Alan James Pearce (born 25 October 1965) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a winger. He played for York City,

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

Shildon Shildon is a town and civil parish in County Durham (district), County Durham, in England. The population taken at the 2011 Census was 9,976. The town has the Locomotion Museum, due to it having the first , built in 1825, and locomotive works on ...

and

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

Career

Born in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

, Pearce started his career with York City as an apprentice in August 1982. He signed a professional contract with the club in October 1983 and made his first team debut the following month, starting York's 3–2 victory away at

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

on 26 November. Pearce scored his first goal one week later on 3 December with York's second goal in a 2–0 victory at home to

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

. He played a useful part in York's 1983–84 season, making 18 appearances and scoring five goals in all competitions, as the side won the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

title. In York's first season back in the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

, 1984–85, Pearce made 29 appearances in all competitions. Pearce's season was brought to a premature end after breaking a leg while playing for the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

in April 1985. This kept him out of action until the 1985–86 season, with his return to the team coming on 19 November after starting York's 2–0 victory over non-League

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

first round replay. Pearce made another eight appearances for York that season, in which he scored one goal. Having competed with

Brian Pollard Brian Edward Pollard (born 22 May 1954) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. Career Born in York, Pollard started his career with hometown club York City as an amateur, before signing a professional contract in M ...

and Tony Canham for York's

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

position he converted to playing

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

during the 1986–87 season. His first game in this position came on 20 December 1986 in York's 1–1 draw at home to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

and after this missed two games before the end of the season, which he finished with 35 appearances in all competitions. Having made 92 appearances and scored 10 goals for York in all competitions, Pearce and York teammate

Sean Haslegrave Sean Matthew Haslegrave (7 June 1951 – 22 November 2019) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Stoke City, Nottingham Forest, Preston North End, Crewe Alexandra, York City and Torquay United. Football career Hasle ...

were allowed to join

of the Fourth Division on a free transfer in August 1987. He scored two goals in 27 league appearances for Torquay in the 1987–88 season. He left the club at the end of the season and went on to play non-League football with

and

Honours

York City *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

: 1983–84

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Alan 1953 births Living people Footballers from Middlesbrough English men's footballers Men's association football wingers York City F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Shildon A.F.C. players South Bank F.C. players English Football League players