Peter Ian Pawlett (born 3 February 1991) is a 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 ...

who plays as a

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 ...

for

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

club

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

. He spent much of his early career at

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and has also played for St Johnstone and

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

. He has been

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

at U19 and U21 levels.

Early life

Born on 3 February 1991 in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire but moved to

Banchory Banchory (, sco, Banchry, gd, Beannchar) is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is about west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee. Prehistory and archaeology In 2009, a farmer discovered a short cist bu ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

aged around 7. He grew up supporting

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 ...

Club career

Aberdeen

Pawlett was brought up in

from a young age and made his

debut in February 2009, coming on as a substitute in a 5–0

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,East Fife. He made his

SPL SPL may refer to: Association football * Saudi Professional League * Scottish Premier League * SportPesa Premier League, Kenya * Singapore Premier League * RoboCup Standard Platform League, matches between autonomous robots Computing Program ...

debut for Aberdeen as a substitute in a 3–1 loss to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

on 2 May 2009, and he made his first league start in a 2–1 loss to Rangers two weeks later. On 7 November 2009, Pawlett set up the first goal for

Sone Aluko Omatsone Folarin "Sone" Aluko (born 19 February 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Ipswich Town and the Nigeria national team. Aluko began his career at Birmingham City, graduating from the club's academy ...

in a 2–1 win over St Johnstone. Soon after, Pawlett, along with four other players, was offered a new contract and eventually signed a four-year deal soon after During the season, in January 2010, Pawlett sustained a knee injury which required surgery. A month later it was reported that the injury would keep him out of action for the remainder of the 2009–10 season. In each of the next two seasons, Pawlett spoke out about his injury, saying he had worked for optimum fitness while undergoing rehabilitation and that he was able to move on from his injury. Pawlett made his return at the beginning of the 2010–11 season and played his first match in a 4–0 win over

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...

at the opening game of the season. After making three more appearances during the season, Pawlett suffered a toe injury and this kept him for three months. He made his return in a 5–0 defeat to Heart of Midlothian on 11 December 2010. On 30 April 2011, Pawlett scored his first goal for Aberdeen in a 1–0 win over

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...

. On 20 December 2011 in a 1–0 win over Hibernian, Pawlett received a straight red card after a challenge on Lewis Stevenson. In the second half before his sending off, he fell theatrically inside the penalty box when challenged by

Ivan Sproule Ivan Sproule (born 18 February 1981) is a Northern Irish retired professional footballer who was most recently manager of NIFL Championship side Dergview. Early in his career, Sproule played in Northern Ireland for Omagh Town and Institute. H ...

, resulting in a penalty being given which was converted by

Scott Vernon Scott Malcolm Vernon (born 13 December 1983) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Vernon played in the Football League and the Scottish Premiership for 16 years, notably with lengthy spells with Oldham Athlet ...

. After the game, he was given a two match suspension by the SFA. The club decided against appealing the ban. On 23 August 2012, Pawlett joined fellow

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...

side St Johnstone on loan until January 2013. Pawlett made his debut, coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 loss against Hibernian. Pawlett went on to make nine appearances for St Johnstone and stated his desire to stay at the club for the rest of the season On 1 January, the loan spell was extended for another two games, although there was also the possibility of a permanent move. However, after the sale of fellow midfielder

Ryan Fraser Ryan Fraser (born 24 February 1994) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Newcastle United and the Scotland national team. He has previously played for Aberdeen, AFC Bournemouth and Ipswich Town. ...

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

recalled the midfielder to play in their first team. After his loan spell ended, St Johnstone Manager Steve Lomas said he wasn't surprised that Aberdeen had chosen to recall Pawlett. After being recalled from his loan with St Johnstone, he made his first appearance since leaving on loan, in a 0–0 draw against Hibernian. During the match, Pawlett created controversy when he was booked for diving, leading Craig Brown to say that if it was found he had dived, the club would take action against him. During that game, Pawlett gained more notoriety when his shorts fell down after getting tackled by

Gary Deegan Gary Richard Deegan (born 28 September 1987) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League of Ireland Premier Division club Drogheda United. Beginning his career in his native Ireland, he played in the Scottish Premier ...

, revealing his underpants. a match against

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

on 5 May 2013, Pawlett was criticised for allegedly diving to win a penalty. The penalty was converted by

Niall McGinn Niall McGinn (born 20 July 1987) is a Northern Irish professional footballer, who plays for Scottish Championship club Dundee. McGinn has also played for Dungannon Swifts, Derry City, Celtic, Brentford, Aberdeen (two spells) and South Korea ...

to level the game. The match finished 1–1, but the draw wasn't enough to prevent Dundee being relegated to the First Division. After criticism of the diving, Pawlett received a two-match suspension, which was accepted by the club, following an investigation from the SFA. In the 2013–14 season Pawlett retained his first team place, mostly playing as more of an attacking midfielder. He would score five league goals, against

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

, St Mirren, St Johnstone, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and

during the season. His good performances earned a contract extension, which will keep him at Aberdeen until 2017. In the second half of the season, Pawlett would play a vital role for the club, as he scored one and then set one up, in a 4–0 win over St Johnstone, to send the club to the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

final for the first time in fourteen years. Then, in the fifth round of the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

song '

Don't You Want Me "Don't You Want Me" is a song by British synthpop group the Human League (credited on the cover as The Human League 100). It was released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album, '' Dare'' (1981). The band's best ...

' to Number One in the charts following the success of their version singing 'Peter Pawlett baby'. Pawlett did not play regularly for Aberdeen in the following seasons, as

and

Jonny Hayes Jonathan Hayes (born 9 July 1987) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a winger for the Scottish Premiership team Aberdeen and Republic of Ireland. He began his career in England with Reading, but did not break through to their f ...

were the first choice wingers.

Milton Keynes Dons

On 9 March 2017, English

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side

announced that Pawlett had signed a pre-contract deal to join the club at the end of the 2016–17 season. Pawlett made his first appearance for his new club on 5 August 2017 in a 0–1 home defeat to

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute for

Ryan Seager Ryan Paul Seager (born 5 February 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for National League side Dorking Wanderers. He has been capped twice for England U17. Club career Southampton Seager made his debut for the ...

. On 2 December 2017, Pawlett scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1

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 ...

second round home win over Maidstone United.

Dundee United

On 31 January 2019, Pawlett joined

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland Scotland (, ...

club

for an undisclosed fee. Two days later, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 win for United against

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...

International career

Born in Hull, Pawlett was initially only eligible for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. However following the introduction of the Home nations agreement Pawlett became eligible to play for

.Dons youngster Peter Pawlett set for Scotland bow under new FIFA ruling
'' Daily Record'', 4 November 2009 As Pawlett was educated in

for eight years, he met the requirements of the Home Nations Agreement which allow players who have been educated for five years or more under the age of 18 in a

Home Nation Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...

to represent that country. Pawlett was selected for the Scotland under-19 team in November 2009 and spoke out about his delight at having switched nationality. On 16 May 2014, Pawlett was called into the senior

squad for the first time, for the friendly against

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Career statistics

Honours

Aberdeen *

: 2013–14 Dundee United *

: 2019–20 Individual * Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month: November 2009 *

PFA Scotland Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Scotland Team of the Year (often called the PFA Scotland Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the four national tiers of the Scottish foot ...

: 2013–14 Premiership

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pawlett, Peter Living people 1991 births Footballers from Kingston upon Hull Scottish footballers Association football midfielders Aberdeen F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Scottish Premier League players People educated at Banchory Academy Scotland under-21 international footballers Scotland youth international footballers Scottish Professional Football League players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players Anglo-Scots Footballers from Aberdeenshire