Ian Pearce

Ian Anthony Pearce (born 7 May 1974) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1990 until 2012, notably in the Premier League for Blackburn Rovers where he won the title in 1995.
He also played top flight for Chelsea, West Ham United and Fulham. He also played in the Football League for Southampton and Lincoln City as well as Non-league sides Oxted & District, Kingstonian and Lingfield. Whilst with Lincoln he also worked as the clubs assistant manager to Chris Sutton.

Chelsea

Pearce started his career at Oxted & District FC then moved to Chelsea during the 1991–92 season. He played just four games in three seasons before moving onto Blackburn Rovers in October 1993 for a fee of £300,000.

Blackburn Rovers

Pearce's debut was as a substitute in October 1993 in a defeat to Liverpool. He scored his first goal in April 1994 coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 win at West Ham United, a result which guaranteed Rovers a place in Europe for the first time in their history. He moved to centre-half the following season, forming a formidable partnership with Colin Hendry, and won a Premiership medal in the 1994–95 season.

West Ham United

Pearce moved on to West Ham for £3.5 million in October 1997. In the 1999–2000 season, he only played 37 minutes after injuring his knee ligaments with a clash with Stuart Pearce. Pearce was out for 14 months, but returned in October 2000 against Newcastle United. He failed to find his true fitness, and only played 17 times in that season.

Fulham

Pearce signed for Fulham in January 2004 in a deal which involved an undisclosed transfer fee and Andy Melville moving to West Ham. He started all nine games of that season as Fulham's first choice centre back. He made his debut in a match against Tottenham Hotspur at Loftus Road on 31 January 2004.

However, in his 2004–05 season, he was hampered with a back injury sustained in December 2004. He did manage to play a few reserve games at the end of the season, but did not play for the first team. In August 2005, he was close to signing for Norwich City, but pulled out because of family reasons.

Pearce was praised as 'Best player in pre season' by then Fulham manager Chris Coleman. His admirable resolve was demonstrated when in a 1–1 draw against Portsmouth he played through a painful foot injury only to score an equaliser before time and secure a critical point for Fulham.

On 22 February 2008, he joined Southampton on a 30-day loan deal. Injury restricted him to one appearance, in a 1–1 draw against Scunthorpe United.

Pearce had a trial for Brentford and played against Staines Town in a 3–0 win.

Later career

Pearce rejoined Oxted & District, the club where his career began, in September 2008. Pearce signed for Kingstonian on 21 August 2009 as an attacking midfielder and forward and made his competitive debut for the club against Aveley. He left the club on 27 September.

On 9 October 2009, in addition to his contract as assistant manager, Pearce signed a playing contract with Lincoln City. On 17 October, Pearce made his playing debut for Lincoln, coming on as a substitute in their 1–0 away defeat to Northampton Town. He was sent off as an unused substitute in a match against Cheltenham Town on 14 November 2009. He returned for Kingstonian on Saturday 19 March 2011, in the 2–0 win over Lowestoft Town. He later played briefly for Lingfield.

Pearce was capped three times for England at under-21 level in the mid-1990s, but never made the senior national side.

On 27 September, Pearce signed for Lincoln City as the club's assistant manager to newly appointed Chris Sutton. He left when Chris Sutton resigned on 29 September 2010.