Derek Parlane


Derek James Parlane is a Scottish former professional football striker who played for Rangers from 1970 until 1980, and also played in England with clubs including Leeds United and Manchester City.

Career

Rangers and Leeds United

Raised in the small village of Rhu, Parlane joined Rangers as a teenager, following in the footsteps of his father Jimmy who had a spell with the club in the 1940s. He became an important player at Ibrox, making 300 appearances and winning three Scottish League championships, three Scottish Cups, three Scottish League Cups and the 1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup; he was capped by Scotland 12 times. Furthermore, Parlane was inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame in 2010.
He moved to Leeds United in March 1980 but it wasn't a very successful stay. He scored 10 goals in 53 appearances for Leeds before going to Hong Kong on loan to Bulova.

Manchester City and later career

On 14 July 1983, new Manchester City manager Billy McNeill brought Parlane to Maine Road; he linked up with another newcomer, fellow Scot Jim Tolmie and on their debut for the Blues on Saturday 27 August 1983, City beat Crystal Palace 2–1 at Selhurst Park in the Second Division. Parlane and Tolmie each scored one which set a precedent for the rest of the season. In all, Parlane scored 20 goals in 48 appearances for City, a healthy return.
The 1984–85 season did not start well for Parlane as City signed David Phillips from Coventry City and Tony Cunningham from Newcastle United to bolster their attack. Parlane got injured in September 1984 and was sold to Swansea City in January 1985. After the season finished he played in New Zealand for the summer with North Shore United. He spent the 1985–86 season in Belgium with Racing Jet, before returning to play two seasons with Rochdale from 1986 to 1988, playing 42 games and scoring 10 times. His last professional club was Airdrie in the 1987–88 season, he scored 4 goals in 9 games, before signing for then non-league outfit Macclesfield Town in England.