Pat Heard (born 17 March 1960 in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

) is an English retired

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and left-back. He was a member of Villa’s history-making ‘82 squad.

Early life and youth career

In the mid-70s, Heard attended

Malet Lambert High School Malet Lambert is a secondary school for 11- to 16-year-old pupils in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The school is situated on James Reckitt Avenue in the east of the city, its front facade overlooks East Park. Malet Lambe ...

and played for Hull City Schoolboys and Humberside Boys. He was spotted by Jeff Barmby who tipped off Everton

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 ...

manager

Ray Henderson Ray Henderson (born Raymond Brost; December 1, 1896 – December 31, 1970) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Buffalo, New York, United States, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley. He was o ...

.''Heard about Hull's Euro champ'',

Hull Daily Mail The ''Hull Daily Mail'' is an English regional daily newspaper for Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The ''Hull Daily Mail'' has been circulated in various guises since 1885. A second edition, the ''East Riding Mail'', covers ...

14 February 2009 As a product of the youth system at Everton, left-footer Heard made eleven appearances for the club.

Professional football career

In October 1979, the young midfielder was signed by

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

at a valuation of £150,000 (''2015: £'') in a deal which saw

John Gidman John Gidman (born 10 January 1954) is an English former footballer who played for Aston Villa, Everton, Manchester United, Manchester City, Stoke City and Darlington. Gidman was a product of the Liverpool and Aston Villa academies. Care ...

move the other way. Heard made nine appearances in his first season at Villa Park but was not one of just 14 players used by Ron Saunders to become League champions in the following season. He scored a goal during a 4–3 defeat to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

at Highbury in March 1982 and scored the winner in a 0–1 victory away to local rivals,

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

in May that year. Pat Heard won a

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

medal after being named as a substitute for the

1982 European Cup Final The 1982 European Cup Final was played on 26 May 1982. Football League winners Aston Villa defeated Bundesliga winners Bayern Munich 1–0 at De Kuip in Rotterdam, Netherlands to win the European Cup for the first time, and continue the streak of ...

. Although he was not used during the match, the following European Cup season, Heard played for the defending champions in the 3–1 victory over

Beşiktaş J.K. Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü (), also known simply as Beşiktaş (), is a Turkish sports club founded in 1903 that is based in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul. The club's football team is one of the Big Three in Turkey and one of the most ...

Heard left Villa in January 1983 for

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

priced at £60,000; his new club's hopes of promotion from the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

had been dented by a recent slump in form. He was forced to take a taxi to Highbury, London for the 1983 FA Cup semi-final having been accidentally left behind by manager, Jack Charlton. However, when Jack Charlton moved to

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

, Heard was the new manager's first signing. In October 1984 he scored in a 3–0 victory over

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

; his second goal came the following month in a 2–2 draw away to

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

. In August 1985, Heard moved to

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 ...

on a month's loan with a view to a permanent deal. In November 1985 he scored as Middlesbrough beat Shrewsbury Town 3–1 at home. Following his spell at Middlesbrough, in 1986 he joined his hometown club Hull City. Notable performances included scoring a penalty in the 2–1 victory over his old club, Villa, in August 1987. As penalty taker he also scored in a 3–0 away win at

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

in October 1987; and the 2–1 away win at Oldham Athletic in the Christmas fixtures that year. Having been a first teamer for two seasons at Hull, Heard left to play for Rotherham United, winning the Fourth Division title. This was followed by

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

during which time he turned down an offer from Norwegian club Randaberg IL to become their

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

. He returned briefly to Hull before continuing his career with the Brunei M-League Team. A clash of heads fractured his skull ending his playing career at the age of 34.

After football

After football, Heard embarked on a variety of careers including as a publican in both Hull and

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

, a summariser for

Free Radio Birmingham Free Radio Birmingham is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Birmingham and the West Midlands. As of September 2022, the station has a ...

, a stage hypnotist. Most recently, as an

Approved Driving Instructor Approved Driving Instructor (or ADI) is a UK term for a trainer of car driving who has been tested and registered by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). UK law requires driving instructor A driving instructor is a person who is hire ...

, Heard taught Villa youngsters

Barry Bannan Barry Ryan Bannan (born 1 December 1989) is a Scottish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League One club Sheffield Wednesday F.C., Sheffield Wednesday. Bannan began his career at Albion Rovers F.C., ...

, Benji Siegrist, and Andreas Weimann to drive.

Sunday Mercury ''Sunday Mercury'' is a Sunday tabloid published in Birmingham, UK, and now owned by Reach plc. The first edition was published on 29 December 1918. The first editor was John Turner Fearon (1869–1937), who left the Dublin-based ''Freeman's ...

, ''PAT'S STILL DRIVEN TO BE SUCCESS'', 29 May 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heard, Pat 1960 births Living people English footballers English Football League players Everton F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Expatriate footballers in Malaysia Footballers from Kingston upon Hull English association football commentators Expatriate footballers in Brunei British hypnotists Brunei (Liga Premier team) players Association football defenders Association football midfielders