Jon Parkin started out at his hometown club Barnsley, but after just a handful of appearances he dropped down a couple of divisions to play for York City. In two seasons at Bootham Crescent he notched 13 goals, playing as either a centre-half or striker, and earned himself a move to Macclesfield Town in 2004.
He made a name for himself at Moss Rose, as he banged in 36 goals for the club during his two years with the Silkmen. Newly-promoted Hull City snapped him up and he helped them establish themselves as a Championship club before moving to Stoke City for £275,000.
Last season he helped the Potters gain promotion to the Premier League, as they finished runners-up to West Brom, but he was frozen out of the first-team picture at the Britannia Stadium and returned to the Championship with Preston North End, who have a chance of qualifying for the play-offs in the final set of fixtures this weekend.
The burly frontman spoke to Ransacker’s Chris Galea about which boots suit his rough, no frills approach to football.
Q. What boots do you wear?
A. I wear Adidas Copa Mundial’s
Q. Have you always worn them?
A. No, I used to wear Nikes for a little bit, but I’ve gone back to the Adidas because they are quite comfy and 
they do the job for me.
Q. Why did you change?
A. Comfort was the main reason, but I wanted studs put in them, so I got them to put studs in for me and it has added to the comfort a little I think.
Q. You have played as both a striker and a defender in your career - do strikers tend to prefer a different style of boots to say a tough-tackling centre-half?
A. No I don’t think so. I think most players just go with what they feel comfortable in and it is all about individual choice rather than where you play on the pitch.
Q. Having worn both Nike and Adidas, is there a big difference between various brands and styles of boots?
A. I think some of the fancy players tend to pick boots on the basis of what colour they are rather than how they fit, but the main thing is how the feel I think. I’m not a big fan of the plastic ones, but each to their own I guess.
Q. You’re not a fan of coloured boots then?
A. No, you’ve got to be a much better player than me to get away with wearing coloured boots!
Q. You started out as a trainee at Barnsley, whose boots did you keep clean?
A. I was a boot boy for Georgi Hristov whilst he was at the club and he was a good player, but it is one of those jobs that you don’t like doing. You have to do it when you’re a YTS and it does keep your feet on the ground a little.
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About the author
James is an experienced football journalist who edits two leading Premier League club mags. He has worked for Sky Sports and is endlessly complaining about shin splints. And Mark Lawrenson. His favourite boot is the Adidas Predator Powerswerve. Although it's rumored that he once owned a pair of Nicks boots!
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