All at Brentford Football Club were saddened to learn of the death of scout Tony McParland. Tony died last Wednesday, 9 September, after a battle with cancer. He was 55-years-old.
Tony held a scouting position with Brentford for more than four years. He watched forthcoming opponents and potential signings in the north of the country. It was a role he continued to perform even after falling ill.
Tony was the brother of Brentford’s former Sporting Director Frank McParland, who is now in the same role at Burnley. Frank said: “Tony was at Brentford before I was and I could tell when I arrived that he had a lot of respect at the Club for the work he had done. He was a fantastic scout but most importantly he was a very down-to-earth bloke and we had a brilliant relationship as brothers.
“When I first took the role at Brentford the two players he recommended were James Tarkowski and Alan Judge and we managed to sign them. He built a great relationship with Mark Warburton and David Weir and he made an impression with them as he was talking to both in the last days of his life.”
Cliff Crown, Brentford FC Chairman, said: “All at Brentford FC would like to pass on their sympathies to Frank, Tony’s wife Pat, sons Tony and David and all Tony’s family and friends at this time. Tony made a great contribution to the successes of Brentford FC over the past few years. He was a well-liked and well-respected member of the scouting community. He will be a great loss to the Club and to the wider football world.
Frank added: “On behalf of Pat and all Tony’s family I would like to thank Matthew Benham and all at Brentford FC for all the support they gave Tony. The illness was a difficult period but Matthew and the Club did all they could. Tony was very happy to be a Brentford FC employee and his work gave him a lot of pleasure, even on bad days. It is a comfort to the family to know Brentford are thinking of Tony at this time and he is remembered fondly.”