Early career Born in
Barnsley, South Yorkshire, After 13 appearances for Barnsley, he moved to Hartlepool on
loan before making a permanent move to
Terry Dolan's
York City.
Macclesfield Town Parkin scored 15 goals in 87 appearances for York, despite sometimes playing in a central defensive role. After nearly two years with the club, he moved to
Macclesfield Town in February 2004, after York told him they would not be able to offer him the same pay deal for the 2004–05 season. In 2004–05, he scored 26 goals in all competitions for the team, which was a new club record. By this time he was playing solely as a forward.
Hull City At the start of
2005–06, Parkin had an injury to his knee which stopped him from playing until October 2005. Macclesfield confirmed they had rejected two bids for Parkin by 5 January 2006, but
Championship club
Hull City eventually signed him for an undisclosed fee on an 18-month contract on 12 January. He marked his debut with a goal against
Crystal Palace, in a match that Hull were defeated 2–1. He finished 2005–06 with five goals in 18 appearances for Hull. He made his debut in a 2–1 victory over
Southampton. He was recalled by Hull on 10 April 2007 after making six appearances and scoring three goals for Stoke.
Preston North End He joined
Preston North End on an emergency loan on 30 August 2008, which would be turned into a permanent three-year contract for an undisclosed fee on 1 September. He made his debut on the day he joined the club as the team beat
Charlton Athletic 2–1. His first goal came after heading in a
Ross Wallace cross against
Doncaster Rovers in the 82nd minute on 9 December, which sealed a 1–0 victory. He followed this up with the winner against second-place
Birmingham City, after Wallace set him up to score from six yards out. He also went on to score in the
Boxing Day win over
Derby County following another cross from Wallace. He scored Preston's first goal in a 2–1 victory over
Queens Park Rangers with a 37th-minute goal, which saw Preston secure their place in the 2008–09
Championship play-offs. On 2 January 2010, Parkin scored his first
FA Cup hat-trick for Preston in their 7–0 win over
Colchester United. On 28 September, Parkin scored his second hat-trick for the club, and his first at Championship level, in a 6–4 win at
Leeds United.
Cardiff City in 2011 On 1 January 2011, Parkin signed for Championship club
Cardiff City on a two-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He missed three matches due to injury but scored on his debut with a volley against
Norwich City in a match that ended 1–1. After
Jay Bothroyd's return to the team, Parkin was relegated to the bench for the majority of the remaining season. His next start came against Stoke City at
Cardiff City Stadium on 18 January 2011 but he failed to make an impact. Parkin managed to find himself on the bench at the start of
2011–12, making his first appearance against
Oxford United in the
first round of the
League Cup on 10 August 2011 and scored his first goal of the campaign in the second round against
Huddersfield Town. However, the move fell through on deadline day after Parkin was reported to have failed his medical at the club. There were also reports suggesting that the Sky Blues' were unwilling to meet his £9,000 per week wage demands, with Parkin refusing to take a pay-cut despite being told by Cardiff manager Malky Mackay that he was surplus to requirements at Cardiff. He was then made available for loan. Parkin joined Championship rivals Doncaster Rovers on loan on 21 September 2011. He made his debut on 24 September, in Doncaster's first victory of the season against Crystal Palace. Parkin returned to Cardiff on 24 October, after five appearances. Doncaster twice tried to extend his loan deal, but Cardiff rejected the bids. Instead, Parkin joined
League One club Huddersfield Town on loan, making his debut on 28 November against Charlton Athletic. He returned to Cardiff on 23 January 2012 after making three appearances for Huddersfield and eight days later he joined
Scunthorpe United, again on loan. He made his debut on 14 February 2012 against
Rochdale and scored his first goal in a 3–1 win over
Leyton Orient four days later. His loan was extended until the end of the season in March 2012. Parkin mutually agreed to terminate his contract with Cardiff on 7 June 2012, becoming a free agent.
Fleetwood Town Parkin moved to
League Two club
Fleetwood Town on a free transfer on 13 June 2012. He made his first appearance for the club in a League Cup defeat against
Nottingham Forest on 13 August 2012. His first league appearance came on the opening day of the
2012–13 League Two season on 18 August 2012 in a home goalless draw against
Torquay United. He scored his first goals for Fleetwood with a hat-trick in a 4–0 away victory over
Morecambe on 8 September 2012. He scored one other hat-trick that season in a 3–0 away success against
Accrington Stanley on 12 March 2013. He signed a new one-year contract to stay at Fleetwood for
2013–14. He helped the club to the
League Two play-offs. A win at
Wembley Stadium against
Burton Albion in the
2014 League Two play-off final on 26 May 2014 secured promotion into League One. Despite having helped Fleetwood to promotion, he was let go by the club in June 2014.
Forest Green Rovers in 2016 On 21 July 2014, Parkin signed a one-year contract with
Conference Premier club
Forest Green Rovers. He made his debut for the club on 9 August 2014, starting and playing 75 minutes in a 1–0 away win at
Southport. He then scored his first goal for the club three days later with a second half strike in a 2–1 win over
Chester. Parkin scored his first hat-trick for Forest Green in an
FA Trophy first round replay win against
Didcot Town on 16 December 2014. And he then scored twice on 1 January 2015 in a New Year's Day 4–2 away win over
Kidderminster Harriers. He followed that brace with another three days later on 4 January 2015 in a 4–1 win over
Welling United. On 6 February 2015, he was named the Conference Premier January Player of the Month after he scored seven times in just four matches in the first month of 2015. On 6 April 2015, he scored twice in a 4–1 away win over Chester. Five days later, on 11 April 2015, he scored with a shot from the halfway line against his former club Macclesfield Town in a 3–1 win. On 18 April 2015, he scored twice in a 4–2 away win over
Gateshead which saw him reach the 30 goal mark in all competitions for the season. In June 2015, he was named in the Conference Premier Team of the Year for 2014–15. On 8 August 2015, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 away win over
Altrincham on the opening day of the 2015–16
National League season. His goal in a 1–0 victory over
Braintree Town on 23 January 2016 saw him become Forest Green's fourth highest goal scorer of all time at
National League level. He was a part of the Forest Green team that reached the
2016 National League play-off final at Wembley Stadium on 15 May 2016, coming on as a substitute at half time in a 3–1 loss to
Grimsby Town that denied the club promotion to
the Football League. On 6 July 2016, it was announced that Parkin and Forest Green had come to an agreement to terminate his contract by mutual consent.
Newport County Following his release, Parkin agreed terms with National League club
Barrow but later withdrew from signing for the club after interest from League Two club
Newport County, signing a one-year contract with the club on 17 July 2016. Parkin made his debut for Newport on 16 August 2016 in a 2–1 away defeat to
Luton Town as a 69th-minute substitute. He scored his first goal for Newport on 27 August 2016 in a 2–2 away draw against Hartlepool.
Return to York City in 2017 On 30 November 2016, Parkin rejoined York City, now in the National League, on loan until 1 January 2017. The loan would then become permanent until the end of
2016–17, with the option of a further year. this result saw York drop to the bottom of the National League table. He started up front alongside fellow debutant
Rhys Murphy, and Dave Flett of
The Press commented that the pair "played with an intelligence, hunger and confidence so rarely seen from their attacking predecessors in City shirts for several years". Parkin scored the first goal of his second spell with York in the following match, a 3–1 home win over
Worcester City in the FA Trophy first round on 10 December 2016, with a 10-yard shot in the 14th minute. He was ever-present for York in his loan spell, signing permanently on 6 January 2017. On 21 May 2017, Parkin started as York beat Macclesfield Town 3–2 at
Wembley Stadium in the
2017 FA Trophy Final, scoring on eight minutes with a glancing header from
Danny Holmes' cross. He was released by York at the end of the
2018–19 season. Parkin announced his retirement from playing on 2 August 2019. ==Style of play and personality==