View source for Stuart Pearson

{{Short description|English football player and manager (born 1949)}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{BLP sources|date=November 2016}}
{{Infobox football biography
|           name = Stuart Pearson
|          image =
|        caption =
|       fullname = Stuart James Pearson
|     birth_date = {{birth date and age|1949|6|21|df=y}}
|    birth_place = [[Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire|Cottingham]], England
|         height = 
|       position = [[Forward (association football)|Forward]]
|    youthyears1 = 1966–1968 |youthclubs1 = [[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]]
|         years1 = 1968–1974 |clubs1 = [[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]]               |caps1 = 129 |goals1 = 44
|         years2 = 1974–1979 |clubs2 = [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] |caps2 = 139 |goals2 = 55
|         years3 = 1979–1982 |clubs3 = [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]]     |caps3 = 34  |goals3 = 6
| totalcaps      = 302       | totalgoals = 105
| nationalyears1 = 1976      |nationalteam1 = [[England national under-21 football team|England U23]] |nationalcaps1 = 1  |nationalgoals1 = 0
| nationalyears2 = 1976–1978 |nationalteam2 = [[England national football team|England]]              |nationalcaps2 = 15 |nationalgoals2 = 5
}}
'''Stuart James Pearson''' (born 21 June 1949) is an English former professional [[association football|footballer]] who played as a [[forward (association football)|forward]]. He appeared in three [[FA Cup final]]s, two for [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] and one with [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]].

==Club career==

===Hull City===
Pearson started his career with hometown club [[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]], 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]] at the time was [[Tommy Docherty]], who subsequently became manager of [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] and signed Pearson in May 1974 for £200,000, with reserve player [[Peter Fletcher (footballer)|Peter Fletcher]] moving to Hull as part of the deal.<ref>{{cite news| title=Docherty signs up £200,000 Pearson| newspaper=Daily Mirror| date=4 May 1974| page=40| url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19740504/433/0040| url-access=subscription| via=British Newspaper Archive}}</ref>

===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 F.C.|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 nearly all of the 1978–79 season due to a knee injury but made a full recovery before leaving Manchester United for [[West Ham United F.C.|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. During interviews after the game, [[Barry Davies]] described him as "a big occasion player" and suggested that but for his injuries he would have been England's finest striker.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

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 [[North American Soccer League (1968–1984)|NASL]].<ref name="Whos Who">{{cite book |last=Matthews |first=Tony |title=The Who's Who of West Bromwich Albion |publisher=Breedon Books |year=2005 |pages=264–265 |isbn=1-85983-474-4 }}</ref>

==International career==
Pearson won 15 [[cap (football)|caps]] for England between 1976 and 1978, scoring five goals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefa.com/England/MensSeniorTeam/Archive.aspx?p=336108 |title=Stuart Pearson |publisher=The Football Association |access-date=15 September 2009 }}</ref>

==Coaching career==
After retiring as a player, Pearson moved into coaching, serving as coach of [[Stockport County F.C.|Stockport County]] in [[1985–86 in English football|1985–86]] and manager of [[Northwich Victoria F.C.|Northwich Victoria]] during the first half of [[1986–87 in English football|1986–87]].<ref name="Whos Who"/> He became assistant manager/coach at [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]] in 1988 and acted as caretaker manager for six games in 1991 following [[Brian Talbot]]'s departure.<ref name="Whos Who"/> Pearson left Albion in 1992 and was assistant manager at [[Bradford City A.F.C.|Bradford City]] from 1992 to 1994.<ref name="Whos Who"/> He has also been a [[pundit (expert)|pundit]] for [[MUTV (Manchester United F.C.)|MUTV]].<ref name=MUTV>{{cite news|last=May|first=John|title=FA Cup flashback|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/4647326.stm|work=BBC Sport|access-date=25 July 2011|date=26 January 2006}}</ref> He moved to Spain in the mid-2000s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whufc.com/articles/20110402/stuart-pearson_2236884_2369435 |title=Stuart Pearson|publisher= [[West Ham United F.C.]]|access-date=11 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303223934/http://www.whufc.com/articles/20110402/stuart-pearson_2236884_2369435|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
===Club===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
|-
!rowspan=2|Club
!rowspan=2|Season
!colspan=3|League
!colspan=2|[[FA Cup]]
!colspan=2|[[EFL Cup|League Cup]]
!colspan=2|Europe
!colspan=2|Other
!colspan=2|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan=6|[[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hullcity-mad.co.uk/feat/edy5/stuart_pearson_27821/index.shtml |title=Stuart Pearson |website=Hull City Mad |access-date=4 March 2023}}</ref>
|[[1969–70 Football League#Second Division|1969–70]]
|[[Football League Second Division|Second Division]]
|1||0||0||0||0||0||colspan=2|—||colspan=2|—||1||0
|-
|[[1970–71 Football League#Second Division|1970–71]]
|Second Division
|12||1||0||0||0||0||colspan=2|—||1{{efn|name=WC|Appearance(s) in [[Watney Cup]]}}||0||13||1
|-
|[[1971–72 Football League#Second Division|1971–72]]
|Second Division
|38||15||1||0||0||0||colspan=2|—||colspan=2|—||39||15
|-
|[[1972–73 Football League#Second Division|1972–73]]
|Second Division
|37||17||4||0||1||0||colspan=2|—||3{{efn|Appearance(s) in [[Anglo-Italian Cup]]}}||0||45||17
|-
|[[1973–74 Football League#Second Division|1973–74]]
|Second Division
|41||11||1||0||5||1||colspan=2|—||3{{efn|name=WC}}||0||50||12
|-
!colspan=2|Total
!129!!44!!6!!0!!6!!1!!colspan=2|—!!7!!0!!148!!45
|-
|rowspan=6|[[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mufcinfo.com/manupag/a-z_player_archive/a-z_player_archive_pages/pearson_stuart.html |title=Stuart James Pearson |website=mufcinfo.com |access-date=4 March 2023}}</ref><ref name=11v11>{{cite web |url=https://www.11v11.com/players/stuart-pearson-30808/ |title=Stuart Pearson |website=International Football History and Statistics |access-date=4 March 2023}}</ref>
|[[1974–75 Manchester United F.C. season|1974–75]]
|Second Division
|31||17||2||0||4||1||colspan=2|—||colspan=2|—||37||18
|-
|[[1975–76 Manchester United F.C. season|1975–76]]
|[[Football League First Division|First Division]]
|39||13||7||1||3||0||colspan=2|—||colspan=2|—||49||14
|-
|[[1976–77 Manchester United F.C. season|1976–77]]
|First Division
|39||15||7||1||4||3||3{{efn|Appearance(s) in [[UEFA Europa League|UEFA Cup]]}}||0||colspan=2|—||53||19
|-
|[[1977–78 Manchester United F.C. season|1977–78]]
|First Division
|30||10||4||3||1||1||3{{efn|name=CWC|Appearance(s) in [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners' Cup]]}}||1||1{{efn|Appearance(s) in [[FA Community Shield|FA Charity Shield]]}}||0||39||15
|-
|[[1978–79 Manchester United F.C. season|1978–79]]
|First Division
|0||0||2||0||0||0||colspan=2|—||colspan=2|—||2||0
|-
!colspan=2|Total
!139!!55!!22!!5!!12!!5!!6!!1!!1!!0!!180!!66
|-
|rowspan=4|[[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]]<ref name=11v11/>
|[[1979–80 West Ham United F.C. season|1979–80]]
|Second Division
|25||5||8||2||3||1||colspan=2|—||colspan=2|—||36||8
|-
|[[1980–81 West Ham United F.C. season|1980–81]]
|Second Division
|5||0||0||0||2||0||1{{efn|name=CWC}}||1||colspan=2|—||8||1 
|-
|[[1981–82 West Ham United F.C. season|1981–82]]
|First Division
|4||1||2||0||0||0||colspan=2|—||colspan=2|—||6||1
|-
!colspan=2|Total
!34!!6!!10!!2!!5!!1!!1!!1!!colspan=2|—!!50!!10
|-
!colspan=3|Career total
!302!!105!!38!!7!!23!!7!!7!!2!!8!!0!!378!!121
|}
{{notelist}}

===International===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref name="nft">{{NFT|19625|access-date=25 September 2024}}</ref>
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[England national football team|England]]
|1976||6||3
|-
|1977||7||1
|-
|1978||2||1
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!15!!5
|}

:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pearson goal.''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Stuart Pearson
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
!scope="col" class="unsortable"|{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
|style="text-align:center"|1
|{{dts|11 May 1976}}
|[[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], [[London]], England
|{{fb|Northern Ireland}}
|style="text-align:center"|3–0
|style="text-align:center"|4–0
|[[1975–76 British Home Championship]]
|<ref>{{cite web|title=England v Northern Ireland, 11 May 1976|url=https://www.11v11.com/matches/england-v-northern-ireland-11-may-1976-233769/|website=11v11|access-date=25 September 2024}}</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"|2
|{{dts|13 June 1976}}
|[[Helsinki Olympic Stadium]], [[Helsinki]], Finland
|{{fb|Finland}}
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|style="text-align:center"|4–1
|[[1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|1978 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|<ref>{{cite web|title=Finland v England, 13 June 1976
|url=https://www.11v11.com/matches/finland-v-england-13-june-1976-233819/|website=11v11|access-date=25 September 2024}}</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"|3
|{{dts|8 September 1976}}
|Wembley Stadium, London, England	
|{{fb|Republic of Ireland}}
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|style="text-align:center"|1–1
|[[Friendly (association football)|Friendly]]
|<ref>{{cite web|title=England v Republic of Ireland, 08 September 1976|url=https://www.11v11.com/matches/england-v-republic-of-ireland-08-september-1976-233918/|website=11v11|access-date=25 September 2024}}</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"|4
|{{dts|12 June 1977}}
|[[La Bombonera| Boca Juniors Stadium]], [[Buenos Aires]], Argentina
|{{fb|Argentina}}
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|style="text-align:center"|1–1
|Friendly
|<ref>{{cite web|title=Argentina v England, 12 June 1977
|url=https://www.11v11.com/matches/argentina-v-england-12-june-1977-234304/|website=11v11|access-date=25 September 2024}}</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"|5
|{{dts|22 February 1978}}
|[[Olympiastadion (Munich)|Olympiastadion]], [[Munich]], Germany
|{{fb|West Germany}}
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|style="text-align:center"|1–2
|Friendly
|<ref>{{cite web|title=West Germany v England, 22 February 1978
|url=https://www.11v11.com/matches/west-germany-v-england-22-february-1978-234617/|website=11v11|access-date=25 September 2024}}</ref>
|}

==Honours==
'''Manchester United'''
*[[Football League Second Division]]: [[1974–75 Football League|1974–75]]
*[[FA Cup]]: [[1976–77 FA Cup|1976–77]];<ref name="ROTHS">{{cite book |first1=Leslie |first2=Jack |last1=Vernon |last2=Rollin |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78 |year=1977 |publisher=Brickfield Publications Ltd |location=London |isbn=0354-09018-6 |page=491}}</ref> runner-up: [[1975–76 FA Cup|1975–76]]<ref name="ROTHS"/>
*[[FA Charity Shield]]: [[1977 FA Charity Shield|1977]]

'''West Ham United'''
*FA Cup: [[1979–80 FA Cup|1979–80]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{NeilBrownPlayers|player/stuartpearson.html}}
*[http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/playermenu/pearson_sj.html Profile] at StretfordEnd.co.uk
*{{cite web |url=https://www.stretfordendarising.com/history/ask-worried-turkey-stuart-pancho-pearson/ |title=Ask Worried Turkey..? Stuart 'Pancho' Pearson|publisher= Stretford End Arising}}

{{1974–75 Football League Second Division PFA Team of the Year}}
{{Northwich Victoria F.C. managers}}
{{West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Stuart}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:People from Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Footballers from the East Riding of Yorkshire]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:England men's international footballers]]
[[Category:England men's under-23 international footballers]]
[[Category:Hull City A.F.C. players]]
[[Category:Manchester United F.C. players]]
[[Category:Northwich Victoria F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Northwich Victoria F.C. players]]
[[Category:West Ham United F.C. players]]
[[Category:West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:Bradford City A.F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Stockport County F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:West Bromwich Albion F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:English football managers]]