Stuart Pearce

At 61 years old, Stuart Pearce has this physical status:

Club career

Pearce failed a trial at Queens Park Rangers and later turned down a Hull City job, Wealdstone, while studying and working as an electrician. He was the first-choice full-back for the team for almost five years, later becoming one of the best names of non-league football in the Alliance Premier League.

Wealdstone City's Pearce, a top-flight club, received a £30,000 (then a substantial sum for a semi-professional player) in 1983. Bobby Gould, the Sky Blues' manager, had been to Wealdstone and was impressed by Pearce's courage and combative attitude. Pearce reluctantly agreed to the change in clubs, making his Coventry debut immediately. He portrayed himself as an uncompromising left-back who acted with a stern but fair demeanor.

Pearce was brought by manager Brian Clough two years ago in 1985. Pearce was the makeweight in a £300,000 contract that culminated in Coventry centre-back Ian Butterworth's departure to Forest, which culminated in Pearce's transfer to Forest. Well, as uncertain as Pearce's footballing future, he later revealed his services as an electrician in Forest's match-day program.

Pearce spent ten years at Forest, the bulk of which was as a club captain. He earned two League Cups and the Full Members Cup, as well as scoring from a free kick in the 1991 FA Cup final, when Forest were defeated by Tottenham Hotspur. Pearce was one of the Forest players to deal with the Hillsborough disaster during the first minutes of their FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool, during his time at the City Ground. Pearce appeared in the rescheduled match at Old Trafford, which Liverpool defeated 3-1. He helped them finish third in the league this year (as they hadn't done so a year before) and was also responsible for their victories in the League Cup and Full Members Cup. He helped Forest keep the League Cup a year later, and in 1991, he had his first appearance in the FA Cup, and Pearce's opponent Paul Gascoigne lost the game early, and Pearce's win by 2–1. In the 1992 League Cup finals, he missed out on a Wembley appearance as Forest lost 1–0 to Manchester United.

Forest were disqualified from the Premier League and Brian Clough resigned after 18 years as boss, but Pearce stayed at the City Ground and captained Forest to an instant return to the top flight as the top flight runners-up. In 1995, he helped Forest finish third in the Premier League and progress to the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in 1996.

Forest struggled in the league in 1996–97, and former Forest boss Frank Clark resigned in December, leaving 34-year-old Pearce named caretaker player-manager of Forest in December 1996. Arsenal's home match in charge was his first game in charge. In an interview with Match of the Day, he confessed that in his first attempt at selecting a starting XI, he did not know until it was pointed out to him by his wife that he had omitted goalkeeper Mark Crossley. Forest, on the other hand, won the match 2–1, coming from behind after an Ian Wright goal with two goals from Alfie Haaland. Despite winning the Management of the Month award in January 1997, he'll later share the caretaker role with Dave Bassett, and Forest Forest was relegated to third place, finishing in last place.

After 12 years at the City Ground, Pearce decided to leave the team on a free transfer at the end of the 1996–97 season.

Pearce and fellow veterans John Barnes and Ian Rush all played in the 1997–98 FA Cup final, but he returned from Newcastle United on the defeated team. In a UEFA Champions League tie against Dynamo Kyiv, he scored once during his time in Newcastle. After Ruud Gullit defeated Dalglish, Pearce was left alone, as did others, including Barnes and Rob Lee. Despite cumulatively having more than 150 England caps between them, a number of players were coldly treated by Gullit, and Pearce, Barnes and Lee were instructed by Pearce, along with Barnes and Lee, to train with the reserves. Both Pearce and Barnes insist that Gullit felt threatened by the senior players in the squad, and that they were being left out of the equation from challenging him for the manager's position if necessary. Pearce claims he once kicked Gullit up in the air during a training session, and a number of other players sniggered at this due to Gullit's lack of communication with them.

A year after losing out of favour with Gullit, Pearce went on to play for West Ham United. In a 1–0 home win over Tottenham Hotspur on August 7, he made his debut on August 7, 1999. In a 2–1 home loss to Arsenal on October 21, 2000, his first goal was scored on October 21, 2000. He made 50 appearances in all sports, scoring three goals, and in 2001, he was named Hammer of the Year.

Kevin Keegan's first signing for Manchester City in the summer of 2001 was his first season in his career. On his debut against Watford, he captained the club to the First Division championship and scored directly from a free-kick. He had the opportunity to reach 100 career goals in the final game of his career against Portsmouth. He made a penalty kick for City four minutes before injury time but missed it along the way to reach his target.

Pearce, a footballer who has played for Longford, Gloucestershire, on January 28, 2016, at the age of 53 and more than 13 years since retiring, signed as a player for Non-league Longford, a club from Longford, Gloucestershire. The club was dubbed "the worst in the United Kingdom" after losing all of their games until that point, with no goals scored or 179 conceded, and now stands at the bottom of the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League Division Two, the 13th tier of English football. In a 1–0 loss to Wotton Rovers on March 12, Pearce made his Longford debut as a second-half replacement.

International career

In a 1–1 friendly draw at Wembley on May 19, 1987, Pearce made his England debut against Brazil. Kenny Sansom's last choice left-back for his country was barred from participating in the 1988 UEFA European Championships, thus preventing him from participating. In his 21st senior appearance for England, scoring in a 4–2 friendly victory over Czechoslovakia at Wembley, he was consistently picked left-back and scored his first England goal in his 21st senior appearance for England.

Pearce played at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, setting up a goal for David Platt in the quarter-final victory over Cameroon and operating as a more attacking left-back than normal as England used a sweeper system. After the match ended in a 1–1 draw, England advanced to the semi-finals, with Pearce being one of two players (the other being Chris Waddle) to miss a penalty. Pearce was in tears as a result of his tearful departure from the field.

Pearce scored his second England goal in a 2–0 win over New Zealand on June 8, 1991, during the England team's tour of Oceania. This was his 40th appearance for England.

The Euro 96 games had been England's first competitive matches since the World Cup qualifiers had come a few years ago. Since they were hosts, they were not allowed to qualify for the tournament. Any of the matches played between November 1993 and June 1996 were friendlies, including the one against Switzerland on November 15, 1995, when Pearce scored the last of his five goals for England. Pearce lost his position to Graeme Le Saux when Terry Venables became England coach in 1994, but recovered it after Le Saux sustained a broken leg in December 1995. Pearce stayed in the team until Euro 96, scoring a point on a quarter-final shoot-out against Spain, which England won. Following his triumphant penalty in front of the adoring Wembley crowd, he became one of the tournament's most memorable shots. He also scored in the semi-final shoot-out against Germany, but Germany won again after Gareth Southgate missed his spot-kick.

Pearce was not chosen for the 1998 World Cup by new coach Glenn Hoddle, but Hoddle's replacement, Kevin Keegan, was recalled for two qualifying games for Euro 2000, and Pearce's form for West Ham. Pearce's broken leg later honed his international career, earning him 78 caps in 1999, which put him in the top ten for England appearances for the first time. In the Euro 2000 qualifiers, Pearce's last appearance for England was in a goalless draw in Poland on September 8, 1999. He was the third-oldest outfield player to play for England at 37 years and 137 days (only Stanley Matthews and Leslie Compton, plus five goalkeepers, had been older).

Peter Taylor installed Pearce as assistant manager during his one-match tenure. England played and lost in Turin to Italy.

Coaching career

He continued working with Manchester City as a mentor under new manager Kevin Keegan after finishing his playing career. After Keegan left the club in March 2005, less than three years since retiring, he was appointed caretaker of City. On April 9, 2005, Kiki Musampa scored the goal in injury time as a result of a solid volley past Scott Carson in his first victory against Liverpool. Pearce was given a permanent basis after a string of form that brought the club close to UEFA Cup qualification. However, Middlesbrough missed out on a chance to sail to Europe in the season's final game by drawing 1–1 with Middlesbrough. Robbie Fowler missed a penalty in the last minute, which would have earned City a UEFA Cup spot if it had been in.

Despite a good start to the 2005-06 season, the city finished 15th in the Premier League due to losing nine of the last ten games. They were also banned from the League Cup by Doncaster Rovers' League One team. Pearce gained a reputation for being both fair and honest by refusing to criticize referees for mistakes they may have committed. He had also been rumored as a potential replacement for England boss Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Pearce failed to make a difference in the 2006-07 season, which saw the city come close to relegation. Chesterfield Town was kicked out of the League Cup by a League One team, this time by Chesterfield. The team also scored just ten goals at home in the league, and zero after New Year's Day in 2007, a record low in top-flight English football. Pearce was fired at the end of the season in May 2007.

Pearce had been named in February 2007 as the England national under-21 team's manager, initially part-time in connection with his Man City duties. England progressed to the semi-finals of the 2007 UEFA Under-21 Championships under his leadership, but the hosts, the Netherlands, were disqualified on penalties. This success, as well as the loss of his work as a City employee, saw him appointed as the full-time manager of the England under-21 team in July 2007.

When new England boss Fabio Capello appointed Pearce as a mentor for the senior England team in addition to his under-21 positions, his involvement in the team was extended in January 2008. Following Capello's resignation in February 2012, Pearce became the senior team's caretaker boss; his only match in charge was a 3–2 loss in a friendly against the Netherlands.

Pearce led the Under-21s to the 2009 UEFA Under-21 Championship final, where they lost 4–0 to Germany. He was also the head of the U21 team in Israel, which was eliminated after losing all of their group matches. The FA announced on June 19 that his deal would not be extended.

For their 2012 Summer Olympics matches, Pearce led the Great Britain Olympic football team.

Pearce was appointed as Nottingham Forest's chief, starting on July 1, 2014. Forest broke their transfer record by signing striker Britt Assombalonga from Peterborough United under Pearce.

Pearce was selected as a nominee for the league's Manager of the Month award for August after leading Forest to an undefeated start to the season, with thirteen points out of a possible fifteen. Despite being defeated by Kenny Jackett of Wolverhampton Wanderers, who took Forest to the top of the table by the end of August 2014 after a 1–0 away victory over Sheffield Wednesday, he was beaten to the top of the table by the end of August 2014. Forest lost key players Chris Cohen and Andy Reid to injury in a 1–1 draw with Derby County on September 14, 2014, and Forest quickly lost form. In twenty-one Championship matches, the team won only three times, and Rochdale was also disqualified from the FA Cup. Pearce won the reverse fixture against Derby and returned the Brian Clough Trophy to the City Ground, but that was not enough to keep him in his position. He was fired on February 1, 2015 with Forest in 12th place in the Championship.

Pearce joined West Ham United as an assistant to manager David Moyes in November 2017. After Moyes' contract was not renewed, he left the east London club at the end of the 2017-18 season. Pearce returned to West Ham as a first-team coach in August 2020, once more assisting Moyes. Pearce left the club at the end of the 2021-22 season to pursue other pursuits.

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