Backlash against Shepherd features Parry
The continuing backlash against the comments of Newcastle chairman, Freddie Shepherd, about non-league clubs surfaces again in today's NLP.
Shepherd recently said that non-league clubs are no longer of value to the professional game. The article suggests otherwise and features the rise of several players from the Conference. It suggests that the biggest success story of 2004 was that of Paul Parry.
Parry moved from Edgar Street to Ninian Park last January and went on to play for Wales within four weeks.
"You have to remember I'm still young in football terms, but I thought playing for a Football League club and scoring a winning goal for my country had passed me by," said Parry.
"When I played for Hereford I always thought I had to be patient and maybe one day somebody would come along and take a chance, and that club happened to be Cardiff City.
"I had only played about half a dozen games for City, so when I was called up into the Wales squad it all came as a major surprise.
"When I was contacted by someone at the club, I honestly thought somebody was winding me up.
"Don't forget, I've played in Non-League, so I know what it is like on the other side of the fence."
Four other Hereford United players moved to League Football in 2004.