Alex Pearce

For the Australian rules footballer, see Alex Pearce (Australian footballer).

Alex Pearce

Pearce with Reading in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Alexander James Pearce [1]
Date of birth	(1988-11-09) 9 November 1988 (age 34) [2]
Place of birth	Wallingford, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Position(s)	Centre back
Team information
Current team	AFC Wimbledon
Number	15
Youth career
2001–2006	Reading
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2015	Reading	212	(14)
2007	→ Northampton Town (loan)	15	(1)
2007–2008	→ AFC Bournemouth (loan)	11	(0)
2008	→ Norwich City (loan)	11	(0)
2008	→ Southampton (loan)	9	(2)
2015–2019	Derby County	48	(3)
2016	→ Bristol City (loan)	7	(0)
2019	→ Millwall (loan)	11	(0)
2019–2022	Millwall	59	(0)
2022–	AFC Wimbledon	20	(0)
International career‡
2006–2007	Scotland U19	3	(0)
2008	Scotland U21	2	(0)
2012–	Republic of Ireland	7	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:00, 15 March 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:03, 5 October 2016 (UTC)

Alexander James Pearce (born 9 November 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back for EFL League Two club AFC Wimbledon and the Republic of Ireland national team. He made two international appearances for the Scotland under-21 team but has played for the Republic of Ireland at full international level.

Club career

Reading

Pearce was born in Wallingford, Oxfordshire and attended The Oratory School ^{[2] [3]} in Woodcote until Sixth form, when he dedicated his time towards attending Reading's youth academy. He signed a three-year professional contract with Reading on 23 October 2006 and made his Reading debut in an FA Cup third-round game against Burnley on 9 January 2007, coming off the bench to replace Ívar Ingimarsson in the 74th minute.

On 9 February 2007, he joined Northampton Town on a month's loan. ^[4] He made his league debut in Northampton's 1–0 loss to Nottingham Forest, ^[5] but received praise from manager Stuart Gray for his performance. ^[6] He scored his first goal for Northampton in a 2–1 win over Scunthorpe on 8 April 2007. ^[7] His loan was extended to the end of the 2006–07 season on 8 March 2007, ^[8] returning to Reading in time to skipper the reserve team in the Premier Reserve League national final. ^[9] In the final, Reading were crowned champions after a 2–0 win over Bolton Wanderers, with goals from Alan Bennett and Pearce, to secure the trophy that had been won by Manchester United for the previous two years. ^[10]

On 2 November 2007, Pearce joined AFC Bournemouth on loan until 8 December, ^[11] which was subsequently extended to 3 January 2008. ^[12] On 21 December 2007, it was announced that Pearce had signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract. Nick Hammond said Pearce "has a superb work ethic and mentality which gives him every chance of a long and successful career here at Reading." ^[13]

On his return from loan he played in the FA Cup fourth round replay against Spurs on 15 January 2008 at the Madejski Stadium, with the new England boss Fabio Capello in the stands. Pearce was handed his full debut at the start of the game, and put in a very solid performance before being sacrificed at half time as Steve Coppell made a tactical change and went from 5–4–1 to 4–4–2. Coppell said "People will think the substitution was based on performance, but that couldn't be further from the truth. We just had a game plan and stuck to it." ^[14]

Pearce made another loan move on 31 January 2008, this time joining Championship side Norwich City until the end of the 2007–08 season. ^[15] Upon his return to Reading he scored his first goal for them in a League Cup win over Luton Town on 26 August 2008. ^[16] He then went on loan to Southampton on 31 October 2008 until the end of December. ^[17] He made his debut at Preston North End on 1 November, scoring Southampton's first goal as they came from 2–0 down to claim a 3–2 victory. ^[18]

Following the departure of Reading's manager Steve Coppell and the arrival of his replacement, Brendan Rodgers, Pearce was appointed Reading's vice captain. ^[19] Due to an injury to new club captain Ívar Ingimarsson, Pearce started the 2009–10 in the first team side as captain. Pearce won Player of the Season for Reading in the 2011–12 Football League Championship winning season and was solid at the back all year whilst scoring goals of his own. ^[20] Pearce signed a new two-year contract on 21 June 2013. ^[21]

Derby County

Pearce signed a three-year contract with Derby County on 8 June 2015, with his Reading contract expiring at the end of the 2014–15 season. ^{[22] [23]} He made his debut for Derby in a League Cup tie against Portsmouth on 12 August 2015. ^[24]

On 19 January 2016, Pearce joined Bristol City on loan for the remainder of the 2015–16 season. ^[25]

On 29 October 2016, he scored his first goal for Derby in a 2–0 win over Sheffield Wednesday. ^[26]

Millwall

On 4 January 2019, Pearce joined Millwall on loan for the second half of the 2018–19 season. ^[27] He was released by Derby County at the end of the 2018–19 season. ^[28] He signed for Millwall on 14 May 2019 on a free transfer. ^[29] He was released on 20 May 2022. ^[30]

AFC Wimbledon

Following his release by Millwall, Pearce joined AFC Wimbledon on 7 June 2022. ^{[31] [32]}

International career

Despite being born in England, Pearce qualified to play for Scotland through his parents, and represented them at youth level. ^[4] He made his debut for the Scotland U21 team in their 4–1 defeat to Norway U21 in Kilmarnock on 20 May 2008. ^{[33] [34]}

Also eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland, ^[35] having played for Ireland at schoolboy level ^[36] he made the switch to represent Ireland. In October 2011, he stated "The country I have always wanted to play for is Ireland." ^[36]

Pearce was called into the full Ireland squad on 8 September 2012 ahead of an international friendly against Oman three days later. ^[37] He scored a goal on his debut in a 4–1 victory on 11 September 2012. ^[38] On 3 September 2014, he scored the second goal of a 2–0 win over the same opposition. ^[39]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 March 2023

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Reading	2006–07 [40]	Premier League	0	0	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2007–08 [41]	Premier League	0	0	2	0	1	0	—		3	0
	2008–09 [42]	Championship	16	1	1	0	3	1	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	21	2
	2009–10 [43]	Championship	25	4	1	0	2	0	—		28	4
	2010–11 [44]	Championship	21	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	24	1
	2011–12 [45]	Championship	46	5	1	0	0	0	—		47	5
	2012–13 [46]	Premier League	19	0	1	0	1	0	—		21	0
	2013–14 [47]	Championship	45	3	1	0	0	0	—		46	3
	2014–15 [48]	Championship	40	0	6	0	3	0	0	0	49	0
	Total		212	14	15	0	12	1	1	0	240	15
Northampton Town (loan)	2006–07 [40]	League One	15	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	1
AFC Bournemouth (loan)	2007–08 [41]	League One	11	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	12	0
Norwich City (loan)	2007–08 [41]	Championship	11	0	0	0	0	0	—		11	0
Southampton (loan)	2008–09 [42]	Championship	9	2	0	0	0	0	—		9	2
Derby County	2015–16 [49]	Championship	0	0	1	0	1	0	—		2	0
	2016–17 [50]	Championship	40	2	2	0	3	0	—		45	2
	2017–18 [51]	Championship	7	1	1	0	2	0	—		10	1
	2018–19 [52]	Championship	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	Total		48	3	4	0	6	0	0	0	58	3
Bristol City (loan)	2015–16 [49]	Championship	7	0	0	0	0	0	—		7	0
Millwall (loan)	2018–19 [52]	Championship	11	0	4	1	0	0	—		15	1
Millwall	2019–20 [53]	Championship	29	0	2	0	0	0	—		31	0
	2020–21 [54]	Championship	24	0	2	0	0	0	—		26	0
	2021–22 [55]	Championship	6	0	1	0	2	0	—		9	0
	Total		59	0	5	0	2	0	0	0	66	0
AFC Wimbledon	2022-23	League Two	20	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	22	0
Career total			403	20	29	1	20	1	3	0	455	22

1. Appearance in the Championship play-offs
2. Appearance in the Football League Trophy

International

As of match played 29 March 2016 ^[56]

Scores and results list the Republic of Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pearce goal.

List of international goals scored by Alex Pearce

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	11 September 2012	Craven Cottage, London, England	Oman		4–1	Friendly
2	3 September 2014	Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland	Oman		2–0	Friendly

Honours

Reading

• Football League Championship: 2011–12

Individual

• Reading Player of the Season: 2011–12

See also

• List of Republic of Ireland international footballers born outside the Republic of Ireland
• List of sportspeople who competed for more than one nation

References

1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Derby County" (PDF). English Football League. p. 14. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
2. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 330. ISBN   978-1-84596-601-0.
3. "ISFA – Current Professional Players". ISFA.org.uk. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012.
4. "Pearce secures loan move as he looks to gain valuable League experience". readingfc.co.uk. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 9 February 2007.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
5. "Nottm Forest 1–0 Northampton". BBC Sport. 10 February 2007. Archived from the original on 12 February 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2007.
6. "High praise for Pearce following his impressive League debut for Northampton". readingfc.co.uk. 13 February 2007. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2007.
7. "Northampton 2–1 Scunthorpe". BBC. 8 April 2007. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
8. "Pearce extends his Cobblers loan". readingfc.co.uk. 8 March 2007. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2007.
9. "Pearce and Cox back in the fold ahead of Bolton Wanderers reserve play-off". readingfc.co.uk. 10 May 2007. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2007.
10. "Reserves are crowned the Premiership champions". readingfc.co.uk. 11 May 2007. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2007.
11. "Cherries Finalise Loan Swoop". afcb.co.uk. 2 November 2007. Archived from the original on 19 December 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
12. "Trio extend loan stints". readingfc.co.uk. 12 December 2007. Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2007.
13. "Defender signs until 2010". readingfc.co.uk. 21 December 2007. Archived from the original on 22 December 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
14. "Verdict on Federici, Cox, Pearce & Lita". readingfc.co.uk. 16 January 2008. Archived from the original on 17 January 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
15. "Royals duo make City loan". readingfc.co.uk. 31 January 2008. Archived from the original on 1 February 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
16. "Reading 5–1 Luton". BBC. 26 August 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
17. "Alex Pearce arrives". saintsfc.co.uk. 31 October 2008. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
18. "Remember, Remember the 1st of November ... McGoldrick, Surman and Pearce!". saintsfc.co.uk. 1 November 2008. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2008.^{[ dead link ]}
19. "Ivar announced as new captain". readingfc.co.uk. 6 August 2009. Archived from the original on 9 August 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
20. "Pearce named Player of the Season". Reading Football Club. 1 May 2012. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
21. "Pearce signs new contract". Reading F.C. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
22. "Derby County Sign Republic of Ireland International Alex Pearce". Derby County F.C. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
23. "Darren Bent and Alex Pearce join Derby County". BBC Sport. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
24. "Portsmouth 2–1 Derby". BBC Sport. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
25. "Pemberton's delight at loan duo". bcfc.co.uk. Bristol City F.C. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
26. "Derby 2–0 Sheffield Wednesday". BBC. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
27. "Pearce makes Millwall loan move". dcfc.co.uk. Derby County F.C. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
28. "Ashley Cole: Former England left-back set to retire after Derby exit". BBC Sport. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
29. "Alex Pearce makes Millwall move permanent". Millwall F.C. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
30. "Alex Pearce: Millwall release club captain and offer new contract to Jed Wallace". BBC Sport. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
31. "Alex Pearce joins AFC Wimbledon after release by Millwall". BBC Sport. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
32. Cornell, Rob (7 June 2022). "Ambition is key for new recruit Alex". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
33. "Mixed emotions for Pearce". readingfc.co.uk. 22 May 2008. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
34. "Scotland U21 1–4 Norway U21". BBC Sport. 20 May 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
35. "Fresh talent on Long list". Herald. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
36. "Reid 'unlikely' to make Irish return under Trapattoni". Irish Independent. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
37. McClean survives after tweet apology
38. "Republic of Ireland 4–1 Oman". RTÉ Sport. 11 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
39. "R. of Ireland 2–0 Oman". BBC Sport. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
40. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
41. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
42. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
43. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
44. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
45. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
46. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
47. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
48. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
49. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
50. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
51. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
52. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
53. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
54. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
55. "Games played by Alex Pearce in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
56. "Alex Pearce". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 September 2014.

External links

• Alex Pearce profile at Reading F.C.
• Alex Pearce at Soccerbase
• Interview with BBC Sport
• Scotland stats at the Scottish FA