Stuart James Pearson (born 21 June 1949) is an English former
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 ...
. His nickname was "Pancho". He was a skilful
forward who played in three
FA Cup final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...
s, two for
Manchester United and one with
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
.
Playing career
Hull City
Pearson started his career with hometown club
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
, whom he joined as an amateur while doing an apprenticeship as a telephone engineer. He scored 44 league goals for the Tigers after becoming a first team regular when record scorer
Chris Chilton left in 1971.
An assistant manager to
Terry Neill
William John Terence Neill (8 May 1942 – 28 July 2022) was a Northern Irish football player and manager. A centre-back, he captained and later managed Arsenal, guiding the club to a European final in 1980 and three consecutive FA Cup final ...
at the time was
Tommy Docherty
Thomas Henderson Docherty (24 April 1928 – 31 December 2020), commonly known as The Doc, was a Scottish football player and manager. Docherty played for several clubs, most notably Preston North End, and represented Scotland 25 times betw ...
, who subsequently became manager of
Manchester United and signed Pearson in May 1974 for £200,000, with reserve player
Peter Fletcher moving to Hull as part of the deal.
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 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
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
in the
1976 FA Cup Final
The 1976 FA Cup Final was the 95th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 1 May 1976 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Manchester United and Southampton.
United had finished third in the First Division that season, and were strong fav ...
. The next year Pearson helped Manchester United win the
1977 FA Cup Final
The 1977 FA Cup Final was the final match of the 1976–77 FA Cup, the 96th season of England's premier cup football competition. The match was played on 21 May 1977 at Wembley Stadium, London, and it was contested by Manchester United and Liver ...
against Liverpool, scoring the first of Manchester United's goals in their 2–1 win. He was sidelined for all of the 1978–79 season due to a knee injury but made a full recovery before leaving Manchester United for
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
in August 1979.
West Ham United
He helped the Hammers win the
1980 FA Cup Final, with his cross-shot setting up
Trevor Brooking
Sir Trevor David Brooking, (born 2 October 1948) is a former England international footballer, manager, pundit and football administrator; he now works as director of football development in England.
He spent almost his entire career at West ...
for the only goal in a 1–0 win over Arsenal. During interviews after the game,
Barry Davies
Barry George Davies MBE (born 24 October 1937) is an English retired sports commentator and television presenter. He covered a wide range of sports in a long career, primarily for the BBC.
Although best known for his football commentary, D ...
described him as "a big occasion player" and suggested that but for his injuries he would have been England's finest striker.
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.
International career
He won 15
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...
for England between 1976 and 1978, scoring five goals.
Coaching career
After retiring as a player, Pearson moved into coaching, serving as coach of
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
in
1985–86 and manager of
Northwich Victoria during the first half of
1986–87.
He became assistant manager/coach at
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 pl ...
in 1988 and acted as caretaker manager for six games in 1991 following
Brian Talbot
Brian Ernest Talbot (born 21 July 1953) is an English former football player and manager. He was capped six times for the England national team.
Talbot played in midfield for Ipswich Town, Arsenal, Watford, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albio ...
's departure.
Pearson left Albion in 1992 and was assistant manager at
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
...
from 1992 to 1994.
He has also been a
pundit for
MUTV.
He moved to Spain in the mid-2000s.
Honours
Club
Manchester United
*
Football League Second Division
The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...
:
1974–75
*
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 ...
:
1976–77
*
FA Charity Shield:
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
West Ham United
*
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 ...
:
1979–80
References
External links
*
Profileat StretfordEnd.co.uk
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Stuart
Living people
1949 births
People from Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire
Footballers from the East Riding of Yorkshire
English footballers
England international footballers
England under-23 international footballers
Hull City A.F.C. players
Manchester United F.C. players
Northwich Victoria F.C. managers
Northwich Victoria F.C. players
West Ham United F.C. players
West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers
English Football League players
Bradford City A.F.C. non-playing staff
Stockport County F.C. non-playing staff
West Bromwich Albion F.C. non-playing staff
Association football forwards
English football managers
FA Cup Final players