Stuart Pearson
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stuart James Pearson | ||
| Date of birth | 21 June 1949 | ||
| Place of birth | Cottingham, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1966–1968 | Hull City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1968–1974 | Hull City | 129 | (44) |
| 1974–1979 | Manchester United | 139 | (55) |
| 1979–1982 | West Ham United | 34 | (6) |
| National team | |||
| 1976 | England U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 1976–1978 | England | 15 | (5) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Stuart James Pearson (born 21 June 1949 in Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire) is an English former football player. He was a skilful forward who played in three FA Cup finals.
Playing career
Hull City
Pearson started his career with Hull City. As a young player and replacement for local hero Chris Chilton he was not given an easy time by the Hull City fans. He did, however, soon win them over with skill and clinical finishing. During his time at Hull City his efforts, on one occasion, earned him the memorable headline "Onion Stu Lands City In A Pickle": this headline came about after Pearson was sent off against Sheffield Wednesday for calling the linesman "a bloody onion". City lost that game at Hillsborough 4–2 with Pearson having scored both Hull goals before his dismissal. He later joined Manchester United in 1974 for £200,000.
Manchester United
Pearson was bought by Manchester United after they were relegated to the Second Division and was instrumental in getting the club promoted back to the First Division the very next season by scoring 17 goals. Every time he scored a goal he would celebrate with a raised right fist. He was in the team that lost 1–0 to Southampton in the 1976 FA Cup Final. The next year Pearson helped Manchester United win the 1977 FA Cup Final against Liverpool, scoring the first of Manchester United's goals in their 2–1 win. He was sidelined for most of the 1978–79 season due to a knee injury but made a full recovery before leaving Manchester United for West Ham United in August 1979.
West Ham United
He helped the Hammers win the 1980 FA Cup Final, with his cross-shot setting up Trevor Brooking for the only goal in a 1–0 win over Arsenal. Pearson retired from league football in 1982 due to a knee injury, but continued to play at a lower level, in South Africa and the NASL.[1]
International career
He won 15 caps for England between 1976 and 1978, scoring five goals.[2]
Coaching career
After retiring as a player, Pearson moved into coaching, serving as coach of Stockport County in 1985–86 and manager of Northwich Victoria during the first half of 1986–87.[1] He became assistant manager/coach at West Bromwich Albion in 1988 and acted as caretaker manager for six games in 1991 following Brian Talbot's departure.[1] Pearson left Albion in 1992 and was assistant manager at Bradford City from 1992 to 1994.[1] He has been a pundit for MUTV.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Matthews, Tony (2005). The Who's Who of West Bromwich Albion. Breedon Books. pp. 264–265. ISBN 1-85983-474-4.
- ↑ "Stuart Pearson". The Football Association. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
- ↑ May, John (26 January 2006). "FA Cup flashback". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 July 2011.