Anyone who remembers Phil Parkinson’s time at Sunderland will know his personality well. In fact, you only have to watch any random episode of Welcome to Wrexham and you’ll know how angry he can get.
Parkinson is a brilliant manager with excellent motivation skills and a bucketload of passion. Sometimes, though, his passion spills over into anger.
Suffice to say, you would not want to get on the wrong side of his hairdryer treatment. Parkinson wasn’t the most popular Sunderland manager during his time on Wearside, and he does have a tendency to rub people up the wrong way.
That said, when a now-Sunderland player injured one of Parkinson’s Wrexham stars, he perhaps had a bit of a right to go in with the criticism he sent their way.
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Nathan Bishop clattered Paul Mullin, and got a stern warning from Phil Parkinson
Rewind to the summer of 2023, Parkinson’s Red Dragons outfit were out in America playing a pre-season tournament and rubbing shoulders with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United.
In their friendly against United, though, super striker Paul Mullin was clattered by the Red Devils’ goalkeeper, Nathan Bishop.
Mullin ended up with a punctured lung and missed the start of last season as a result. Bishop was lambasted for his involvement in the incident, with Parkinson firing a brutal warning to the young goalkeeper (via The Guardian).
He said: “I’m fuming about it, I’ve got to be honest with you. It was a clumsy, reckless challenge in a pre-season game and I’m not happy with it at all. I haven’t seen the goalie and he’s probably best steering clear of us for the time being because we’re not very happy.
“It’s a clumsy challenge from the goalkeeper, I’m disappointed with that. It should have been a straight red. If it’s not denying a goalscoring opportunity it’s still a dangerous challenge so if you add the two scenarios together he should have been off the pitch.”
The man in the Man Utd dugout for the game, Travis Binion, backed Bishop however, adding: “It’s part and parcel of the game, nobody wants to see anyone get injured. He’s made an honest challenge, he’s come off worse. He’s already reached out to him… He’s a great lad, he hasn’t got a bad bone in his body.”
Does Nathan Bishop have a Sunderland future now?
Later that summer, Bishop would go on to join the Sunderland squad, but he’s yet to make an impact at the Stadium of Light.
With Anthony Patterson ahead of him, the decision was made to send Bishop on loan to Wycombe Wanderers this season. However, a serious injury meant he could only play five games for the Chairboys.
Then, in January, Bishop swapped Wycombe for Cambridge United, and he’s actually thriving with the relegation-threatened side.
| Statistics | Wycombe | Cambridge |
| Appearances | 5 | 9 |
| Minutes | 443 | 810 |
| Goals conceded | 8 | 11 |
| Clean sheets | 2 | 2 |
Despite a rough start to his time there, Bishop has since kept a couple of clean sheets in big wins for Cambridge. The U’s have lost their last four games, mind you, and relegation still looms heavy over them as we approach the final run-in.
That mini revival for Bishop did spark hope that he could have a Sunderland career after all. Indeed, if Patterson were to move on this summer, there’s every chance Regis Le Bris would hand the number one shirt to Bishop.
Only time will tell, but it does seem Bishop is proving his worth once more down in League One. The only thing we can say for certain, though, is that a transfer to Wrexham is unlikely at any point, at least while Parkinson has a say in the matter.