Nigel Pearson

Shrewsbury Town

Pearson was born in Nottingham, where he attended William Sharp Comprehensive School. He began his playing career with non-league Heanor Town before joining Second Division Shrewsbury Town in November 1981. He made his first-team debut in a 1–0 defeat at Oldham Athletic on the opening day of the 1982–83 season. Pearson's first Football League goal came on 12 March 1983 in a 3–1 win against Barnsley at Gay Meadow. Pearson ended the season with 39 out of a possible 42 starts as Shrewsbury finished in ninth place in the table. In the following season, Shrewsbury finished one place higher but injuries restricted Pearson to 26 games. Injury prevented him from playing at all in 1984–85, when Shrewsbury again finished eighth in the table, but he returned in 1985–86, making 35 appearances as Shrewsbury dropped to 17th. In 1986–87 he was an ever-present, making 42 appearances and contributing three goals, as the Shrews finished in 18th place. He started the next season, before being signed by Sheffield Wednesday's manager Howard Wilkinson on 12 October 1987 for a fee of £250,000. In his six years with Shrewsbury Town, he made a total of 181 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals.

Sheffield Wednesday

Pearson moved to Sheffield Wednesday in 1987. He won the League Cup as captain during the 1990–91 season, being selected as "Man of the Match" in the final at Wembley. In the same season he also helped the Owls win promotion to Division One.…

Early career

As manager of Carlisle United, Pearson helped to keep the club in the Football League at the end of the 1998–99 season. He signed goalkeeper Jimmy Glass on loan. In Pearson's last match in charge of the team, Glass scored an injury-time goal against Plymouth Argyle, saving the club from relegation to the Football Conference at the expense of Scarborough. In 1999, he was recruited as Stoke City's first-team coach by Gary Megson. Although Megson was sacked later that year by the club's Icelandic consortium, Pearson was kept on for a further two years under Guðjón Þórðarson, before being sacked in 2001. Pearson moved to West Bromwich Albion in November 2004 as assistant manager to Bryan Robson, and took over as caretaker manager when Robson left the club in September 2006. Albion won three and drew one of his matches in charge, before stepping down from the role in preparation for the arrival of new manager Tony Mowbray.

On 19 October 2006, he was linked with the Sheffield Wednesday manager's position but instead took over as assistant manager of Newcastle United, replacing Kevin Bond, who was dismissed following allegations he was prepared to take bungs for players whilst at Portsmouth. On 1 February 2007, Pearson was confirmed as assistant coach to Stuart Pearce, the England U21 team manager, until after the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. As Pearce's contract limited him to involvement in only one friendly before the Championship, Pearson led…

Playing statistics

Managerial statistics

As of match played 28 October 2023

Pearson's grandfather Percy Mills also played football for Notts County. Pearson's mother died on 3 January 2020 at the age of 84, but he took charge of Watford's FA Cup game against Tranmere Rovers the following day. In March 2020, Pearson fell ill and isolated for ten days under COVID-19 protocols. In June 2020, a blood test confirmed he had previously contracted the disease. While still at Watford he suffered from secondary symptoms, including an irregular heartbeat, high resting pulse and swollen lips that saw him miss a press conference, although he only informed a small number of staff at the club of his condition. In August and September 2020, after his departure from Watford, Pearson endured a bout of rheumatoid arthritis that saw him suffer with swollen joints. He struggled to move during this period, slept heavily and had a shortness of breath. In September 2021, Pearson caught COVID-19 again and self-isolated for ten days. Outside football, Pearson is a keen outdoorsman and hiker. He once encountered a pack of wild dogs while hiking alone in the Carpathian Mountains. In 2022, he bought three acres of ancient woodland in Somerset, which he now manages. He enjoys oil painting, and has expressed an interesting in participating in the Mongol Rally. Had he not been a professional footballer, Pearson would have considered a career as a navigator in the Royal Air Force. In October 2023 just before Pearson left his last managerial appointment at Bristol City, it was…