Jon Parkin will be returning to Deepdale for only the second time since leaving PR1 on Tuesday night and you can meet him and purchase a signed copy of his new book!
PNE’s former forward has written a book about an eventful career that had always garnered attention and affection from fans and he will be in the PNE club shop from 4.30pm until 5.30pm next Tuesday night ahead of the Carabao Cup third round tie with Middlesbrough.
There will be 100 copies of the book available to purchase in the club shop from Tuesday.
After that he will also be heading up to the Invincibles Lounge, where those in corporate areas will be able to hear him share some of the stories from his autobiography, ‘Feed The Beast’.
Exerts of the book have already been well received and Jon enjoyed the experience of penning his thoughts on his playing days. Speaking to PNE.Com, he said: “I really enjoyed it. It was a little bit bizarre talking about yourself for 24 hours or however long it took. It was a bit strange.
“The most difficult thing was remembering what happened at what club in what year, that was the hardest. I really enjoyed it and I’ve had some good feedback which is what I wanted really.
“There’s plenty of stories in there from all of my different clubs. The main thing I wanted to get from the book is that I’ve done things differently than a lot of people have done it.
“I’m not saying it in a cocky way and look at me I’ve done it this way – I’ve just been brutally honest and that is that way I’ve done it. I’ve done it for 20 years, it’s just a bit different to what a lot of people have done in their careers.”
He has become a media expert over recent months with the launch of his own podcast, alongside another former North End forward, Chris Brown, with a YouTube channel set to launch soon too.
“I don’t really know how it works now to be honest – all the YouTube and podcast stuff, I don’t know how it works now!” He laughed.
“Until I did the podcast I had never really thought about listening to one. I’m just a lad from Barnsley, technology and social media and that sort of stuff has never really been my thing. I wouldn’t even know how to use a computer to be honest.”
Parkin left a lasting impression at Deepdale with ‘Beast’ ringing out whenever the target man got on the ball. This led to a line of clothing in the club shop reading ‘Feed The Beast and he will score!’, items that Jon remembered from his time here, but didn’t back himself to fit into!
“I’m sure they were a best seller in the club shop, I’m not sure what size you did them up to but I’m not sure they were ever big enough for me to wear!
“I’ve said it many times, I played some decent football when I was there. I think it’s the dressing room as well.
“We used to have such a good laugh and I made some really good friends up at Preston that I still keep in touch with now. It’s definitely up there with my favourite time in my career.
“The Preston North End fans took to me and they were fantastic. With still playing I can’t get up as much as I’d like to, I think I’ve only been back once since I left. It’ll be nice to be back and spend a bit of time there and catch another game as well.”
Parkin made his first appearance on iFollow PNE commentary during the Leeds United second round Carabao Cup game and his presence worked a treat with a 2-0 win. Jon watched Tuesday’s repeat fixture as well, but felt they were completely different games; having played with Alex Neil at Barnsley, Parkin believes it is a matter of time before results come.
“It was two totally different games. Both teams changed their teams around a lot for the first game. Preston pressed really high for that game. In the first game that’s where the penalty came from and Leeds struggled to get a grip of them.
“Alex Neil was a young lad who’d come down from Scotland. This is 15 or 18 years ago, but I never knew he’d go into management and he’s done really well at it. I know he can start turning things around,” he added.