The Phil Parkinson years at Sunderland weren’t very fruitful at all. In fact, some might argue that Michael Beale was a more popular manager.
Phil Parkinson was widely disliked during his Sunderland tenure between 2019 and 2020, playing some turgid football in his 48 games at the helm.
He lasted a lot longer than Michael Beale did at the Stadium of Light. But Parkinson was just as unpopular, if not more so than Beale.
The pair make up some of the Sunderland managers who tried and failed to get a tune out of the side. One who did was Alex Neil who’s become Millwall’s new manager.
Regis Le Bris is the current man in the hotseat. He’s doing a sterling job with the Black Cats in 4th place of the Championship table despite a 1-0 defeat against Stoke City in their last outing.
The players are really flourishing under Le Bris which is more than can be said of the likes of Parkinson. And one player has really fallen off since his stint at the club under Parkinson, albeit with injury having played a huge part.
What is former Sunderland man Arbenit Xhemajli up to these days?
Sunderland signed Kosovan defender Arbenit Xhemajli on a free transfer ahead of the 2020/21 season. At the time, Parkinson spoke very fondly of the centre-back.
Parkinson said: “He’s a player we’d like to bring in for many reasons – he’s a young player, he’s got good quality and he can play right across the back three or four.”
Xhemajli made his debut in the EFL Trophy soon after signing. But that appearance would be one of just 13 he’d make during his two years with the club.
A serious knee injury curtailed his time on Wearside and Xhemajli was released at the end of his two-year contract in 2022.
He then spent a year in Lichtenstein playing for Vaduz. But in 2023 he moved to Albania with Egnatia.
Now 26, Xhemajli played 30 league games last season and has featured 16 times in the league this season, with his team winning the Albanian Cup last time round and currently sitting in 4th place of the Albanian top flight, the Kategoria Superiore.
Phil Parkinson could be going up against Sunderland very soon
Sunderland fans never really got to see Xhemajli in action. In glimpses, we saw a player who may have had the potential to cut it in England, but his serious injury really derailed his time in England.
Thankfully, he’s back playing regular football and doing well in Albania. Meanwhile, Parkinson is doing very well with Wrexham in League One.
He’s eyeing a third-straight promotion with the Dragons who are owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Currently, they sit in 2nd place of the League One table and could be going up against Sunderland in the Championship next time round.