in the play-offs but was expected to step up another level with big-spending Brackley Town in the coming months.
On moving house and faced with getting to Brackley three times a week Parkinson had a change of heart and started the new season with Wellingborough Town, now run by his ex-Woodford colleagues Jason Burnham and Ady Fuller.
That hasn’t stopped a whole host of Southern League clubs keeping tabs on Parkinson, including Leamington, Banbury United, Chasetown and Woodford themselves.
The Reds were encouraged by a pre-season friendly 2-2 draw with Brackley after losing 5-0 to Daventry Town and have certainly not given up hope of retaining their hard-earned Southern League status.
New manager Mark O’Callaghan has signed former Telford United centre forward Dean Cudworth and is also chasing a striker recently released by Crewe Alexander.
On Saturday, Woodford began their Midlands Division campaign with a 2-1 defeat against Stourport Swifts.
The full article contains 239 words and appears in Daventry Express newspaper.
