Pardoe was raised in the Cheshire town of Winsford, where his father worked for a tailor. In his youth he played for Mid-Cheshire Boys, and received approaches from both
Everton and Manchester City. He chose City as his cousin
Alan Oakes was on the books at the club, and so joined the club as an amateur in July 1961. Though Pardoe played at full-back during most of his career, his first appearances were at centre-forward. On his debut he replaced
Colin Barlow in the line-up, and he had represented England Schoolboys as a centre-forward. He also won 4 England under 23 caps. After his City debut, he played a further three consecutive matches. Manchester City's opening match of the 1962–63 season was against
Wolverhampton Wanderers. Pardoe was named in the starting line-up, but the match ended in an 8–1 defeat, and he was dropped from the team. Two games later he was selected to face
Liverpool at
Anfield, but this match also ended in a heavy defeat. More than six months passed before his next chance, where this time he played at left-half for two matches. and in the second leg he scored twice as City lost 4–3, making the aggregate score an 8–4 defeat. Once converted to full-back, Pardoe became a fixture in the Manchester City team, and played at left-back throughout the club's successful period in the late 1960s and early 1970s. When
substitutes were introduced to league football at the start of the 1965–66 season, Pardoe became the first Manchester City player to be named as substitute. However, he did not play, and
Roy Cheetham became the first City player to come on as a substitute three games later. After spending the opening match on the bench, Pardoe was restored to the starting line-up and played every game for the rest of the season. Pardoe's transition to left back came in October 1966. Both regular full back
Bobby Kennedy and his replacement
David Connor were injured, so Pardoe, who had played at both half-back and centre-forward earlier in the season, was chosen as left back for a match against
Tottenham Hotspur. His performances in the position were such that he played left back in all but two of the remaining matches that season. By the 1967–68 season, Pardoe was firmly established as the first choice left back. He missed just one match, when injury prevented him facing
Leeds United in October. Manchester City mounted a challenge for the league title, with Pardoe involved in all the key matches, including a 4–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur that became known as the
Ballet on Ice, and a 3–1 win away to reigning champions Manchester United. City went into the final match of the season, at
Newcastle United's
St James' Park, knowing a win would secure the championship. City, watched by a crowd including 20,000 travelling supporters won 4–3 and clinched the championship. Only captain
Tony Book played more matches than Pardoe in the championship season. Manchester City had a disappointing league season in 1968–69, but fared better in the
FA Cup. Pardoe played every match as Manchester City reached the final, where they faced
Leicester City. The Manchester club prevailed 1–0 courtesy of a goal by
Neil Young. Pardoe scored the winning goal for City in the 1970 League Cup Final, beating West Bromwich Albion. The injury sidelined Pardoe for nearly two years, and by the time he returned
Willie Donachie had established himself as first choice left back. He retired in 1976, taking up a position in the club's coaching staff, and remained at the club for a further 16 years. Youth development was a focus of his coaching, which included a strong contribution to the development of the team which won the 1986
FA Youth Cup. During the 2005–06 season he worked in the media, summarising Manchester City matches on
BBC GMR. == Personal life ==