Stuart Pearson

Stuart James Pearson (born 21 June 1949) is an English former footballer. His nickname was "Pancho".[1] He was a skilful forward who played in three FA Cup finals, two for Manchester United and one with West Ham United.

For other uses, see Stuart Pearson (disambiguation).

Stuart Pearson
Personal information
Full name Stuart James Pearson
Date of birth (1949-06-21) 21 June 1949
Place of birth Cottingham, England
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1966–1968 Hull City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1968–1974 Hull City 129 (44)
1974–1979 Manchester United 139 (55)
1979–1982 West Ham United 34 (6)
National team
1976 England U23 1 (0)
1976–1978 England 15 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Hull City

Pearson started his career with Hull City. He joined Manchester United in May 1974 for £200,000, with reserve player Peter Fletcher moving to Hull as part of the deal.[2]

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 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 most of the 1978–79 season due to a knee injury but made a full recovery before leaving Manchester United for 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.

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.[3]

International career

He won 15 caps for England between 1976 and 1978, scoring five goals.[4]

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Pearson moved into coaching, serving as coach of Stockport County in 1985–86 and manager of Northwich Victoria during the first half of 1986–87.[3] He became assistant manager/coach at West Bromwich Albion in 1988 and acted as caretaker manager for six games in 1991 following Brian Talbot's departure.[3] Pearson left Albion in 1992 and was assistant manager at Bradford City from 1992 to 1994.[3] He has also been a pundit for MUTV.[5] He moved to Spain in the mid-2000s.[6]

Honours

Club
Manchester United
West Ham United

References
  1. "Pancho Pearson Pictures and Images". Getty Images. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  2. "Docherty signs up £200,000 Pearson". Daily Mirror. 4 May 1974. p. 40 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. Matthews, Tony (2005). The Who's Who of West Bromwich Albion. Breedon Books. pp. 264–265. ISBN 1-85983-474-4.
  4. "Stuart Pearson". The Football Association. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  5. May, John (26 January 2006). "FA Cup flashback". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  6. "Stuart Pearson". West Ham United F.C. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
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