Major Honours:
- UFFA Game World Cup - 2 times winner
- XEFA Premiership - 2 times winner
- XEFA Cup - 2 times winner
- XEFA Non-Premiership Cup - 1 time winner
The Cloughite: What's your greatest accomplishment in management so far?
Andrew Parkes: Hmm, that's a tough one actually. I feel I've been pretty lucky to have won as many titles as I have so far but I think in terms of accomplishment it has to be winning the premier league for the first 2 years running against some of the best teams in the world
The Cloughite: Who do you consider the best player you've ever managed?
Andrew Parkes: Haha, I guess that's an easy one. I do tend to moan about him a lot but when it comes to class and being a match winner, it really has to be Diego Forlan. There have been some other stars who have been understated, such as Gaitan and Diarra but the first man to get his name on one of my stands is Forlan.
The Cloughite: Who would you say is your greatest managerial rival; what sets them apart from the rest?
Andrew Parkes: Ahh, good question. I think I'll have to say Skylar Locke. Although he's left the GW now, we had such a great rivalry when we seemed to be competing for 1st and 2nd [in the UFFA rankings] for the first few seasons I think it was mainly as we seemed to play each other quite a lot and had some good banter in each of the matches. Always felt like you were playing for the number one spot. That said, there are so many good managers and teams around now, even though quite a lot of them have left.
I think there is a strong rivalry in my particular FA league too, once again many strong teams there but the big games against the likes of Rapid Pitesi and Smithson Town are always the ones you really don't want to lose. There seem to be so many good teams in my division now though that all the matches are starting to have that feel haha.
The Cloughite: FC Koselsk appear to have a pretty firm hold on the #1 spot in the UFFA rankings right now. Do you think your team has what it takes to reclaim the #1 spot this season?
Andrew Parkes: FC Koselsk are playing very well at the moment and have a very good team and manager. My team's form since the start of the season hasn't been great but I believe we have turned the corner now. I do actually believe I still have the team capable of regaining the number 1 spot and will of course be trying to take it back. Whether or not I do is another matter; I think there are a few teams out there who are more than capable of taking that spot.
The Cloughite: The Dragon's seem to have improved their focus to youth team football this season. Is this a result of the so called "Clough Crunch"?
Andrew Parkes: Not really, I started up the youth team for the start of season two as I really like the idea of bringing youths through from an early age. If anything, I think the so-called "Clough Crunch" would more likely have made me sell off my youth team as a lot of other managers affected by the economic crisis have done.
My first aim was to compete at the highest level possible, meaning to do well in senior matches as a priority and have always tried to run my club soundly - both financially and in terms of challenging for titles. As a consequence when the stadiums were introduced I was able to begin work on the stadium and retain my players without going bust. It will certainly be tight fiscally for a little while and may even cease to operate a youth team for a season or two whilst I seek to expand my stadium. That said, I love the idea of youth squads so it will always remain a long term aim and ideal of the club.
The Cloughite: Can we expect to see any of the players from your youth team making the step up to senior football and making a name for themselves there sometime soon?
Andrew Parkes: There are a couple of the youngsters who have impressed me. The likes of Adriano Antonello and Rodrigo Oliva have been improving well and looking to get a place in the first team. I think, realistically, Antonello is the one I feel could be making more and more first team starts and we'll see how he copes with some of the bigger games. Would be great to see some of the young dragons performing at the highest level for the club.
The Cloughite: You mentioned the club's current stadium construction earlier, do you have a long term plan for the stadium in mind?
Andrew Parkes: Yeah, the first aim was to get something built that would get me the same kind of income as I am currently getting but leave options for big expansion. With our club's reputation we required a stadium of around 65'000 capacity, which was never going to happen quickly.
I'm fairly happy with the stadium being built at the moment but it's fair to say I have big plans for it. As I'm sure most other managers are aware of though, it takes a lot of money to build a super-sized stadium. So over the next few season we will be looking into developing the stadium with another couple of 3-tier stands. I'd like to make it one of the best stadiums around and long term, around 4 or 5 seasons time, I would love to realise my plans for an 85k capacity stadium. That will depend greatly on financial situation of course and also if I can maintain my team's reputation and fan-base. All a long way off but safe to say I have some big ideas for the club on and off the field.
The Cloughite: Many top teams left the UFFA at the start of the season, due to the poor financial state their managers had put their club into in the persuit of on field success. What do you feel you've done differently to both succeed on the pitch and off it?
Andrew Parkes: Yeah, I think a lot of clubs got caught out, not really expecting or being fully prepared for what was coming with the stadiums. Obviously quite a contentious issue that as you say resulted in many leaving or even restarting. For me, I think it's due to a certain ethos I had when I started.
With the exception of Forlan, I have never had anyone on very high wages and tried to build a unit that was solid all over the pitch and their respective positions rather than trying to buy the stars out there. I would say and I'm sure many would agree, that I'm a very tactical minded manager on the pitch. I think it's also true off the field, I've always tried to keep well within the means of my income and have money in reserve for any situation that may occur.
My transfer policy is generally a tight one where I only buy to replace current team members rather than over-extending the budget. I think this has meant I've been able to stay afloat and even make a couple of signings after the economic crash.
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