Lawrie Pearson

Lawrie Pearson

Personal information
Full name	Lawrence Pearson[1]
Date of birth	2 July 1965[1]
Place of birth	Wallsend, England[1]
Playing position	Left-back
Youth career
	Manchester United
	Gateshead
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1984–1987	Hull City	59	(0)
1987	Bristol City	0	(0)
1987–1988	Port Vale	3	(0)
	Whitley Bay
	Barrow
1993–1994	Darlington	28	(4)
1994	Chesterfield	1	(0)
	Blyth Spartans
Total		91+	(4+)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Lawrence "Lawrie" Pearson (born 2 July 1965) is an English former footballer who played at left-back. He made 91 league appearances in the Football League, and also spent a number of seasons in non-league football.

He began his career at Manchester United, playing in the 1982 FA Youth Cup final. He joined Hull City via Gateshead in 1984, and helped the club to win promotion out of the Third Division. He signed with Bristol City, before being traded to Port Vale in August 1987. He left the "Valiants" in January 1988, and played non-league football for Whitley Bay and Barrow, before making a brief comeback in the Football League in 1993–94 with Darlington and Chesterfield. He then moved onto Blyth Spartans, and worked behind the scenes at Middlesbrough and Carlisle United.

Playing career

Pearson began his career at Manchester United, and was part of the side that were beaten by Watford in the final of the FA Youth Cup in 1982; his teammates in the game included Clayton Blackmore, Mark Hughes and Norman Whiteside. He never made his debut at Old Trafford though, and instead got his first taste of Football League action after he joined Brian Horton's Hull City via non-league Gateshead in 1984. The "Tigers" won promotion out of the Third Division in 1984–85, before posting sixth and 14th-place finishes in the Second Division in 1985–86 and 1986–87. Pearson departed Boothferry Park and signed with Third Division Bristol City, but did not make a league appearance for his new club.

He was traded to league rivals Port Vale, along with £25,000, in exchange for Russell Bromage in August 1987.^[1] He made his debut in a 4–2 win over Aldershot at Vale Park on 15 August, but after playing the next two games manager John Rudge signed Darren Hughes as a replacement.^[1] He only played three further cup games for the "Valiants", before having his contract cancelled by mutual consent in January 1988.^[1]

He moved on to non-league outfits Whitley Bay (Northern League) and Barrow (Northern Premier League and Football Conference), and spent time in Belgium,^[2] before returning to the Football League with Darlington in 1993–94. Alan Murray's "Quakers" could only finish one place above the bottom of the league, and Pearson departed Feethams. He played once for Chesterfield, before returning to the non-league circuit with Northern League side Blyth Spartans.

Post-retirement

After retirement he became the community officer at Middlesbrough.^[3] He worked in the post for seven years, before leaving the Riverside Stadium when Steve McClaren was appointed manager in 2001.^[3] He then was appointed Football in the Community Officer at Carlisle United.^[3] He left his post at Brunton Park in January 2005 for 'personal reasons'.^[4] He then worked as an academy coach at Manchester United for six years; he left in 2011 and began working at Leeds United. He then retired from coaching and now runs sports camps in Wakefield.

Honours

with Manchester United

• FA Youth Cup runner-up: 1982

with Hull City

• Football League Third Division third-place promotion: 1984–85

References

1. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 227. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
2. "A Lawrie". Cumberland News. 24 July 2003. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
3. "Lawrie Load of Old Trafford Memories". Cumbria Life. 15 November 2003. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
4. "Pearson Decides to Leave". carlisleunited.co.uk. 28 January 2005. Retrieved 25 June 2012.