Sporting Bygones: Hill following in the footsteps of another former Rochdale manager Parkin

Parkin made the identical move from Rochdale to the Tykes 10 years ago, yet Barnsley fans will not be hoping for a repeat of his spell from Hill.

It was Parkin who gave Hill his first coaching role during his second spell in charge of Rochdale, having previously coached him at Spotland.

Sandwiched between Parkin’s two stints as Rochdale’s manager was an ill-fated couple of years managing Barnsley.

Like Hill, Parkin moved to Oakwell having transformed Rochdale for the better, taking them from frequent relegation flirters to play-off candidates in the old Division Three, now League Two.

The lure of second-tier Barnsley proved too tempting to turn down for the former England Under-21 international and he swapped red rose for white having left Rochdale in a healthy position challenging for promotion.

The Dale would go on to continue the success of Parkin before losing in the play-off semi-finals that year, while their former boss was faced with the unenviable task of keeping the Tykes in Division One.

This week Hill joined a Barnsley side with much more stability than the one inherited by Parkin in November 2001, which like many clubs was in a financial struggle following the collapse of ITV Digital.

Parkin was given a miniscule transfer budget, despite the club selling former Premier League stars like Neil Shipperley and Martin Bullock in the previous summer.

The club had made a dreadful start to the campaign under former boss Nigel Spackman and languished second from bottom when Parkin was appointed.

In his first game a late equaliser conceded at home to Wimbledon robbed him of a winning start.

Two more losses followed but Barnsley’s fortunes began to improve with a convincing 3-0 victory over Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday.

Barnsley then embarked upon a 12-match unbeaten run, a record throughout the entire Football League that season.

However, a 1-0 defeat to Birmingham City in February began a dismal spell in which Barnsley managed just three more wins all season, the third a 1-0 victory at Wimbledon on the final the day after already being confined to relegation.

The drop to the lower half of the Football League, just four years after a brief visit to the Premier League, had been confirmed eight days earlier.

On that day, the club needed a victory at home to Norwich City to avoid relegation but produced a poor display, falling to a 2-0 defeat.

Given the state of financial unrest that lower league clubs were in following the ITV Digital crisis, relegation was the last thing any club needed.

And in one of the lowest points in Barnsley’s history, angry fans protested against the chairman John Dennis following the Norwich game on April 13, 2002.

Following that, Parkin launched a tirade against his players, saying there was an unprofessional culture at Barnsley that had been evident since he arrived at the South Yorkshire club.

Parkin’s words did little to change things as seven players were sent home during a pre-season tour of Scotland for breaking the manager’s curfew.

The dressing room unrest was far from welcome as the Tykes prepared for life in Division Two with debts continuing to loom over the club.

An opening day defeat at Swindon Town would be a sign of things to come for Parkin as Barnsley picked up just three wins in 12 games during the first two months of the season.

Then on October 3, 2002, chairman Dennis announced that the collapse of ITV Digital, coupled with the economic hit of relegation, proved too much for the club’s finances and Barnsley entered administration.

A 2-1 victory at Brentford gave Parkin some hope that he could prevail in the face of adversity, but a 4-1 thumping at home to Bristol City spelled the end of his time in South Yorkshire.

The former Stoke City defender and his assistant Tony Ford were relieved of their roles by administrator Matthew Dunham.

Reserve team coach Glyn Hodges took over and narrowly kept Barnsley in Division Two.

After 14 months away from management, Parkin returned to his former club Rochdale where he had mixed fortunes before eventually being replaced by the new Tykes boss Keith Hill.

Parkin has since turned to coaching, helping Hull City gain promotion to the Premier League in 2008 and had a brief return as co-caretaker manager when Phil Brown was placed on gardening leave.

He is now first-team coach at Scunthorpe United.

While a selection of fans have been quick to use the comparisons between the two managers as ammunition against Hill, the former Blackburn defender will be determined to succeed where his former boss failed.