Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

Jason Pearce

English footballer (born 1987)

Jason Daniel Pearce (born 6 December 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He was previously the captain of Portsmouth, AFC Bournemouth, Leeds United and Charlton Athletic. He is senior professional development phase lead coach at Charlton Athletic.

01Playing career

Portsmouth

Having joined Portsmouth as an apprentice in 2004, Pearce rose through the ranks. His professionalism despite his tender years earned him his first pro-contract in June 2006. After a spell on loan at Bognor Regis Town during the first half of the 2006-07 season, he joined Woking on a one-month loan in January 2007.

AFC Bournemouth

On 9 August 2007, Pearce joined AFC Bournemouth on a two-year contract. He helped get Bournemouth promoted to League One from League Two during the 2009-10 season. On 4 January 2010, Pearce replaced Danny Hollands as first team captain, in a new-look structure that saw veteran striker Steve Fletcher become club captain.

During the 2010-11 season, Pearce led the club to the League One playoffs, however his involvement in the playoffs saw him sent off in extra time for a foul on Kevin Kilbane in the semi-final second leg against Huddersfield Town as Bournemouth were knocked out on penalties and as a result unable to gain a back to back promotion. Pearce received Bournemouth's Player of the Year Award for the 2010-11 season.

Return to Portsmouth

Pearce was sold back to his old club Portsmouth on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in the region of £300,000, up to £600,000, on 24 June 2011. Pearce joined his new club alongside David Norris when the first team came back from absence on 1 July. After being suspended for the first three games of the season due to a red card in his last game for Bournemouth, Pearce made his debut on 16 August 2011, against Reading, playing as a centre-back. With Portsmouth in financial turmoil he was subject to a bid from Ipswich Town in January 2012, however he said he wanted to stay at Portsmouth under new manager Michael Appleton. When captain Liam Lawrence was loaned to Cardiff City, on 3 March 2012, Pearce was named as the new permanent captain of Portsmouth. He took over the captain's armband in the Championship match against Middlesbrough in a 3-1 loss which could have possibly been the club's last match in existence. This was too much for the 24-year-old captain who was reduced to tears at the end of the 90 minutes. At the end of the 2011-12 season, Portsmouth were relegated to League One, due to the financial problems at the club it was announced that Pearce would have to be sold to raise funds for the club. In April 2012, at the end of season awards, Pearce won seven out of the nine available supporters awards.

Leeds United

On 4 May 2012, Pearce signed for Leeds United for an undisclosed fee on a four-year contract, becoming the club's first signing of the summer transfer window. Leeds manager Neil Warnock revealed that he tried previously to sign him while he was at Queens Park Rangers and also tried sign him on loan in March, after he had joined Leeds. Following his transfer, Portsmouth administrator Trevor Birch defended the cut-price deal which saw him join Leeds as he explained that such measures are necessary to keep relegated Pompey afloat. Pearce made his competitive début for Leeds in the first game of the season against Shrewsbury Town in the League Cup on 11 August. Pearce made his league debut for Leeds their 1-0 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers. He put in an impressive performance and received the man of the match award. With regular captain Lee Peltier out injured, Pearce was named captain for Leeds' 2-1 League Cup victory against Premiership side Everton on 25 September. Pearce also picked up a head injury in the same game which required stitches. Pearce received a straight red card against Watford on 10 November, the red card would result in a three-match ban. After his red card, Leeds signed Alan Tate to cover Pearce's absence, however due to Tate's form, Pearce lost his place in the side upon return from suspension. Following the arrival of Brian McDermott as manager and initially an injury to captain Lee Peltier. Pearce finished the season as the regular central defensive partner to Tom Lees.

He scored his first goal for the club on 5 October, in a 3-1 defeat against Derby County. Pearce was awarded the man of the match award against Queens Park Rangers on 1 March 2014 in a 1-1 draw, up to this point in the season, Pearce had played every single minute of the 2013/14 season for Leeds with a string of impressive individual performances. Pearce, missed the following game against Bolton Wanderers on 8 March as his partner gave birth to their first child on 7 March. On 3 May, At the club's annual awards ceremony, Pearce finished runner up to winner Ross McCormack in the Fans Player of the Year award.

After the sale of club captain Ross McCormack, on 9 August 2014, Pearce was named as the new club Captain against Millwall. In November 2014, Pearce was replaced as captain by Stephen Warnock, with Warnock replaced as captain by Liam Cooper following his sale to Derby County in January 2015.

Wigan Athletic

On 30 January 2015, Pearce signed for Wigan Athletic for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £300,000, on a "long-term" contract.

Charlton Athletic

On 4 August 2016, Pearce joined League One club Charlton Athletic on an undisclosed fee. He scored his first goal for Charlton in a 3-0 win over Gillingham on 17 April 2017. At the end of his debut season with the club, he signed a new three-year contract with the club.

On 11 June 2019, Pearce signed a new two-year contract with Charlton.

On 22 June 2021, Pearce extended his contract at the club for a further year.

On 10 May 2022, it was confirmed that Pearce would leave Charlton Athletic as a player when his contract expired. He was, however, offered a contract in a non-playing capacity. On 17 June 2022, it was confirmed that Pearce had retired and taken up the role of U18s Academy Coach.

02Management career

Charlton Athletic

On 27 August 2023, it was announced that Pearce would take interim charge of the Charlton Athletic first-team while the club looked for a new manager to replace Dean Holden.

On 24 January 2024, it was announced that Pearce would be interim assistant head coach to Curtis Fleming following the departure of Michael Appleton.

03Career statistics

As a player

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Portsmouth 2006-07 Premier League 000000, , 00
Bognor Regis (loan) 2006-07 Conference South 12120, , 10151
Woking (loan) 2006-07 Conference Premier 18100, , 00181
AFC Bournemouth 2007-08 League One 331301010381
2008-09 League Two 442311030513
2009-10 League Two 391201000421
2010-11 League One 463201030523
Total 162710140701838
Portsmouth 2011-12 Championship 4321000, , 442
Leeds United 2012-13 Championship 3303050, , 410
2013-14 Championship 4521030, , 492
2014-15 Championship 2100020, , 230
Total 99240100001132
Wigan Athletic 2014-15 Championship 16200, , , , 162
2015-16 League One 312000020332
Total 474000020494
Charlton Athletic 2016-17 League One 231100000241
2017-18 League One 252001030292
2018-19 League One 262000020282
2019-20 Championship 3910000, , 391
2020-21 League One 260000010270
2021-22 League One 230101031281
Total 16262020911757
Career total 5432319116019159725

As a manager

As of match played 5 September 2023
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
PWDLWin %
Charlton Athletic (caretaker) 27 August 2023 8 September 2023 2101050.0
Total 2101050.0

04Honours

Wigan Athletic

Charlton Athletic

Individual

Watch videos about Jason PearceExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Jason Pearce, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.