Keigan Parker (born 8 June 1982) is a former Scottish footballer who last played for West of Scotland League Central District First Division Thorniewood United as a forward.
Career
Parker was a "relatively late starter" in the game, beginning at around the age of 14. A year or so later, he began playing for Muirieston United in Livingston. He then joined Hutchison Vale Boys Club.
St Johnstone
Parker, a striker, began his career at age 15 with Scottish club St Johnstone, where he made a promising start to his career (making his debut against Motherwell aged 16) and was being tipped by many to have a big future. While at St Johnstone, he gained one cap for the Scotland U-21 team. Unable to impress enough at McDiarmid Park, and after being out for six months with a foot injury, in 2004, after six years in Perth, he joined Blackpool on a free transfer.
Blackpool
Parker was the first signing made by then Blackpool manager Colin Hendry in June 2004. He made his début for the club on 7 August 2004 as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat at Doncaster Rovers and made his starting début three days later in a 2–1 defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday. His first goal came on 29 September in a 2–0 win over York City. In December 2004 he scored a second-half hat-trick at Bloomfield Road against Torquay United.
With Blackpool, Parker found some consistency while the club were in League One but failed to hold down a place in the side when they were promoted to The Championship in the 2007–08 season. He made his 100th league appearance for Blackpool on 30 December 2006, in a 3–1 win over Doncaster Rovers at Bloomfield Road.
On 27 May 2007, Parker scored Blackpool's second goal in their 2–0 win against Yeovil Town in the League One play-off final at Wembley, a result that promoted Blackpool to The Championship. "It's the best day of my career," he said afterwards. "I've scored against Celtic and Rangers before, but to win at Wembley is something I'll treasure for the rest of my life." It was also his last goal for the club.
Parker finished the 2006–07 season as the club's second-top scorer with sixteen goals in all competitions. He failed to secure a regular place in the starting line-up in the 2007–08 season and in the January 2008 transfer window, he rejected a move to Barnsley. His last appearance for the club came on 15 March 2008 against local rivals Preston North End and on 7 May, he was released by Blackpool. He had not featured in the first team during the final two months of the 2007–08 season and had made just 17 appearances for the club throughout the season, failing to score a goal. "The last three months have been a bit of a nightmare," he explained at the time. "I've had four great years and last season was fantastic, especially at Wembley, but I'll be moving on in the summer." On 15 May 2008, Parker stated that he was not released by Blackpool, that he had turned down the offer of a new contract earlier in the season and had then allowed his existing deal to run out. He was linked with moves to Huddersfield Town, Swansea City, Scottish Premier League club Aberdeen and Southampton, with Parker saying, "There are five or six clubs who are interested. It depends on a few issues but I should know more in the next couple of weeks."
English career after leaving Blackpool
On 27 May 2008, Parker agreed to join Huddersfield Town on a two-year contract, subject to a medical. His first appearance for Town came in their 4–0 win against Bradford City on 12 August 2008, when he played the final ten minutes of the match. His first league appearance was again as a substitute in a 3–1 defeat to Milton Keynes Dons on 23 August. His first league goal came on 1 November, to give Huddersfield a 3–2 victory over Crewe Alexandra at the Galpharm Stadium. He was sent off in added time for two yellow cards. His first away goal for the club came in the 4–2 defeat by Leicester City on 24 January 2009.
On 2 March 2009, Parker joined fellow Football League One side Hartlepool United on loan after being locked out of the Town side by new loan signing Lukas Jutkiewicz and Danny Cadamarteri amongst others. He made his debut the following day in the 2–1 win against Tranmere Rovers at Victoria Park but failed to score in nine starts and returned to Huddersfield.
On 21 July 2009, Parker agreed a one-year deal at Oldham Athletic, which was completed the following day. On 18 March 2010, Parker was loaned for a month-long to Football League Two club Bury. After returning to Oldham Athletic after his loan spell, Parker was released from his contract in line with close-season streamlining at the club.
